A Night At The Opera / A Day At The Races
The second win I scored in this trifecta came Saturday and Sunday in Lexington, Kentucky. My Love Of My Life (LOML) and I used the past weekend to visit our friends Daniel and Donna. After first cementing our friendship with them at the 2008 Tony Awards, we've enjoyed opportunities to see them everywhere from London to our home turf. So it was our turn to repay the favor of a visit, which came over the weekend in Lexington. The third winning part of my weekend came after I thumbed through Keeneland's roster of races. In the seventh race, I noticed that the #7 horse was named Acronym. As a fan of acronyms personally -- I am SOB, after all -- I made my meager wager on this 8-1 shot to win.
Acronym not only led the pack for most of the race, but handily won. And I could not have left Kentucky or our fine friends any happier.
What a winning week.
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: Horses, Lexington Kentucky, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Opera, Races, Renée Fleming
Evita (The SOB Review) - Theater Latté Da, McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Perform-ing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota
***1/2 (out of ****)
Rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'...
So goes "And The Money Kept Rolling In," from
Evita. It's an appropriate metaphor for the breathtaking, rapid-paced revival currently being mounted by the Twin Cities'
Theater Latté Da.
Helmed with muscular invention by estimable director
Peter Rothstein,
Evita could very well be his most ambitious work yet.
Evita not only steams across the stage like a speeding locomotive, but it also manages to soar to high-flying heights for this highly innovative theatre company.
Never one to rest on his laurels as one of the Minnesota theatre's premier directors, Rothstein doesn't seem content to let his audience rest either. Indeed,
Evita zips by in a quick two hours and twenty minutes (intermission included). Much of the breathtaking propulsion is set by choreographer
Michael Matthew Ferrell's entrancing tango, in which every actor is summoned to partake.
Fortunately, Rothstein has found exceptional talent to keep up with nary a breath.
As
Evita herself,
Zoe Pappas offers a towering if often overpowering performance. But that seems completely justified given Eva Peron's own commanding reach for fortune and fame. Pappas invites them in as a first-rate triple threat. She demonstrates enormous confidence and competence in finding the Argentine First Lady's subtle shadings. Pappas' vibrant singing voice could easily fill an auditorium ten times the size of the McKnight, and her dancing prowess is one rarely seen in leading ladies.
Yet it's the enormously charismatic
Jared Oxborough whose little touch of star quality grabs hold of you long after you leave the theatre. As Che, Oxborough infuses his narration with so much star power that it's a wonder he's not performing on a Broadway stage. Blessed with natural charm and an intoxicating singing voice, Oxborough makes it seem so effortless. It came as a shock for me to learn that this gifted actor recently graduated from college where he was better known for his agility on the ice (as in hockey). He practically skates circles around the rest of the cast.
While not perfect, there is much to adore about this
Evita -- arguably the best and most satisfying of musical collaborations between
Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Tim Rice. Musical director
Denise Prosek manages to make her quartet sound like a full orchestra.
Rick Polenek's monumental scenic design sets a new benchmark in excellence for the company, supplemented handsomely by
Paul Whitaker's wonderfully evocative lighting. And
Rich Hamson's impeccable costume design ensures that this
Evita is dressed to the nines.
As for the tune referenced at the top?
Well, fortunately for Twin Cities audiences, there is no blink or you'll miss it. Excellent advance ticket sales already came rolling in, enabling
Evita to extend its St. Paul engagement by another two weeks through November 14, 2010.
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. However, in the interest of full disclosure, please note that I am not only a donor to Theater Latté Da, but I also participate in its community advisory council. Labels: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Denise Prosek, Evita, Jared Oxborough, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Peter Rothstein, Revival, The SOB Review, Tim Rice, Zoe Pappas
The Scottsboro Boys (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, Minnesota***1/2 (out of ****)Last evening,
The Scottsboro Boys' pre-
Broadway trial run at Minneapolis'
Guthrie opened, and I was there to witness it.
With no defense necessary, my verdict was easily reached.
The Scottsboro Boys is sensational in virtually every way.
What makes this
Susan Stroman-helmed tuner particularly noteworthy is its very production marks the final yet ultimately sanguine collaboration between one of the most durable duos in musical theatre history:
John Kander and the late
Fred Ebb, who passed away nearly six years ago. Through the culmination of
The Scottsboro Boys, Kander and Ebb's prolific, unmistakable scores now stretch nearly 50 years.
Their magnificent musical is based on an
actual cause célèbre surrounding the outrageous injustices endured by nine African-Americans, who were falsely accused of gang-raping two white women in a deeply prejudiced Alabama during the Great Depression. As guilty verdict after guilty verdict was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court, the nine remained behind bars for years continuing to profess their innocence.
Proving once and for all that
fact is far stranger and usually much more compelling than fiction, librettist
David Thompson wisely hews his book quite close to what actually transpired, giving a plausible air of verisimilitude to the story. The liberties he does take serve to move the story along.
Additionally, Thompson -- along with Kander and Ebb's ingeniously sly score -- beats those lingering racist underpinnings left within our society at its own game by cleverly employing
minstrel show devices to frame the story. In the hands of any less skilled director than Stroman, the effect could easily fall flat.
Stroman exceptionally executes this production frequently employing her creative choreography to brilliantly underscore the proceedings. Witness how she's creatively conceived "Electric Chair," using jolting humor to make a point. To say the least, it's one of many electrifying passages in the show's progression.
The thoroughly excellent cast prosecutes their roles with a spine-tingling sense of mischievous daring and danger. Without exception, they are in a word superb.
In an ironic about-face, the equally phenomenal
Colman Domingo and
Forrest McClendon each effectively put on a white face to portray a dizzying array of characters ranging from sheriff and deputy to lawyers and guards. As the lone white actor in the production, a fine
David Anthony Brinkley presides as the Interlocutor, as well as judge and Alabama governor (Brinkley will be replaced on Broadway by
John Collum, who originated those roles earlier this year at New York's
Vineyard Theatre).
