Women: On The Verge Of A Stellar Musical?
Yesterday, preliminary casting was announced for the
Broadway musical version of
Pedro Almodóvar's breakthrough 1988 film "
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown." It's mighty enticing.
While
Lincoln Center Theater is currently advertising this as a limited run (October 8 through January 23), its sheer star power alone from the Broadway firmament could make the Great White Way live up to its name for considerably longer. Since it will be staged at the
Belasco Theatre, I can't help wondering if it will ultimately do just that.
Helmed by Tony-winning director
Bartlett Sher, the stellar cast is set to include
Sherie Rene Scott,
Patti LuPone,
Brian Stokes Mitchell,
Sherie Rene Scott,
Laura Benanti,
de'Adre Aziza,
Danny Burstein,
Mary Beth Peil,
Nikka Graff Lanzarone and
Justin Guarini.
Women On The Verge will feature a score by
David Yazbek and book by
Jeffrey Lane, the same team who gave us the underappreciated
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Lincoln Center describes the tuner as follows:
Based on Pedro Almodóvar's internationally acclaimed 1988 film, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown is set in late 20th-century Madrid and tells the story of the intertwining lives of a group of women whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion and passion.
Women On The Verge ranks right near the top of the new musicals I'm most looking forward to seeing during what is shaping up to be a tuner-rich year. The casting announcement is just icing on the cake.
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: Bartlett Sher, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Broadway, David Yazbek, Film, First Word On New Show, Jeffrey Lane, Musical, Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
Everyday Rapture (The SOB Review) – American Airlines Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, New York
*** (out of ****)
Dismiss
Sherie Rene Scott’s
Everyday Rapture as nothing more than Broadway navel-gazing at your own peril. It’s Scott’s very soul that’s laid completely bare in this most improbable of Great White Way shows.
All attention in this "semi-autobiographical" show is skillfully redirected away from her covered midriff -- she is, after all,
Amish-lite. Wearing her enormous heart on her sleeve, Scott manages to win ours as she shares her journey from simply being a devout disciple of Jesus to one who becomes inquisitive enough to also ask what would
Judy do.
In one of the year’s most hilarious scenes, Scott’s
show-stealing tune from
Aida takes center stage as she tries reaching out to a young fan (a riotously funny
Eamon Foley) with questionable success. But succeed,
Everyday Rapture does in a very winning, surpising and often poignant way.
How much is fact or fiction is immaterial. Possessing both a sly self-deprecating wit and one of Broadway’s most beautiful singing voices, Scott enraptures you throughout with talent that’s anything but everyday.
You can’t help but wonder when this self-professed semi-superstar will be able to toss aside all semi-statuses for good.
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, Eamon Foley, Everyday Rapture, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The SOB Review
Did Little Mermaid Find Its Legs Among Critics?Last month, after 50 preview performances,
Disney's stage adaptation of
The Little Mermaid opened at Broadway's
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Helmed by
Francesca Zambello, the
Alan Menken,
Howard Ashman and
Glenn Slater tuner stars
Sierra Boggess,
Norm Lewis,
Sherie René Scott and
Tituss Burgess.
Apparently the critics weren't biting.
Opening with "Loved the shoes. Loathed the show,"
The New York Times ' self-proclaimed exaggerator
Ben Brantley nevertheless pans in his one absolute must-read review. It's
that funny: "Directed by Francesca Zambello, this
Little Mermaid burdens its performers with ungainly guess-what-I-am costumes (by Tatiana Noginova) and a distracting set (by George Tsypin) awash in pastels gone sour and unidentifiable giant tchotchkes that suggest a Luau Lounge whipped up by an acid-head heiress in the 1960s. The whole enterprise is soaked in that sparkly garishness that only a very young child -- or possibly a tackiness-worshiping drag queen -- might find pretty....Coherence of plot, endearing quirks of character, even the melodious wit of the original score (supplemented by new, substandard songs by Mr. Menken and the lyricist Glenn Slater) have been swallowed by an unfocused spectacle, more parade than narrative, that achieves the dubious miracle of translating an animated cartoon into something that feels like less than two dimensions."
Noting how the show "begins to bloat by the end,"
Eric Grode of
The New York Sun offers a more mixed assessment: "So Disney has turned
Mermaid into the latest of its high-gloss screen-to-stage projects -- and the result is almost exactly half as clever and touching and tuneful as the film....Ms. Zambello's embellishments, for the most part, are not particularly welcome ones....Doug Wright has added backstory galore and a handful of grin-worthy puns ("As long as you live under my reef, you'll obey my rules!") but allows the action to bog down well before the final chorus....(Choreographer) Stephen Mear, takes the reins here, and the results are largely successful."
