This is Not a DrilL
Book by Holly Doubet and Joseph McDonough, music and lyrics by Holly Doubet, Kathy Babylon, and John Vester; directed and choreographed by Gabriel Barre
Theater at St. Jean | 150 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021
September 9 – October 11, 2025
Photo Credit by Carol Rosegg
The spirit of Hawaiian warmth and togetherness gets madly interrupted when radars detect a missile attack on the way in This is Not a Drill.
With music and lyrics by Holly Doubet, Kathy Babylon & John Vester, This is Not a Drill finds moments of bawdy humor and levity far beyond the larger fear of military attacks and system failure. Characters that are larger than life are seen onstage with everyday heroes like resort employees and native Hawaiians. While vignettes display the joys and suffering of living, clever lyrics also observe larger dynamic near unexpected waters and devastation.
All of these emotions explode on the stage in dance and song. With the vision of Director Gabriel Barre and Casting Director Holly Buczek, comical moments are seen from Matthew Curiano (Tony) and Chris Doubet (Chris) in Cincinnati Boys. A bit of soul and depth of understanding plays out in the relationship between Sophie and Derek as they ask the difficult question, "Do you still love me?" when Aurelia Williams and Gary Edwards sing Start All Over. While the Casting Director found the colors of the Island, the savvy musical team, under the Musical Supervision of Paul Bogaev has assured us that, even in a crowded and cautious NYC, there are more tones to hear.
Then, Lucas Poost as the Anonymous Button Guy declares the situation beyond a drill in Real Thing. This turning point of the drama sets further conflict in motion. Survival becomes everything, and cell phones flip to emergency mode sending teams of vacationers fleeing for their lives in a Fallout Shelter. Standout performances are from the players including Felicia Finley as Jessica, who, overwrought with emotion, calls her mother, preparing to die.
Finally, in the Fallout Shelter, we find that there was no attack, at all. Everyone is free to return to their hotel and pick up the pieces of their lives. After the recollection of major building collapse and subway slowdowns and rerouting due to system changes and upgrades, New Yorkers can find this release comforting. Book Writers Holly Doubet & Joseph McDonough have captured this sentiment - a persistent reliance in the face of threat, with the comfort and the wisdom that we will always survive.
Acoustics including electric guitar and Hawaiian Drums resound at Theatre at St. Jean's, in the lower level of a church. Great appreciation for additional Vocal Arrangements and Choral Direction from David John Madore and Hawaiian Dance Consultant Tamara Bejar Hernandez. The closing number even gives the audience a chance to move to your imaginary hula skirt and gesture toward the earth, the sea, and land. That little bit extra provides the assurance that endless provocation hasn't taken all heart.
What an antidote to the waves of emergency state proclamations that we have heard too often! This is Not a Drill was presented by The York Theatre.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Marcina Zaccaria.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on September 21, 2025. All rights reserved.