HOLLER  IF  YA  HEAR ME  at the Palace Theatre

(Seen June 15, 2014)

HOLLER,,,, is not the life story of the late Tupac Shakur, but   rather a kind of juke-box musical.   Book writer Todd Kreidler has fashioned a story using Shakur's lyrics and music to tell the story of  life in a contemporary ghetto in a mid-Western industrial city.  (But it could have been set 20 years ago in the Bronx --- unfortunately for today's society.)

The show illustrates the struggles and mortality of young Blacks enmeshed in drugs and gang warfare.  It is a more devastating and serious reminder of gang activities introduced to us more than five decades ago in WEST SIDE STORY, but revealing more about dead-end life in the ghetto.

This is another example, however, of a very talented cast stuck in a somewhat cliche show.  Although featuring some really fine performances, it is really an ensemble show, with adept musical staging by Wayne Cilento, and skilled and very appropriate direction by Kenny Leon.

I was unfamiar with Shakur's work, and this is a worthy showcase for him.  Strangely he is only credited for lyrics, with no one credited for the music,