David Bowie’s final gift to the world, “Lazarus,” comes bearing many questions. Is it a bird or is it a plane? Is it a rocket or is it a metaphor? Is it a play, or is it a musical? Is it any good, or an elaborate fantasy that simply goes too far?Neither conventional play nor straightforward musical (Bowie would not bother with such tedious categorizations), the show’s London production has gone the way of its New York predecessor and sold out quickly. Hey, if it’s that good, why not give it an extended run in both cities?Fans of the Thin White Duke have been packing the King’s Cross Theatre for the show, with its rapturous reception also given a boost by the emotional final picture of Bowie giving what looks like a last salute to his fans. It was enough to leave some in tears and many in ecstasy at its performances so far. Bowie’s passing resulted in a huge outpouring of grief, overshadowing others in what has become some year for deaths.The best thing about “Lazarus” is its music, which cherry-picks from across Bowie’s repertoire: some greatest hits, especially from the 1970s (“All the Young Dudes,” “The Man Who Sold the World”) some wonderful obscurities (“Always Crashing in the Same Car”) and more recent numbers (“No Plan” and “Lazarus.”) By the time we get to a show-stopping, jaw-dropping “Life on Mars?” we may pause for thought at the lyric about “the freakiest show,” because this is what we are watching.The dreamy “plot,” such that it is, is an extended and convoluted meditation of what may have happened to Bowie’s character Major Thomas Newton, the humanoid alien in Walter Tevis’s novel “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and its subsequent film adaption. Newton is still fabulously wealthy, his alcoholism has got worse, and he is still longing for the return of his lover Mary-Lou – hence a few blasts of the old Ricky Nelson song “Hello Mary-Lou (Goodbye Heart).” Newton is still planning to build a rocket to escape from his earthy prison.So far, so good; and the cast members are very committed, especially Michael C. Hall as Newton, who can sound uncannily like Bowie and has a huge role. Hall even wonders around the stage for a good 30 minutes before the opening as the audience arrives.Director Ivo van Hove makes the most of a clever video-screen background, allowing a 3-D rocket ship to pop up on stage and more.The linking dialogue is by Enda Walsh, the Irish dramatist who did an excellent job with “Once.” This time, he has a more difficult time, with some clunky or opaque links leading into the musical sequences. (Was Newton ever in Berlin was the same time as Bowie in the 1970s, we may wonder, as he croons “Where Are We Now?” with its memories of the divided German city.) This is a surreal, non-naturalistic narrative about an alcoholic alien, so of course there is a lot of artistic license that can be thrown in, claiming the name of experimentation. The show is nearly two hours without intermission and comes with a prohibitive list of “don’t-dos” on arrival. Not just switch off phones and don’t take video: don’t think of showing up late, or leaving briefly: you might not be allowed in. There is a suggestion that patrons arrive 45 minutes early to allow to security checks.The show adds inventive yet unexplained symbols which possibly make it even more confusing: strange circles repeatedly drawn on the video screen; Japanese geishas popping up; a lot of random stabbings with fake blood by the malevolent Valentine character; the iconography with US highlighted in the title.The minimalistic set is basic beige, with a bed, a fridge and not much else. The musicians are seen through a window as if they are in a recording studio, and much is made of very little: a load of black balloons are popped to suggest a massacre.Bowie was a rock genius. Just don’t go expecting a jukebox musical of his hits (where are they now, “Starman” or “Rock and Roll Suicide” – neither finds a place here). A little less potentially stilted dialogue and a few more moments like the concluding “Heroes” would be welcome. In time with the line about dolphins swimming, Newton and the Girl character (a fine performance by Sophia Anne Caruso) belly-slide through a bath of splattered milk.Bowie, with his theatrical background, came close to rock opera many times, with a 1968 song-cycle project, “Ernie Johnson,” foreshadowing the Ziggy Stardust if not the Diamond Dogs concepts.Come to think of it, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (and the Spiders From Mars)” would have made a simpler plot for a show – “Moonage Daydream” would have worked a treat - perhaps with a lot more “space” songs grafted on, such as “Space Oddity” and even “The Prettiest Star.” In the event, “Lazarus” is both breathtaking and a little baffling, a fine way to remember an outstanding artist but not up there with solid masterpieces such as “Hunky Dory,” “Station to Station” or even the “Blackstar” album which it previewed.
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