Les Mis Revival Nears End Of The DayIt may be the
longest running musical in the history of London's West End -- achieving that feat on October 8 with 8,732 performances over the last 21 years -- but the current Broadway revival of
Les Misérables will close on January 6, 2008 after 479 regular performances.
Not bad, considering that the revival was originally slated to run as a six-month limited engagement, but was extended more than once. But it is slightly baffling, given that the box office grosses just over a week ago were still pretty solid with the showing selling to 92.5% of capacity, although the average ticket price was just below $65.
The
original Broadway version enjoyed 6,680 performances that stretched from March 12, 1987 all the way to May 18, 2003. After the revival opened,
there was considerable carping that the revival merely copied the original staging.
Although the revival's casting initially appealed to me, to be honest, I never did get around to seeing the revival since I found the original to be so overwrought. It ranks right behind
Cats -- another overproduced longtime box office champ from
Cameron Mackintosh --
on my personal least-liked musicals of all time. But clearly, with its worldwide success, I'm in a small minority.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Critics: Les Misérables Round Two (November 10, 2006)
The Turntable Spins Again: Les Misérables Revival Opens On Broadway (November 9, 2006)
Apple Tree In Good Company Among SOB Readers (November 6, 2006)
Casting Call (Week Ending June 7, 2006) (June 7, 2006)
Les Misérables' Broadway Revival to Boast Must-See Cast (June 5, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Cameron Mackintosh, Cats, Closing Notices, Les Miserables, London, Musical, Revival
Critics: Pirate Queen Not See-Worthy
Last evening,
The Pirate Queen -- costing more than $16 million, making it one of Broadway's most expensive shows ever -- opened to critical pans. It has the dubious distinction of being one of
the worst reviewed shows of the entire 2006-07 Theatrical Season.
The "best" of the worst comes from
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press, who writes: "[E]ven Grace (O'Malley) is defeated by this earnest musical adaptation of her life story, a stilted history pageant that is long on looks but woefully short on emotional engagement. The lavish production...telescopes the woman's life into a series of dramatic tableaux that are underlined by a bombastic score courtesy of
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg."
Calling it a "loud and restless musical,"
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times dismisses the spectacle: "[E]verything ultimately blurs into what feels like the aimless milling of a crowd on a carnival midway...
The Pirate Queen registers as a relic of a long-gone era, and I don’t mean the 1500s. The big-sound, big-cast show pioneered by Messrs. Boublil and Schönberg is now as much a throwback to the 1980s as big hair and big shoulders....(The songs) often have such sweaty, shoehorned rhymes, it is as if they had been invented on the spot."
Using terms like "lumbering epic" and "monotonous,"
Variety's
David Rooney also pans: "Their all-plot, no-heart new show is persuasively sung by a valiant cast, yet it never forges an emotional connection with the audience....[D]espite (the
Riverdance) phenomenon being perhaps the world's most over-exposed commercialization of traditional Irish culture, the too-infrequent explosions of step-dancing -- during a wedding, a funeral and a christening -- are the only times
The Pirate Queen really comes alive. Whoever thought they'd be waiting impatiently for the next Celtic kickline?"
Making inevitable comparisons ("
Les Miserables going out to meet
Riverdance and somehow missing the boat"),
New York Post's
Clive Barnes musters up one and a half stars: "Apart from the repetitive and self-congratulatory music, the only major flaws in the show are the basically banal lyrics and sung-through book....Before long, though,
The Pirate Queen capsizes and sinks. There are some gallant attempts at bailing out by the crew of actors and dancers, shakily captained by director
Frank Galati and
Graciela Daniele, who's credited with the musical staging."
Labeling it "the latest bloated opus from Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg,"
Elysa Gardner of
USA Today bestows a mere one star on the show: "[T]hey've constructed a visual and sonic assault that leaves no audience-pleasing trick untapped. This package is wrapped in a faux-populist, pseudo-feminist story line, revolving around 16th-century pirate chieftain Grace O'Malley, an Irish lass whose skill and fortitude in battle were matched, we're assured, by her passion as a lover and mom....We know the Brits are morally inferior because they dress and speak grandly, and their songs sound like
Gilbert and
Sullivan rejects, as opposed to the
Céline Dion throwaways crooned by the Irish."