Each of the nine Scottsboro Boys is expertly prosecuted by
Sean Bradford as Ozie Powell,
Josh Breckenridge as Olen Montgomery,
Derrick Cobey as Andy Wright,
Jeremy Gumbs as Eugene Williams,
Joshua Henry as Haywood Patterson,
Rodney Hicks as Clarence Norris,
Kendrick Jones as Willie Roberson,
Julius Thomas III as Roy Wright, and
Christian Dante White as Charles Weems. All have individual personality to spare -- and in the case of Bradford and White, quite literally, as they portray accusors Ruby and Victoria with aplomb.
When the nine first bound onto the stage in saltation through the rousing "Minstrel March" (which seamlessly segues into the devilishly deceptive "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!"), they're imbuing their characters with all the dashed hopes and dreams they describe shortly after in the gorgeous, Gospel-tinged "Commencing In Chattanooga." But from their crowded cell, when Thompson's libretto astutely gives way to the stark reality inherent in Alabama's rat-infested jails and prisons, each actor comes into his own.
Ultimately it's Joshua Henry's extraordinary turn as the illiterate, truth-telling
Haywood Patterson that thrills. Henry astonishes in the minstrelsy "Nothin'" as he flawlessly maneuvers back and forth between a genuinely-delivered sulking, seething animosity toward being unjustly accused and a crafty caricature of the shameful
blackface personna that's long since been discredited. His soaring, yet heartbreaking "You Can't Do Me" vanquishes over adversity, even if he's left to rot in jail.
Adroitly and satisfyingly concluding with a poignant depiction of a much more prominent historical event, nimbly offered by
Sharon Washington as The Lady, the overall result is spellbinding.
I can testify that as gutwrenching, outrageous and absolutely beautiful as this musical is,
The Scottsboro Boys is nothing short of an ironic triumph over evil. It will surely become a must-see on Broadway, and to that I'll confidently swear.
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: Colman Domingo, David Thompson, Forrest McClendon, Fred Ebb, Guthrie, John Kander, Joshua Henry, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys, The SOB Review
Scottsboro Boys Night Out In Minneapolis(Click here for The SOB Review of The Scottsboro Boys)This evening,
The Scottsboro Boys opens at Minneapolis' prestigious
Guthrie for its pre-Broadway tryout. The tuner is billed as "the thrilling final collaboration between by musical theater giants
John Kander and
Fred Ebb," with the latter having died on September 11, 2004.
As
noted here over three years ago, the musical was initially conceived as
The Minstrel Show and was to be presented in
blackface. The musical provides a
minstrel-style depiction of racial inequalities in the deep south during the Great Depression that Kander
describes as "vicious."
The Guthrie
offers this set-up:
Based on the notorious "Scottsboro" case in the 1930s (in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime) this daring and wildly entertaining musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history with brilliant originality. This critically-acclaimed production, directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and featuring a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago's record-breaking revival), comes to the Guthrie following a sold-out run Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre.
It should be noted that not every cast member from
The Scottsboro Boys that's opening tonight is necessarily making his way to Broadway.
John Collum, who created the role of the Interlocutor at the Vineyard and who will reprise that turn on the Great White Way, has been replaced in Minneapolis by
David Anthony Brinkley.
Jeremy Gumbs, who will portray Scottsboro Boy Eugene Williams in Minneapolis, is not yet
listed among the players who will make their way to New York.
The rest of the cast performing in Minneapolis are set for the Broadway berth at the
Lyceum Theatre, where the open-ended run is set to begin previews on October 7 and open October 31. The cast includes
Colman Domingo as Mr. Bones,
Forrest McClendon as Mr. Tambo,
Sharon Washington as the Lady, and the Scottsboro Boys will be portrayed by
Sean Bradford (Ozie Powell),
Josh Breckenridge (Olen Montgomery),
Derrick Cobey (Andy Wright),
Joshua Henry (Haywood Patterson),
Rodney Hicks (Clarence Norris),
Kendrick Jones (Willie Roberson),
Julius Thomas III (Roy Wright) and
Christian Dante White (Charles Weems).
Since Guthrie Director
Joe Dowling has stated, "The production that people will see here is very much the production they'll see on Broadway," I'll be in the audience for tonight's opening. Expect to see my SOB Review shortly after.
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: Broadway, Colman Domingo, David Thompson, Fred Ebb, Guthrie, John Collum, John Kander, Kander And Ebb, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys, Tryout
Wicked WorldIf you're among my regular Steve On Broadway (SOB) readers, surely by now you know that the Broadway musical
Wicked rates as the tuner the Love Of My Life (LOML) and I have adopted as "Our Show."
While some couples have their song, we have our musical. And we make no apologies for it whatsoever.
If you've ever wondered what a major international blockbuster this show has become, consider this -- worldwide,
Wicked has grossed over $1.9 billion and it has entertained more than 24 million people, who have seen it in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Australia. Soon, it will also be seen in Finland and Denmark.
While the musical has that tagline, "So much happened before Dorothy dropped in," so much has happened with
Wicked since
I last wrote about the show late last year. Here's a rundown on
Wicked's global reach, where it is currently playing and where it will be performing:
Wicked - Broadway
Gershwin Theatre - New York, New York
After opening October 30, 2003, to mixed reviews, the original production of
Wicked is still going strong.
Not only does it regularly rank as the top grossing Broadway show week after week, but after more than six and a half years, it's also one of those rare shows that still sells every single seat.
Tonight, it will have played its 2755th performance, and it ranks as the 18th longest running show in Broadway history. By year's end, it will eclipse
Hello, Dolly! currently in 17th place.
From my own tally, my LOML and I have seen the show on Broadway at least six times, most recently about a year ago when I found the musical still in tiptop shape.
Wicked - San Francisco
Orpheum Theatre - San Francisco, California
Once the Los Angeles sitdown production closed January 11, 2009, after 791 performances, the company moved up the coast to San Francisco, which was home to the initial Broadway tryout that opened June 10, 2003.
The San Francisco sitdown production opened February 6, 2009, and is currently slated to close on September 5, 2010, after playing a total of 672 regular performances.
While my LOML and I never saw the show in LA, we enjoyed a performance at San Francisco's Orpheum last September when
Patty Duke was portraying Madame Morrible.
