A Tale Of Two Closing NoticesWhat's the rush for producers of
A Tale Of Two Cities?
Shutter the thought, but
apparently, they're cutting their losses early as they are expediting the closing for Broadway musical flop. The show will close tomorrow instead of one week from Sunday.
To use of the critical quotes currently highlighted on the tuner's Web site (thank you
Elysa Gardner), it's impossible not to be moved. Surely, these must be the worst of times for the cast and crew alike.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Broadway, Closing Notices, Elysa Gardner, Musical
A Tale Of Two MonthsPerhaps it was a far, far better thing on paper than the turkey that opened just two months ago at Broadway's
Al Hirschfeld Theatre, but the two-month old tuner
A Tale Of Two Cities used Election Day in electing to post its closing notice for November 16. Perhaps they thought no one would notice!
The $16 million musical, adapted from
Charles Dickens' classic book, opened to
dismal reviews. The critical response, mixed with a tough economy, resulted in a tepid box office. This past week, the show attracted a capacity of only 44.5% -- hardly enough to sustain itself over the long haul.
Personally, I had absolutely no desire to see this show, particularly after taking the advice of countless friends, as well as witnessing the overwrought and overblown debacle on the West End known as
Gone With The Wind.
Once it closes,
A Tale Of Two Cities will have performed just 68 regular performances.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Box Office, Broadway, Charles Dickens, Closing Notices, Gone With The Wind, Musical
Critics Mostly Find Musical Tale As Worst Of TimesLast spring, London had its inglorious over-the-top literary-derived flop with
Gone With The Wind - The Musical. Apparently, now it's Broadway's turn, as critics gleefully dug and twisted their knives into
A Tale Of Two Cities - The Musical, which opened last evening at the
Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Critics had a dickens of a time with the show, with their reviews taking direct aim at
Jill Santoriello, whom many noted began writing the book and score 22 years ago. Helmed by
Warren Carlyle,
A Tale Of Two Cities is the first -- and one presumes it will long remain the only -- stage musical adapation of
Charles Dickens' classic 1859 historical novel opens.
Deriding it as a "lumpish musical adaptation,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley pans: "This stolid poperetta, which features book, music and lyrics by Jill Santoriello and is directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, is one of those unfortunate shows that are neither witty in themselves nor able to inspire wit in others. To say it could have been worse -- i.e., gloriously, hilariously bad -- is not a cause for rejoicing."
Deeming
Tale as a "middling Masterpiece Musical, a paint-by-numbers throwback,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer provides a somewhat middling review: "It has lots of nice period costumes and good actors singing their lungs inside out on material that all sounds the same.... The results, especially considering the relative inexperience of the creators, are surprisingly solid. The show is less bombastic than some examples of the musical-potboiler genre, less foolish than some others. If this sounds like a recommendation, you know whom you are."
Lamenting that
Tale Of Two Cities "is so formulaic it feels recycled and reused, but not refreshed,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News is more critical in his two and a half (out of five) star review: "The book, lyrics and music are by newcomer
Jill Santoriello, who's been working on the project for 20 years. The inexperience is evident from the borrowed moments and characterizations from other shows.... The music should fill emotional gaps, but like stealthy revolutionaries, songs drift in and out without rousing much attention, even anthems belted at maximum volume.... Classics will always have a place on Broadway. The lesson of
A Tale of Two Cities is that they need imagination and innovation."
Suspecting that "any show that boasts more producers than leading actors must be suspect,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes musters up a one and a half star (out of four) review: "Jill Santoriello's book clings closely to Dickens' own, with some nips and tucks, but her lyrics are unimaginative and her music sounds like
Les Miz and dishwater.... Here is an attempt at an epic musical with no superstructure to support it.... Helping this low-rent musical rise even to one and a half stars are
Tony Walton's ingenious skeletal settings and impressionistic backcloths,
David Zinn's stylish costumes and
Richard Pilbrow's imaginative lighting."
