Ana Gasteyer To Fly Into Broadway's WickedIf you're a regular reader of
Steve On Broadway, you'll know that I'm unabashedly an enthusiastic, longstanding fan of
Wicked. I first saw it on the Great White Way two days after it opened and have subsequently seen it more times than I care to admit, including the sit-down Chicago berth as well as the touring production.
I've seen many Elphabas, but aside from
Idina Menzel's Tony-award winning characterization, my favorite Wicked Witch of the West of all has been
Ana Gasteyer's exquisite, nuanced portrayal first seen in Chicago. Now,
finally, Broadway audiences will be treated to her unique, idiosyncratic take on the great green one when she flies into the
George Gershwin Theatre for 13 weeks beginning October 10 once again opposite
Kate Reinder's Glinda (both are pictured above).
And did I mention that Gasteyer can sing? If you haven't already seen
Wicked, my advice is to get to New York to see Gasteyer and Reinders together for a performance you won't soon forget.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Jaaku or Neikan? Wicked Set for Japanese Translation (July 24, 2006)
Julia Murney: Worth the "Waiting" (July 20, 2006)
Five Times More Wicked (July 17, 2006)
Rejoicify and Festivate! Chicago's Wicked Celebrates First Anniversary (June 16, 2006)
Wicked Becomes Broadway's 8th Overall Cumulative Grosser Among Current Hits (June 2, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Approaching One Year, Chicago's Wicked Continues to Captivate (May 23, 2006)
Wicked's West End Witches Update (May 17, 2006)
Worldwide Wicked Casting News (May 5, 2006)
Encore: Spotlight Week Ending April 30, 2006 (April 30, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Musical, Wicked
On Golden Pond (The SOB Review) - Main Hall, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN*** (out of ****)There's no denying the lasting appeal of
Ernest Thompson's
On Golden Pond, a modest drama from 1979 on aging and the prospect of death, coupled with a family's reconciliation. There's also no denying the talent offered by two of television's all-time favorite prime-time parents
Tom Bosley and
Michael Learned in the lead roles of Norman and Ethel Thayer. Both expertly wring out of their characters the emotions that run parallel with growing old and the realization that life really isn't very long.
But unfortunately, the
Leonard Foglia-helmed revival -- having just begun the first leg of its national tour in Saint Paul -- feels incredibly tiny on the stage. Perhaps it's just the venue -- the
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' Main Hall is downright cavernous. But the simple nature of the story itself never packs the emotional wallop you're expecting it to have.
At the heart of the drama is Norman Thayer's estranged relationship with his 42 year old daughter Chelsea, stridently played by a very stiff
Kate Levy. When Chelsea and her new boyfriend Bill (
Evan Pappas) leave his son Billy (understudy Dylan Perlman) with Norman and Ethel so they can spend a month alone in Europe, Norman turns from an old curmudgeon into hipster during intermission. There's never any explanation for Norman's metamorphosis or why young Billy has so easily bonded with the man who's 67 years his senior. It's as if significant scenes were ripped from the production in the interest of moving the story along in a quick two hours.
When Chelsea returns as a married woman, she's essentially rebuffed by a father who admits to never liking her. Yet, almost inexplicably, the new-improved Norman tells Chelsea in the final scene -- via telephone -- that he loves her. While the subtext is clearly that young Billy has had a profound impact on Norman's outlook on life, we never get to experience it. And that's probably the biggest deficiency in this otherwise pleasant little show.
Clearly, it's a deficiency that the very appreciative audience was more than happy to overlook, as evidenced by their rousing standing ovation at the end. But what could have been a more intimate and dramatic examination of how even old dogs can learn new tricks and appreciate new ways of looking at life, was instead completely left to the imagination.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
On Golden Pond's tour dates include:
St. Paul, MN -- Now-September 2, 2006 (Main Hall, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts)
San Antonio, TX -- September 12-17, 2006 (Majestic Theatre)
Nashville, TN -- September 19-24, 2006 (Andrew Jackson Hall, Tennesse Performing Arts Center)
Philadelphia, PA -- October 31-November 5, 2006 (Merriam Theater)
Birmingham, AL -- November 28-December 3, 2006 (BJCC-Concert Hall)
Tampa, FL December 5-10, 2006 (Carol Morsani Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center)
Salt Lake City, UT -- January 16-21, 2007 (Kingsbury Hall)
Click here for On Golden Pond ticketing for St. Paul.Related Stories:Cast Set to Sail On Golden Pond Tour (July 19, 2006)
Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, On Golden Pond, Play, Revival, The SOB Review, Touring Production
The Real Thing (The SOB Review) – McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN
**** (out of ****)
With some of the sharpest, wittiest writing among plays of the past quarter century,
The Real Thing is the real deal.
Tom Stoppard’s excellent London-based comedy on the meaning of true love is both eminently smart and deliciously accessible under
Joe Dowling’s expert direction, as well as through its superb ensemble, including
Jay Goede (Henry),
Kathryn Meisle (Annie),
Sally Wingert (Charlotte),
Lee Mark Nelson (Max),
Jonas Goslow (Billy), Elizabeth Stahlmann (Debbie) and Mike Rasmussen (Brodie). Its content is every bit as fresh today as it likely was when it first appeared during its critically-acclaimed Broadway run from 1984 through 1985.
As the play begins, all is not what we think it is, thanks to a clever plot devise employed by Stoddard. Indeed, this decidedly false start is further exaggerated by fabulously faux scenic details by
John Arnone in place of authentic items. But when the real story begins, the detail becomes rich with complexity all around as two married couples -- Henry with Charlotte and Annie with Max -- confront infidelity, detached love and jealousy. In this case, Henry and Annie break-up with their spouses to explore their love together, only to have it tested by additional players outside their relationship.
Goede is in top form and exceptionally convincing as Henry, the “old sod” playwright who doesn’t readily show his emotions or affections. Yet when he does -- with the absolutely poetic language Stoppard speaks through Henry -- his dialogue is as romantic as it gets. Goede is breathtaking to watch, and this is the best I’ve seen him since he toured in
Cabaret with
Norbert Leo Butz back in 2000. Meisle, who previously was recognized with a Tony nomination for her turn in
Tartuffe in 2003, is every bit Goede’s equal and displays raw emotions through her luminescent, expressive eyes. It’s not hard to grasp why so many men are smitten with her Annie.
