SOB's Best Of 2008-09: Best New MusicalsOver the past year, I've had the good fortune of taking in over 70 performances of a wide range of musicals, plays and "special theatrical events." Twelve of those performances were productions of new musicals not only on Broadway, but also significant ones elsewhere as well.
Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, I have to admit it's not been a particularly good time for new musicals to enjoy critical success. (Please note that the full list for consideration does
not include
Billy Elliot - The Musical, since it was on my
Best of 2005-06 list.) Yet there were those that challenged, entertained and/or scored with me personally -- certainly enough to land on my personal "5 Best" list for the past twelve months.
Drumroll, please:
5 - Shrek The Musical (Broadway Theatre, New York, New York)
Surprise:
Shrek The Musical is actually pretty funny and quite often borderline brilliant. The show deserves a larger audience. I was surprised by how often I found myself laughing early and often at this fairy tale satire.
Not only does it completely engage with its sly skewering of
Disney and Broadway fare alike, but it becomes a ginormous gutbuster when
Christopher Sieber's hilarious Lord Farquaad lampoons both
Dreamgirls and Wicked in less than six deliriously delicious seconds.
If you're looking for an escape from all of today's headlines that only an ogre could relish -- and let's face it, who isn't?! -- as well as a musical where you can see all your money up on the stage,
Shrek The Musical is just the ticket.
4 - 13 (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York, New York)
High School Musical it ain't. But thank goodness for that. Think of
Jason Robert Brown's exuberant new musical
13 as a positive, latter-day answer to "
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten."
13 heralded Brown's long-awaited return to Broadway, and his tuneful, rich score did not disappoint. Neither did the breathtaking display of teen talent, as all 13 cast members, along with orchestra, are age appropriate. Sure the book by
Dan Elish and
Robert Horn at times went from earnest to hokey in record time during this 90-minute show.
Yet thanks to
Jeremy Sams' pacing,
Christopher Gattelli's unrestrained choreography, and Brown's beautiful score, I found myself transfixed, charmed and downright moved.
3 - 9 To 5 (Marquis Theatre, New York, New York)
Not since taking in another underappreciated tuner,
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, have I laughed so heavily from my gut.
9 To 5 is not rocket science or deeply penetrating. But it wins by being thoroughly highly and consistently entertaining.
This musical is exceedingly fun and funny, as well as very loyal to the 1980 film. More significantly,
Dolly Parton has delivered one of this season's most melodic scores, with plenty of tunes to keep you humming long after departing the theatre.
9 To 5 also rates as a fabulous star vehicle for its tremendous trio of leading ladies:
Allison Janney,
Stephanie J. Block and
Megan Hilty. Each has her moment to shine, and each does so splendidly.
You'd be hard pressed not to revel in
9 To 5's frivolity.
2 - next to normal (Booth Theatre, New York, New York)
With a fierce, electrifying direction from
Michael Greif,
Brian Yorkey and
Tom Kitt’s
next to normal is nothing if not atypical for Great White Way musical fare. But in tackling mental illness and its continued social stigma head-on, the tuner ranks as the best new musical I've seen on Broadway this year.
In a bravura performance deserving of a Tony,
Alice Ripley portrays Diana, who on first blush seems like the quintessential housewife and mother of two. But not everything is as it seems. It’s not long before Yorkey’s book descends into the personal hell Diana must endure and the scorching reverberations her deepening depression has on the rest of the family.
With an exceptional cast,
next to normal marks a welcome if downright shocking departure for Broadway. If you’re like me, it just may melt down into your heart.
1 - The Visit (Max Theatre, Signature, Arlington, Virginia)
Unlike guests who overstay their welcome,
Chita Rivera and
George Hearn are two exceptional actors who aren't around nearly enough. Together for
John Kander and the late
Fred Ebb's spellbinding "new" musical
The Visit last year, their stellar performances underscored what musical theatre is all about.
The lofty creative team for this Kander & Ebb tuner read like a who's who of the stage, including
Terrence McNally with his shrewdly clever book and
Ann Reinking for her captivating choreography. Due props must also be paid to
Frank Galati for helming such an exquisite production.
In addition to Rivera and Hearn's excellent performances, Kander & Ebb's score was every bit as much a star of
The Visit. They worked their magic once again. Despite its quirky and ultimately somber tone, this was one
Visit worth making.
