Posted August 20, 2025
OCTET
Hudson Valley Shakespeare
Through September 7
In recent days, I was also able to take a trip up north to Garrison, NY to catch Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s revival of Octet (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) by Dave Malloy (music, lyrics, and book). First staged in 2019 at Off-Broadway’s Signature Theatre, the chamber choir musical is in essence a meditation on technology — namely our dependence on the internet — and its effect on our modern day lives via a fictitious self-help group that comes together to share and navigate their respective “addictions”. As with Malloy’s other musicals (e.g., Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Ghost Quartet), Octet is a singular creation, in my estimation the work of a true poet of music theater. In its ensemble-driven, turn-based presentation — as well as its organically assembled montage sequences — there is more than a passing resemblance to the iconic musical A Chorus Line (which this year is celebrating its landmark 50th anniversary). Invariably, the confessions are painfully personal, and often times they’re illuminating reflections of our own tendencies and habits. In defiant contrast to the subject matter, the musical features a gorgeous a cappella score (augmented by the occasional percussive beats), arguably Malloy’s most emotionally affecting composition to date. Despite Hudson Vally Shakespaere’s semi-outdoors setup, the score sounds absolutely superb, which is in no small part due to the work of music director Simone Allen and sound designer Ken Travis. Amanda Dehnert’s immersive, beautifully blocked production is pitch perfect, and its close proximity to nature gives the show — which is set in a church basement — a new philosophical spin. Suffice to say, the harmonizing ensemble cast is gloriously idiosyncratic, with a particular standout being the golden-voiced Mia Pak, who plays the curious and precocious newcomer to the group.