Wicked - National Tours
Currently playing Dallas, Texas (
Music Hall at Fair Park) and St. Louis, Missouri (
Fabulous Fox Theatre)
The two national touring companies of
Wicked are still going strong, typically pulling into a major city (and many second-tier cities) for an entire month.
Currently, the tour schedule for two companies run through next summer in
Omaha and
Washington, DC.
To date, I've seen the touring companies perform four times: once in Chicago (not counting all the times I subsequently saw its sitdown production there), twice in Minneapolis and one more time in Des Moines.
While the touring company doesn't come with all the bells and whistles of the Broadway or other sitdown productions, the stagecraft ranks among the best I've ever seen in any touring show, and the casts are every bit as good as you'll find anywhere.
Wicked - London
Apollo Victoria Theatre, London, United Kingdom
As the first international production
Wicked to open, this production was voted "Most Popular Show" by audiences earlier this year in a special Olivier Award category.
The West End incarnation of
Wicked opened September 27, 2006, and enjoyed its 1500th performance on April 23, 2010. The show is currently booking through April 30, 2011.
My LOML and I caught a
performance in April 2007. Of all our
Wicked experiences, this ranked as the weakest of the bunch. But I readily admit it could have just been an off-performance.
Wicked - Osaka
Osaka Shiki Theater - Osaka, Japan
The first foreign-language version of
Wicked opened June 17, 2007, at Tokyo's Shiki Theatre. The Japanese-language production closed September 6, 2009, before transferring to Osaka, where it opened October 11, 2009. The show is still playing.
At the close of 2007, my LOML and I journeyed to
see the Tokyo production. If you've never seen an American musical in a different language, it's quite a unique experience. Fortunately, since we already knew the show backwards and forwards, we had little difficulty following it. Since that time, we've purchased the Japanese language cast recording, and it's a real hoot to listen to.
Wicked - Die Hexen Von Oz - Oberhausen
Metronom Theater - Oberhausen, Germany
On November 15, 2007, the second non-English language production of
Wicked opened.
This time,
Wicked - Die Hexen von Oz (or "The Witches of Oz) was produced entirely in German at Stuttgart's Palladium Theater. After closing January 29, 2010, it transferred to Oberhausen's Metronom Theater, where it opened March 9 and is still performing.
For the first time in our
Wicked experience, my LOML and I enjoyed front-row seats when
taking in the Stuttgart production over Thanksgiving 2007. We thought this incarnation had some of the best talent we had ever seen in the show, and when the cast recording was issued that December, we couldn't resist in purchasing it immediately.
Wicked - Sydney
Capitol Theatre - Sydney, Australia
Given Australians' penchant for calling their nation "Oz," it was inevitable that
Wicked would find its way there.
On July 12, 2008,
Wicked opened at Melbourne's Regent Theatre. As the musical's fourth international production, it played there through August 9, 2009, having enjoyed 464 performances.
On September 12, 2009,
Wicked opened in Sydney, where it continues to play at the Capitol Theatre and breaking records as the venue's highest grossing musical. While the show is currently slated to close exactly one year after it opened (September 12, 2010), it will continue to live on Down Under. My LOML and I will see the production on the evening of August 18.
In January 2011, Wicked will transfer to Brisbane's
Lyric Theatre, followed by an April 2011 opening at Adelaide's
Festival Theatre.
My LOML and I were fortunate to
see the production shortly after it first opened in Melbourne.
Wicked - Helsinki
Helsingin Kaupungin Teatteri - Helsinki, Finland
On August 26, 2010, the first non-replicated production of
Wicked premieres in Helsinki of all places.
Non-replicated essentially means it will be staged differently than the Broadway original with its own production and creative team. And it will be mounted in Finnish.
Currently, this production of
Wicked is
selling tickets through December 31, 2010.
Wicked - Heksene Fra Oz - Copenhagen
Det Ny Teater - Copenhagen, Denmark
Beginning in January 2011, the second non-replicated production of
Wicked takes root, this time in Denmark. Currently,
Wicked - Heksene Fra Oz is scheduled through May 2011. This production will be in Danish.
To date, my LOML and I have made over 20 visits to
Wicked beginning with our first time at the Gershwin on November 1, 2003. Since then, we've seen the show in nine different venues in five different countries.
Where in the world will our fascination with
Wicked take us next? Only the time dragon clock knows for sure.
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: Broadway, Chicago, Des Moines, London, Melbourne, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, San Francisco, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Wicked
Brief Encounter (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium, Guthrie, Minneapolis, Minnesota**** (out of ****)The all too
Brief Encounter is one of the most magnificent entertainment productions you're likely to see anywhere this year.
But what exactly is it?
Well, catching its final U.S. stop (after it made its way from London to San Francisco and then New York), I can tell you that
Brief Encounter practically defies description. It's a bit like that candy bar -- think "you got your film in my stage play" vs. "you got your stage play in my film."
As its conceit, director
Emma Rice ingeniously builds on the precepts from the Oscar-nominated
1945 motion picture written by
Noël Coward about two married individuals who enjoy a chance meeting in a train station only to find themselves swept away in a mad love affair. Silver screen images are shown on the stage, but it's seemlessly brought to life with a captivating fusion with live theatre. Topping off this delectable treat is a perfect blend of music from the era that breaks the fourth wall.
To say much more beyond this doesn't seem fair because this excellent production has to be seen to be believed and fully appreciated. But I'll add one more thing. It took
Brief Encounter's spellbinding trip back in time to catch a glimpse of the future in entertainment and the integral role projection designs -- like those offered here by
Gemma Carrington and
Jon Driscoll to mesmerizing, dramatic effect -- can have in stage productions.
I enjoyed every moment of this thrilling, if brief, ride.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brief Encounter, Emma Rice, Film, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Noel Coward, Play, The SOB Review
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
SOB's Least Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #1 - Triple Espresso (2008, Music Box Theatre, Minneapolis, MN)
Introduction: Hard as it is to comprehend that we're already 119 months into this "new" millennium, we are fast approaching the end of its first decade. While we have yet to agree on what exactly we should call the '00s, I'll take a cue from the fine folks at The Times of London and the BBC and henceforth refer to them at the Noughties. With that small introduction, I'm not only pleased to present my list of my top 25 favorite plays and musicals of the Noughties, but also a simultaneous countdown of my five least favorite shows out of the hundreds and hundreds of shows I've seen over the last ten years. "Want to see a good show? Then you'll want to avoid
Triple Espresso the way I do
Starbucks,"
I warned nearly two years ago after seeing this buzz-kill.
