Beauty And The Beast (The SOB Review) - Main Hall, Ordway Center For The Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota ***1/2 (out of ****)Certainly, the tale
is as old as time.
By now, even Disney's Oscar-nominated
animated feature may already be showing its years. But I was positively swept away by the
Ordway's stunning new stage revival of
Disney's Beauty And The Beast. It seems like new again.
I had previously seen
Beauty And The Beast on Broadway -- once shortly after it first opened at the
Palace Theatre in 1994 and then again at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre a few years before it closed in 2007 when it was really showing its age.
So imagine my surprise and delight in seeing
Robert Johanson's incredibly fresh and fully-realized revival with exceptionally spirited acting (with one glaring exception), boisterous singing and rousing choreography (
Linda Talcott Lee), as well as
Kate Sutton-Johnson's gorgeous set design. Each of these elements popped even more thanks to its incorporation of a massive projection design.
Jeremiah James brings exceptional depth to the role of the Beast, humanizing him with tremendous skill. The comedic triple threat
Jonathan Burgard succeeds in stealing practically every scene by adding real muscle to his Gaston -- why isn't this guy on Broadway? But alas, the wooden
Laurine Price's Belle is out of her element, which is a shame given how essential this Beauty's role is to the story.
Nevertheless, this
Beauty And The Beast offers much for your eyes to behold. And it's perfect holiday entertainment for the entire family.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Beauty And The Beast, Disney, Jeremiah James, Jonathan Burgard, Laurine Price, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Revival, Robert Johanson, The SOB Review
Did Little Mermaid Find Its Legs Among Critics?Last month, after 50 preview performances,
Disney's stage adaptation of
The Little Mermaid opened at Broadway's
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Helmed by
Francesca Zambello, the
Alan Menken,
Howard Ashman and
Glenn Slater tuner stars
Sierra Boggess,
Norm Lewis,
Sherie René Scott and
Tituss Burgess.
Apparently the critics weren't biting.
Opening with "Loved the shoes. Loathed the show,"
The New York Times ' self-proclaimed exaggerator
Ben Brantley nevertheless pans in his one absolute must-read review. It's
that funny: "Directed by Francesca Zambello, this
Little Mermaid burdens its performers with ungainly guess-what-I-am costumes (by Tatiana Noginova) and a distracting set (by George Tsypin) awash in pastels gone sour and unidentifiable giant tchotchkes that suggest a Luau Lounge whipped up by an acid-head heiress in the 1960s. The whole enterprise is soaked in that sparkly garishness that only a very young child -- or possibly a tackiness-worshiping drag queen -- might find pretty....Coherence of plot, endearing quirks of character, even the melodious wit of the original score (supplemented by new, substandard songs by Mr. Menken and the lyricist Glenn Slater) have been swallowed by an unfocused spectacle, more parade than narrative, that achieves the dubious miracle of translating an animated cartoon into something that feels like less than two dimensions."
Noting how the show "begins to bloat by the end,"
Eric Grode of
The New York Sun offers a more mixed assessment: "So Disney has turned
Mermaid into the latest of its high-gloss screen-to-stage projects -- and the result is almost exactly half as clever and touching and tuneful as the film....Ms. Zambello's embellishments, for the most part, are not particularly welcome ones....Doug Wright has added backstory galore and a handful of grin-worthy puns ("As long as you live under my reef, you'll obey my rules!") but allows the action to bog down well before the final chorus....(Choreographer) Stephen Mear, takes the reins here, and the results are largely successful."
Citing "plastic, plastic everywhere, enough to lead you to drink,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes gives the show just one star: "Underneath all this baroque ornamentation was a tiny, tinny little musical struggling for its life....The music is sort of perkily lugubrious....The lyrics fade away either in a miasma of romantic fatuity or a haze of grimly dull jokiness....Yet throughout the long-littleness of the show, Mear's more than competent choreography shines out, as they say, like a good deed in a naughty world....There isn't much I can say of the cast -- all swimming upstream with a kind of grinning gallantry."