Gardner is not the only critic to invoke the "C" word -- Ben Brantley also stated, "Under pressure, this
Pirate Queen turns into a Céline Dion screecher." Come to think of it,
my own review last October that began with "Think
Les Misérables meets
Riverdance as ships passing in the night" (thank you, Mr. Barnes!) continued, "Céline Dion herself could not have sounded better, yet I half expected (
Stephanie J.) Block to belt out 'My Heart Will Go On.'"
Will the reviews be enough to sink the show? Next stop will be a check on the box office totals, which last week were floating around the 80% capacity mark.
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Click here for tickets.
Related Stories: Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Les Miserables, Musical, Riverdance, The Pirate Queen
The Turntable Spins Again: Les Misérables Revival Opens On BroadwayAfter an absence from the Broadway stage of just over three years,
Les Misérables is back. Having run for over sixteen years on the Great White Way,
Les Mis is one of those spectacle blockbusters which made
Cameron Mackintosh famous (the original London version opened more than 20 years ago, and despite having moved from its original theatre home, it continues to enjoy a continuous run there).
The "limited run" revival opens this evening, albeit with a somewhat smaller turntable stage, at the
Broadhurst Theatre. But it includes an impressive cast, with such names as
Gary Beach,
Alexander Gemignani,
Norm Lewis,
Daphne Rubin-Vega,
Jenny Galloway and
Aaron Lazar.
The original Broadway
Les Mis won an impressive eight Tony Awards including for Best Musical. Could this revival bear similar fruit? In a recent Steve On Broadway poll, enough of you expressed interest to place it
third among musical revivals you're most enthusiastic about seeing. Tomorrow, we'll learn whether critics are cheering.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories: Apple Tree In Good Company Among SOB Readers (November 6, 2006)
Casting Call (Week Ending June 7, 2006) (June 7, 2006)
Les Misérables' Broadway Revival to Boast Must-See Cast (June 5, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Les Miserables, Musical, Opening Night, Revival
Apple Tree In Good Company Among SOB ReadersOver the last few weeks, I've invited you and other Steve On Broadway (SOB) readers to tell me which new Broadway musical
revival you're most enthusiastic about seeing. The biggest slice of votes (37%) went to
The Apple Tree , which was in great company with, well,
Company (with 25.9%).
Certainly,
The Apple Tree's popularity comes in part because of the excellent cast that has been assembled, including
Kristin Chenoweth,
Marc Kudisch,
Brian d'Arcy James and
Walter Charles; after all, how many of today's theatregoers are actually familiar with the
Sheldon Harnick/
Jerry Bock score?
If you're judged by the
company you keep, then it has to be said the upcoming
John Doyle-helmed revival of
Stephen Sondheim's
Company has created plenty of excitement and positive buzz due to its acclaimed premiere in Cincinnati.
Most surprising was the fourth place finish of
A Chorus Line (11.1%) behind
Les Misérables (18.5%). Maybe it's that many of you have already made tracks to the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre since the former opened, or perhaps it was the mixed reviews it garnered. Whatever the reason, I still expected a somewhat different outcome.
Personally, I'm torn as to which revival I'm most excited about. Fortunately, I already have my tickets to both of my choices -- and it's in keeping with your sentiment:
The Apple Tree and
Company.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Apple Tree tickets.Click here for Company tickets.Related Stories:Which New Broadway Play Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing? (October 27, 2006)
Mary Poppins, Grey Gardens Tops Among SOB Readers (October 27, 2007)
Which Current Broadway Musical Would You Pull The Plug On? (October 22, 2006)
Which New Broadway Musical Revival Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing? (October 19, 2006)
Which New Broadway Musical Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing? (October 16, 2006)
Take The Steve On Broadway (SOB) Poll (October 15, 2006)
Labels: A Chorus Line, Broadway, Company, Kristin Chenoweth, Les Miserables, Musical, Revival, SOB Poll, The Apple Tree
Which New Broadway Musical Revival Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing?Last Sunday, readers of Steve On Broadway (SOB) were invited to participate in the new poll feature, which is on the right hand column. It enables you to provide a snapshot opinion on all things theatre with the click of your mouse (please note that the poll's mechanism only enables you to vote once, meaning that if you try voting repeatedly, only your final vote will be tallied).