Nelson and Wingert are spot-on wonderful, both as a perceived couple in the first scene, as well as the jilted spouses throughout the rest of the play. Stahlmann is a delight as Henry and Charlotte’s daughter Debbie, who tells it like it is and presents Henry with a paradigm shift on his thinking. Goslow as Annie’s crush-cum-suitor is both silly and sweet, while Rasmussen as the stray soldier Brodie blends just the right mix of anger with ignorance to make his plight understandable.
As the first regular production in the Guthrie Theater’s McGuire Proscenium Stage,
The Real Thing is a joy to behold and is a great harbinger of
things to come. This production runs through September 24.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Labels: Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The Real Thing, The SOB Review, Tom Stoppard
Dame Maggie Smith Confirmed for London Albee RevivalReports this morning confirm that
Dame Maggie Smith -- one of the greatest living actresses in theatre and film, as well as one of my personal favorites -- will indeed be taking on the role of Elizabeth in a February revival of
The Lady From Dubuque in London.
As I've
previously reported, Smith and producer
Robert Fox sought -- and have now confirmed --
Anthony Page to direct the
Edward Albee play. Page is best known to New York audiences for helming stunning revivals of classics on Broadway, including his Tony Award-winning work for
A Doll's House in 1997,
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof in 2003, and last year's Albee classic,
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?I last had the immense pleasure of seeing Smith perform together with
Dame Judi Dench in the 2002 London production of
David Hare's emotionally rich
The Breath Of Life. While there had been much speculation that that production would ultimately be transferred to Broadway, it never materialized. So it looks as though the best bet for seeing these great Dames remains traveling to London.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:The Dame as a Lady: Maggie Smith to Return to the Stage? (June 30, 2006)
Labels: Judi Dench, London, Maggie Smith, Play, Revival, The Breath Of Life, The Lady From Dubuque
Is It Close-to-Curtains for The Producers? Something utterly unthinkable just a few short years ago has already happened to Broadway's most Tony-winning musical
The Producers: it is now among the lowest capacity performers among all shows currently on the Great White Way. In fact, for the second consecutive week, it has sold less than 60% of its seats and continues to slide. This week, it came in at just 57.9% of capacity.
The notion that
The Producers would fade just five years into its run would have been a laughable notion back in the day when stars
Nathan Lane and
Matthew Broderick were keeping happy audiences rolling in the aisles while making it
the Broadway show to see.
Even though the current box office take is still a respectable $518,278, it is now selling hugely discounted seats -- this from the show whose producers had the audacity to sell tickets at previously unheard of prices. Indeed, seats for September through November 22 performances are now selling for a cool $61.25 (Tuesdays through Thursdays) and $66.25 (Friday through Sundays) for anyone using Code
PR5PBEM.
Does such a steep discount through the fall portend doom for the show? Could the
St. James Theatre soon find its 1706 seats available for another musical comedy homage to the theatre:
Curtains? I'll be watching the future of
The Producers very closely.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Which Broadway Musical Will Depart Next? (August 21, 2006)
Labels: Box Office, Broadway, Musical, The Producers
Mother Courage And Her Children (The SOB Review) – Delacorte Theater, New York, NY*** (out of ****)One thing is certain in the stunning, if sometimes uneven,
Tony Kushner adaptation of
Bertolt Brecht’s
Mother Courage And Her Children. It provides so many surprises on so many creative levels that it’s hard to believe that this is ostensibly a
free production. Instead of the bitter drama I was expecting, Kushner serves up an astoundingly humorous and disarmingly
musical depiction of how and why ordinary people support war.
Thanks in part to the direction of
George C. Wolfe, as well as Kushner’s reworking of this modern anti-war classic -- based on the Thirty Years War of the 1600s --
Mother Courage And Her Children resonates with ample allegories to America’s own ongoing, seemingly endless military conflicts in an altogether human, profoundly personal fashion.
Most astonishing to me was the level to which Kushner and musical collaborator
Jeanine Tesori have turned this into a well-orchestrated musical -- with memorable tunes I found humming to myself after departing Central Park’s
Delacorte Theater. Additionally,
Paul Gallo’s elaborate lighting design and
Riccardo Hernández’s rugged set design help to practically pull the audience into the action.
Not surprising was how easily
Meryl Streep can captivate, thus making the three-hour running time breeze by. Indeed, whenever this icon of American acting brilliance is on the stage, she's firmly in command. Given the complexity of her title character, who makes unrepentantly ill-fated choices for her family -- particularly as the hard-nosed business woman making a profit from the death and destruction all around her -- there are few actresses who could pull off the phenomenal feat Streep accomplishes. And did I mention she can sing?
In a wonderful supporting turn,
Kevin Kline provides Courage with affection and an urgent sense of hope when the tide has turned against her. Standout performances were also delivered by
Jenifer Lewis as Yvette -- an earthy, bawdy Belgian -- and
Frederick Weller as Courage’s all-too brave soldiering son Eilif. Also deserving of special mention is
Alexandria Wailes who expertly portrayed Courage's mute daughter Kattrin with heartbreaking beauty.
As mentioned above,
Mother Courage is an uneven production. At its best, the show is breathtakingly excellent. But given the sheer enormity of the production, there are long pauses where the show is disjointedly incoherent, and its often heavy-handed demagoguery sometimes backfires.
However, on the whole, if you want to catch a performance that will be the talk of New York theatre for years to come, make every effort to see Meryl Streep in her own courageous journey.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Did Critics Think This Mother of All War Plays Lived Up to the Courage of Its Convictions? (August 22, 2006)
Public Theater's Mother Courage Opens Tonight in Central Park (August 21, 2006)
Walken Away from Public Courage (July 13, 2006)
Public Theater's 2006 Shakespeare in the Park Officially Starts (June 30, 2006)
The Public Theater at 50 (June 5, 2006)
Labels: Meryl Streep, Mother Courage And Her Children, Off-Broadway, Public Theater, The SOB Review
Nunn Finds His Porgy And BessI'm officially
ecstatic now that casting has been announced for the upcoming
Trevor Nunn revival of
Porgy And Bess.
