13 To Close During Unluckiest Time Of The YearPerennially, the month of January marks the beginning of the cruelest times on Broadway, and this coming January will see yet another closing of another musical. This time, sorry to say, it's
13 that has posted its closing notice, scheduled for January 4, 2009.
Regular readers will recall that
I was positively charmed by the
Jeremy Sams-helmed tuner that features a truly terrific, invigorating score by
Jason Robert Brown and an incredibly talented teenage cast, with
Graham Phillips and
Al Calderon particularly deserving of shout-outs.
But alas,
13 proved unlucky at the box office, where it only scored three weeks in attracting more than a 50% capacity crowd. Just this past week, it attracted a capacity of just 42.9%.
Given the rough sledding at the far end of Broadway (a/k/a Wall Street), it appears that
13 will pin its parting hopes on families seeking holiday cheer. Once the holidays have passed,
13 will be history, but will a tour be in the offing?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: 13, Al Calderon, Allie Trimm, Best New Musicals, Box Office, Broadway, Christopher Gattelli, Closing Notices, Graham Phillips, Jason Robert Brown, Jeremy Sams
13 (The SOB Review) - Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York, NY*** (out of ****)Be forewarned.
High School Musical it ain't.
But thank
goodness for that.
Think of
Jason Robert Brown's exuberant new musical
13 as a positive puberty piece. It's a latter-day answer to "
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten." With tunes like the inspired "A Little More Homework," even jaded Wall Streeters can reflect and be reminded of a thing or two when it comes to what constitutes really living.
Mostly family-friendly, except for a PG-rated item or two,
13 heralds Brown's long-awaited return to Broadway, and his tuneful, rich score does not disappoint.
Neither does the breathtaking display of teen talent, as all 13 cast members, along with orchestra, are age appropriate. As Evan, a guppy out of water who's suddenly been transplanted from New York City to Appleton, Indiana, the charismatic
Graham Phillips delights. Being the new kid on the block isn't easy, especially when you're a "Brain." It's even more difficult when he realizes that he's won the heart of the unpopular Patrice (played with remarkable emotional depth by
Allie Trimm), threatening Evan's own prospects for popularity. Phillips brings an astonishing degree of nuance for such a young actor.
Yet it's
Al Calderon as Eddie, who manages to steal just about every scene he's in as the sidekick to Brett (a terrific
Eric Nelsen), Dan Quayle High's super cool dude and nemesis to Evan. It's virtually impossible to take your eyes off this gifted young comic actor.
Sure the book by
Dan Elish and
Robert Horn at times goes from earnest to hokey in record time during this 90-minute show, but thanks to
Jeremy Sams' pacing,
Christopher Gattelli's unrestrained choreography, and Brown's beautiful score, I found myself transfixed, charmed and downright moved.
So if you're seeking a little Main Street break, or even hope, from the bleak news coming from Wall Street, head up to Midtown New York and catch a welcome respite in
13. I'm glad I did.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: 13, Al Calderon, Allie Trimm, Broadway, Christopher Gattelli, Graham Phillips, Jason Robert Brown, Jeremy Sams, Musicals, The SOB Review
Did Critics Treat 13 With Kid Gloves?While the really big news today, of course, is the further sliding of the
global economy, as evidenced by this morning's
sell-off on Wall Street, further to the north on Broadway, yesterday,
Jason Robert Brown's musical
13 rocked the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
Helmed by
Jeremy Sams, the tuner features Brown's score with a book by
Dan Elish and
Robert Horn, along with choreography by
Christopher Gattelli. The show about thirteen 13 year olds in Indiana features
Graham Phillips,
Al Calderon,
Eamon Foley,
Caitlin Gann,
Elizabeth Gillies,
Ariana Grande,
Aaron Simon Gross,
Malik Hammond,
Joey La Varco,
Delaney Moro,
Eric Nelsen,
Allie Trimm and
Brynn Williams.
On the whole, critics offered middling assessments.
Proclaiming this a "disarmingly charming new musical,"
Barbara Hoffman (where
is Clive??) of
New York Post offers three out of four stars: "With a raw, rousing score by Jason Robert Brown sung by a cast of 13- to 17-year-olds, it's Sondheim for
MySpacers -- the perfect show for those too old for
Disney, too young for
Spring Awakening, and too impatient to wait for a new block of
Wicked tickets.... Brown, the 38-year-old Tony-winning composer of
Parade and
The Last Five Years, has written some catchy numbers and at least one winsome ballad, 'What It Means To Be a Friend,' that clearly registered with its young audience. Director Jeremy Sams gets a few standout performances, notably from Elizabeth Egan Gillies, 15, whose lacerating Lucy, all cellphone and attitude, is a junior-varsity
Joan Crawford."