Assessing it as a "doggedly conventional, well-performed, middling bore of a show,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer is similarly uncharitable: "[T]he most amazing part of Disney's latest musical is its amazing shortage of originality -- not to mention magic or cross-generational wit....[D]irector Francesca Zambello and set designer George Tsypin -- both from the progressive wing of grand opera -- appear to have toiled mightily to come up with almost nothing new....Newcomer Sierra Boggess has both the creamy-voice lyricism and spunky spirit of a fine Disney heroine. Sean Palmer is suitably dashing, if a little mature for her, as Prince Eric."
Citing a bit of an improvement over the Denver tryout,
David Rooney of
Variety still offers a negative review: "The massive brand power of the beloved 1989 animated feature might make disappointment over the show's diluted charms irrelevant. But the impression remains that this is a case of winning material hitched to the wrong creative team....Sierra Boggess' Ariel is a perfectly lovely, vocally accomplished lead, but Doug Wright's book somehow loses the fundamental quality that made Disney's update of the
Hans Christian Andersen tale so captivating onscreen."
You can find my review of the Denver tryout by clicking
here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ben Brantley, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Disney, Film, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, Sierra Boggess, The Little Mermaid
Little Mermaid Finally Lands Opening NightNearly one month after it was originally scheduled to open on Broadway (those plans were jettisoned due to the Broadway stagehands strike),
Disney's stage adaptation of
The Little Mermaid finally opens this evening at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Under
Francesca Zambello's direction, the tuner features a book by
Doug Wright, along with a score by
Alan Menken,
Howard Ashman and
Glenn Slater.
Sierra Boggess lands her first major Broadway lead as Ariel, while
Norm Lewis portrays her father King Triton.
Sherie René Scott takes on the role of King Triton's sister Ursula, and
Tituss Burgess plays Sebastian.
I caught the show last September during its out-of-town Denver tryout. While
I gave good marks to the cast, whom I believe did their best with the material they were given, I found that it lacked the requisite Disney magic.
Is it possible that all that has been turned around during its unusually lengthy period of 50 previews? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
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Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:All Of Great White Way Gleams Tonight (November 29, 2007)
Little Mermaid Opening Delayed (November 20, 2007)
Riding In On A White...Mouse? (November 16, 2007)
The Little Mermaid (The SOB Review) (September 15, 2007)
Is Little Mermaid Major Disney Misstep?(August 31, 2007)
Updated: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post (August 24, 2007)
A Tale Of Two Tryout Cities (August 23, 2007)
Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Francesca Zambello, Musical, Opening Night, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid, The SOB Review
Riding In On A White...Mouse?Apparently, if there's any organization to thank for yesterday afternoon's announcement that
The League of American Theatres and Producers will finally go back to the bargaining table with
Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.), it's
Disney.
The House of Mouse holds a 99-year lease on Broadway's
New Amsterdam Theatre, which as the current home to
Mary Poppins remains one of the eight houses still open for business during the stagehands strike. But with
The Lion King and
The Little Mermaid languishing unperformed at the
Minskoff and
Lunt-Fontanne Theaters, respectively, Disney is losing a lot of money. Missing just four performances last week, Disney's gross on
The Lion King alone was down more than one half million dollars.
Compounding the strike issues, Disney had just begun previews for its fragile
Little Mermaid production, while scuttling its long-planned November 11 gala performance to celebrate
The Lion King's 10th anniversary on Broadway, widely credited with helping revitalize Times Square and 42nd Street.
According to
New York Post's
Michael Riedel and Kaili McDonnough, Disney's worried about the other shoe to drop -- the
all-important touring productions that could be potentially struck.
Riedel and McDonnough write:
The entertainment giant is dispatching its top labor lawyers to the table for the talks, which are scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. The meeting will be the first between the union and theater producers since the work stoppage went into affect over the weekend.