Clarke Peters and
Nicola Hughes will take on the title roles in the
Gareth Valentine-helmed production set for a November 9 opening.
While fairly unknown to American audiences, Hughes received an Olivier nomination in 2001 for her performance in the British mounting of
Fosse.
Peters is best known to American audiences for his turn as Lester Freamon on television's "
The Wire," but theatrical audiences know him for his Tony nominated book for
Five Guys Named Moe back in 1992, as well as his subsequent Broadway roles as Billy Flynn in the current
Chicago revival and as Joe Mott alongside
Kevin Spacey in the critically-acclaimed revival of
The Iceman Cometh in 1999.
While my appetite has already been whetted for
Porgy And Bess, it's Clarke's inclusion that makes this a must-see event for me. That's because of my fond, vivid memories of his outstanding nuanced performance in the captivating 1988 London mounting of
Driving Miss Daisy.
In it, Peters was paired with theatrical legend and Academy Award-winning actress
Dame Wendy Hiller in the titular role (Hiller was one of
George Bernard Shaw's favorite actresses for which she was rewarded with leading roles in
Pymalion and
Major Barbara). This excellent, small-scale production of
Driving Miss Daisy was wowing London's Apollo Theatre audiences one year
prior to the Academy Award-winning
movie version with
Morgan Freeman and
Jessica Tandy.
I now look forward to having Peters wow me again.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Trevor Nunn's West End Porgy and Bess Will Transfer to Broadway (July 25, 2006)
Nunn Better: Porgy and Bess Set for London Revival (June 30, 2006)
Labels: Clarke Peters, Driving Miss Daisy, London, Musical, Porgy And Bess, Revival
Chita Rivera to Make Return "Visit" in DCSeventy-three years ago, Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero -- better known as
Chita Rivera -- was born in Washington, DC. Just over a year from now, Washington's most legendary gypsy will return home for a new staging of
The Visit, a
John Kander/
Fred Ebb collaboration that was first mounted with Rivera by Chicago's
Goodman Theatre back in 2001. The new mounting will begin anew at the DC-area's respected
Signature Theatre (Shirlington, Virginia) under the direction of
Frank Galati (
The Pirate Queen) with choreography by the amazing
Ann Reinking (
Chicago).
Rivera has often hinted that she'd like another shot at this black musical comedy role of Claire Zachanassian, the world's wealthiest woman with a score to settle. The original production was obviously not the hit she'd hoped for, and it never reached New York as planned. Of course, coming in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, perhaps the show was perceived as being much too dark for the time. Still I regret not having had an opportunity to see it, but am excited by the prospect of making my own visit to DC for this upcoming incarnation.
You see, although I've been a huge fan of Chita Rivera for many, many years, I actually never saw her perform
live until catching her Tony-nominated turn as Liliane La Fleur in the 2003 Broadway revival of
Nine. She took my breath away with a performance that literally stopped the show -- it's one of only four stage performances I've ever witnessed where the audience leapt to its feet for a standing ovation immediately after a number.
Since
Nine, I've been fortunate to sit directly in front of her during one of her
Feinstein's at the Regency gigs, and then in the front row for
Chita Rivera: the Dancer's Life earlier this year. Now, I'm committed to seeing her whenever I can -- and when I'm feeling down, I find myself popping in my DVD of the "
Sweet Charity" film just to marvel at her exquisite rendition of "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" with
Shirley MacLaine and
Paula Kelly.
Of course, Rivera is going to have a very busy year ahead of her. She's already committed to taking the aforementioned
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life on tour, beginning January 2 in Miami and concluding June 3 in Buffalo. But I'm already plotting the September 2007 dates I'll be able to visit Rivera during her DC
Visit.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Signature Theatre ticket information.Click here for Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life tour ticket information.Labels: Chita Rivera, First Word On New Show, Musical, The Visit, Washington DC
High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity ImperialFor all those musicals
I've described as circling the Great White Way like vultures, one has officially found its prey in the
Imperial Theatre. With previews set for November 20 and opening night on December 7,
High Fidelity (based on the
2000 film) will replace the exiting
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at this 1417 seat venue.
The
Walter Bobbie-helmed musical boasts a book by
David Lindsay-Abaire (
Rabbit Hole) and original score by
Tom Kitt and
Amanda Green. The cast includes
Will Chase (
Lennon),
Jenn Collela (
Urban Cowboy) and
Christian Anderson, among others). The show will begin its
Boston tryout next month at the Colonial Theatre.
Now that
High Fidelity has found its Broadway berth, where will
Curtains land? Although there's been considerable speculation that
Curtains was circling over the
Al Hirschfeld Theatre (current home to
The Wedding Singer), 1215 seats would seem to be much too small to successfully accommodate this unusually large production. So
I again throw out the possibility that
The Producers' days may be numbered. Time will tell.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, High Fidelity, Musical
Lieutenant of Inishmore to Lay Down Arms September 3One of Broadway's darkest of dark comedies --
The Lieutenant of Inishmore -- has announced a September 3 closing date.
Martin McDonagh's critically-acclaimed production received five Tony Award nominations including for Best Play. All totaled, it will have enjoyed 142 regular performances.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Play, The Lieutenant Of Inishmore
Barrington Stage Opens a New Window for Sandy Duncan as MameThe Berkshire's Barrington Stage has just announced that they've found their
Mame in actress
Sandy Duncan.
Donna McKechnie was originally slated for the role.
Although Duncan's perhaps most widely known for her stints on television's "
The Hogan Family" from the late 80s and her wonderful short-lived "
Funny Face" sitcom (that later became "
The Sandy Duncan Show") back in 1971 -- as well as serving as a long-term spokesperson for
Triscuits -- Duncan has had an accomplished experience treading the boards over the last forty-plus years. In fact, she earned three Tony nominations: for 1969's
Canterbury Tales, 1971's
The Boy Friend and 1980's
Peter Pan. She's also been among the countless stars to portray Roxie Hart in the ongoing Broadway revival of
Chicago.