More a musical revue than a musical,
Triple Espresso had inexplicably been a staple of the Minneapolis theatre scene since opening in the spring of 1997. When I learned the show had set a closing date, I figured I'd try to see what kept the show percolating for so long. While
Triple Espresso dubbed itself "A highly caffeinated comedy," I could have used a little of that high octane stuff to get me through the warmed-over schlock. Simultaneously, it tasted as if it had been on the burner way too long without ever having been fully brewed to begin with.
Triple Espresso revolved around an eponymous comedy trio reuniting after 25 years apart. The closest to "real" fame the three -- Hugh Butternut (Michael Pearce Donley), Bobby Bean (Brian Kelly) and Buzz Maxwell (George Tovar), get it?! -- ever came was in a botched appearance on the 70s "
Mike Douglas" talk show.
Lame attempts to involve the bored audience were exacerbated by largely unfunny schtick borrowed unceasingly from all things the 70s. The only thing I kept wondering was how this show could have been so underdeveloped and yet lasted so long.
Unfortunately,
Triple Espresso was bad to the last drop. No wonder it "earns" the dubious distinction as my least favorite show of the entire decade.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new 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. I paid my own way for this performance.Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Revue, SOB's Least Favorite Shows Of The Noughties, Triple Espresso
SOB's Theatrical Firsts Of The Noughties: For The First Time In My Life I'm Feeling A Little WickedOver the course of the last decade, I’ve been truly fortunate to enjoy a number of enlightening firsts in my personal theatergoing that have only served to increase my deep and abiding love for the art form known as live theatre. What follows is one of my ten favorite experiences of the last ten years.As I mentioned in
my earlier post about my love affair with
Steppenwolf, the other Love Of My Life (LOML) and I have been together for two-thirds of this decade.
It was less than four months into our relationship that we made our first trip together to the Great White Way. A couple months before we had even met, I had secured tickets to
Wicked, which was still a half year away from its Broadway opening.
Two days after the musical opened, LOML and I went to see
Wicked. I was mindful that critics had been less than charitable toward it in their reviews. But perhaps our excitement over the show began when we arrived and were awed by our fifth row center seats. Our deep appreciation for “
The Wizard of Oz” only heightened our appreciation for and enjoyment of
Wicked, which is actually much more clever than some critics cared to admit. As we left the theatre, our feet were practically floating off the floor. We loved
Wicked and couldn’t wait to see it again.
In the more than six years that have passed, we have indulged ourselves by returning to
Wicked more times than we can remember. We returned to Broadway’s
Gershwin Theatre at least a half dozen more times. While we lived in Chicago, we saw the first tour blow through as well as the first sit-down production outside of New York; we’ve seen the show there at least seven times. Additionally, we took in two tour stops: Minneapolis (twice) and Des Moines. We missed the Los Angeles sit-down production, yet managed to see it this year after it transferred to San Francisco.
We’ve also managed to experience this phenomenon overseas, first in
London, then in
Stuttgart (Germany) and then in
Tokyo, all in 2007. Last year, we traveled our farthest distance, all the way to
Melbourne, Australia, to see
Wicked on our fourth continent together. We can’t wait to see where the show will land next so we can add more stamps to our passports .
When my LOML and I last returned the Gershwin earlier this year, our visit was truly extraordinary. We now knew someone in the show who not only arranged house seats for us (which we paid for, FTC!), but also guided us on a backstage tour once the performance had concluded.
We were met by the actor’s dresser, who took us behind the curtain to our friend’s dressing room. From there, our friend took us on the stage of the Gershwin Theatre, which by then was dimly lit by the musical’s ghost light. But what an amazing vantage point to look out at that huge house and realize how much bigger the set looked from there than it did up close. It was a perfect capper to six years of seeing this show from coast-to-coast and around the world, creating memories that will last the rest of our lives.
Some couples have “their song.” For my LOML and I, we have our musical, and it’s name is
Wicked -- a show that never ceases to entertain or hold us in its spell and continues to provide that joy, that thrill, always thrilling us like we think it will.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new 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. I paid my own way for every single performance of Wicked.Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Des Moines, London, Melbourne, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, San Francisco, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Wicked
SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #20 - Small Tragedy (2003, Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, MN)
Introduction: Hard as it is to comprehend that we're already 119 months into this "new" millennium, we are fast approaching the end of its first decade. While we have yet to agree on what exactly we should call the '00s, I'll take a cue from the fine folks at The Times of London and the BBC and henceforth refer to them at the Noughties. With that small introduction, I'm pleased to present my list of plays and musicals that wowed me the most during that time. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of shows I've seen over the last ten years, I give you my countdown of my 25 personal favorite shows of the Noughties. With works like
Reckless,
Prelude to a Kiss and
The Light in the Piazza under his belt,
Craig Lucas’ twisted, trademark storytelling has made a fan out of me.
So when I learned that the world premiere of his
Small Tragedy would take place at the tiny
Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, I made sure I was in the audience. With Lucas, things are never what they seem, and with a dash of
Sophocles thrown in for good measure,
Small Tragedy points to the real-live monsters living among us, nearly undetected. Despite an unknown cast for this initial engagement,
Kip Fagan's intimate staging was so effectively haunting that it was the best small play I saw throughout 2003 (or for that matter, the entire decade). It later went on to enthrall Off-Broadway audiences and critics alike.