Citing "plastic, plastic everywhere, enough to lead you to drink,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes gives the show just one star: "Underneath all this baroque ornamentation was a tiny, tinny little musical struggling for its life....The music is sort of perkily lugubrious....The lyrics fade away either in a miasma of romantic fatuity or a haze of grimly dull jokiness....Yet throughout the long-littleness of the show, Mear's more than competent choreography shines out, as they say, like a good deed in a naughty world....There isn't much I can say of the cast -- all swimming upstream with a kind of grinning gallantry."
Assessing it as a "doggedly conventional, well-performed, middling bore of a show,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer is similarly uncharitable: "[T]he most amazing part of Disney's latest musical is its amazing shortage of originality -- not to mention magic or cross-generational wit....[D]irector Francesca Zambello and set designer George Tsypin -- both from the progressive wing of grand opera -- appear to have toiled mightily to come up with almost nothing new....Newcomer Sierra Boggess has both the creamy-voice lyricism and spunky spirit of a fine Disney heroine. Sean Palmer is suitably dashing, if a little mature for her, as Prince Eric."
Citing a bit of an improvement over the Denver tryout,
David Rooney of
Variety still offers a negative review: "The massive brand power of the beloved 1989 animated feature might make disappointment over the show's diluted charms irrelevant. But the impression remains that this is a case of winning material hitched to the wrong creative team....Sierra Boggess' Ariel is a perfectly lovely, vocally accomplished lead, but Doug Wright's book somehow loses the fundamental quality that made Disney's update of the
Hans Christian Andersen tale so captivating onscreen."
You can find my review of the Denver tryout by clicking
here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ben Brantley, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Disney, Film, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, Sierra Boggess, The Little Mermaid
Little Mermaid Finally Lands Opening NightNearly one month after it was originally scheduled to open on Broadway (those plans were jettisoned due to the Broadway stagehands strike),
Disney's stage adaptation of
The Little Mermaid finally opens this evening at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Under
Francesca Zambello's direction, the tuner features a book by
Doug Wright, along with a score by
Alan Menken,
Howard Ashman and
Glenn Slater.
Sierra Boggess lands her first major Broadway lead as Ariel, while
Norm Lewis portrays her father King Triton.
Sherie René Scott takes on the role of King Triton's sister Ursula, and
Tituss Burgess plays Sebastian.
I caught the show last September during its out-of-town Denver tryout. While
I gave good marks to the cast, whom I believe did their best with the material they were given, I found that it lacked the requisite Disney magic.
Is it possible that all that has been turned around during its unusually lengthy period of 50 previews? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:All Of Great White Way Gleams Tonight (November 29, 2007)
Little Mermaid Opening Delayed (November 20, 2007)
Riding In On A White...Mouse? (November 16, 2007)
The Little Mermaid (The SOB Review) (September 15, 2007)
Is Little Mermaid Major Disney Misstep?(August 31, 2007)
Updated: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post (August 24, 2007)
A Tale Of Two Tryout Cities (August 23, 2007)
Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Francesca Zambello, Musical, Opening Night, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid, The SOB Review
The Little Mermaid (The SOB Review) - Ellie Caulkins Opera House, The Denver Center for Performing Arts, Denver, CO**1/2 (out of ****)When its entire considerable empire and reputation is built on
magic (heck, even
one of its cruise ships has been so christened), it's expected that everything bearing Disney's name will have a deft magic touch. But in
The Little Mermaid, Disney has allowed its good name to go adrift.
When
George Tsypin's set designs of everything from an underwater kingdom to ships sailing above to an earthly palace all resemble garishly cheap plastic pieces from a
My Little Pony revue, or when
Tatiana Noginova's costume designs look like
Julie Taymor rejects, or when
Alan Menken and
Glenn Slater's derivative tunes sound more like a bizarre hybrid of
Cabaret and
The Lion King,
The Little Mermaid swims into decidedly unenchanted waters.
Much has been made of director
Francesca Zambello's misguided decision to forego much of magic and for good reason. Instead of using either water or wires, she clearly chose to rely on the score, book and performances to capture the audiences' attention. But this
is Disney, isn't it?!