Personally, I've had a chance to catch her far from Broadway in two perfectly delightful roles: as Reno Sweeney in an engaging 2002 staging of
Anything Goes and then again two years ago as Anna Leonowens in a decent touring production of
The King And I with
Martin Vidnovic. To be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised not only by her singing but also by her hoofing. She was charming in making each character her own.
Having the captivating
Christine Baranski revival of
Mame so fresh in my memory, I've still got to wrap my mind around Duncan in this challenging role. But given how well she's surprised me before, she just might be able to swing leaving her own mark on Mame Dennis.
The
Julianne Boyd-helmed
Mame will run October 4-15 at
Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Labels: Christine Baranski, Mame, Musical, Revival, Sandy Duncan
Critics Find Frost/Nixon to Be UnimpeachableMonday night marked the opening in London of
The Donmar Warehouse world premiere of
Peter Morgan's
Frost/Nixon, which was based on the famous 1977 interviews by
Sir David Frost of disgraced U.S. President
Richard Nixon. With
Frank Langella as Nixon and
Michael Sheen as Frost, director
Michael Grandage appears to have another major success -- in terms of critical acclaim -- to his credit.
Providing 4 stars out of 5,
The Times'
Benedict Nightingale writes: "[W]hat gives the evening its frisson is partly the sense of watching history being made, and also the not-wholly-different characters of the principals....Factual, fictional, it makes for riveting drama."
The Guardian's
Michael Billington also bestows 4 out of 5 stars, noting, "[T]he real fascination of Morgan's play lies in its suggestion that, behind the contest, there was a symbiotic link between Frost and Nixon....The magnificent central performances offer an intriguing contrast."
Paul Taylor of
The Independent also strikes a laudatory, if cautionary, note: "
Frost/Nixon [is] a sharp, witty and haunting production by Michael Grandage....A canny, flawed, and fascinating piece."
Variety's
David Benedict also has praise: "As much about the rise of talkshow host David Frost as it is about the fall of Richard Nixon, his play is the story of two men, both in love with power. Their addiction to it is made all the more engrossing by Michael Grandage's taut, perfectly cast production....That Grandage's fleet zinger of a production should move to the West End, or even more likely, Broadway, is less a matter of conjecture than of inevitability."
Perhaps it's that last note that should give American audiences some hope that they might have another chance to get a fresh look inside the mind of their 37th President, all from the perspective of being more than thirty years beyond his resignation.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:London's Frost/Nixon Opens Tonight (August 23, 2006)
Sheen/Langella to Portray Frost/Nixon in London (June 2, 2006)
Labels: Critics' Capsule, Frost/Nixon, London, Play
Will Usher Razzle Dazzle 'em?Alright, I know I've already been quite dismissive of the stunt casting of R&B superstar
Usher Raymond (yes,
Raymond! Who knew?) in the nearly decade-old revival of
Chicago, but I'm willing to listen to what anyone else has to say about his performance as Billy Flynn, which begins tonight.
One blogger whose opinion I value is
Chris Caggiano. Chris, who writes
Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals, had this to say after Usher's casting was announced: "I have little doubt that Usher in
Chicago will be very lucrative for the Weisslers. But I have a feeling that his presence will distract people from the show itself. "
Does this 27 year old self-assured crooner have the necessary chops to make for a believable shyster attorney? With all the buzz, including in some positive press like last Friday's
The New York Times story by
Campbell Robertson, there's bound to be some modicum of success.
One thing has already been assured -- tickets are selling at a brisk pace and Usher's entrance into this durable show may attract fresh audiences to Broadway's
Ambassador Theatre; hopefully that will result in a newfound love for the medium of theatre in more than one Usher fan.
I think it was in that spirit that blogger
Stephen Mosher has rightfully asked, "Won't it be funny if Usher is actually good?" Yes, and you can bet that Usher will have the last laugh -- along with the Weisslers!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:We Had It Coming: Chicago's Starry 10th Anniversary (July 26, 2006)
Chicago to Usher in New Billy Flynn (July 14, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Chicago The Musical, Musical, Revival, Stunt Casting, Usher
Did Critics Think This Mother of All War Plays Lived Up to the Courage of Its Convictions?Fresh on the heels of Chicago's theatrical event of the year (
Gypsy) comes New York's response in the form of
Mother Courage And Her Children, which opened last night at Central Park's
Delacourte Theater. I say "response" because this is shaping up to be the Big Apple's biggest "must-see" show in years, despite critical response that runs the gamut.
Clive Barnes of
New York Post opines that "...[A] production this ambitious and worthy is simply not to be missed, even if you do have to camp out overnight to snare a ticket." Of
Meryl Streep, Barnes heaps on the praise saying she, "[R]egisters yet another triumph as
Mother Courage....[S]he gives a vibrant, powerful and highly entertaining performance that's compelling from start to finish -- and even gets a chance to sing onstage again, for the first time in years."
In providing an enthusiastic 3 1/2 stars out of 4,
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner effuses, "[J]ust the chance to see an enduringly great star in an enduringly great play is worth the wait on line for tickets."
Calling
Tony Kushner's adaptation of
Mother Courage "uneven," the labored review by
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times pointedly asserts that the play "is one of those great plays that almost never play great -- at least, not in English." While Brantley says that Streep's performance in the titular role rarely coheres, he acknowledges that "Ms. Streep finds her best Brechtian self in song. 'The Song of the Great Capitulation,' which
Mother Courage sings at the end of the first act, is one of the most artful and intense musical performances to be found on a New York stage, as Ms. Streep flutters, fights and wallows her way through her character’s philosophy of life. Desperation, cynicism, passion that should have died long ago but still flickers against the odds: all this is implied in every gesture, every note. For one luminous moment, you understand what this play is meant to be."
Variety's
David Rooney calls Streep "[R]iveting. This is a full-bodied, swaggering characterization, emboldened by fierce intelligence, quicksilver emotional shifts, inexhaustible physicality and, most of all, sly humor....But inevitably, it's Streep who dominates every scene, her control, focus and energy never faltering in a performance made of both broad strokes and the most nuanced of insights, of wicked comic asides and flashes of pain beneath the bravado."
