by Jim Testa

The idea of a Broadway musical based on the music of hip hop superstar Tupac Shakur sounds like a terrible idea. And from a marketing viewpoint, it probably was. The typical Broadway audience - affluent enough to afford Broadway prices - hears the name Tupac Shakur and tunes out. Conversely, the audience that might jump at the idea of a hip hop musical probably doesn't have $129 to blow on an orchestra seat.

All of which is a shame. "Holler If Ya Hear Me" isn't about Tupac Shakur; his mother, who controls his estate, licensed the use of his music but not the details of his life story. So the play tells another story, about a convict who returns to his ghetto neighborhood and tries to stop the endless cycle of violence that landed him behind bars, and claimed the lives of too many of his friends. Tupac's songs have been threaded together to tell that story.

And it's brilliant.

Sung by a wonderfully talented cast and expanded with Broadway orchestrations, Tupac's songs gain melodies that weren't always apparent on his stripped down, vocoder-infused recordings. But his words remain pure poetry. Kenny Leon's direction and the simple but inventive stage design brings the sets to life: An inner city neighborhood, an auto repair yard, a solitary rooftop.

Poet Saul Williams stars as John, the convict who comes home and only wants to be left alone. But he's soon drawn into the neverending melodrama of the streets as a good friend is gunned down and his friends conspire to get revenge against a street gang that wants to take over their turf.

Everyone in the cast impresses, but special kudos go to Christopher Jackson as Vertus, the neighborhood drug dealer, Dyllon Burnside as the young innocent who seems destined to be drawn into the neighborhood wars, and Tonya Pinkins as John's mother. Ben Thompson, as the only white member of the cast, shines as the garage mechanic who gives John a job and whose rebuilt Cadillac becomes a symbol of both escape and possibility.

If there's one criticism, it's that the women in the story are reduced to stereotypes, hot girlfriends and sainted mothers who sing and dance but never break out of predictable reactions. Of course that might have a lot to do with Tupac and his admittedly misogynist worldview.

Critics have complained that the plot is stuffed with cliches, but you have to wonder how many Broadway journalists have any real-world experience with the cycle of poverty, drugs, and violence in which these characters exist. I found "Holler If Ya Hear Me" emotionally moving and hugely entertaining, a show that parents from every class and race should bring their children to see. Do it now, before the show closes. You won't regret it.