Alexsei’s Quest at Birdland sung by Autumn Hurlbert at Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, song and book by George Pfirrmann and Jamie Allen, Monday, July 7, 2025:

The song sung by Autumn Hurlbert at from Alexsei’s Quest will probably be a significant ballad in Pfirrmann and Allen’s new musical.  What it is not is an Opening or Closing number.  It lacks the hook to bring audiences in or the powerful exclamation point needed for a closing song.  But as a song somewhere in the first act it may be a solid addition. Hurbert’s character gets the assignment of guiding Alexsei Navalny on a quest to determine why he could not lead Russia out of autocracy and to discover if this was a fatal flaw in himself as much as it is Russia. The song may entrance an audience as Hurbert becomes Navalny’s “Beatrice”.  His eternal life seems to be at risk.  Her trying to understand the forces she must deal with seems to be the focus of the song.

The song is solid, but the authors must avoid the fatal flaws of recent shows that have dealt with similar Russian questions.  These were the awful Broadway show Patriots and the not much better MTC show Vladimir.  Neither of which were able to achieve enough distance from their subject to engage an audience.  If the show concentrates on Navalny’s personal strengths and weaknesses, it might have legs, but if it gets bogged down in the “Russian psyche” or Russian politics …

Alexsei’s Quest will have a full presentation in October 2025.