Contrast that with the characterization of Streep's performance as a "bit of a letdown" offered by the New York
Daily News'
Joe Dziemianowicz, who laments, "
Mother Courage is by design episodic and repetitive, so it's a challenge to make it energizing, not exhausting. This one teeters more to the latter due to a meandering adaptation and long, insistent songs, which make for an epic-length (three-hour) evening."
I'll let you know my personal opinion after I take in this
free Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park performance over the upcoming weekend.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Related Stories:Public Theater's Mother Courage Opens Tonight in Central Park (August 21, 2006)
Walken Away from Public Courage (July 13, 2006)
Public Theater's 2006 Shakespeare in the Park Officially Starts (June 30, 2006)
The Public Theater at 50 (June 5, 2006)
Labels: Critics' Capsule, Meryl Streep, Mother Courage And Her Children, Musical, Off-Broadway, Public Theater, Revival
Which Broadway Musical Will Depart Next?This is shaping up to be a major year for the Broadway musical. If you include the musicals that have already opened --
Martin Short: Fames Becomes Me and
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway -- there are thirteen shows that have been confirmed for the 2006-07 theatrical season. Plus, there are still many more tuners circling like vultures in need of a theatre. Which raises the question: Which
current musical(s) will go the way of
Sweeney Todd and
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in seeing an early demise?
Much of the guessing has centered on
The Wedding Singer. True,
Laura Benanti's temporary departure and weekly capacities in the 60+ percent range haven't quelled the speculation, yet reports of its impending death may be greatly exaggerated. The show continues to take in a half million dollars each week, and rumors abound about upcoming cast changes. One rumor was just confirmed in the case of
Matthew Saldivar's replacement: "
American Idol" finalist
Constantine Maroulis. Still, there's no doubt that many a show would love to land at the 1215 seat
Al Hirsdhfeld Theatre.
Then there's the most celebrated musical this decade:
The Producers, which has never been quite the same after the departure of its original stars
Nathan Lane and
Matthew Broderick. The musical comedy attracted only 59.5% of its capacity last week. Sure, it's still taking in over $500,000 each week, but its glory days have long since passed. The question is, are its producers willing to pull the plug just yet? With 1510 seats at the
St. James Theatre, its departure could pave the way for a large-scale production to take its place.
The rest of Broadway's musicals are enjoying about 80% or better in terms of capacity so it appears very doubtful that we'll see any of them close anytime soon.
The current slate of original (non-revival) and/or transferred productions includes, in chronological order:
Announced musical revivals include:
So what's looming out there?
First and foremost, there's the last collaboration of John Kander and Fred Ebb, Curtains, which seems assured of a Broadway mounting this fall or early 2007. However, it is desperately in need of a large house to help producers recoup high costs associated with the production.
Without being specific, book writer Rupert Holmes has told The Journal News' Peter Kramer: "[T]his show in particular is a big show and there are only a few theaters that it can go into that will allow it to make back its investment. It's not a matter of being greedy. It's math. There are some shows where, even if you sell out, you still can't make money because of the expense of the show. that only a couple Broadway theatres are suitable." Is the 1417 seat Imperial Theatre -- being vacated by Dirty Rotten Scoundrels -- the appropriate size? Or would it require the even larger St. James?
Curtains ' show-within-a-show "Robbin' Hood" is a pre-Broadway production set at Boston's Colonial Theatre. Ironically, an actual pre-Broadway tryout is set for the very same Colonial this September with the Walter Bobbie-helmed High Fidelity, based on the film of the same name from 2000. With tunes by Tom Kitt and Amanda Green and book by David Lindsay-Abaire, High Fidelity has everything it needs in place (including cast: Will Chase, Jenn Collela and Christian Anderson, among others) except for a Broadway stage. Still, the show is still expected to land there as early as November. This appears to be a relatively small musical that wouldn't necessarily require a large house.
Less certain are adaptations of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" and Frances Hodgson Burnett's "A Little Princess." While it's previously been announced that Jill Santoriello's musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities had a choreographer and design team in place, it certainly won't be ready as originally promised for a October 2006 bow on Broadway. While Princesses -- with book by Bill and Cherri Steinkeller and original score by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel -- had its world premiere at Seattle's Fifth Avenue Theatre last year, its last major movement toward a Broadway berth was its March 9 reading at New York's Dodger Stages. No word on theatres for either one.
Among revivals, a revival of The Wiz has been in the works for over three and a half years. Originally planned by Des McAnuff for a Broadway mounting in 2004, his production will finally see the light of day at the La Jolla Playhouse this September 26, but there's been no definitive word on a Broadway transfer.
There are also persistent rumors of an imminent Broadway transfer of the critically-acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production of Sunday in the Park With George. While the show has already closed in London, a 2007 Broadway mounting is widely considered to be a fait accompli. But again, there's no news regarding where it will land.
Certainly, as movement occurs, I'll be reporting on it. In the meantime, my anticipation is already building for many of these musicals.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Box Office, Broadway, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Musical, Sunday In The Park With George, Sweeney Todd, The Producers, The Wedding Singer
The Latest "Dirt" From the RoadNow that the Broadway mounting of
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is set for a September 3 closing, all eyes appear to be focused on the touring production that got its start earlier this month in Seattle and is now enjoying a two-week run at Los Angeles'
Pantages Theatre (next stop is just down the road in Orange Country, August 29-September 10). With actor
Norbert Leo Butz continuing his Tony-winning turn as Freddy Benson (for the first six legs of the tour), how are the critics responding?
During the tour's first stop, the
Seattle Times' critic
Misha Berson was kind overall, saying: "[T]his stage remake of the movie "
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" sports a shrewd, zesty book by
Jeffrey Lane and an equally zesty score by
David Yazbek, whose clever lyrics are almost worth the price of admission. And if you're in the mood for a rib-tickling diversion with absolutely no redeeming social value, this tuner's a hoot."
While dismissing much of the show, the
Seattle Post Intelligencer's
Joe Adcock seemed to revel in Butz's on-stage antics: "With
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, now playing at the Paramount Theatre, we're....relying on a sensational star. The show is mildly cute at best and intensely irritating at worst. But ... there's Norbert Leo Butz....an amazing comic actor."