Six years later, I can still vividly recall the visceral impact this work had on me. That Lucas' morality play has not been produced more widely since remains more than just a
Small Tragedy.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new 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. I paid my own way for this performance.Labels: Craig Lucas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Small Tragedy, SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties
SOB's Least Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #4 - The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (2002, Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Introduction: Hard as it is to comprehend that we're already 119 months into this "new" millennium, we are fast approaching the end of its first decade. While we have yet to agree on what exactly we should call the '00s, I'll take a cue from the fine folks at The Times of London and the BBC and henceforth refer to them at the Noughties. With that small introduction, I'm not only pleased to present my list of my top 25 favorite plays and musicals of the Noughties, but also a simultaneous countdown of my five least favorite shows out of the hundreds and hundreds of shows I've seen over the last ten years. There's nothing like a good star vehicle to tell a cheap and tawdry story. Unfortunately,
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas revival that toured the United States in the aftermath of 9/11 simply felt cheap.
As someone who has admired
Ann-Margret through her lengthy career, I was eager to see her perform live. But as Madame Mona Stangley, the Swedish kitten seemed incapable of anything but preening and posing directly to the audience, as if there were no other players in the show. Not even
Gary Sandy's best efforts could save this disappointing show.
In a word: “Atrocious.”
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new 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. I paid my own way for each performance.Labels: Ann-Margret, Gary Sandy, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Revival, SOB's Least Favorite Shows Of The Noughties, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Touring Production
Joan Rivers (The SOB Review) - Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota*** (out of ****)Joan Rivers. Can she talk?
Oh, puhleeze! If you mean can Joan Rivers dish a blue streak with the best of them, then absolutely.
Although she's just a few months shy of the same age as my very own mother (who incidentally, Joan, if you
are reading, she is
not the "B" in the SOB on this site), they may as well have been born in different generations given the tireless entertainer's incredibly filthy, obscene and hilarious mouth.
In her performance at Minneapolis' Pantage Theatre last Wednesday evening, Joan Rivers delivered perhaps
the single most politically incorrect comedy piece I've ever witnessed. And I loved practically every minute of it.
With Rivers, there are no sacred cows, largely because she's slaying and skewering virtually every one imagineable and even things you hold dear right before your eyes. As she boldly grabs the cajones of countless celebrities, no one is safe from her expert carving. Not
Michael Jackson. Not
Tom Cruise. Not
Whitney Houston. Not anyone, although just to hedge her bets a smidge, she often quickly adds that the star she's just mercilessly ridiculed is a good or close friend.
As an equal opportunity offender, Rivers is also quick to turn her own personal foibles and tragedies into comic fodder, whether joking about her humiliating failure as a light night talk host or even the truly devastating death of her beloved husband Edgar.
Thankfully, with all the sacred cows slaughtered so masterfully by this comedic icon, there's no bull s*** for the audience to wade through, only genuine laughs.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Comedy, Joan Rivers, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Standup Comedy, The SOB Review
The Full Monty (The SOB Review) - McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota**** (out of ****)If you live in the Twin Cities, I have just two words for you:
"Drop everything."
Sure, go ahead and drop trou and all, but do what you must to see
The Full Monty now playing at St. Paul's
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In one of those rarest of rarities,
Theater Latté Da's excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production is actually much better than the Broadway original.
Sure there was a relatively mild recession going on when I first saw
The Full Monty on Broadway nine years ago. With the ravages much more isolated to hard-hit rust-belt cities like Buffalo, the show lacked a certain relevance. It didn't help that
Jack O'Brien's direction lacked a desperately needed edge, exacerbated by the incongruity in
Howell Binkley's full-tilt, lit-up "Full Monty" sign at the close of the show.
Fast forward nearly nine years and the economic pain is all around us (with the possible exception of Broadway itself). The truth is, we all now know people like those depicted in
The Full Monty. How depressing, right?
As the worst recession since the Great Depression has too many of us worrying about whether we're next, you wouldn't think a show about desperately unemployed factory workers daring to take it all off just to earn a quick $50,000 would resonate or thrill. Yet under
Peter Rothstein's exceptional, confident direction,
Terrence McNally's book and
David Yazbek's underrated score become even more salient, all the more gripping and certainly more entertaining today.
Rothstein's direction is a marvel unto itself. In what is his best production yet, he strips
The Full Monty down to its grittiest, barest essentials and dresses it up with one of the best ensembles I've seen anywhere this year. Led by
Joshua James Campbell, who's perfect as the down-and-out father Jerry Lukowski, the stellar cast shines just fine on its own, thank you, without any fancy, unnecessary lighting.
Veteran Twin Cities actress
Wendy Lehr is a veritable laugh machine unto herself as the wisecracking Jeanette Burmeister, who assists the unlikely stripping quintet find its legs. Clearly having the time of her life, Lehr practically steals every scene she's in.
Additionally,
Reggie Phoenix scores big as Noah "Horse" Simmons,
Zach Curtis is a big ol' fat delight as Dave Bukatinsky, and as Malcolm MacGregor,
Randy Schmeling once again delivers a virtuoso performance you'd expect to see on a Broadway stage (in fact, this entire production is worthy of the Great White Way). Schmeling's heartfelt, nuanced turn will leave a lump in your throat and tear in your eye.
So again, if you're in Minneapolis, St. Paul or environs, shake your money-maker over the Ordway and catch this sexy, fun and uplifting
Full Monty before it takes off for good on November 8.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Peter Rothstein, Revival, Terrence McNally, The Full Monty
101 Dalmatians (The SOB Review) - Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota*1/2 (out of ****)Given the wonderful seminal movie-going experience
Disney's 1961 animated feature "
101 Dalmatians" afforded me, I eagerly anticipated and chowed down on everything from its initial release on videotape and DVD to movie memorabilia to the
1996 feature film.
So when I learned that Tony Award-winning director
Jerry Zaks would be helming a stage musical version, how could I resist? Turns out this tale is far from man's best friend.
When it comes to the non-Disney touring production of
The 101 Dalmatians Musical that made its initial bow in Minneapolis last week, there's no beating around the bushes (which, parents should duly note, are apparently inhabited with dogs in serious heat). Unfortunately, it's all bow, with too little wow. Some of those gasps you're likely to hear are parents who are caught off-guard by several instances of off-color humor.
It would be easy for any wag to dismiss the tuner as one giant dog of a show, but that really wouldn't be fair to any canine. Its creators may insist that this
101 Dalmatians is meant to reflect Dodie Smith's original 1956 children's novel, but it readily becomes apparent that this is merely a feeble attempt to cash-in on the far superior Disney forebears.
