Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Did Critics Think This Story Deserving Of Long Broadway Life?

Calling the show "utterly conventional," Ben Brantley of The New York Times is largely dismissive: "In addition to jettisoning the usual excesses of tourist-trapping extravaganzas, they have tossed away such niceties as originality, credibility, tension and excitement. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to tell you that Mr. Gets’s character is dead when the show begins. So, for all practical purposes, is The Story of My Life.... The problem is that when a show sticks as closely as this one does to the bare bones of a sentimental formula, it needs to adorn those old bones with fresh flesh. The Story of My Life doesn’t try to disguise its clichés."

Deeming the tuner "generic," David Rooney of Variety is also critical: "This flavorless new musical is not exactly terrible, but it's not terribly interesting, either, which makes you wonder why its producers thought it belonged on Broadway. Whatever the reason, it's unlikely to be staying long.... Even in its most touching moments, this dull, drippy show never makes you care much.Matching the story and characters, the songs don't leave any lasting impression. They are pretty, melodic, interchangeable and more than a little derivative."

Sniping that the musical "will probably require (a eulogy) soon for itself," Frank Scheck of New York Post awards just one and a half stars: "Director Richard Maltby Jr. fails to leaven the overall tedium. The actors are similarly adrift. While Gets at least provides some intensity to his turn as the neurotic Alvin, Chase fails to bring any life to his blandly repressed character, signaling emotions mainly by putting on or removing his jacket."

Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's Daily News also slams with his two out of five star review: "Gets and Chase are likable actors stuck playing stick figures.... Besides being formulaic -- whenever Tom gets stuck while writing the eulogy, it's time for another crumpled piece of paper and a flashback -- the creators frustratingly dangle plot points."

Blasting the show as "banal, improbable and unrelentingly derivative. And boring? Please," Newsday's Linda Winer whines: "After all the flashbacks, guilt trips and ancient sexual hang-ups, we never do believe that Alvin, with his curiosity and creativity, would have been so stunted. The snow angels, however, are very pretty."

With poor reviews like these, can closing notices be far behind?

UPDATE (2.21.09, 6:50 p.m. EST): Alas, The Story Of My Life will in fact close on Sunday, February 22.

Labels: Brian Hill, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Malcolm Gets, Musical, Neil Bartram, Richard Maltby Jr., The Story Of My Life, Will Chase

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, February 20, 2009 2 comments

The Story Of My Life (The SOB Review)

The Story Of My Life (The SOB Review) – Booth Theatre, New York, New York

** (out of ****)

Little did I know upon my arrival at Broadway’s Booth Theatre that my all-time favorite film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” would have a starring role alongside Will Chase and Malcolm Gets in this sentimental and spare musical.

A musical so spare, I might point out, that the non-existent second act is the one you're supposed to discuss on your way home, according to its creators Neil Bartram (score) and Brian Hill (book).

But there it is, as The Story Of My Life’s score and book unrepentantly and continually raise the specter of George Bailey and Clarence throughout. At times, the parallels are brilliant. Yet at others, it's so haunting that it becomes borderline creepy. In The Story Of My Life, two lifelong friends influence each other’s ultimate path. It’s their seemingly inconsequential, shared experiences that reverberate through their lives with all the effect of a butterfly on the weather.

One, Alvin Kelby (Gets), stays behind in their small hometown to help run the Writer’s Block bookshop owned by his ailing father, while the other, Thomas Weaver (Chase), is not only inspired to write, but goes on to great success, that is until he suffers from -- you guessed it -- his own writer’s block.

While the Frank Capra classic receives prominent mention, it’s another movie, “Groundhog Day,” that I couldn’t help but think of each time the musical’s moment of truth appeared to be at hand. Over and over during the course of this 90 minute show, The Story Of My Life’s assured actors repeat one defining moment of their friendship. While each successive pass gets them further and further, they never truly break through to the truth Weaver seeks, but they certainly manage to arrive at a somewhat satisfying conclusion from Kelby’s perspective.

The Story Of My Life is one of those quaint little feel good musicals that would surely feel more at home on an Off-Broadway stage. While far from a big Broadway blockbuster, it's sweetness is hard to resist.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Brian Hill, Broadway, Frank Capra, Groundhog Day, It's A Wonderful Life, Malcolm Gets, Musical, Neil Bartram, Richard Maltby Jr., The SOB Review, The Story Of My Life, Will Chase

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, February 20, 2009 2 comments

New Story Given Life On Broadway

New Story Given Life On Broadway

This evening, The Story Of My Life -- a new two-hander musical with Will Chase and Malcolm Gets as lifelong friends -- will open at Broadway’s Booth Theatre.

Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr., The Story Of My Life features a score by Neil Bartram and book from Brian Hill, a couple of real-life friends who first met during a shared gig in a Toronto production of Forever Plaid. It was in that same Canadian city where this new tuner got its start before moving on to Connecticut’s Goodspeed Opera House on its journey to the Great White Way.

Will critics think this is a story deserving of a long Great White Way life?

Find out tomorrow as I not only share my critics’ capsule, but I’ll also provide my own SOB Review.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Brian Hill, Broadway, Malcolm Gets, Musical, Neil Bartram, Opening Night, Richard Maltby Jr., The Story Of My Life, Will Chase

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, February 19, 2009 1 comments