During the tour's second leg, there has been even greater disparity among the reviews ranging from the gushing
F. Kathleen Foley of the
Los Angeles Times -- "Those who haven't had the opportunity to see it yet would be well advised to beat a path to the Pantages Theatre box office. If there were a theatrical Richter scale measuring entertainment value, this show would register a tectonic 10" -- to the Los Angeles
Daily News'
Evan Henerson's decidedly rotten review: "
Scoundrels coughs and wheezes. Why? Because, plotwise, there genuinely is no earthly reason to be interested....A discerning audience shouldn't be buying."
Much of what Henerson had to say seems to be a rehash of the original review by
The New York Times' Brantley. At least I'll say this for Brantley --
when he went back to re-review the show after
Jonathan Pryce entered the tuner, he seemed to experience an epiphany. A return visit clearly didn't do the same for Henerson, who claimed to have seen the pre-Broadway run in San Diego: "Compared to the
Scoundrels (with Butz and [
John] Lithgow) I first caught two years ago in San Diego, this show feels perfunctory. A wicked black sensibility I could stomach gratefully. By-the-numbers diffidence is another matter."
One can only wonder what the critics will have to say after Butz take his final bow in Dallas in October.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Reckoning: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to Close in September (August 17, 2006)
Down and Dirty in Seattle (August 4, 2006)
Star Rising: Nicole Van Giesen (June 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Film, Musical, Touring Production
Jackman Receives Hero's Welcome HomeNow that
Hugh Jackman has returned home to his Aussie roots with his arena-style performance as
Peter Allen in
The Boy From Oz, what have the critics said?
Sandra McLean of
The Courier Mail effuses that this was: "[A] virtuoso performance that ended in a standing ovation and confirmed that this guy is disgustingly talented."
Martin Ball of
The Age gushes: "[W]hat a wizard of a show it is. What began life eight years ago as a musical has now become an arena spectacular, and while Allen and his songs are the ostensible reason, this is really The Hugh Jackman Show."
In the
North Shore Times, critic
Catherine Zuill states: "A powerful presence on stage, Jackman was clearly very much in command and confident that this dazzling musical production originally written by
Nick Enright for a much smaller stage, could work on a larger scale."
The
Sydney Star Observer's Martin Portus notes: "Tickets aren't cheap but, in short, Jackman delivers in spades and so does the show....If Peter Allen would have had any complaints, it might have been that Jackman gets more billing than his story. It's really Jackman's own cabaret show, resting on his effortless charisma, engagement and skills. He holds every minute of our attention."
Who can blame the Australian media for getting caught up in the frenzied celebration of one of their country's best-loved current stars? Perhaps the most unbiased point of view came from the outside looking in -- from
Variety's David Rooney, who, instead of fawning all over Jackman's Australian homecoming, delivers a fair perspective: "It's as much a concert platform for a returning local boy made good in Hollywood as it is a life story of Peter Allen. And that's no bad thing....While Jackman is clearly playing a part, mincing and cavorting and flirting up a storm, there are equal parts of his own persona at play with Allen's. The strong sense of an international star acknowledging his roots, eager to give something back to the country he came from will ensure this show an enthusiastic welcome across Australia."
While
The Boy From Oz was not, in and of itself, a great show on Broadway, and while the
gay subtext has been dumbed-down for the supposedly open-minded Australian masses, there's no mistaking the brilliant performance by its Tony-winning star, Hugh Jackman. And that alone would be worth the price of admission back home Down Under.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Boy From Oz Goes Home Tonight (August 2, 2006)
He's Back! The Boy from Oz Returns Down Under (July 5, 2006)
Labels: Australia, Critics' Capsule, Hugh Jackman, Musical, The Boy From Oz
London's Frost/Nixon Opens TonightDirector
Michael Grandage, whose musical revivals of
Guys And Dolls and
Evita have electrified London audiences over the past year, is about to enjoy yet another opening this evening. But this time, it's by taking
dramatic license with the historic mid-7os interviews of the only United States president to ever resign --
Richard M. Nixon -- by
Sir David Frost in
Peter Morgan's
Frost/Nixon. In
The Donmar Warehouse production,
Frank Langella will portray Nixon, while
Michael Sheen takes on the role of Frost.
While the
Frost/Nixon interviews made for compelling television back in 1977, will a dramatic theatrical recreation be riveting enough to capture critical buzz? We'll find out over the next few days as critics review the production.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Sheen/Langella to Portray Frost/Nixon in London (June 2, 2006)
Labels: Frost/Nixon, London, Opening Night, Play
Public Theater's Mother Courage Opens Tonight in Central ParkTonight marks the official "world premiere" of
Tony Kushner's adaptation of the classic
Bertolt Brecht anti-war drama
Mother Courage and Her Children at Central Park's
Delacorte Theater. Not since
Meryl Streep graced New York's unique outdoor venue has there been such an outpouring of interest in the
Public Theater's
free Shakespeare in the Park performances. It's no coincidence that this latest production also stars Streep -- who in
Mother Courage's titular role seeks to make a profit from the same Thirty Years War that is killing her children.
The
George C. Wolfe-helmed production of
Mother Courage and Her Children will be performed through September 3. In addition to Streep, the cast includes
Kevin Kline,
Jack Noseworthy,
Austin Pendleton and
Frederick Weller.
The New York Times' Manny Fernandez yesterday painted an interesting perspective on the secondary drama being played out each evening in the line that's been forming in Central Park among those seeking the coveted event tickets.
For anyone traveling into New York from out of town with hopes of seeing the play, perhaps the best bet is to make a 100% tax deductible donation to the Public Theater of $150 per ticket. The
Public Theater notes that "To help underwrite production expenses and to make it possible for those who cannot wait in line to attend the theater, a specific (but limited) number of seats in alternate rows are made available to contributors for each performance. Tickets for contributors are reserved and are received in advance by mail."
Tomorrow, I'll be reporting on how the critics weigh in on this theatrical event.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Related Stories:Walken Away from Public Courage (July 13, 2006)
Public Theater's 2006 Shakespeare in the Park Officially Starts (June 30, 2006)
The Public Theater at 50 (June 5, 2006)
Labels: Meryl Streep, Mother Courage And Her Children, Musical, Off-Broadway, Opening Night, Public Theater
Does London's Guys and Dolls Still Swayze Critics?Now that
Patrick Swayze has officially opened in Michael Grandage's acclaimed West End revival of
Guys And Dolls, what are the critics saying?
