Promises, Promises (The SOB Review)
Promises, Promises (The SOB Review) - Broadway Theatre, New York, New York** (out of ****)
On paper, Rob Ashford's new revival of Promises, Promises -- the only Broadway tuner ever written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David -- was not only promising, but it seemed poised to be a sure-fire hit.
Pair one of the Great White Way's most beloved contemporary musical/comedy stars (Kristin Chenoweth) with one of the last decade's most memorable television actors (Sean Hayes), throw in a couple more of Bacharach and David's most popular hits, move the action of Neil Simon's book up a half decade to capitalize on "Mad Men," and voila! A smash, right?!
Unfortunately, the only smash comes in the form of the massive collision of sensibilities between this revival's two wildly, divergent acts (not to mention how contextually misplaced those added songs are). The first is so horrendously conceived and downright boring, that you may be tempted to leave at intermission. The only saving grace is Hayes' occasionally winning take on C.C. Baxter, the office climber who's hoping to impress office cafeteria waitress Fran Kubelik (Chenoweth, whom I regret to say is miscast). But even Hayes' C.C. too frequently comes off as just this side of Jack.
The shocker is that the second act is so significantly better than the first that you're actually relieved you stuck this one out. That's largely because of the yeoman efforts of the superb Katie Finneran. She not only saves the day with her deliriously funny portrayal of the tipsy Marge MacDougall, but she also salvages the show.
You can't help but contemplate the promise of what might have been had Ashford maintained the same tone throughout. Instead, I'm sorry to say, we're merely stuck with broken Promises, Promises.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Labels: Broadway, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Katie Finneran, Kristin Chenoweth, Musical, Promises Promises, Revival, Rob Ashford, Sean Hayes, The SOB Review
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, April 30, 2010
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