While the first poll question remains active, I've added a second one at the top that asks:
"Which new Broadway musical revival are you most enthusiastic about seeing?" Options are provided for each of the confirmed Broadway revivals scheduled for this season including:
A Chorus Line,
Company,
Les Misérables,
110 In The Shade and
The Apple Tree.
There's still time to cast your vote for the new Broadway musical your most enthusiastic about seeing -- you'll find that initial poll question right below the first. Your choices include:
Grey Gardens,
High Fidelity,
Legally Blonde,
Mary Poppins,
The Pirate Queen and
The Times They Are A-Changin'.
Also, feel free to share your opinion on why you're voting the way you are, along with any other comments you'd like to make. As always, whether you think my opinion mirrors yours or is just plain wrong, I promise to post each comment that seeks to engage in a thoughtful discussion on theatre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Which New Broadway Musical Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing? (October 16, 2006)
Take The Steve On Broadway (SOB) Poll (October 15, 2006)
Labels: 110 In The Shade, A Chorus Line, Broadway, Company, Les Miserables, Musical, Revival, SOB Poll, The Apple Tree
Casting Call (Week Ending June 7, 2006)
As we near the Sunday finish-line for the 2005-06 Theatrical Season with the 60th Annual Tony Awards, many in the theatrical world no doubt have their sights set on next year’s plethora of award opportunities as more productions have announced casting. While I’ve already described the stellar leading roles for the upcoming revival of
Les Misérables, several other exciting casting decisions have been announced both on and Off-Broadway, as well as far away from the Great White Way.
Some
previous casting decisions that are now opening include celebrated actress Tovah Feldshuh, who begins her reign tonight as the irrepressible Dolly Levi in New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse production of the Jerry Herman musical
Helly Dolly! Feldshuh, of course, delivered a breathtaking, bravura performance as Golda Meir in
Golda’s Balcony back in the 2003-04 Broadway season. In Los Angeles, Laurence Fishburne opens this Sunday in Alfred Uhry’s new play
Without Walls at the Mark Taper Forum. And of course, the very busy Jill Clayburgh began her run last night in Keith Bunin’s
The Busy World is Hushed at Playwrights Horizon in New York.
Speaking of Playwrights Horizons, Sigourney Weaver has now been announced for the lead role in its world premiere production of A.R. Gurney’s
Crazy Mary….Keith Carradine reportedly will take the place of Jonathan Pryce’s Lawrence Jameson while Brian d'Arcy James will takeover Norbert Leo Butz's Freddy Benson this July in the deliciously decadent Broadway production of
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Imperial Theatre; Richard Kind will assume the role of Andre from Gregory Jbara….Brothers Adam and Matthew Arkin will team up with Jan Maxwell and Michele Pawk in the Jerry Zaks-helmed comedy
Losing Louie at Broadway’s Biltmore Theatre in September….Kathy Bates, Jane Fonda, Marcia Gay Harden, and Marian Seldes are among those participating in a June 12 benefit performance of
Necessary Targets by Eve Ensler for Until the Violence Stops: NYC, New York at Studio 54....the brilliant Rebecca Luker will assume the role of Mrs. Banks in the Broadway mounting of
Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theatre….and finally, a Nathan Lane-less Matthew Broderick will team up again with playwright Kenneth Lonergan in the supposedly Broadway-bound
The Starry Messenger come January at San Diego’s venerable Old Globe.
I’ll keep you posted on other exciting casting news in the weeks ahead.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Hello Dolly! tickets.
Click here for Without Walls tickets.
Click here for The Busy World Is Hushed tickets.Click here for Necessary Targets tickets.
Related Stories:
Casting Call (Week Ending May 21, 2006) (May 21, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Crazy Mary, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Golda's Balcony, Hello Dolly, Les Miserables, Losing Louie, Mary Poppins, Off-Broadway