Most enthusiastic was the
Daily Telegraph's Elena Seymenliyska: "Patrick Swayze finally made his belated debut as Nathan Detroit in Michael Grandage's
Guys And Dolls -- and, boy, was it worth the wait....[O]nce he starts to sing -- and better still, to dance -- he sprinkles armfuls of magic dust all around."
The Times ' Sam Marlowe still recommends the show (with 3 stars out of 5), but cautions, "[T]here is a hole where the show’s heart should be -- and that is the fault of the leading performances, Swayze’s among them....[W]hile his Nathan Detroit is loose-limbed and nimble, he lacks lightness of touch. Every gesture, every joke, appears overdeliberate and a shade mechanical."
The toughest criticism comes stateside.
Matt Wolf of The New York Times is downright dismissive: "Swayze sounded O.K. but cut a decidedly goofy, charmless figure, at odds with the rhythms, ethnicity and humor of a role that has been bizarrely cast before....The result has a trickle-down effect on a production from Michael Grandage that blew the lid off the Piccadilly Theatre when it first opened nearly 14 months ago....Still, the British have long prized
Guys And Dolls above all Broadway musicals, and it would appear to take more than some newly pervasive miscasting to dampen their enthusiasm. At the performance last Wednesday, the show was sold out and got a standing ovation."
The tuner is currently booking through January, but a touring production will hit the road in the United Kingdom next month as performances begin at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. There has been no further word on whether Grandage's revival will eventually reach Broadway.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:
Swayze Lands London's Detroit Role (June 5, 2006)
Sheen/Langella to Portray Frost/Nixon in London (June 2, 2006)
London’s Theatrical Hodge-Podge (May 30, 2006)
London's Guys And Dolls 1st Anniversary Ticket Offer (May 27, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre, London, UK) (May 26, 2006)
Guys and Dolls Imported to Broadway from London? (May 15, 2006)
Labels: Critics' Capsule, Guys And Dolls, London, Musical, Revival
Cabaret's Conservative Casting ChoicesForget all the chatter about bold casting choices for
Rufus Norris' upcoming London revival of
Cabaret. Everyone from
Eddie Izzard to
Natalie Portman were rumored for the pivotal role of Sally Bowles.
In the end, established dramatic actress
Anna Maxwell-Martin will assume the role; English comedic actor
James Dreyfus will portray the emcee. American actor
Michael Hayden, who previously cut his teeth on the Cliff Bradshaw character in
Sam Mendes' celebrated revival of
Cabaret, will return to that role. So much for throwing caution to the wind.
Thankfully, one rumor that proved to be founded in fact was the casting of
Sheila Hancock as Fraulein Schneider. It was Hancock's incredible performance as Miss Hannigan in the original 70's mounting of
Annie in London that first whetted my theatrical appetite that remains insatiable to this day. I'd love to take in this new production if only to see Hancock once again.
Previews for this classic
John Kander/
Fred Ebb musical begin at the West End's
Lyric Theatre on September 22 with a opening night set for October 10.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Another Cabaret? It Couldn't Please Me More (July 5, 2006)
Labels: Cabaret, London, Musical, Revival
Critics Find Martin Short's Fame Only Somewhat BecomingThe latest pastiche of musical whimsy and "autobiographical" theatre opened last evening via
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. On the whole, critics appeared to enjoy some of the show, but sounded as though they'd seen most of it before.
Perhaps the best review comes from
Variety's David Rooney, who writes, "If there's a slight feeling of insubstantiality since the show never really abandons jokiness to expose the man behind the performer centerstage, Short nonetheless delivers a good time."
Ben Brantley of The New York Times gives a guarded critique, saying, "...[I]nstead of being pure pleasure, it’s merely pleasant, rather like a decent summer-replacement comedy sketch series on television....Mr. Short twinkles beguilingly throughout the hit-and-miss farrago that is
Fame Becomes Me. But, bless his heart, he has yet to find a show that lets him shine as he was meant to."
Less kind is the 2-star review from
Clive Barnes of the New York Post: "You need something called material. That was shown -- or rather not shown -- abundantly last night at the Bernard J. Jacobs Theatre, where the show
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me seemed buried neck-deep in talent....Here -- through no one's fault but his own -- Short is very much short-changed."
New York's Daily News critic Joe Dziemianowicz seems to agree: "Short is built for funny. He and everyone work their butts off. One guy even flashes his. But a lot of the material feels far too familiar....Short calls it 'a party.' But before you RSVP, just know some of the refreshments are past their sell-by date."
Finally,
The Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout provides what is surely the most savage review of all: "Make way for the first train wreck of the season.
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me is that most embarrassing of disasters, a toothless spoof of a tired subject."
Certainly, there's plenty of fodder for the tuner's marketing team to come up with decent quotes for their advertising campaign, and since Teachout's review was about the only flat-out pan, it's quite possible that New Yorkers and visitors merely seeking a summer laugh or two may decide this could be just the ticket.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Fame Becomes Martin Short Tonight on Broadway (August 18, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Musical
The Reckoning: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to Close in SeptemberBrace yourself for lots of stories proclaiming, "It was a ball, it was a blast, it's a shame it couldn't last" with the announcement today that
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels simply couldn't last on Broadway without
Norbert Leo Butz. While Butz is currently helping the
touring production produce great big laughs in Los Angeles, the Great White Way version is set to close shop on September 3 after 666 regular performances.
I was really fortunate to see this hilarious Broadway show with its original cast just a couple days after it opened last year, and as I've mentioned in earlier postings, I even made the return trip to the
Imperial Theatre to catch
Jonathan Pryce in his deliciously devious take on Lawrence Jameson.