Calling the "hammy ending" "inexcusable," Bloomberg's
John Simon eviscerates the show: "Santoriello's tunes could give 'familiar' a very bad name, although some of them avoid embarrassing indebtedness by virtue of being tuneless. Worse yet are her lyrics, whose inspiration must have been the rhyming dictionary, and a skimpy, pocket-size one at that. As for her book, there is the template of Dickens's tawdry and melodramatic novel, famous for its first line ... and its last ... and for nothing of note in between."
Criticizing "Jill Santoriello's pell-mell pageant of bad wigs, worse lyrics, and a handful of decent melodies,"
The New York Sun's
Eric Grode clearly demonstrates he's seen far, far better shows: "Ms. Santoriello -- who has been working on the score, lyrics, and book since 1986, the heyday for pop-opera treatments of this ilk -- and director/choreographer Warren Carlyle get bogged down in finding room for all the heroism and squalor and vengeance. By the end,
Two Cities chugs along like a student scrambling to finish the assigned reading before the test, dragging its hard-working cast along."
So folks, any guesses on just how soon we'll see the closing notices posted?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Book, Broadway, Charles Dickens, Critics' Capsule, Jill Santoriello, Musical, Warren Carlyle
A Tale Of One Opening Night
A Tale Of One Opening NightThis evening, the very first Broadway musical version ever of
Charles Dickens' classic 1859 historical novel opens. Helmed by
Warren Carlyle,
A Tale Of Two Cities comes to life as a tuner with a book and score by
Jill Santoriello.
The cast includes
James Barbour as Sydney Carton and
Aaron Lazar as Charles Darnay, along with
Broadway stalwart
Gregg Edelman as Dr. Alexandre Manette and one of my favorite touring musical actresses,
Natalie Toro as Madame Therese Defarge.
Will critics find the best in this show? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule of the reviews for
A Tale of Two Cities.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Aaron Lazar, Book, Broadway, Charles Dickens, Gregg Edelman, James Barbour, Jill Santoriello, Musical, Natalie Toro
Broadway Preview: A Tale Of Two CitiesThis August, it could either be the best of times or the worst of times for new musicals based on other source material. What the Dickens am I talking about?
Well, come August 19, the very first stage adaptation of
Charles Dickens' classic
A Tale Of Two Cities to hit the Great White Way, incredibly enough, since
Freeman Wills' 1899 adaptation
The Only Way was
revived in 1902 will begin previews!
Helmed by choreographer
Warren Carlyle (
Mame, 2006,
Kennedy Center)
, the new version of
A Tale Of Two Cities will make its Broadway debut at the
Al Hirschfeld Theatre ... as a
musical, with book and score by
Jill Santoriello.
Although the show enjoyed a March out-of-town tryout at Sarasota's
Asolo Repertory Theatre (which drew raves from
Man In Chair), casting for the Main Stem has yet to be announced. But if indeed the Rialto production elicits critics' praise as being the best of times upon its September 18 opening,
A Tale Of Two Cities can settle in for a long, open-ended run.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Broadway Preview: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (June 25, 2008)
Broadway Preview: [title of show] (June 24, 2008)
Broadway: What's Next (June 20, 2008)
Barbour Affair: A Minor Trifle? (January 9, 2008)
Starring Roles Whether Or Not They're The Ones You Want (August 16, 2007)
Which Broadway Musical Will Depart Next? (August 21, 2006)
Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Broadway, Charles Dickens, Jill Santoriello, Man In Chair, Musical, Prev, Warren Carlyle
Barbour Affair: A Minor Trifle?I remember sitting in the audience for the recent touring production of
Camelot, thumbing through my Playbill and realizing that
James Barbour would be in the production.
It wasn't his terrific portrayal from
Assassins as President
William McKinley's killer
Leon Czolgosz that sparked my recognition. No, it was something even more sinister.