Since it was by far the best new musical I saw over the past year, I can only hope a
Visit is one day in the cards for New York.
So 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).
Labels: 13, 9 To 5, Broadway, Next To Normal, Shrek The Musical, SOB's Best of 2008-09, The Visit, Washington DC
Shrek The Musical (The SOB Review) - Broadway Theatre, New York, NY
*** (out of ****)After just
now reading
Michael Riedel's grim assessment for
Shrek The Musical's box office, it dawned on me that I've been remiss in providing my own assessment for the show itself.
You know what? It's not that bad. In fact, it's actually pretty funny and quite often borderline brilliant. The show deserves a larger audience.
Aside from the wonderfully versatile
Daniel Breaker, whose take on the Donkey is nothing short of inspired lunacy, I realize I may just be about the only person on the planet who hadn't seen any of the wildly successful "
Shrek" films first. For some reason, I always resisted seeing the animated features, so I was surprised by how often I found myself laughing early and often at this fairy tale satire, aided by
Jason Moore's frequently ingenious direction and
Tim Hatley's magical flourishes.
In fact,
David Lindsay-Abaire's book offers a far superior and roundly satisfying first act. Not only does it completely engage with its sly skewering of
Disney and Broadway fare alike, but it becomes a ginormous gutbuster when
Christopher Sieber's hilarious Lord Farquaad lampoons both
Dreamgirls and Wicked in less than six deliciously delirious seconds. It's moments like those that
Jeanine Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire's score occasionally soars.
Shrek's top-drawer cast is led by the enormously talented
Brian d'Arcy James in the title role. I've often said that this is one criminally underused actor. He imbues his
Shrek with healthy doses of humor and heart. He's also fortunate to be supported by the aforementioned Breaker and Sieber, along with the absolutely fartastic
Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, who manages to fly her freak flag quite well.
If you're looking for an escape from all of today's headlines that only an ogre could relish -- and let's face it, who isn't?! -- as well as a musical where you can see all your money up on the stage,
Shrek The Musical is just the ticket.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brian d'Arcy James, Broadway, Christopher Sieber, Daniel Breaker, David Lindsay-Abaire, Film, Jason Moore, Jeanine Tesori, Musical, Shrek The Musical, Sutton Foster, The SOB Review
Were Shrek Critics Ogres?Yesterday,
Shrek The Musical opened at the Great White Way's
Broadway Theatre. With score by
Jeanine Tesori and
David Lindsay-Abaire, who also wrote the show's book, this incarnation of
Shrek is directed by
Jason Moore and choreographed by
Josh Prince. The tuner stars
Brian d'Arcy James,
Sutton Foster and
Daniel Breaker.
Critics were mixed.
The best review came from
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner, who embraced the show with three and a half (out of four) stars: "Like other musical adaptations of hit films,
Shrek, which opened Sunday at the Broadway Theatre, leans heavily on winking satire. There are the usual nods to more fully realized shows, from
Gypsy to
A Chorus Line, and Jeanine Tesori's blandly ingratiating score doesn't feature any songs you're likely to be humming 20 years from now. But
Shrek, which draws from
William Steig's book about a lovable ogre and the
DreamWorks animated movie that it inspired, is nonetheless a triumph of comic imagination with a heart as big and warm as Santa's. It is the most ingeniously wacky, transcendently tasteless Broadway musical since
The Producers, and more family-friendly than that gag-fest."
Calling it "sweet and busy, nice and big, and, every so often, extremely lovable,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer is lukewarm: "The fact that
Shrek makes us think more about its market than its achievements, alas, says something about the shortage of real inspiration in the show itself. Director Jason Moore's production has an extraordinary cast -- including Brian d'Arcy James as a deeply endearing hulk of an ogre -- and marvelous prosthetics for the swamp-green monster with the plunger ears and Cyrano nose. But given the beloved source, not to mention a seriously bright creative team, we can be forgiven for expecting more than a paint-by-numbers fractured fairy tale from DreamWorks' first challenge to
Disney on Broadway."
Despite concluding that "
Shrek: The Musical plays it safe,"
New York Post's
Barbara Hoffman awards three out of four stars: "[I]t takes nearly all of Act 1 before
Shrek: The Musical starts to sing. And when it does, it truly comes alive.... With a soft Scottish drawl that hews close to Mike Myers' original, Brian d'Arcy James gives us a multilayered ogre -- a mix of vexation, anger, humor and woe -- made all the more amazing by the fact he's emoting through green rubber. He has a fine voice and a warm rapport with Princess Fiona (the unsinkable Sutton Foster)."