But I also confess that as infinitely inspired as I found Pryce's casting, I was conversely disappointed that
Keith Carradine and
Brian d'Arcy James supplanted Butz and Pryce in the two key male roles. I have nothing against either of them -- I know how celebrated Carradine was in 1991's
The Will Rogers Follies, and I truly enjoyed d'Arcy James' loutish portrayal of Sidney in the all-too-short-lived
Sweet Smell of Success (2002). But I could never wrap my mind around them -- particularly Carradine -- in
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
It appears that I'm not alone. Since the departure of Butz and Pryce, the weekly box office grosses have slumped to the 60+ percent range, although it did bump up to 70.8% this past week. Still, with many hotly anticipated Broadway-bound musicals still searching for a home, the decision apparently has been made to pull the plug early, and that can only benefit the tuner's touring production. However, it should be noted that Butz will pull out of that tour after its October 22 performance in Dallas.
So what's next for the 1,417 seat Imperial Theatre? Could it be the perfect home for a fall debut of
Curtains? Stay tuned!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Broadway tickets.Click here for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tour and ticket information.Related Stories:Down and Dirty in Seattle (August 4, 2006)
Star Rising: Nicole Van Giesen (June 26, 2006)
Great Scott...She's Back! Sherie René Scott Returns to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (June 21, 2006)
Butz and Pryce Flee the Scene on July 16 (June 5, 2006)
Wicked Becomes Broadway's 8th Overall Cumulative Grosser Among Current Hits (June 2, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 24, 2006)
Lucie Arnaz Plays Omaha Chic in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (May 23, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Film, Musical, Touring Production
Fame Becomes Martin Short Tonight on BroadwayIt's been seven long years since
Martin Short last graced a Broadway stage via his Tony-winning turn
s playing eight characters in 1999's
Little Me. But tonight, his fanciful "autobiographical" musical
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me opens at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre complete with songs by the celebrated Tony-winning team from
Hairspray:
Marc Shaiman and
Scott Wittman.
Several friends have already told me how much they enjoyed this farce -- and that was when it was in tryouts in Chicago. In fact, I've been told that the supporting players practically steal the show, even though several of Short's well-known characters like Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley are on-hand.
This marks Short's third time on the Great White Way -- having been Tony nominated in 1993 for
The Goodbye Girl and then again with
Little Me, will he continue to bat 1.000 with Tony voters? Perhaps we'll have an early indication after tomorrow's reviews come out.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Broadway, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Musical, Opening Night
Kiki & Herb Find Signs of Life Among CriticsMaking their first foray onto the Great White Way, Kiki and Herb are earning the respect of even the most jaded of theatre critics with their new show
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway.
Perhaps the most notoriously jaded critic of all is
The New York Times' Ben Brantley. Yet, even Brantley can't resist the allure that
Justin Bond and
Kenny Mellman breathe into their alter egos.
Brantley writes, "It is a tribute to the perverse showbiz genius of Kiki and Herb that once you twig on to this shameless trompe l’oeil, you don’t feel merely amused....Kiki and Herb onstage are Alive with a capital A, with all the human vitality and fallibility that that implies."
Over at the
New York Post, theatre critic
Clive Barnes gives this dynamic duo 3 1/2 stars, noting, "But last night at the
Helen Hayes Theatre, Justin Bond (Kiki) and Kenny Mellman (Herb), superlative actors and musicians both, resuscitated their lounge-act extraordinaire under the defiant title of
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway. Alive, and we might add, well! Very well, indeed."
Much less enthusiastic was
Elyse Gardner of USA Today who -- in addition to providing only 2 1/2 stars -- opined, "It's a premise that could make for a great comedy skit, and Bond certainly has the timing and dexterity to pull it off, but not for more than two hours. Much as I enjoyed most of the first half of
Alive on Broadway, I had the sinking feeling I might remember the experience more fondly if I left during intermission. I didn't, so I had to watch Bond's repartee with the more subdued Mellman grow thinner, although Mellman showed spurts of comical animation."
Agreeing with Gardner of the show's length was New York
Daily News'
Joe Dziemianowicz: "At 140 minutes, with intermission, the show goes on too long." Yet, Dziemianowicz also offers up one of those critique lines quite likely to find its way into future advertising: "It's shrill, delirious and demented."
Most critics accept the fact that Kiki and Herb may not be for everyone. Barnes evens sniffs that the folks in Peoria likely wouldn't understand the humor (although I can attest to the fact that a mere 150 miles northeast of Peoria, Kiki and Herb struck a huge chord with the Chicago audience attending
Steppenwolf's Traffic Jam last December). I might suggest that if visitors to New York really want to be entertained by an authentic slice of Big Apple life, Kiki and Herb may be just the ticket.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Kiki & Herb Celebrate Broadway Debut This Evening (August 15, 2006)
Kiki & Herb Spice Up Broadway This Summer (July 21, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Kiki And Herb, Kiki And Herb: Alive On Broadway
Making a Name for Itself: [title of show] ExtendsI have a confession to make. It appears that I've completely neglected to mention one of Off-Broadway's most talked-about musicals in years:
[title of show]. The little tuner about the creation of a musical for a theatre festival has been extended through October 1 at the
Vineyard Theatre.
The musical, written by and starring Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen, has come highly recommended to me by several friends and acquaintances who have seen it. Rarely have I seen such a confluence of opinion shared by friends and critics alike -- even
The New York Times'
Charles Isherwood recommends it, saying, "...[M]ay I have your attention, please, devoted aficionados of musical theater? Have I got a show for you!...What may sound arch or silly in theory is surprisingly charming onstage, thanks to the cockeyed humor of the writing and the pretense-free performances."
Now, with the new extension of three weeks, maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to witness first-hand why this show is making such a name for itself around the Big Apple.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: [title of show], Critics' Capsule, Musical, Off-Broadway
Kiki & Herb Celebrate Broadway Debut This EveningThe decidedly downtown New York City cabaret act of
Kiki and Herb takes over Midtown Manhattan tonight when
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway opens on the Great White Way. Performances will run through September 10 at the
Helen Hayes Theatre.
Kiki & Herb, also known respectively as
Justin Bond and
Kenny Mellman, are best known for their irreverent humor that targets society through song and spoken word. The duo received acclaim for their 11 week stint at
Carnegie Hall in 2004.
But what about their latest show? Will Broadway critics "get it"? We'll see in tomorrow's reviews.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Kiki & Herb Spice Up Broadway This Summer (July 21, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Kiki And Herb, Kiki And Herb: Alive On Broadway, Opening Night