Although I'm a big believer in innocent until proven guilty, I couldn't help but think of the
indictment against him throughout the course of the performance and how bizarre it seemed that someone with those charges against him would be free to traverse the country.
Now, he's pleaded guilty to
two lesser misdemeanor charges of sexually fondling a then-15 year old girl. But according to
New York Post's
Michael Riedel, that includes engaging her
a la Bill Clinton. As part of the plea bargain, he won't be subject to sex offender laws, which means he can travel the country without any type of notification
and he can work with minors.
Riedel points out that Barbour will still be moving forward with his lead role in the upcoming Broadway-bound
Tale Of Two Cities musical:
On Feb. 29, Barbour, who was also in Beauty And the Beast" and Assassins, will be sentenced to two months in jail and three years' probation for endangering the welfare of a minor.
His stint in the clinker (with good behavior, he'll be out in 38 days) shouldn't interfere with the production schedule of A Tale Of Two Cities.
Mothers, no doubt, might have a dickens of a time allowing their young daughters to see this show unescorted.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Assassins, Broadway, Camelot, James Barbour, Michael Riedel, Musical
Starring Roles Whether Or Not They're The Ones You WantThe second Broadway revival of
Grease may be opening this Sunday, yet suddenly the spotlight is falling on several "
You're The One That I Want" reality show contestants who coveted the roles of Danny and Sandy, but didn't quite make it.
The reason? They've been cast elsewhere.
First among them,
as I noted two days ago, is
Ashley Spencer. While she may have lost to Laura Osnes in the NBC television show, she ultimately
technically beat Osnes to the Great White Way with the plum role of Amber von Tussle in
Hairspray. On the very night Osnes began previews in
Grease, Spencer began performing in the long-running Tony Award-winning musical.
Then yesterday came word via
Playbill that
Derek Keeling has been cast as Charles Darnay in Jill Santoriello's musical version of
Charles Dickens' classic
A Tale Of Two Cities -- a $12 million show with an eye toward a 2008 Broadway berth that will premiere this October at Sarasota's Asolo Repertory Theatre.
Then today,
Playbill carried the announcement that
Chad Doreck would replace Matthew Buckner in the long-running Off-Broadway favorite
Altar Boyz beginning September 3. Up til now, Doreck's major claim to fame has been the voice of "Crackle" for
Rice Krispies. Hopefully, his voice won't summarily follow in the role of Matthew.
Finally, apart from
participating in the weekly "
After Party" at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in May,
Austin Miller -- the actor/singer most likely to succeed, although he failed to garner more votes than
Max Crumm -- has yet to announce any major theatrical gig. But he was pretty awesome as Link in the
original touring production of
Hairspray alongside
Carly Jibson and
Bruce Vilanch; while Jibson and Vilanch eventually appeared in the Broadway version, Miller never had the opportunity and quite frankly, I never understood why.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Altar Boyz ticket information.Click here for A Tale Of Two Cities tickets.Click here for Grease tickets.Click here for Hairspray tickets.Related Stories:Hairspray's Stunt Casting Sticks (August 14, 2007)
Broadway Grosses: Greasing The Skids (August 7, 2007)
Which Upcoming Broadway Musicals Will You See? (June 15, 2007)
Max And Laura Go Together (March 26, 2007)
Behind The Grease Paint (March 24, 2007)
Grease: The Ones That I Want (March 22, 2007)
Apparently Grease Is The Word At Ticketmaster (January 9, 2007)
Sandy And Danny: Who Are The Ones You Want? (January 6, 2007)
The Sound Of Praise (November 16, 2006)
It's A Reality: The Sound Of Music Revival Comes Alive In London Tonight (November 15, 2006)
I've Got Chills, They're Multiplying: NBC Reality Show to Cast Grease (August 8, 2006)
Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Altar Boyz, First Word On New Show, Florida, Grease, Hairspray, Musical, Off-Broadway, Television
