Steve On Broadway (SOB)

SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Musicals

SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Musicals

During the 2007-08 Theatrical Season, I've enjoyed the opportunity to see 13 new musicals. Perhaps "enjoyed" isn't quite the right word since that number proved a bit unlucky with three of these tuners turning up on my "Worst 5" list.

The past year was not a particularly great one for new musicals with the vast majority of them falling a bit flat with me. But fortunately, there were some notable exceptions, enough to register, resonate and score on my personal "5 Best" list for the past twelve months:


5 - Queens Boulevard (Signature Theatre Company at the Peter Norton Space, New York, NY)

While a certain neighborhood in the upper reaches of Manhattan has helped launch this season's mainstream ethnic musical sensation, those who ventured to Queens Boulevard were treated to something quite otherworldly. Charles Mee's rendition of the melting pot known as Queens was a varitable feast for the senses with the most beguiling first twenty minutes I've ever seen in a stage show. Queens Boulevard centers on a bride (Michi Barall) and groom (Amir Arison) whose respective Japanese and Indian cultures come rhythmically together -- think Bollywood film with a Japanese accent. As a musical, Queens Boulevard operated more like a quirkier New Age "Moulin Rouge" with an eclectic fusion of tunes spanning the globe and some of the most mesmerizing choreography of the year.

Ironically enough, Mee has created a distinctly American fairy tale, and with multitude of cultures he's stuffed into his work, it really couldn't happen anywhere else but here.


4 - Xanadu (Helen Hayes Theatre, New York, NY)

You've just gotta love a show that doesn't take itself too seriously. And in the case of Xanadu, how could it? Rather than take a straight approach, literally and figuratively, this Xanadu revels and luxuriates in the extremely dubious nature of its source material about an Australian-accented mythical goddess who's brought to life by the clueless chalk-bearing mortal who drew her, while she flirts with her own mortality by falling in love with him. Indeed, this is the campiest, most outrageous fun I've had all year long. Douglas Carter Beane's super silly, yet surprisingly engaging book, which is simply too preposterous to describe, offers copious amounts of winking and nodding. As the muse Clio/Kyra, Kerry Butler proves a formidible force with a gorgeous voice coupled with plenty of comic timing. Cheyenne Jackson more than ably glides on his rollerskates with charm to spare. Together as Clio's conspiring sisters, Jackie Hoffman and Mary Testa conjure up laughing spells that soar so beyond the top I found myself doubled over in fits of glee.

Is Xanadu a great musical? Of course not, and fortunately, it doesn't aspire to be. But if you go into the show with an open mind, don't be surprised if you find this show working its way into your heart.

3 - The Glorious Ones (Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY)

Who said nice things come in small packages? Well, in the case of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's The Glorious Ones, you might instead say naughty things come in small packages. Though it may not exactly have risen to the exalted heights of all things glorious, the accomplished tunesmiths' latest work was certainly good -- if not-so-clean -- fun. With Graciela Daniele's deft touch and Ahrens and Flaherty's comedic and at times compelling score, The Glorious Ones was a debauched little diamond in the rough shining bright with a devilishly funny cast led by Marc Kudisch as the charismatic 16th Century leader of a fledgling band of actors in the commedia dell’arte (comic tradition).

Steeped in vulgarity and slapstick, this little frippery may not have been glorious. But it certainly was delightful fun.


2 - A Catered Affair (Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY)

Like a rare vintage wine that deserves to be sipped and savored, the seriously sublime A Catered Affair opens up across the tastebuds into a glorious bouquet. When all is said and done, this beautifully-acted, earnest chamber musical is intoxicating. Rich with integrity, Harvey Fierstein has vividly crafted a genuinely touching book that dares to wear its dry dignity on its sleeve, right alongside its huge beating heart. Fierstein's libretto has been wondrously blended with John Bucchino's stirring score. John Doyle's understated direction strikes the right balance between the many trials and inner demons the musical's principal characters face and the often hidden gentility each possesses, including Faith Prince in the performance of her career.

With a workmanlike realism, this slice of fifties Bronx offers a humungous and unpretentious heart. For anyone who has a palate worthy of the best reserve, A Catered Affair is a must-see.


1 - Passing Strange (Belasco Theatre, New York, NY)

The year's absolute best, most cosmic musical was also the most unusual and unexpected, and yet somehow real. Passing Strange succeeds in taking the Great White Way in an entirely new, infinitely intelligent direction. Its trajectory brilliantly takes a bohemian base and infuses gospel, rock, punk and soul music into a delicious, simmering hot, heterogeneous bouillabaisse, compliments of a musician named Stew. This exacting artist takes us on a wild trip in quasi-strolling minstrel style, expertly telling the story of his own formative adult years with such humor, passion and grace that I found myself tearing up many times over as chills shot down my spine.

Stew's storytelling alter ego, Youth, is played with awkward charm by Daniel Breaker, a sensationally expressive new stage star in an astonishing breakthrough role. Breaker has been duly honored (as I had predicted) with a well-deserved Tony nomination.