Here it must be noted that while the score was surprisingly lame (case in point: "Positoovity" comes off sounding more like a rip-off of "Hakuna Matata") with most of the high points coming directly from the original film score by Menken and
Howard Ashman,
Doug Wright's book at least propels the story into greater depths. He explores Ariel's choices and empowers her via a brave emancipation from her overprotective father. Yet there's not enough of the trademark Disney dual-edged wink and nod humor to keep it interesting for the adults. And I'm still baffled by how some of the sea creatures could be next of kin.
More importantly, the cast headed by a sweet
Sierra Boggess as Ariel the mermaid and a formidably fun
Sherie René Scott as the wicked Ursula is what provides the production its true iridescence. Thankfully, there's plenty of heart here.
Other standouts include a charming
Sean Palmer as Prince Eric, a chiseled
Norm Lewis as Ariel's father King Triton and audience favorite
Titus Burgess as Sebastian the crab. There's also a breakout star in the making as the young
J.J. Singleton steals key moments of the show as Flounder. But as Flotsam, Disney and
Altar Boyz fave
Tyler Maynard can't seem to shake the stereotypically fey roles he's perfected.
As much as most of those performances enhanced the show, along with
Stephen Mear's zippy choreography (courtesy of
Heelys),
The Little Mermaid is unfortunately bereft of one major essential element: Disney magic. When
Aida proves more interesting in the enchantment department, Zambello appears to be in over her head.
And while my Denver audience cheered enthusiastically once the would-be spectacle was over -- no doubt largely due to the top drawer cast, I can't help but believe New York audiences will leave disappointed unless Zambello seriously rethinks how to deliver the goods most Disney fans expect and demand. I know I did.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Is Little Mermaid Major Disney Misstep?(August 31, 2007)
Updated: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post (August 24, 2007)
A Tale Of Two Tryout Cities (August 23, 2007)
Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Francesca Zambello, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid, The SOB Review
UPDATED: One Rocky Review For The Little Mermaid; One Favorable Post Earlier today, I reported that one of Denver's two newspapers had weighed in with a review of Disney's
The Little Mermaid. It came from
Lisa Bornstein of Denver's Rocky Mountain News. Let's just say that from her vantage-point, things didn't go so swimmingly.
Bornstein provided the Broadway-bound tuner that opened last night at the
Denver Center for Performing Arts Ellie Caulkins Opera House a passing grade of B-. High marks were given to
Sierra Boggess ("spunk and sparkle") as Ariel and
Sherie René Scott as a "rivetingly wicked" Ursula, whom she says creates "an original character who pulls the first genuine laughs of the show."
Bornstein also says, "The profound and the prosaic clash uncomfortably throughout
The Little Mermaid...It's no
Lion King or even
Beauty and the Beast, but the show does have its moments of glimmering magic....Unlike other Disney fare,
The Little Mermaid remains solidly a children's show with little of the sly humor that appeals to adults."
But, and it's a
big but here, I just received
Denver Post critic
John Moore's primarily favorable three out of four star review of what he calls an "intoxicating spectacle."
Moore has acknowledged the seemingly requisite shortcomings that come with an out-of-town tryout. Yet, he praises the show for being true to the film and zeroes in on the acting:
"What's good about
Mermaid is very, very good, starting with diminutive Denver native Sierra Boggess as the animated Ariel virtually come to life. Boggess simply inhabits the headstrong, 16-year-old princess who defies her well-meaning but ill-equipped single father. Bet on it: This tiny kid's gonna be a big Broadway star....The casting is impeccable. Boggess and Scott could be destined for Tony Award nominations."
Of its Broadway readiness, Moore says, "Despite its flaws, (
Francesca) Zambello's staging would likely be a hit even if it opened tomorrow just based on audiences' sheer love for the story, and for its positive exploration of a now complex and interesting father-daughter relationship. The emotional power of the tale of a girl learning to stand on her own two feet is not only preserved but enhanced."
Look for my own SOB Review in early September after I take in one of the final performances in the Mile High City.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Denver).Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Broadway). Related Stories:
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Denver, Disney, Film, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid, Tryout
Mermaid Casting Anything But LittleSherie René Scott is among the big Broadway names that will be attached to the upcoming stage adaptation of
The Little Mermaid, which makes its debut in Denver this summer prior to heading toward the Great White Way. The tuner will make its bow on July 26 at Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; the
production's premiere gala takes place August 24.
