They Want to Break Free

â??Dedalus Lounge" draws big talent to the intimate Interart Theater By [Doug Strassler] Certain universal questions arise in every generation: What is the meaning of life? What lies in the Great Beyond? And perhaps most important of all: Are you gonna take me home tonight? That last question might be the most pertinent of the three to the denizens of Dedalus Lounge, Gary Duggan"s new music-infused play embarking on a run at Midtown West"s Interart Theater Annex, at 500 W. 52nd St., through Jan. 30. This trio of lost souls's Danny, Daragh and Delphine's connects at the titular Dublin drink joint during the holiday season, a time that would be happy if only these people weren"t so at sea. Delphine is dealing with a sick grandparent and a complicated love affair; Danny, meanwhile, is a devoted Freddie Mercury fan who struggles to mount a successful new Queen tribute band. According to the playwright, his inspiration comes not so much from what he knows but who he knows. â??A lot of Irish theater has traditionally dealt with families and parent/child relationships, Duggan explained. Not that Dedalus's making its American bow after a run at Ireland"s Pageant Wagon Theatre Company's is an outright drama. Amid the debauchery and despondence, there is also plenty of humor, which proved to be a winning tone in last year"s acclaimed Trans-Euro Express, also performed at Interart. This production also features new music and choreography not found in the Dublin iteration. Dedalus reunites Duggan with Trans-Euro director Chris Henry. The Dublin-based writer first met Henry over Skype, where, he avowed, â??We developed a quick and easy rapport during the rehearsal period. I was very pleased with Chris" inventive production, and after that we decided pretty quickly that we"d like to collaborate again. The themes and characters of Dedalus and Trans-Euro have a fair bit in common so I thought that would be a natural follow-up. According to Henry, the affection is mutual. â??I am drawn to a script with heart and edge, a script where I can give an audience a visceral experience, she said. In fact, the director and writer are so simpatico by now that the only topic on which they seem to disagree is their favorite Queen song. Henry was also attracted to the musical elements of Dedalus. She said that while she and the rest of the production were initially disappointed they were not able to acquire the rights to any Queen songs, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The â??Queen-inspired songs penned by co-stars Anthony Rapp and Daniel A. Weiss, she said, â??are lively, fun, campy and wild to watch. The re-teaming of the creative forces may have been a no-brainer, but Dedalus has also attracted a top-notch cast that includes original Rent star Rapp, Wicked alum Dee Roscioli and James Kautz, best known as a founding member of the estimable downtown theater company The Amoralists. That"s an impressive roster for Interart, given that the Off-Off venue has very limited seating. Why the actorly vote of confidence in Dedalus? â??The play is quite a crazy mash-up of tones, themes and emotions, Duggan said. â??I think that"s appealing to great performers's they get to play with a dynamic range of colors in one piece. The playwright added, â??I think good people like to work intensively with other good people, and there"s a lot of opportunity to do that in this. Plus, the way Chris directs is very dynamic and imaginative, which makes it a very satisfying show to be a part of. It"s shows like this that make the rockin" world go round. For information, please visit [www.royalfamilyproductions.org. ](www.royalfamilyproductions.org)