It takes chutzpah to juxtapose Greek mythology with 20th-century American history, but this is precisely what the creators of the tuneful World Premiere musical Flashes Of Light have done on the Sierra Madre Playhouse stage, albeit more successfully in the show’s delightful first act than in its more far-out second half.

The historical figure in question is engineer-inventor Nikola Tesla (Thomas Winter), who left his Balkan homeland for America in the mid-1880s bound and determined to persuade American inventor Thomas Edison (Guy Noland) to back his latest brainstorm, a motor intended to solve the riddle of alternating current and in so doing change the world.

As for the inspiration behind Nikola’s “polyphase induction motor,” well according to Flashes Of Light that turns out to be not a “what” but a “who,” i.e., Goddess of the Storm Clouds Electra (Devyn Rush), who’s been sent by fellow goddess Athena (Nina Kasuya) on a mission to “find a human with a brilliant scientific mind, someone worthy of receiving the secrets behind the raw power of your electrical storms.”

And so, much as Olivia Newton-John’s Kira found herself inspiring freelance artist Sonny Malone to roller disco greatness in the 1980 cult classic Xanadu, Electra begins popping up in Nikola Tesla’s dreams, and the rest as they say is history as seen through the eyes of book-and-song writers Billy Larkin and Ron Boustead.

Along the way, Flashes Of Light introduces us to an eclectic cast of characters, both human and celestial, beginning with Nikola’s bff Anton Szigeti (Christopher Romero Sosa), who accompanies Tesla to the USA.

There, the bromancing buds meet not only the world-renowned Edison but the Mark Twain (Chima Rok), socialite couple Robert and Katharine Johnson (Daniel Krause and Lauren Lorati), financier J.P. Morgan (Steven Wishnoff), and industrialist George Westinghouse (Patrick Munoz) of future refrigerator fame.

Meanwhile up on Mt. Olympus, God of Fire Prometheus (Munoz) and God of Wine and Ecstasy Dionysus (Amir Levi) join Athena in observing and commenting on the events taking place on earth, though what none of them has counted on is for Electra to decide to travel down to earth and make her heretofore long-distance connection to Nikola more hands-on (and lips-on if I’m being precise).

 With songs as tuneful and cleverly-worded as Larkin and Boustead’s and performances as lively as those elicited by director Jon Lawrence Rivera, there’s much in Flashes Of Light’s World Premiere to keep an audience both entertained and humming along mentally as human boy meets goddess girl to course-of-humanity-changing effect.

Notwithstanding, I found myself less enthused upon Electra’s transition from out-of-this-world muse to lip-locking love interest in a plot twist I found rather too “out there” to work.

On the plus side, song writers Larkin and Boustead have a definite gift for musical hooks and clever rhymes, and if nothing else, Flashes Of Light seems likely to have audiences googling its real-life characters to find out more about Tesla’s and Edison’s roles in the AC/DC war, and more about its other historical (and mythological) figures.

Performances could not be more engaging.

Winter follows his breakout performance in East West Players’ Spring Awakening with another powerhouse leading man turn as electrical whiz kid Tesla, Rush is an electrifying, vocally-soaring Electra, Nolan gives Tesla a daunting adversary to match wits with as Edison, and most memorably of all, charismatic newcomer Sosa pretty much steals every scene he’s in as Nikola’s spunky sidekick Szigeti, aka Spaghetti.

Kasuya, Levi, and Munoz play their heavenly characters with plenty of panache, Levi scoring bonus points for Dionysus’ utter fabulousness.

The lovely Lorati reveals leading lady pipes as Katherine, Rok’s Mark Twain evokes Broadway star Ben Vereen at his most showstopping, and Wishnoff provides topnotch support in a pair of roles.

Sydney Endicott (Mother) and Daniel Krause (Robert Johnson, etc.) complete the multi-talented cast whether in song (Ron Boustead is vocal director) or in executing choreographer Tania Possick’s sophisticated moves.

Flashes Of Light benefits enormously from the music direction of pianist Larkin and his “all-star virtual band” and from the production design contributions of Christopher Scott Murillo (set), Wesley Charles Chew (lighting), Mylette Nora (costumes), and Lily Bartenstein (projections and props), whose combined talents make this the best-looking Sierra Madre Playhouse production I’ve seen in several years.

Last but not least, despite some sound issues on opening night, Flashes Of Light benefits too from John Zalewski’s sound design expertise and Jonas Huffer’s audio engineering.

Joshua Payuan-Cruz is stage manager and Melissa Graff is assistant stage manager. Elise Dewsberry is dramaturg. Libby Huebner is publicist.

Whether you fall in love with Flashes Of Light like Nikola falls for Electra or merely enjoy its sparkling performances and catchy songs will depend on how much you buy into its romantic juxtaposition of real-life historical figures and mythological ancient Greek gods. I enjoyed its sparkling performances and catchy songs.

Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. Through June 9. Mondays and Fridays at 8:00. Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00. Sundays at 4:00. Also Thursday June 5 at 8:00
www.sierramadreplayhouse.org

–Steven Stanley
May 25, 2025
Photos: M Palma Photography

Tags: Billy Larkin, Los Angeles Theater Review, Nikola Tesla, Ron Boustead., Sierra Madre Playhouse