The stagehands consider Disney a good employer and believe it would be a neutral mediator in their battle, the sources said.
"We trust and respect Disney," a union source said.
Meanwhile, the producers also welcome Disney's involvement and think the company to bridge the wide gap between them and the stagehands.
Say what you want about Disney, but if they can truly help broker a deal, I say, give
The Little Mermaid a critical pass.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Finally, Back To The Table (November 14, 2007)
Will The Strike Go On Tour? (November 12, 2007)
Labels: Broadway, Disney, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, League of American Theatres and Producers, Local One, Lockout, Refunds, Stagehands, Strike, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (The SOB Review) - Ellie Caulkins Opera House, The Denver Center for Performing Arts, Denver, CO**1/2 (out of ****)When its entire considerable empire and reputation is built on
magic (heck, even
one of its cruise ships has been so christened), it's expected that everything bearing Disney's name will have a deft magic touch. But in
The Little Mermaid, Disney has allowed its good name to go adrift.
When
George Tsypin's set designs of everything from an underwater kingdom to ships sailing above to an earthly palace all resemble garishly cheap plastic pieces from a
My Little Pony revue, or when
Tatiana Noginova's costume designs look like
Julie Taymor rejects, or when
Alan Menken and
Glenn Slater's derivative tunes sound more like a bizarre hybrid of
Cabaret and
The Lion King,
The Little Mermaid swims into decidedly unenchanted waters.
Much has been made of director
Francesca Zambello's misguided decision to forego much of magic and for good reason. Instead of using either water or wires, she clearly chose to rely on the score, book and performances to capture the audiences' attention. But this
is Disney, isn't it?!
Here it must be noted that while the score was surprisingly lame (case in point: "Positoovity" comes off sounding more like a rip-off of "Hakuna Matata") with most of the high points coming directly from the original film score by Menken and
Howard Ashman,
Doug Wright's book at least propels the story into greater depths. He explores Ariel's choices and empowers her via a brave emancipation from her overprotective father. Yet there's not enough of the trademark Disney dual-edged wink and nod humor to keep it interesting for the adults. And I'm still baffled by how some of the sea creatures could be next of kin.
More importantly, the cast headed by a sweet
Sierra Boggess as Ariel the mermaid and a formidably fun
Sherie René Scott as the wicked Ursula is what provides the production its true iridescence. Thankfully, there's plenty of heart here.
Other standouts include a charming
Sean Palmer as Prince Eric, a chiseled
Norm Lewis as Ariel's father King Triton and audience favorite
Titus Burgess as Sebastian the crab. There's also a breakout star in the making as the young
J.J. Singleton steals key moments of the show as Flounder. But as Flotsam, Disney and
Altar Boyz fave
Tyler Maynard can't seem to shake the stereotypically fey roles he's perfected.
As much as most of those performances enhanced the show, along with
Stephen Mear's zippy choreography (courtesy of
Heelys),
The Little Mermaid is unfortunately bereft of one major essential element: Disney magic. When
Aida proves more interesting in the enchantment department, Zambello appears to be in over her head.
And while my Denver audience cheered enthusiastically once the would-be spectacle was over -- no doubt largely due to the top drawer cast, I can't help but believe New York audiences will leave disappointed unless Zambello seriously rethinks how to deliver the goods most Disney fans expect and demand. I know I did.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Is Little Mermaid Major Disney Misstep?(August 31, 2007)
Updated: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post (August 24, 2007)
A Tale Of Two Tryout Cities (August 23, 2007)
Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Francesca Zambello, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid, The SOB Review
Is Little Mermaid Major Disney Misstep?This morning's column by Michael Riedel of New York Post casts a long shadow of doubt on Disney's future on the Great White Way....not only because of the
sinking review by Variety 's David Rooney of the Denver tryout of
The Little Mermaid, but also because of Disney chief Robert Iger's apparent lack of affinity for all things Broadway.
