David: The Musical

The Biblical story of King David is fraught with powerful dramatic incident, but, alas, little of that drama makes its way onstage in this rickety rock musical, with book and lyrics by Craig Costanza and Rich Lyle. The score, by Tim Murner, performed by the four-man-band Pullman Standard, might be serviceable enough if it didn't often drown out the lyrics. Neither director Adam T. Rosencrance nor music director Zac Polhamus seems much interested in verbal clarity. And the audible lyrics are often naive to the point of silliness: "Samuel, we need a king!/We need him more than anything!" or "Serve the needy/Not the greedy!"

Because we can't understand the lyrics, we must rely on the dialogue scenes to clue us in on what's happening, but there, too, the writing is flaccid and lacks depth. Dane Bowman is an attractive performer, but his David is curiously lacking in gravitas and charisma. To some extent, this is not his fault: He's asked to play a heroic figure, though the writers haven't written one. The play concentrates on David's later career, his seduction of Bathsheba (Sara Collins), and his sending her husband Uriah (Jonathan Lanni, who also doubles as the treacherous Absalom) off to die in battle. We never see any of David's heroic deeds, and he's given squishy new-age songs ("I believe in childish dreams…I believe in endless love"). Odd sentiments for a supposedly ruthless military commander.

Things are further compounded by Rosencrance's decision to use the entire cast as an ensemble, each person playing multiple characters. This can work if it's done with clarity, but here we're often left in doubt as to who's who. The one performance that provides theatricality by is J.D. Driskill as David's lecherous son Amnon, who rapes his sister Tamar (Collins). He's flamboyant, dynamic, and somewhat over-the-top, but that's welcome in an otherwise limp production. The cast members are mostly able and hard-working, but they can't make much headway against a doubtful script. In the end, one feels more sympathy for the actors than for their characters.

Presented by and at the Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Sept. 10–Oct. 17. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. (800) 838-3006. www.davidthemusical.net.