“Let’s Put On A Show (About A Show! (About A Show!)!

Though snow blankets a massive swath of the nation, this month of January is possibly harshest on the Great White Way, as productions shutter for good rather than face the cold post-holiday season of decreased attendance and diminishing returns. This year was particularly unkind, cutting down shows both star-studded and barebones. Indeed, the only sure-things right now are the warhorse family musicals and, improbably, Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, which, at a cost of $65 million and counting is Broadway’s most expensive show ever. Budgets and special effects are considerably more modest a few miles southward where Philadelphia’s Mauckingbird Theatre Company’s production of [title of show], a musical with 4 actors, one instrument, and no airborn superheroes, opened on Wednesday.