So how endangered is this latest production before it even gets to the Big Apple? The $20 million tuner has amassed $10 million in advance sales, but the buzz coming out of Denver isn't great, especially with its "artsy" ethereal look and feel of both set and costume designs. Riedel notes, "What little girls from Scarsdale who carry
Little Mermaid lunchboxes will make of it is anybody's guess."
In his review, Rooney said, "What are those giant baroque corkscrews that keep appearing? And while we're on that track, did no one at any point worry that the designs for this show are just plain ugly? While director
Francesca Zambello is new to Broadway... (she) has allowed emotion, charm and enchantment to be drowned in a sea of bewilderingly over-stylized designs....
Doug Wright's book for
Mermaid joins the dots well enough but it constantly struggles against the visual conception, which distracts from the story's essence and makes it hard for the audience to lose themselves in the underwater environment....much of the humor falls flat. What's surprising is how underwhelming the movie's most delightful numbers are here."
Riedel hints that rumors are flying that Disney may seek a new director, but the House of Mouse denies that.
As noted previously, I'll be in Denver a couple weeks from now to check out
The Little Mermaid myself.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Denver).
Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Broadway).Related Stories:Updated: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post (August 24, 2007)
A Tale Of Two Tryout Cities (August 23, 2007)
Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Disney, Film, Michael Riedel, Musical, The Little Mermaid
UPDATED: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post Earlier today, I reported that one of Denver's two newspapers had weighed in with a review of Disney's
The Little Mermaid. It came from
Lisa Bornstein of Denver's Rocky Mountain News. Let's just say that from her vantage-point, things didn't go so swimmingly.
Bornstein provided the Broadway-bound tuner that opened last night at the
Denver Center for Performing Arts Ellie Caulkins Opera House a passing grade of B-. High marks were given to
Sierra Boggess ("spunk and sparkle") as Ariel and
Sherie René Scott as a "rivetingly wicked" Ursula, whom she says creates "an original character who pulls the first genuine laughs of the show."
Bornstein also says, "The profound and the prosaic clash uncomfortably throughout
The Little Mermaid...It's no
Lion King or even
Beauty and the Beast, but the show does have its moments of glimmering magic....Unlike other Disney fare,
The Little Mermaid remains solidly a children's show with little of the sly humor that appeals to adults."
But, and it's a
big but here, I just received
Denver Post critic
John Moore's primarily favorable three out of four star review of what he calls an "intoxicating spectacle."
Moore has acknowledged the seemingly requisite shortcomings that come with an out-of-town tryout. Yet, he praises the show for being true to the film and zeroes in on the acting:
"What's good about
Mermaid is very, very good, starting with diminutive Denver native Sierra Boggess as the animated Ariel virtually come to life. Boggess simply inhabits the headstrong, 16-year-old princess who defies her well-meaning but ill-equipped single father. Bet on it: This tiny kid's gonna be a big Broadway star....The casting is impeccable. Boggess and Scott could be destined for Tony Award nominations."
Of its Broadway readiness, Moore says, "Despite its flaws, (
Francesca) Zambello's staging would likely be a hit even if it opened tomorrow just based on audiences' sheer love for the story, and for its positive exploration of a now complex and interesting father-daughter relationship. The emotional power of the tale of a girl learning to stand on her own two feet is not only preserved but enhanced."
Look for my own SOB Review in early September after I take in one of the final performances in the Mile High City.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Denver).Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Broadway). Related Stories:
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Denver, Disney, Film, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid, Tryout
A Tale Of Two Tryout CitiesTwo of the 2007-08 Theatrical Season's most anticipated shows are opening this evening during their out-of-town tryouts:
Young Frankenstein at Seattle's
Paramount and
The Little Mermaid at Denver's
Center for Performing Arts Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
Both represent ultra high-profile, high-stake mega-million gambits on former
big screen favorites revamped as big Broadway musicals.
