Second Verse, Better Than The FirstTwo nights ago, I had a fabulously ridiculous dream.
In it, I was seeing a Broadway show alongside
The New York Times' critics
Ben Brantley and
Charles Isherwood, two men I've never met in person, but have certainly observed. It was a bizarre dream to be sure, especially since much like the rest of last season, I found myself disagreeing with Isherwood's assessment of the show, but agreeing with Brantley's (fortunately in this phantasm, the Gray Lady's
senior critic was responsible for writing the review).
Imagine my delight upon waking to find myself
agreeing with Isherwood regarding his
excellent assessment of replacement casts.
In particular, I could not agree with him more that
A Little Night Music constitutes the "must-see" production this summer. It's been positively transformed, largely on the heartstopping performance of
Bernadette Peters. So transformative was her rendition of "Send In The Clowns" that you could hear a pin drop as she delivered it.
Having also seen Peters and her replacement
Reba McEntire in the most recent Broadway revival of
Annie Get Your Gun, I have to admit to concurring with his assessment that McEntire's performance eclipsed that of the tried-and-true Broadway Baby she replaced. I enjoyed Bernadette Peters in the title role, but the scrappy McEntire was born to play Annie Oakley. It is rather ironic that until I saw Peters as Desiree Armfeldt, Reba McEntire was my favorite Broadway replacement I ever had the thrill of seeing.
Additional props to Isherwood not only for discussing how truly disappointing the successors to
Nathan Lane and
Matthew Broderick were in
The Producers, but also for mentioning the fine replacements
Jonathan Pryce and
Estelle Parsons made for
John Lithgow (
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and
Deanna Dunagan (
August: Osage County), respectively. While I thought Pryce's sophisticated delivery of the con artist Lawrence was an improvement over Lithgow, I'm convinced after
beholding Dunagan perform as Violet Weston yet again last week that no one can ever quite match her bravura Tony Award-winning performance.
That goes double, by the way, for Dunagan's co-star
Rondi Reed as Mattie Fae Aiken. I've witnessed two other actresses attempt making that delicious role their own. Try as they might, neither could erase my fond memory of
the quintessential Mattie Fae. Coincidentally, Reed has also succeeded in winning my heart as the absolute best of the dozen or more Madame Morribles I've ever seen in
Wicked.
So, dear readers, who are
your favorite replacements? Or if your fabulously ridiculous dreams could come true, whom would you want to see as replacements in a current Broadway show?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A Little Night Music, Annie Get Your Gun, August Osage County, Bernadette Peters, Broadway, Charles Isherwood, Deanna Dunagan, Jonathan Pryce, Reba McEntire, Replacements, Rondi Reed, Wicked
If Musical Theatre Rocks, What Is The Next Edge?Two weeks ago at the Tony Awards,
Spring Awakening's talented tunesmith/orchestrator
Duncan Sheik and winner of two honors proclaimed victoriously, "Musical theatre rocks!"
Fair enough. I can't quibble with that. Thanks to Sheik's masterful orchestrations, he positively raised the roof on the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre with a great score.
But in
yesterday's New York Times, Charles Isherwood affirms that "the theater establishment appears happy to be so rocked," all the while asking whether the 50+ year old musical style will finally rule the Great White Way. As my mother would say, he's a day late and a dollar short.
Coming years after repeated
death notices were written for rock, primarily because it has long since ceased carrying any serious threat of danger, rebellion or outright anarchy, shouldn't Isherwood instead be considering the possibility that music that's truly at the cusp of societal evolution is the logical next step?
Let me be plain. Yesterday's edge is today's safe. What may have pushed the envelope in acceptable taste is conventional today. Certainly that is the case with rock music. On the whole, it really hasn't changed that dramatically over the past thirty years since the
advent of punk.
When sexagenarians like
Sirs Paul McCartney and
Mick Jagger are still churning out the kind of music that once made parents nervous, it now seems practically as wholesome as a glass of milk. Rock 'n' roll -- no matter who's posturing under its aegis today -- can hardly be considered as vital as it once was.
Which leads me to ask: Isn't Isherwood just a few years too late? Shouldn't Isherwood be contemplating where musical theatre's
new edge is? Shouldn't we be discussing the dearth of musicals aimed at minorities and vacuum in genres like hip-hop or rap or something completely revolutionary? What is the next next?
I'd be very curious to hear what you think.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Charles Isherwood, Musical, Rock Music, Spring Awakening
Were Tony's Greatest Would-Be Contenders Off-Broadway?In a thoughtful, yet provocative story in this morning's
The New York Times,
Ben Brantley and Charles Isherwood opine that some of the best of New York's theatre during the 2005-06 season were found Off-Broadway -- firmly out of the technical grasp of the Tony Awards. Together, they cite such productions as Horton Foote's
The Trip to Bountiful and the musical
Grey Gardens (which
will see a Broadway mounting during the next year) as prime examples of shows that would have merited multiple Tony nods if only the American Theatre Wing's rules allowed for theatres with smaller capacities to be included for consideration.
Brantley and Isherwood also sang the praises of such outstanding plays as
Abigail's Party,
All's Well That Ends Well,
Defiance,
In The Continuum,
Landscape of the Body,
Private Fears In Public Places,
Red Light Winter,
Stuff Happens,
The Little Dog Laughed and
Third; while taking note of the musical
"[title of show]". Naturally, many of the shows simply don't transfer to the larger Broadway stage because of the almighty dollar and fears over lack of wider commercial success. Sadly, these productions often have some of the best talent, both on-stage and off.
Frankly, I agree with their assessment. This was a less than satisfying Broadway season. All but one of my 10 "SOB Best of 2005-06 Theatrical Season" selections were produced outside the confines of Broadway (
Sweeney Todd was my only Broadway choice to make my top ten)
. Eight of my picks were outside of New York altogether.
Will the tide turn? It's not likely anytime soon, and that's why I usually try to balance my trips to Broadway with sidetrips Off-Broadways. Hopefully, if you love good theatre, so do you.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Tony Awards tickets.
Related Stories:The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Revival of a Play (June 5, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Revival of a Musical (June 4, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Play (June 3, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (Royce Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA) (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre, London, UK) (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (Brooklyn Academy of Music – Harvey Theatre, New York, NY) (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (Steppenwolf Garage, Chicago, IL) (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN) (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre, London, UK) (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 17, 2006)
Tony Award Nominations Announced (May 16, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY) (May 15, 2006)
The SOB Five "Worst" of 2005-06 (May 12, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Labels: [title of show], Ben Brantley, Broadway, Charles Isherwood, Grey Gardens, Off-Broadway, Stuff Happens, Sweeney Todd, The Little Dog Laughed, The Trip To Bountiful, Tony Nominations
Second Verse, Better Than The First