As previously noted, Scott is by far one of the few younger actresses of the stage who I'll go out of my way to see perform live. And she possesses one of the most exquisite singing voices to be found in musical theatre today. In
The Little Mermaid, she'll take on the role of the eponymous character's nemesis Ursula (portrayed in the
1989 animated film by the incomparable
Pat Carroll). Previously announced for the title role (a/k/a Ariel) was
Sierra Boggess.
In addition to Scott, I'm thrilled that
Sean Palmer has been cast as Prince Eric. As noted in my
SOB Review and "
Curse of the Understudy, Part Two," Palmer was terrific when taking over
The Apple Tree roles originally filled by
Marc Kudisch. This former "
Sex And The City" cast member has a great singing voice and certainly offers tremendous stage presence.
Other cast members include
Norm Lewis (currently with
Les Misérables),
Tituss Burgess (
Jersey Boys),
Eddie Korbich (
The Drowsy Chaperone) and Disney favorite
Tyler Maynard (
Mary Poppins).
With songs from the original film by
Alan Menken and
Howard Ashman, along with new ones penned by Menken and
Glenn Slater, the
Francesca Zambello-helmed
Little Mermaid is set to make a splash at Broadway's
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 3; opening night is scheduled for December 6.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Denver, Disney, Film, Musical, Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid
The Last 5 Years Announced for LondonOne of my absolute favorite shows of the last five years was, in fact,
The Last 5 Years. The exquisite two-handed tuner, expertly told backwards and forwards over the course of a five year romantic relationship, will have its British premiere at London's Menier Chocolate Factory on July 25. The same theatre company also spawned the successful, lauded production of
Sunday In The Park With George that recently transferred to the West End. Indeed
Sunday's acclaimed set designer David Farley will handle the same responsibilities for
The Last 5 Years.
Jason Robert Brown's beautifully written
The Last 5 Years was
my second favorite theatrical experience during the 2002-03 season. The musical was originally staged in Chicago in 2001 with Norbert Leo Butz. He moved with the show to Off-Broadway's Minetta Lane Theatre where his womanizing literary-minded Jamie was paired with Sherie René Scott's heartwrenching portrayal of fledgling actress Cathy. Butz and Scott, of course, went on to create the hysterically funny Broadway roles of Freddy Benson and Christine Colgate in
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Matthew White will helm the London production of
The Last 5 Years. The production will star Damian Humbley (formerly of
The Woman In White)
and Laura Pulver (who played Frenchie in the West End production of
Grease) as the couple falling in and out of love. I just hope that this team will light the necessary sparks to make
The Last 5 Years as moving of an experience for British audiences as it was for Americans lucky to have seen this little gem.
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Great Scott...She's Back! Sherie René Scott Returns to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (June 21, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 24, 2006)
Labels: First Word On New Show, Jason Robert Brown, London, Musical, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott, SOB's Best of 2002-03, Sunday In The Park With George, The Last Five Years
Great Scott...She's Back! Sherie René Scott Returns to Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsAfter four months away from Broadway's funniest comedy today, Sherie René Scott returned to
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last evening in the role of Christine Colgate. Scott had been temporarily replaced by the sensational Rachel York while she took a brief sojourn to Signature Theatre Company's critically-acclaimed production of John Guare's
Landscape of the Body Off-Broadway.
Scott will enjoy a few more weeks with original castmates Norbert Leo Butz and Gregory Jbara, as well as the more recent addition of Jonathan Pryce, before each of them bids the production a fond farewell. Scott is one of my personal favorite musical stage performers today. I first caught Scott as Amneris in the recent Broadway production of
Aida. Scott nearly stole the show with her proudly flamboyant strut in the number "My Strongest Suit." She subsequently soared in the two-handed musical
The Last Five Years (also with Butz) and was Tony nominated for the role to which she now returns.
If there was ever a time to see
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with the final
Broadway performances by Tony winner Butz -- who heads out on the road soon -- and key original cast members intact, this would be it.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Butz of Dirty Jokes Around the Nation (June 9, 2006)
Butz and Pryce Flee the Scene on July 16 (June 5, 2006)
Wicked Becomes Broadway's 8th Overall Cumulative Grosser Among Current Hits (June 2, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Lucie Arnaz Plays Omaha Chic in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (May 23, 2006)
Labels: Aida, Broadway, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Musica, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott, The Last Five Years