Act One certainly shows some promise, including flourishes in its score reminiscent of the heyday for 70s rock band
Styx. That's in part because it's been written by the group's front-man
Dennis DeYoung. Unfortunately, the second act becomes hackneyed and the score is simply derivative.
But that's a mutt point if you deliver on what "101 Dalmatians" fans have enjoyed most about the earlier incarnations: the cute furry dogs and the fiendish Cruella DeVil. In this
101 Dalmatians, both aren't on stage nearly enough even if they represent the most satisfying aspects of the show.
With varying effect, the adult characters warily maneuver the stage in costumes built for stilts so as to appear larger than the the humans portraying Pongo, Missus and their own litter of puppies (played by children). To supplement these "dogs," up to 15 genuine dalmatians are used, along with what appear to be cardboard cutouts, to amass the quantities the title demands.
Sorry to say, these real dogs are only used at the end of each act. At the conclusion of the show, the real dalmatians chew the scenery quite literally by putting on a pleasing display of impressively stupid pet tricks. Considering that they elicit a much larger audience response than the rest of the show put together (with one notable exception that I'll get to in a moment), they demonstrate just how little meat is on this
101 Dalmatians' bones.
As for that exception, the enormously talented
Rachel York is a delirious delight as the devilish Cruella. Despite being criminally underutilized, the wickedly funny York radiates the musical's only real heat whenever she blazes across the stage. She really sinks her teeth into the production and employs her considerable vocal skills to tremendous effect. York is also one of the few actors in this production who seems truly comfortable on those stilts.
Suffice to say, without York,
101 Dalmatians would just sit there with no bark and no bite. And that's a doggone shame.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: 101 Dalmatians, Dennis DeYoung, Jerry Zaks, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Rachel York, The SOB Review, Touring Production
Something Witchy (The SOB Review) - Partizan Theater, Minnesota Fringe Festival, U of M Rarig Center Thrust, Minneapolis, Minnesota***1/2 (out of ****)Someplace far beyond where the improbable seems to run forever parallel to the possible -- with no apparent chance for ever intersecting -- the former veers directly into the latter.
Such was the case forty years ago this summer when
Charles Manson and his "Family" of followers shocked the world with their
heinous crimes against the bold and the beautiful in Los Angeles. Their brand of drug-induced, racially-tinged,
Beatles-inspired "
Helter Skelter" over the course of two nights left seven brutally murdered, including actress
Sharon Tate and grocer
Leno LaBianca.
The
Tate-LaBianca Murders, of course, would become the stuff of never-ending notoriety. There would be countless
books,
movies and even an "official"
blog. So large is the continued fascination that the thirst for new angles on this 40-year old story never seem to be fully quenched.
It's against this backdrop that
Partizan Theater's
Something Witchy manages to find that obscure place where the improbable gives way to the possible yet again. Set in 1986,
Something Witchy conjures up the insatiable thirst of one man (
Chris Carlson) for his own angle, resulting in a search for a long-since missing 16 year old Family Member. That search ends in the Midwestern suburban home of Rachel (
Catherine Johnson Justice), who has quietly assumed a new identity and life as a wife and mother of her own 16 year old daughter Cody (
Lindsey Alexandra Hartley).
Instead of merely turning in
another ripped-from-the-headlines story -- ten years ago,
Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) member Kathleen Ann Soliah was found to have quietly taken root as Midwest wife and mom
Sara Jane Olson -- playwright and director
James Vculek brilliantly turns that twist on its head with a far creepier, crawlier take on the inherent perils of stalking itself.
Clocking in at just an hour,
Something Witchy is a spine-tingling, taut thriller anchored by three riveting performances. Hartley projects the requisite frustration of a teen who can't quite figure out her mysterious mother (even if her voice doesn't always project nearly enough). Carlson lends a truly creepy air to his man on a mission, making us wonder what his true motives in tracking Rachel really are -- is it his own fame and fortune or some twisted lust?
Justice is simply off-the-charts as the cornered Rachel, whose face can't belie the facts when confronted. But is she relieved to finally share her dark secret or is there a dormant Family aspect that's been bubbling under the surface all these years?
For a work set amid the fringes of society,
Something Witchy is far from average
Minnesota Fringe Festival fare. Far from improbable, it succeeds in standing on its own weight here, and its possibilities point to a meatier stand-alone play that will hopefully cast its spell in other theatres to come.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Catherine Johnson Justice, Chris Carlson, James Vculek, Lindsey Alexandra Hartley, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Fringe Festival, Partizan Theater, Play, Something Witchy, The SOB Review
The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, Minnesota**1/2 (out of ****)Last evening,
Tony Kushner's
The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures enjoyed its world premiere at the
Guthrie in Minneapolis.
Whew! Simply writing that is exhausting. Just try sitting through this three and a half hour
plus production as it clearly remains a work in progress, despite director
Michael Greif's best efforts to rein it in immediately prior its official opening. It's
been reported that just three days ago, the estimable ensemble was still working on script before preview audiences.
If you're anticipating the kind of profound sweeping social statement that verbose playwright
Tony Kushner provided through the groundbreaking
Angels In America or the level of compelling social history he offered via
Caroline, Or Change, you may just find yourself a little disappointed. The title of the play seems to suggest a latter-day "gay fantasia on national themes" as his
Angels works had been dubbed. While Kushner inhabits
Intelligent Homosexual with five gay characters -- none of whom, with the possible exception of one, are particularly likeable -- they remain on the periphery of the central plot. Nevertheless, Kushner manages to offer quite a screed.
If you're then wondering where that unusual title comes from, it's derived from two unlikely 19th Century sources: playwright
George Bernard Shaw's 1928 book "
The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism, Capitalism, Sovietism and Fascism" and
Christian Science founder
Mary Baker Eddy's 1875 tome "
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." The program for this play includes Kushner's notes from "Waking Up" (1997), which embellishes on those themes:
The Intelligent Homosexual ... I have been observing him all my life. He is busy with his life's work, a massive book running to many volumes entitled The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Socialism And Capitalism, With A Key To The Scriptures. He has been writing this book, day after day, for forty years; since parturition he's been writing it. He knows it to be incompleteable, he knows he will die writing it, he knows he is working himself to death -- though he does not want to die.