Noting that "there's not much in this sweet all-adolescent tuner to engage anyone past puberty,"
Variety's
David Rooney says that it target demographics should be: "no barrier to success... While the storyline by children's novelist Dan Elish and vet TV writer Robert Horn is a familiar fish-out-of-water tale populated by generics (geek, loser, gossip girl, beauty, jock, etc.), it has heart and charm. The kids in the age-appropriate cast are talented. And the score by Jason Robert Brown, which nimbly straddles pop and musical theater idioms, is several notches above the standard processed pap for teen tuners."
Calling it a "shiny and brash new musical,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley gives average grades: "Though it features a buoyant score by Jason Robert Brown ... and a book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn that dances friskily on the borders of bad taste,
13 ultimately feels as pre-processed and formulaic as that money-churning Disney franchise '
High School Musical.'... The characters are as eternal as types in
commedia dell’arte, and the plot as set as that of a Passion play by way of young adult fiction.... The cast is fine. It avoids pushing too hard, which is always a mercy with young performers. Mr. Phillips has an easygoing forthrightness and emotional openness that anchors the production."
Labeling it a "cheerful and endearing, ebulliently performed and blandish musical,"
Linda Winer of
Newsday provides a middling review: "Except for some icky-erotic coarseness for hungry young tongues, Jeremy Sams' direction and Christopher Gattelli's streetwise choreography keep the show close enough to the nice side of the street-pee jokes,
Shrek quips and
Jonas Brothers posters -- to live a long and lucrative life on Broadway and in school auditoriums. Did we mention that the 13 kid-performers and five-piece kid band are terrific? They are, including Graham Phillips as Evan.... Al Calderon is a standout as a pintsized contender for the future
Jersey Boys of America."
Offering that it's "neither a soaring, sobering account of troubled youth nor a glib commercial enterprise,"
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner also offers a mixed critique: "Jason Robert Brown and librettists Dan Elish and Robert Horn serve up pop-culture parody peppered with politically incorrect humor and sweetened with some sentimentality. The plot is utter hooey in this case, centered on a Jewish boy from New York who lands in small-town Indiana when his parents split up just before his bar mitzvah.... That 13 is seldom either surprising or offensive is a credit to both the limited imagination of its creative team and the winsome freshness of its all-teen cast, directed with obvious affection by Jeremy Sams. With the exception of the strong-voiced Elizabeth Egan Gillies, who is rather too convincing as the precocious mean girl of her class, none of these performers come across as stage kids, and their unaffected energy is undeniably contagious."
Concluding that "The pubescent crowd may find this new musical fascinating -- but Mom and Dad will be left thinking about 13 better ways they could have spent their ticket dollars,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News is among the most negative in his two out of five star review: "It is fun watching these fresh-faced youths sell the show, but the novelty wears thin soon enough and one wishes what they were pushing was better material.... If the point is that kids get labeled for no good reason, then someone might have said that. Or sung that. As is, the score by Jason Robert Brown is pleasant enough, tripping from pop and
Carly Simon-ish ballads to blues. While short on character development, Brown's lyrics do manage to evoke teen-speak, as when boys lament that their buddy 'fell for a slut with a fabulous butt.'"
While teens love rollercoaster rides, the current economic one their parents are likely on at the moment may preclude the target demographic from seeing this or many other shows. Certainly there are many ad-worthy critical quotes that
13's marketing team can incorporate into its promotions, but it will have to get past the current 42.3% capacity at the box office in order for the tuner to be anything but unfortunate in its Broadway timing.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: 13, Broadway, Christopher Gattelli, Critics' Capsule, Dan Elish, Jason Robert Brown, Jeremy Sams, Musical, Robert Horn
13 Takes The 5thToday on this October 5,
13, the new
Jason Robert Brown musical about thirteen 13 year-olds growing up in Indiana, opens at Broadway's
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
The tuner opens on the Great White Way close to two years after
first debuting, albeit in a much different version and under different direction (
Todd Graff) at Los Angeles'
Mark Taper Forum.
With book by
Dan Elish and
Robert Horn,
13 is helmed by
Jeremy Sams and features choreography by
Christopher Gattelli.
Graham Phillips portrays Evan Goldman, a kid who has just moved to the Hoosier State and must contend with a new school order. Others in the cast include
Al Calderon,
Eamon Foley,
Caitlin Gann,
Elizabeth Gillies,
Ariana Grande,
Aaron Simon Gross,
Malik Hammond,
Joey La Varco,
Delaney Moro,
Eric Nelsen,
Allie Trimm and
Brynn Williams.
While Brown earned a Rialto credit for the very unlucky
Urban Cowboy, this marks the composer's first
real Broadway score since his Tony Award-winning score for 1998-99's
Parade.
Will
13 prove lucky with the critics? Find out tomorrow as I offer my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: 13, Broadway, Christopher Gattelli, Dan Elish, Graham Phillips, Jason Robert Brown, Jeremy Sams, Musical, Opening Night, Robert Horn