Often veering toward the existential when it's not reminding you of "The Wizard Of Oz," Stew's ethereal odyssey isn't as much about saying "there's no place like home" as it's reassuring you that you actually can go home again. I couldn't help but fall head over heels in love with this smoke-hazed tale. Far from strange, I look forward to passing this way again.


What were the best new musicals you saw over the past year? I invite you to join the conversation by sharing your theatre experiences with me.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Related Stories:
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 28, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 27, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 24, 2008)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2007-08 (May 23, 2008)
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 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: A Catered Affair, Broadway, Musical, Off-Broadway, Passing Strange, Queens Boulevard, SOB's Best of 2007-08, The Glorious Ones, Xanadu

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, May 29, 2008 27 comments

Queens Boulevard (The SOB Review)

Queens Boulevard (The SOB Review) - Signature Theatre Company at the Peter Norton Space

**1/2 (out of ****)

In the Signature Theater Company bio for Charles Mee, the revered playwright is quoted as saying:

I like plays that are not too neat, too finished, too presentable. My plays are broken, jagged, filled with sharp edges, filled with things that take sudden turns, careen into each other, smash up, veer off in sickening turns. That feels good to me. It feels like my life. It feels like the world.

If you're looking for Mee's trademark "broken, jagged and filled with sharp edges," look no further that this mystical and surreal new musical Queens Boulevard. In it, that world collides together in that microcosmic melting pot known as Queens, New York, where nearly half of the borough's 2.25 million inhabitants were born outside the United States.

Before the show even begins, the audience enters on a spirited, spiritual wedding reception already in progress. Director Davis McCallum succeeds in making you feel as though you're part of this celebration. It's a varitable feast for the senses -- including tastebuds, if you're among the fortunate audience members to receive a pre-performance jello shooter -- making the first twenty minutes alone so beguiling that it's more than worth the $20 ticket price.

The bride Shizuko (Michi Barall) and groom Vijay (Amir Arison) are first generation Americans of Japanese and Indian descent, respectively. With a nod to each of their cultures, their banquet is visually and rhythmically steeped in rich colors and pulsating beats. Thanks in part to Christal Weatherly's exquisite costume design and Peter Pucci's stunning choreography, it's like taking in a Bollywood film with a Japanese accent.

Presiding over the proceedings -- with the emphasis on "over" -- is the requisite DJ (Satya Bhabha). After spinning together a rich amalgam of world tunes from his lonely perch high above the wedding dance floor, the DJ metaphorically spins around the story of Shizuko and Vijay's first evening as a married couple.

While he rarely speaks, his presence looms large in practically every scene. He's always there -- not unlike the way in which Kimberly Guerrero's Johnna quietly hovers over the chaos in August: Osage County -- as if he's offering some centrifugal force to ensure these two lovers never spin completely out of orbit from one another.

But they come very close.

In the aftermath of the reception when Shizuko and Vijay share their first real quiet moment together alone (save the fluttering DJ), she divulges to her husband that a mysterious stranger had earlier presented a beautiful, mythical Flower of Heaven to her. After sharing her story, she excuses herself to briefly prepare for her wedding night. Vijay inexplicably becomes obsessed with finding her a matching flower and heads out into the bustling streets of Queen in his quest.

Along the way, he crosses paths with his friend Abdi (Arian Moayed), a Muslim who has just lost his mother and is carrying her wooden casket en route to her burial. He implores Vijay to be a good comrade and provide comfort by staying through the interment. In turn, Abdi promises to help find the elusive flower.

True to Mee's use of "sudden turns" that "careen into each other," Vijay and Abdi's focus -- and that of Mee, too -- becomes lost when one distraction (such as a chance bar room meeting with one of Vijay's former loves) after another (like their eleventh hour decision to see another acquaintance before she gives birth) after another borders on the ridiculously monotonous.

If that weren't tedious enough, each friend and acquaintance they meet along the way feels the need to pontificate, resulting in the story losing its way every bit as much as Vijay has. Each usurps the groom's time away from his bride to the point where you just want to stand up and say, "go home already." Even poor Shizuko soon finds herself out with her friends vainly in search of Vijay, although the two narrowly miss each other in a dance club.

Queens Boulevard isn't so much east meets west as much as where high-minded meets heavy-handed. As a musical, Queens Boulevard operates more like a quirkier New Age "Moulin Rouge" than a show with an original score. What you get is an eclectic fusion of tunes spanning the globe, ranging from the identifiable ABBA tune ("Dancing Queen") to the more obscure, including "traditional Okinawan, Iranian and Irish folks songs" outlined in the program notes. But the result is far from cohesive.

The roundly talented cast delivers as many as four different personnas each, evoking the myriad ethnicities that abound in Queens. Most effective is Bhabha, who as the DJ ultimately reels Vijay -- as well as the slightly off-kilter production -- back to some semblence of reality with fresh flower in hand as he's finally reunited with Shizuko.

Mee certainly ties up the loose ends in his (ironically enough) distinctly American fairy tale -- with the multitude of characters he's stuffed into his work, it really couldn't happen anywhere else -- but true to his intent, it's far from being too neat or too presentable.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.

Labels: Charles Mee, Musical, Off-Broadway, Queens Boulevard, Signature Theatre, The SOB Review

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, December 14, 2007 0 comments