For
Mel Brooks, the pressure's on in the Pacific Northwest to prove that he's not a one-hit wonder for his Rialto adaptation of
The Producers (Brooks' other three outings on the Great White Way were
way back in the
fifties and
sixties).
Just across the Rocky Mountains,
Disney Theatrical Productions is out to prove that magic can strike twice via the
very property that completely reinvigorated its languishing animation division; now, Disney sorely needs a
critical Broadway smash.
Although blogosphere chatter (including
here) has already reviewed both shows in advance of the openings, now comes the first test from the mainstream media as they'll now be able to weigh-in with their first official reviews.
Any bets on what we'll hear?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Denver).Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Broadway).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).
Related Stories:Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
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Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
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End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Disney, Film, Mel Brooks, Musical, Opening Night, The Little Mermaid, Tryout, Young Frankenstein
High School Musical (The SOB Review) - LaSalle Bank Theatre, Chicago, IL** (0ut of ****)"Awesome!" "Cool!" "Wow!" "There were so many things to look at!" "Where were all the kids from
the movie, mommy?"
Those comments summed up the audience response I overheard as I ventured out of Disney's touring production of
High School Musical, a stage adaptation from the House of Mouse's enormously popular 2006 made-for-television movie (for the record, I have not seen the TV flick). The jubilant pre-tween crowd was enthusiastic, yet they wondered where
Zac Efron and
Vanessa Anne Hudgens were.
Fortunately for adults, the show is generally engaging, although the score -- written by almost as many songwriters as
Spring Awakening has
producers (OK, not
quite) -- is often unfocused and mostly derivative. It would help if there had been one set of songwriters tackling the entire show (it's a good thing Lisa Stephens' energized choreography more than made up for some of the weaker tunes).
Having said that, the critical climactic "Breaking Free" by Jamie Houston -- certainly worthy of the fantastic score from
this year's Tony-winning Best Musical -- was both rousing and stirring in subtly reassuring its young audience that it's perfectly fine to be who you are by following your heart. If only Houston had written the rest of the score.
High School Musical's cast mostly shines, with a winning
John Jeffrey Martin as jock-cum-singer Troy Bolton and an enchanting Arielle Jacobs as his love interest Gabriella Montez, the new girl in school. Together, they provide plenty of electricity, even if they're underserved by the score and hackneyed book by David Simpatico.
While the story initially has flourishes of another, more mature high school-oriented musical
Grease, it inevitably turns into a battle for the destinies -- if you can have one at that age -- of these two would-be lovers.
Troy is pulled by his fellow basketball team members, as well as by his coach
and father (a woefully underused
Ron Bohmer), to focus on winning the big championship. "Get'cha Head In The Game" (written Ray Cham, Greg Cham and Andrew Seeley) nicely foreshadows the trouble ahead in this regard.
Super-smart Gabriella, a math and science wiz, is pressured to lead the brainiacs toward a win in mental gymnastics. But Troy and Gabriella want it all: they want all the success that comes with being a jock and scholar in addition to the leads in the eponymous activity.
However, blonde beauty Sharpay (a one dimensional
Chandra Lee Schwartz) stands in their way. With a sense of entitlement as president of the drama club, Sharpay enlists the support of her hapless brother Ryan (played with maximum effete effect by Bobby List), and she's prepared to do anything to secure the lead role for herself. Her conniving even provides a sly dig at George W. Bush.
But the problem with Simpatico's writing is that we never understand how Sharpay ever became so popular in the first place since she's drawn so narrowly. And futhermore, it's mind boggling how or why the affable athlete/baker Zeke Baylor (Ben Thompson) would be drawn to her, even in the end. Worse, there's never any real tension dramatic or otherwise.
In this Disney world that's full of pop references and youthful slang, everyone lives happily ever after. While perhaps not a bad message for the target audience, it sure had me hoping that the classroom's final bell would ring sooner than later.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Chicago, Disney, Film, High School Musical, Musical
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The BoardsDespite the box office mojo
Disney has enjoyed with each of its
five Broadway musicals, it hasn't received uniformly lavish praise since its stage adaptation of
The Lion King hit the boards of the
New Amsterdam Theatre an astounding ten years ago this fall.
