Catered Affair Issues Final RSVP Dates
Catered Affair Issues Final RSVP DatesAs I learned last Sunday at the wonderful Tony soirées, all good parties must come to an end. And so it goes with A Catered Affair, which posted its closing notices last evening.
The final performance at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre will come on July 27. The show will have played a total of 116 regular performances.
Leave it to the tuner's librettist and star to sum it all up via Michael Riedel this morning. Harvey Fierstein says:
We set out to do something different, and we did it. We wrote a show that is for the real theater audience, not for the audience that watches "You're The One That I Want" -- not that there's anything wrong with that! But we're not a summer show for the tourists. After July, we go off the cliff.Riedel quotes Fierstein further on what might have been...
...had we gotten one of those f***ing breaks. Like a Tony. Or a critic who had a social life and an emotional life. That would have helped.Ouch! Of course, in reality, several critics offered positive notices, including New York Post's Clive Barnes with his four star review, USA Today's Elysa Gardner and Variety's David Rooney. And I loved it, ranking it as my second favorite new musical of the last theatrical season.
But instead we have those critics who have never had a boyfriend. Or a date since 1912. They don't know what love is. They go to the theater every night. How do they get laid?
Based on Paddy Chayefsky's kitchen sink film "The Catered Affair" starring Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds and Rod Taylor, A Catered Affair features a score by John Bucchino. John Doyle directed the musical, which stars Fierstein along with Faith Prince, Tom Wopat, Matt Cavenaugh and Leslie Kritzer.
As luck would have it, I ran into a very stunning Leslie Kritzer the other night at the August: Osage County affair and had an opportunity to talk with her about how absolutely moved I was by A Catered Affair. Mark my words, this is one gracious, gifted actress whose star will shine brightly in the Broadway spotlight.
Alas, the time of Prince, Wopat and Fierstein in A Catered Affair's won't be much longer. Catch it while you can.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Top Ten Of The Year (June 2, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Musicals (May 29, 2008)
A Catered Affair (The SOB Review) (May 16, 2008)
A Snubbed Affair (May 14, 2008)
And The Tony Nominees Go To... (May 13, 2008)
Whoopi! Tony Eligibility And More Handicapping (May 9, 2008)
Did Affair Positively Cater To Critics? (April 18, 2008)
A Catered Opening Night (April 17, 2008)
Early Tony Handicapping (March 25, 2008)
Wildfires Force Closure Of La Jolla And Old Globe Theatres (October 23, 2007)
Harvey Fiersback (October 5, 2007)
Were Left Coast Critics Feting A Catered Affair? (October 3, 2007)
San Diego Opening Is Catered Affair (September 30, 2007)
Which Upcoming Broadway Musicals Will You See? (June 15, 2007)
Fierstein To Musicalize Bette Davis' Fave Flick (March 21, 2007)
Labels: A Catered Affair, Broadway, Closing Notices, Faith Prince, Harvey Fierstein, John Bucchino, John Doyle, Leslie Kritzer, Michael Riedel, Musical, Tom Wopat
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, June 20, 2008
2 Comments:
I felt so sad when I read this late last night, although I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I think Harvey does have a point - about a small slice of life getting trampled by the big blockbuster musicals, although I guess he could have phrased it in a more elegant way. But that's Harvey, I guess!
Anyway, he's such a Broadway legend and I'm really glad I had a chance to see him on stage. Plus, it was my introduction to John Bucchino's music, and I think the score is gorgeous. Call me crazy, but I even kind of liked Harvey's voice in "Coney Island!"
"A Catered Affair" was such a sweet little gem and I liked the way it explored the life and aspirations of a working class family in the 1950s in New York City.
I've seen - and loved - all different types of musicals this year, and A Catered Affair definitely added something unique to the mixture.
Esther, I believe the show deserved far better. But I realize I'm in the minority - glad you're in the minority with me.
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