Wow, I was really blown away by the performances and loved the show. I admit to being a fan of theater-music and film-music genre-benders (Alexander Nevsky, for example), but I thought this show really worked. The music was sincere and moving, and then you get the comedy and charm from Malkovich’s character, but he is an established liar. So the comedy is never “serious,” so to speak – it’s not real. It communicates the character’s charm, rather than belittling any of the brutality. So I didn’t find the use of humor in the context of such a horrific story to be inappropriate at all the way it was done. This reminded a bit of another show I absolutely loved in Detroit about five years ago: A Soldier’s Tale with F. Murray Abraham, Colm Feore, and members of the DSO. Great job, everyone. Thanks for bringing it to Ann Arbor!