Much has changed during that time. With few exceptions (like
Wicked) large-scale spectacles are most definitely passé, tending to create a bit of a critical backlash, even if throngs of the theatregoing public takes it in. The Tony success of
Spring Awakening,
Avenue Q and even
Jersey Boys serves to verify that point.
Against that sea change comes Disney's
The Little Mermaid, which must either swim against that tide or ride the current. As yesterday's
Variety reports, Disney is all too aware of the obstacles around which they must navigate. Indeed,
Francesca Zambello is helming this expensive ship of a production without the use of some of the magic one might have expected in the retelling of the Disney film that was instrumental in restoring the House of Mouse's animation legend. Zambello is eschewing both water and wires and apparently will rely on the book, score and performances to capture the audiences' attention.
Will the simple, yet hardly inexpensive (thanks in part to various prototypes for what ultimately became a transluscent set design), approach satisfy not only the audiences who expect nothing less than bona fide Disney magic, but also the Big Apple critics? Sight unseen, the tuner -- which opens at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on December 6 -- has already raked in an $8 million advance at the box office with virtually no advertising.
With its Denver out-of-town tryout beginning Thursday, the buzz will begin soon enough. I'll be in the audience at the
Denver Center for the Performing Arts' Ellie Caulkins Opera House for the production's second-to-last performance prior to swimming off in October to that island known as Manhattan -- I'll let you know whether this
Little Mermaid has legs.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Denver tickets.Click here for Broadway tickets.Related Stories:Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Musical, The Little Mermaid, Tryout
Tony Winner Julie White Transforms HerselfThe other day while taking one of my pre-teen relatives to see the summer action flick "
Transformers" (sigh!), I was relieved to see a friendly theatre face up there on the big screen:
Julie White, a larger than life actress if there ever was one.
Just for the record, she was one of few bright spots in the otherwise overblown movie, which was nothing more than a
long commercial for a certain automobile and truck manufacturer. The non-stop product placements reminded me of yet another reason why I prefer the live theatre experience -- I'll gladly take
The Little Dog Laughed over the drivel I had to endure the other day.
What's ahead for the very recent Tony winner?
Well, it's almost as if she was asked, "Ms. White, now that you've won the Tony, what are you going to do?" She is, of course, heading to Disney: that is, ABC television.
White is
foregoing additional stage work in the foreseeable future to take on the role of Leslie in the upcoming
commercial-cum-television show "
Cavemen." However, it must not be a primary character since she's not even listed among the cast members on the
official ABC programming Web site.
Here's hoping we'll see more of this tremendously gifted actress, albeit in better vehicles, sooner than later.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Cavemen, Disney, Film, Julie White, Television, The Little Dog Laughed, Tony Awards, Transformers
Tarzan Won't Be Hanging Around Broadway Much LongerIt's a jungle out there!
Despite hanging on longer than just about anyone predicted,
Disney's
Tarzan stage musical will close on July 8.
After taking a
critical drubbing last year and earning exactly one Tony nomination (for lighting), most prognosticators would have thought the
Bob Crowley-helmed
Phil Collins tuner would have swung out of the
Richard Rodgers Theatre much sooner. But credit the well-oiled Disney publicity and marketing machine for enabling the show to stay in place for a total of 486 regular performances it will have played when it finally shutters. To date, the musical has earned over $41 million at the box office -- not bad for a show that was nearly universally panned.
But fear not, Tarzan fans. You can still see the Dutch version of the show, which opened April 13; apparently it's wildly successful. In the meantime, once its
Beauty And The Beast closes shortly, Disney will have to settle for having a mere two shows on the Great White Way until its
The Little Mermaid opens late in the year.