As the ultimate observer, Kushner has swept those themes and so much more into his play about an unlikely intellectual retiree named Gus Marcantonio, intensely portrayed here by the seemingly fearless Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Michael Cristofer. Having toiled a lifetime not only as a longshoreman, but also an ardent Communist, Gus possesses a philosophy on life at odds with his 2007 Brooklyn setting.
The play begins in earnest as Gus' sister Bennie (played with subtle grace by
Kathleen Chalfant) and his three adult children -- Maria Teresa or M.T. (as in "Empty"-- get it? because if you don't it
will be underscored for you) (
Linda Emond), Pier or "Pill" (
Stephen Spinella) and Vito (
Ron Menzel) --reunite at their family home. This house was initially shared with other families and stayed with the Marcantonios even through the Great Depression. As the housing bubble ballooned during the early part of this decade, the brownstone was worth a considerable fortune by 2007.
Gus not only sees the economic storm clouds gathering, but he realizes that it might not be long before the bubble is about to burst and the home's value will begin to plummet. Claiming he has
Alzheimer's, Gus gathers his brood to announce two last acts of benevolence. He plans to sell the home while it can earn top dollar, and he will kill himself so that his family will reap an early inheritance and avoid suffering through the indignities that come from his scourge.
Add to that mix a couple of self-loathing gay characters. Provocative themes to be sure. However, Kushner excessively leans on histrionics to make his points. A few too many of his characters bloviate and pontificate ad nauseum on everything from religion to far left politics with an almost fascist ferocity that ironically defies some of the very themes against which the playwright seems to be throwing down his gauntlet. Can there really be that many intellectuals emanating from one blue collar household? It all sounds so, well, labored and forced.
Even more frustrating is the largely unintelligible second of three acts, in which family members squabble at length, including a few highly-charged and raw shouting matches. What is remarkably unfortunate is that rather than allowing each heated argument to play out on its own, Greif appears to have opted to layer them on top of one another in an apparent gambit to winnow down the show's running time. The result is nothing short of a cacophonic mess. No wonder Gus' daughter interrupts the din to call her family nightmarish.
While I've been reading that Kushner's third act is not quite the equal of the first two, I'd argue the opposite. Kushner uses his third act to passionately make his underlying case for connectedness, and he does so with a degree of clarity and pathos only hinted at during the first two acts.
As I said, this is clearly an evolving work. No doubt, Kushner will continue refining
The Intelligent Homosexual. Yet given what he's written about it back in 1997, one can't help but fear he'll be doing so the rest of his life.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Michael Greif, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism And Socialism, The SOB Review, Tony Kushner
A Midsummer Night's Dream (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minne-apolis, MN** (out of ****)Nearly every evening over the past few years, my nightly dreams have become extraordinarily crazy, yet incredibly vivid. Almost every single one is typically nonsensical, brimming with one non-sequitur sequence after another.
Why, just last week, I endured a doozy. One moment, there were Cirque du Soleileque aerial artists swinging on ropes in form-fitting, fluorescent-colored spandex, swinging on ropes.
The next moment, the daughter of a modern military-minded king was pleading with her father against the would-be union he had arranged for her.
That gave way to a
bon vivant bunch of vaudevillians practicing their latest act.
Then there was this freaky earthen ball, which opened with a phantasmagorically lusty goddess, ready to reel in her latest prey.
My dream nearly turned into a nightmare as all these elements came swirling together at once, with a dash of disco music and other strangely incongruent intersecting musical pieces.
And on top of all that, I could swear I dreamt a little something sounding a bit like William Shakespeare’s brand of Olde English being spoken well beyond its freshness date. Like every similarly interminable dream I have had like it (and I have way too many), I couldn’t help thinking to myself, is this really a dream? As I was dreaming, I was hoping beyond hope I’d simply wake up.
Oh wait! That wasn't a dream?
Well, not in the literal sense. It was the new unfortunately unfantastic fantasy revival of
A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Guthrie’s ever innovative Artistic Director Joe Dowling.
The pieces meant to dazzle -- especially John Stead and Joel F. Harris’ cirque-lite wire activity that’s only intermittently thrown in, and rarely to any captivating effect -- just prolong the ability to effectively tell this already convoluted tale in less than three-plus hours. It doesn’t help that designs, including Frank Hallinan Flood’s set and Paul Tazewell’s costumes have a cheap look to them. Think small-time Indian casinos trying to ape their more vibrant Vegas contemporaries.
It’s almost as if Dowling has determined in advance that the rickety plot points can’t sustain our interest on their own. So he has instead manufactured a mini-spectacle for today’s ADD generation, obfuscating the weakest links, including
A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s younger cast members. The glaring exception is William Sturdivant as Lysander, who stands alone among the young lovers in comfortably conversing in Shakespeare-speak.
Fortunately, that merry band of vaudevillians mentioned above -- primarily comprised of Guthrie veterans Stephen Pelinski (Nick Bottom), Jim Lichtscheidl (Peter Quince), Stephen Yoakam (Snug) and Sally Wingert (Robin Starveling), along with relative newbie Randy Reyes (Francis Flute) (other Guthrie vet Richard S. Iglewski was out during my performance) -- upstages the primary story line and ultimately lifts the spectacle into some semblance of what one would likely hope for when taking in this revival.
Dowling deserves enormous credit for his ever-evolving vision. After all, trying to breathe new life into an old Bard classic isn’t easy. I also applaud him for dreaming up new ways to attract a new generation of theatergoers to Shakespeare.
But don’t lose any sleep over missing this
Dream.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Guthrie, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The SOB Review, William Shakespeare
Eddie Izzard: Stripped (The SOB Review) - State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
* (out of ****)Stripped seems like an apt metaphor for this threadbare show that is bereft of articulate, cogent thought I had come to expect from comedian/actor
Eddie Izzard. Also largely missing was the humor.
Certainly, anyone following his act may be led to believe that
Stripped references the lack of transvestitism for which he's made his mark. And there's nary a trace of it given his ringmaster coat and casual jeans appearance.