Noting how
Shrek "certainly has things to like, even if it's sometimes ungainly,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News offers a mixed assessment: "When (Foster)'s onstage singing, dancing or burping (Fiona's a princess, but not so fair), the production comes close to achieving liftoff. But by and large, it stays earthbound - fine, not great. The same goes for the score by lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and composer Jeanine Tesori. It never soars, but the songs are pleasant and fit the story."
Branding it a "leaden fairy-tale-theme costume party,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley is not completely dismissive: "Aside from a few jolly sequences (nearly all featuring the hypertalented Ms. Foster), this cavalcade of storybook effigies feels like 40 blocks’ worth of a
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, accompanied by an exhaustingly jokey running commentary.
Shrek, for the record, is not bad. The maiden Broadway venture of DreamWorks Theatricals (a stage-oriented arm of the company that made the movie), in association with Neal Street Productions, it is definitely a cut above the most recent offerings from its creators’ direct competitor in cartoon-inspired musicals, Walt Disney."
Asking, "Why isn’t
Shrek the Musical great?" Bloomberg's
John Simon is every bit as tepid: "The good news is that it is done very well; the bad news is that it is done at all. When is the musical theater going to learn to let cartoons lie? Not that William Steig’s original book and its serial movie animations are bad, but they are terminally self-sufficient. A big, expensive Broadway musical needs to have grown-up as well as kiddie appeal.... Under Jason Moore’s sprightly direction, the performances are uniformly engaging. Multitalented d’Arcy James’s Shrek is as lovable as an ogre with bad breath and other odors can be, and then some. As Fiona -- even after sundown, when she turns into an unsightly ogress -- Foster is as enchanting as ever, with unbeatable comic timing and singing and dancing to match."
Given last week's dismal box office --
Shrek only attracted a capacity of just 52.3% -- producers had to be hoping for much better reviews than they received. They'll now have to pin their hopes on building buzz among Broadway audiences if they're to make it past January.
This is Steve On Broadway.
Labels: Brian d'Arcy James, Critics' Capsule, Daniel Breaker, David Lindsay-Abaire, Jason Moore, Jeanine Tesori, Josh Prince, Musical, Shrek The Musical, Sutton Foster
Fairy Tale Beginning? Shrek Opens On BroadwayAt long last, the journey from
book to
film -- well, actually three of them -- to Broadway tuner is complete as
Shrek The Musical opens Sunday.
Based on
William Steig's 32-page children's read "Shrek!" this incarnation features a score by
Jeanine Tesori and
David Lindsay-Abaire, who also wrote the show's libretto. Helmed by
Jason Moore and choreographed by
Josh Prince,
Shrek The Musical stars
Brian d'Arcy James as the eponymous ogre and
Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona.
Of course, considerable
early press focused on major casting changes since the initial Seattle tryout; both
Chester Gregory II and
Kecia Lewis-Evans are long since out, but
Daniel Breaker is now in. More recently, as
Chris Caggiano noted in his early middling review over on
Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, a December 2 preview was canceled to allow for even more substantive changes.
Will critics respond well to the revisions? Find out tomorrow as I post my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway.
Labels: Brian d'Arcy James, Broadway, Daniel Breaker, David Lindsay-Abaire, Film, Jason Moore, Jeanine Tesori, Musical, Opening Night, Shrek The Musical, Sutton Foster
Just The Tonic For Seeing Shrek For FreeThere's a cool new site out there called
Modern Tonic. It's devoted to just about everything that's pop culture-oriented. That is, with the curious exception of live theatre.
Perhaps recognizing the error of their ways, the creators of Modern Tonic
are getting into the theatrical spirit by presenting a contest giving away seats to see
Shrek The Musical. The
DreamWorks Theatricals and
Neal Street Productions tuner, of course, opens this Sunday at the Great White Way's
Broadway Theatre.
To enter the contest, which is giving away 10 pairs of tickets, click
here. And if you win, please let me know!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Contest, Modern Tonic, Musical, Shrek The Musical
Is Shrek Drek?With all the changes taking place for the upcoming Broadway tuner
Shrek - The Musical, no one would accuse you of being an ogre for wondering whether the show will be DOA.
