Reggie and the Full Effect

Reggie and the Full Effect's catchy pop numbers improve exponentially on stage, where they benefit from colorful costumes, animated facial expressions and witty, audience-focused asides. The concert context is almost theatrical, which would make Reggie frontman James Dewees a showtune-composer: the man who puts the "emo" in Sondheim. But Dewees delivers killer riffs that most Broadway plays lack. For supplemental shredding, Reggie's stage-blood-splattered alter-egos, the Finnish metal warlords Common Denominator, get a multi-song showcase rather than their usual cameo. Fluxuation, Reggie's increasingly relevant parody of new-wave revivalism, rounds out the set. One performer, three memorable roles? The man deserves a Tony.