Nerds://A Musical Software Satire

Although with my limited theater experience I'm probably not really one to make generalizations, I feel like there are 3 kinds of musicals out there. There are the epic dramas, like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and Evita and Rent; more happy family-friendly fare like Cats and Hairspray and Wicked; and then there are the rest, which I can only classify as "adult quirky." They're usually comedies, sometimes satires, often based on such unlikely things as movies (e.g. the Wedding Singer), the music of a particular group (e.g. Mamma Mia), classic novels (e.g. Little Women), or real-life events that have nothing to do with music. I recently saw two musicals of the latter variety. Over Christmas I saw Grey Gardens on Broadway, and that was based on the story of two relatives of Jackie Onassis that became known for being notorious recluses in the Hamptons. And this past weekend, I saw Nerds at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, which is based on the story of the rises of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Nerds tracks Bill and Steve as they form their companies, find both success and failure, and learn some lessons along the way. Everything is pretty hilariously exaggerated and some things were obviously not historically accurate, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. Bill is the bullied technical genius, while Steve is the hippie idea man. The first half is relatively earnest: Bill sings "I am just a nerd," both Apple and Microsoft are formed, first Steve rises to the top with his "rock and roll" Macintosh computer, and then Bill retaliates by stealing ideas from Apple and introducting Windows with a hilarious rap number. There's a little romance too, as Steve falls for the idealistic environmental activist Sally.

The second half is where things go past light-hearted satire into full-fledged wackiness. An angel-like figure comes to Steve, Bill's so powerful that he summons an Italian clown to impress Myrtle, a nerd-with-head-gear-turned hottie, and Bill and Steve go at eachother in a light-saber fight in the courtroom during the antitrust suit against Microsoft.But things come full-circle by the end, with Steve bouncing back with his idea of the iPod, and Bill realizing that he's become the bully that he feared so much earlier in his life. Pretty cheesy but even for a satire this is still kind of a feel-good story.

Beforehand I was a little afraid that this was going to be uber nerdy, but it was definitely written for a wide audience and I think that even people who don't know anything about Bill Gates or steve Jobs can enjoy it. Although there was also definitely plenty there for people who were more in the know to recognize and appreciate.

Nerds: A Musical Software Satire
Philadelphia Theatre Company