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Related Stories: Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Disney, Film, Musical, Tarzan
Poppins Fresh
Considering the
ginormous success of its
The Lion King touring franchise in which two companies are crisscrossing North America, Disney seems to be making the logical choice in selecting
Mary Poppins as its next show to go coast to coast. With the number of Baby Boomer grandparents and Gen X parents who've been brought up on the film, there's a ready made audience who'd love the chance to take their kids and grandchildren to a bona fide family show.
The Andrew Gans story also mentions that
Disney Theatrical Productions has its sights set on the fall of next year and that "Los Angeles and Chicago have been discussed." When further announcements have been made, I'll let you know.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Mary Poppins Broadway tickets. Click here for Mary Poppins London tickets. Related Stories:
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Survey Says.... (October 23, 2006)
Mary Poppins Lands Top Five Capacity Spot With Broadway Debut (October 17, 2006)
Which New Broadway Musical Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing? (October 16, 2006)
Which British Hits Will Be Broadway-Bound? (September 20, 2006)
Which Broadway Musical Will Depart Next? (August 21, 2006)
Rejoice! Gavin Lee to Cross Atlantic for Mary Poppins on Broadway (May 8, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Disney, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, Touring Production
Mermaid Casting Anything But LittleSherie René Scott is among the big Broadway names that will be attached to the upcoming stage adaptation of
The Little Mermaid, which makes its debut in Denver this summer prior to heading toward the Great White Way. The tuner will make its bow on July 26 at Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; the
production's premiere gala takes place August 24.
As previously noted, Scott is by far one of the few younger actresses of the stage who I'll go out of my way to see perform live. And she possesses one of the most exquisite singing voices to be found in musical theatre today. In
The Little Mermaid, she'll take on the role of the eponymous character's nemesis Ursula (portrayed in the
1989 animated film by the incomparable
Pat Carroll). Previously announced for the title role (a/k/a Ariel) was
Sierra Boggess.
In addition to Scott, I'm thrilled that
Sean Palmer has been cast as Prince Eric. As noted in my
SOB Review and "
Curse of the Understudy, Part Two," Palmer was terrific when taking over
The Apple Tree roles originally filled by
Marc Kudisch. This former "
Sex And The City" cast member has a great singing voice and certainly offers tremendous stage presence.
Other cast members include
Norm Lewis (currently with
Les Misérables),
Tituss Burgess (
Jersey Boys),
Eddie Korbich (
The Drowsy Chaperone) and Disney favorite
Tyler Maynard (
Mary Poppins).
With songs from the original film by
Alan Menken and
Howard Ashman, along with new ones penned by Menken and
Glenn Slater, the
Francesca Zambello-helmed
Little Mermaid is set to make a splash at Broadway's
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 3; opening night is scheduled for December 6.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid
Mary Poppins (The SOB Revisit) – New Amsterdam Theatre, New York, NY
***1/2 (out of ****)
While I still roundly enjoyed the musical, and while my fellow audience members cheered with that rapt degree of enthusiasm rarely heard, something must have happened en route during Mary Poppins’ flight over to America.
Don’t get me wrong, the book remains more faithful to
P.L. Travers’ source material than the
film version. The musical numbers are all still rousing.
Matthew Bourne’s choreography continues to mesmerize, particularly on numbers like “Step In Time.”
Bob Crowley’s set design is as magically jawdropping as I remembered it being. And
Gavin Lee as Bert is better and fresher than ever.
But some of the emotional core of the show that completely captivated me seemed elusive. I certainly can’t blame it on the exquisite
Rebecca Luker, who provided even more nuance to the role of Mrs. Banks than I saw across the pond, or even
Ashley Brown, who -- despite the fact that when she first appeared during my performance, her arms were literally shaking as she was holding the Banks children’s patched-up “want ad” -- delivers a solid and practically terrific
Mary Poppins.
