Arts Alive San Antonio

by JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor –

The Overtime Theater has established a reputation for producing original shows created by San Antonio authors and its new offering, “Ride the Musical” is no different. The brainchild of last year’s ATAC Globe Award winner for original score, Dan Timoskevich, the show opened May 31 and runs through June 22.

The story revolves around a New York cab driver named Stockton whose business is suffering due to competition from rideshare services. Stockton is also grieving the recent loss of his wife and dealing with his young adult daughter, Jess, whose ambition is to go to acting school. With grief and money woes facing him every day, he’s struggling to keep ends meet.

“I have always been interested in taxi drivers,” said Timoskevich. “When I was in school, I considered three career choices: writer, politician or taxi driver. It’s a difficult life to be a taxi driver and competition adds to these troubles. But it’s just a backdrop to the theme of how quickly things can change in one’s life and career. Father and daughter are suffering a great deal.”

Both Jess and her dad have to figure out how to improve their respective lots, eventually taking new and different paths in order to survive. Instead of an actress, she becomes “a classy” exotic dancer without her father’s knowledge.

Director Nicole Erwin, who is also the managing director of Overtime, sees Jess’ choice as a valid step for the young woman. “We tend to stereotype such dancers and strippers, but Jess is not like that at all. On stage, she feels in control, she feels admired. She also feels like she is making people feel good, that she’s providing an escape for them.”

What the show is really examining through this story is “female empowerment, self-actualization and the challenge of letting go of pie-in-the-sky idealism and its accompanying life expectations,” states the press release.  “Jess falls in love with her new job. But audience members can interpret the situation in different ways: Is she failing or is she successful?” noted Timoskevich

Co-written by Rachel Roth, the musical’s packed with Timoskevich’s songs – some 20 of them, counting reprises – including ballads and dance tunes, all with an “urban feel to them,” said the songwriter.  Actually, the whole project started with a song, “Stumbling,” which he co-wrote with a friend a while back. It deals with “letting go of things that shackle you down,” he explained. He tried to insert it in his previous musical “Nightingale,” but it didn’t seem to fit. This time, he wrote the show around the song.

“The music is captivating; it really tells the story,” said Erwin.

Naturally, Jess, portrayed by Amie Rose, sings most of the numbers in a voice described by Erwin as smooth and velvety. Like her character, Rose is a recent graduate who wants to be an actress. Well-known actor Robert Moritz is her father Stockton, who gets the surprise of his life when he discovers his daughter’s new occupation. But there are quite a few other characters, too, such as acting coach Toni, played by Dorianna James; a street poet who comments on the action (Meaghan Setterbo); a limo driver (Venny Mortimer) and several others.

Choreography is by Alli Gomez, scenic design by Jonathan Schell and lighting, which plays an important part here, is in the hands of Josh Dominguez.

“The cast is amazingly talented, no weak link among them,” said Timoskevitch.

“Ride the Musical, ”8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; Father’s Day performance June 16 at 7 p.m., through June 22; Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera RD., Ste 205, 78238; tickets $15 theovertimetheater.org