But
Stripped instead unintentionally comes off as a pseudo-intellectual's desire to have his rambling and often incoherent thoughts -- which he's constantly interrupting
himself, only to ask the audience, "Where was I?" -- taken seriously.
Yes, we get that Izzard does not believe in a higher being. But to make this the basis for most of his long, two-plus hour rant is hardly entertaining (although he does have one funny bit about Noah's ark).
I found myself fixated on what little real movement there was on the stage. It came from a set design that included a window to the skies. I sat and watched the sun morph into a black hole that turned into a moon. Sadly, it was as if the world was passing me by, and I wasn't laughing.
Unfortunately, that black hole had me feeling truly trapped during an appallingly unpolished performance. In the end, the only thing I felt stripped of was the money I paid to sit through this tedious slog.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Comedy, Eddie Izzard, Minneapolis/St. Paul, The SOB Review, Touring Production
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2007-08As
noted yesterday, I've been extremely fortunate to take in 84 different performances of 81 various productions during the course of the 2007-08 Theatrical Season.
Since I'm
not given freebie tickets, instead paying for them all out of my own pocket, you can bet that I'm hoping beyond hope to be entertained by every single one of them. Even though there's really no such thing as a bad night at the theatre -- after all, you have to see some real dogs (my apologies to my pooches Henne and Fargo) to truly appreciate the best -- I've still managed to see some downright awful shows.
Since I paid for every last ticket and still take no paid advertising, I'm taking advantage of my right to free speech by offering up my third annual list of the "5 Worst" shows I saw. I may as well unleash all my inner negativism now before moving on to all the wonderful shows that have made my "Best of" lists.
And so, without any further ado, here are the
SOB Five Worst of 2007-08:
5 - Cry-Baby (Marquis Theatre, New York, NY)
Is it fair to count a performance of
Cry-Baby when it was just
three weeks into previews among my worst? Well, if they can charge me to see a bad show, I can include it on my list, and there was nothing about it that made me want to return once the show opened. I can only hope it actually improved, given its Tony nominations. Despite its multi-million dollar budget, this new musical quite incredibly comes across as a poor man's
Grease with its tired good girl gone gaga for bad boy premise. Sadly, the latest
John Waters-inspired Broadway musical
Cry-Baby is trashy fun. Without the fun.
4 - Gone With The Wind (New London Theatre, London, UK)
A flop of epic proportions, I understand that they're still chiseling away at this show a month after it opened in hopes of avoiding all their capitalization from becoming
Gone With The Wind. Although purely unintentional, this ranks as one of the year's funniest laugh-out loud musicals. Simply put, writer/sociologist
Margaret Martin and director
Trevor Nunn fail to deliver a compelling musical that can stand on its own. Their efforts have added nothing to the art of live theatre except endless exposition. Do we really need a narrator telling us that Miss Scarlett is about to look at herself in the mirror when we can see that for ourselves, or worse, having her step over dying soldiers rolling around on the stage who suddenly rise up to tell us they're all dying? Funny, yet sad at the same time.
3 - The Ritz (Studio 54, New York, NY)
The flaccid revival of
Terrence McNally's
The Ritz was low on shock value, except for how dull and lifeless it was. Ranking as one of director
Joe Mantello's most disappointing efforts yet, the only real highlight came near the end of the first act when its whacked-out Googie (
Rosie Perez) took to the stage of
The Ritz baths to sing an insipid, if it weren't so inspired, medley of tunes slapped together from the deviously clever mind of
Seth Rudetsky. For one brief enjoyable moment,
The Ritz thrilled before reverting back to the facile facscimile it was.
2 - Glory Days (Circle In The Square Theatre, New York, NY)
In retrospect,
I was far too kind to the subpar, threadbare 90-minute
Glory Days that dared to call itself a Broadway musical. The show vanished immediately after opening night. If not for the worst show of the year, the ill-fated
Glory Days ironically would have achieved that dubious distinction. Coming across as not even quite half-finished, this is not the type of show that should have so easily or quickly been catapulted directly to the Broadway spotlight from a regional theatre. The show could easily have been mounted by an Off Off-Broadway house and attracted an appropriate youthful audience it was clearly targeting without having the audacity to charge $100 or more per ticket. No glory there.
1 - Triple Espresso (Music Box Theatre, Minneapolis, MN)
Bad to the very last drop,
Triple Espresso was an inexplicably long-running musical revue about an eponymous comedy trio reuniting after 25 years. After running over a decade, it apparently had been percolating so long, it lost all its taste. The warmed-over schlock simultaneously tasted like it had been on the burner way too long without ever having been fully brewed to begin with.
So, there you have them: SOB's choices for the "5 Worst" shows I endured during the 2007-08 Theatrical Season. As I've stated in previous years:
Of course, this is all in the eye of the beholder. You may vehemently disagree or wonder whether I even have a clue as to what is artistic and what is not. But since my goal in life is to enjoy it rather than simply being a dilettante, I’m going to tell it like I see it by naming the five productions that I enjoyed less than any others.
If you saw any of these shows, let me know what you thought. And please feel free to share the worst shows you sat through (or walked out of) during that past year!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:SOB's Best & Worst Of 2007-08 Theatre Season (May 22, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Top Ten Of The Year (June 4, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2006-07: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 23, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Musicals (May 22, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Plays (May 21, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 18, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 16, 2007)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2006-07 (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2006-07 Theatre Season (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (May 17, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd (May 15, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2001-02 (May 24, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2000-01 (May 23, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Cry-Baby, Glory Days, Gone With The Wind, London, Minneapolis/St. Paul, SOB Best of 2007-08, SOB Five Worst of 2007-08, The Ritz, Triple Espresso
The second win I scored in this trifecta came Saturday and Sunday in Lexington, Kentucky. My Love Of My Life (LOML) and I used the past weekend to visit our friends Daniel and Donna. After first cementing our friendship with them at the 2008 Tony Awards, we've enjoyed opportunities to see them everywhere from London to our home turf. So it was our turn to repay the favor of a visit, which came over the weekend in Lexington. 