The heart that seems to beat a little more faintly now is that of George Banks. In London, I saw a tender, bravura performance by
David Haig, for whom you could, as
Bill Clinton might say, feel his pain. Yet, through
Daniel H. Jenkins' rather rote Broadway portrayal, the pain was dulled substantially while more emphasis seemed to be placed on personal business ethics.
Perhaps the producers and director
Richard Eyre thought they needed just a few too many spoonfuls of sugar to make the medicine go down for American audiences. Sure, the sentimental side of me still managed to well up with tears via George’s “therapy session” with Bert. But I felt slightly cheated when the emotional depth to which I was prepared to go -- thanks to my London journey -- proved shallower.
I also felt cheated that some of the more ingenious elements of the projection design were missing, particularly in the bank setting. In London, one can see animated bankers toiling over their desks, while on Broadway, the images were all static.
Ultimately, I still enjoyed my revisit to Mary Poppins. Despite being aimed at audiences of all ages, this lovely, if not grandiose, musical continues to tell a surprisingly more complex adult story about losing one’s way and finding it again. While I enjoyed the London version more, I would still recommend seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway -- unless, of course, you’re completely incapable of letting that inner child in you ever surface.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Labels: Broadway, Disney, London, Mary Poppins, Musical, The SOB Revisit
Beauty Out On Broadway
If you polled most Broadway pundits on the musical most likely to depart its boards to make room for another production by the same creative team, I'd wager that most would respond, "
The Producers." After all,
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein is already eagerly anticipated and expected to take over the former's berth at the
St. James Theatre.
But today, the folks at Disney announced they're going to finally put a fork in
Beauty And The Beast, making room at Broadway's
Lunt-Fontaine Theatre for their stage adaptation of their animated screen feature
Little Mermaid.
Beauty And The Beast, of course, was based on the
only all-animation film to ever be Academy Award nominated for Best Picture (1991). However, "
Little Mermaid" is largely credited as
the flick that in 1989 helped rejuvenate Disney's credentials in a declining genre.
I have to be candid. I thoroughly enjoyed the magic of
Beauty And The Beast not long after its 1994 debut at the
Palace Theatre, but when I revisited the show a couple years ago at the Lunt-Fontaine, I was a bit embarrassed by how tired, if not shoddy, the tuner had become.
In recent years, the production has heavily relied on stunt-casting, including the recent turn by former teen idol
Donny Osmond as Gaston, and they actually have an actor worth seeing now that
John Tartaglia (
Avenue Q) is portraying Lumiere. To its credit, the musical still managed to draw a capacity of 80.3% last week for a take of $590,259. But the production looked so thoroughly exhausted when I last saw it, I wished that they would have put this
Beast out of its misery and let it die with dignity long ago.
When Beauty And The Beast finally closes on July 29, it will have had 5,464 regular performances, enough to make it one of the Great White Way's longest running hits -- number 6, to be precise.
The Little Mermaid will make its first splash just a few days before
Beauty And The Beast closes -- July 26 -- at Denver's
Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Opening night on Broadway is currently scheduled just in time for the Holidays on December 6.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Labels: Beauty And The Beast, Billy Elliot The Musical, Box Office, Broadway, Closing Notices, Disney, Film, First Word On New Show, Stunt Casting, The Little Mermaid
Tarzan Swings Into Broadway TonightDisney's latest animated movie feature turned Broadway production --
Tarzan -- opens tonight at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. If advance ticketing is any indication, this will be a huge hit. With a score written by Phil Collins,
Tarzan's movie incarnation was about the last major old-school animated success for Disney. Collins has written more tunes for the stage version that includes newcomer -- OK, direct from "American Idol" -- Josh Strickland in the title role. In the supporting cast, look for Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley, who winningly brought new emotional depth to Jud Fry in the West End and Broadway's last version of
Oklahoma a few years back. We'll see tomorrow which way the critical reviews swing for this umpteenth version of the classic jungle story.
Click here for tickets.Labels: Broadway, Disney, Film, Musical, Oklahoma, Opening Night, Phil Collins, Tarzan
