Apollo Weeps

Mao’s ambitious debut attempts to retell The Phantom of the Opera while commenting on social justice topics including the exploitation of immigrant labor, sundown towns, and transracial adoption, but ultimately doesn’t have space enough to succeed. Mousy journalist Alouette “Owl” Chagny returns to their hometown of Leroux, Iowa, hoping to write a story about the city’s historic Gilded Age theater and the family that runs it—including Owl’s longtime crush, actor turned theater manager Maddie Grey. After Owl mysteriously receives a play script in the mail about a local legend known as The Silver Man, Maddie decides to produce it. Plagued with accidents and sightings of a mysterious masked figure, the production seems doomed to fail unless Owl can uncover all the Grey family secrets. The ensuing plot is crowded with clunky flashbacks to past members of Maddie’s convoluted family tree on the way to a confusing climax. Mao is admirably unafraid to confront difficult subjects, they’ve just crammed too many into this brief, literary, and only quasi-fantastical outing. There’s plenty to chew on but no time to digest. (Jan.)