Editorial: Transcendence Theatre is flush with inspiration; here’s a few ideas to avoid

Transcendence Theatre made good opening weekend on its promise of “best night ever” – and, yes, that theme was always tongue-in-cheek; something to shoot for, not to diminish the births of your children, your granddaughter’s college graduation, or the time the Glen Ellen Star forgot to charge you for that second carafe of Ravenswood zin.

But “Oh, What a Night,” indeed. Friday’s show at Jack London State Historic Park was practically seamless from an audience standpoint – save for a very brief sound problem early on – and offered such highlights as Desiree Davar channeling Liza Minnelli on “As the World Goes ‘Round,” the always-appreciated comic relief of Lexy Fridell, and a rousing Whitney Houston medley that will make many rethink the ‘80s pop star’s place in the soul-music canon. At least through the car ride home.

Post-show is always interesting, with audience members chattering about their favorite pieces – and, of course, the inevitable: voicing suggestions about what other songs would work great for Transendence. Company directors Stephan Stubbins, Amy Miller and Brad Surosky must get this all the time: “Hey, you should do ‘MacArthur Park,’” or “Three words, Brad: Tribute to Davy Jones...”

And perhaps these are great ideas the company would pull off splendidly. But scattered among the deep well of inspired suggestions will always be some seriously misguided ideas – the kind of cringeworthy moves that led to such legendary Broadway flops as “Via Galactica” (a 1972 rock musical set 1,000 years in the future) and “Moose Murders” (1983’s notorious “mystery farce” about incest and a serial killer who wears antlers).

So, before the Transcendence team starts filing away ideas for the 2016 summer season, here are some truly wretched ideas we’d heard on the way to the parking lot, which we’d recommend the company wholly avoid:

* My Dinner With Amy - The Musical!: We’ll take artistic director Amy Miller’s sunny disposition over Andre Gregory’s unabashed narcissism any day. However, to turn Louis Malle’s 111 minute film about two old chums talking the meaning of life over dinner at Café des Artistes – where the conversation is nearly as pretentious as the name of the restaurant – Transcendence would need to fly in Wallace Shawn himself to bring in a bit of self-loathing to counter Miller’s admirable let’s-put-on-a-show pluckiness. And what’s the soundtrack here? “Dinner Bell” by They Might Be Giants? “Chicken Soup with Rice” by Carole King?

* Transcendance With Wolves: Sometimes cross-genres can really work. Think “Blazing Saddles.” But in this case we’re not sure how they’d pull of the buffalo hunt.

* Stephan and the Angry Inch: John Cameron Mitchell’s sublime “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” deservedly won an Obie and translated wonderfully to the Big Screen – and Stephen Trask’s songs make up one of the best original scores to emerge from Off-Broadway (or Broadway for that matter) in the last 20 years – but somehow even the sophisticated Sonoma Valley probably isn’t ready for Stubbins and Co. to produce this glam-rock paean to a botched sex-change operation and how it all relates to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Here are a few more ill-advised production numbers worth note – not that we heard anyone throw these out, in fact, we’ve completely made them up. But just in case company officials are pitched the following, we suggest they take a cue from “South Pacific” and wash them right outta their hair: Lost in Transcendence; The Never Transcending Story; Happy Transc-endings, Transcend It Like Beckham, Transcending Nemo...

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Email jason.walsh@sonomanews.com.