Given the underwhelming
Variety review for the Seattle tryout, which stated:
It also has plenty of flaws, but none necessarily fatal ... (Brian) d'Arcy James and (Sutton) Foster are a delight -- separately and together... Sadly, the same cannot be said of d’Arcy James and (Chester) Gregory. For some reason, the grumpy-ogre-plus-pesky-sidekick formula ... falls flat here, not helped by the static staging of some of their scenes.... Or it could be that the role of the donkey would be better suited to a character actor than to a singer-dancer — even one as accomplished as Gregory. Gregory doesn’t fare much better with his other partner, the dragon, played sometimes by (Kecia) Lewis-Evans alone, sometimes by a phalanx of women, sometimes by a puppet and sometimes by a combination thereof.
it probably came as no surprise yesterday when
it was announced that Gregory and Lewis-Evans will not be transferring to Broadway with the rest of the cast, especially after the
Dreamworks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg admitted that critics' reviews had been "spot on."
Passing Strange's breakthrough
star
Daniel Breaker replaces Gregory (and suddenly the musical has become more appealing to me, a complete
Shrek virgin, who has never seen any portion of the film franchise). Lewis-Evans' role as the dragon is reportedly being substantially reworked.
As if that wasn't enough,
it had been previously reported that choreographer-director
Rob Ashford had been brought in "to provide 'a fresh pair of eyes.'" However, Ashford's presence has yet to yield an official credit.
Whether or not all of these changes will shore-up
Shrek remains to be seen. But given the overall
positive response I've had from many Seattle audience members, the upcoming alterations may very well make the difference between
Shrek success and
just another Young Frankenstein.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brian d'Arcy James, Broadway, Chester Gregory II, Daniel Breaker, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Musical, Rob Ashford, Shrek The Musical, Sutton Foster
Is Godspell Broken?According to
New York Post's
Michael Riedel, the planned Broadway revival of
Stephen Schwartz's
Godspell is canceled, "barring any last-minute reprieve." However, Telecharge is still selling advance tckets to American Express Gold Card holders and is advertising that tickets will go on sale to the general public on August 23.
Riedel says
Godspell's producers have come up a million dollars short of the $4.5 million needed to mount the musical that had been slated to begin performances October 23 at the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The revival was to star
Gavin Creel.
Making matters worse, according to Riedel, is that advance box office business is way down, making even a show like
Shrek The Musical begging for an audience. To date, the $20 million tuner has only attracted $5 million in advance sales.
Talk about poor timing for the most recent escalation in top ticket prices!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brigadoon, Broadway, Godspell, Michael Riedel, Musical, Potentially Canceled Productions, Shrek The Musical
Broadway Preview: Shrek The MusicalI don't mean to be an ogre, but could it be that I'm the only living person who hasn't seen any of the
Shrek movies?
I'm not exactly sure why I never took them in, but the longer I've gone, the less interested I've become. Perhaps I've avoided them because I've been told that they're too smarmy for their own good, and I've never been able to shake that notion.
So it's against that backdrop that I find myself less than excited about the upcoming
Shrek The Musical, which already begins its
out-of-town tryout next month in Seattle at the city's 5th Avenue Theatre -- the very same venue that proudly launched
Hairspray six years ago.
The 5th Avenue Theatre describes their tryout:
This summer, the most beloved swamp-dwelling ogre of all time will make his theatrical debut in the World Premiere of Shrek The Musical, at The 5th Avenue Theatre. This all-new production is based on Shrek’s adventures in the classic William Steig book and Oscar-winning film. Joining Shrek on his journey from the swamp to the stage will be his wisecracking sidekick Donkey, Princess Fiona, Lord Farquaad and a chorus of everybody’s favorite fairytale creatures. With more layers than ever and a completely original new score, Shrek The Musical proves there’s more to the story than meets the ears.
Shrek The Musical is due to land at the Main Stem's
Broadway Theatre in time for previews starting November 11, with an opening night slated for December 14.
Now, if there
is anything to get excited about, it's that
Jeanine Tesori (
Caroline, Or Change) is writing the music for its score. The fact that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
David Lindsay-Abaire (
Rabbit Hole) is supplying the lyrics and book should also have me intrigued, but we all know what happend during his
previous musical effort. Knowing a thing or two about monsters is Tony nominated director
Jason Moore (
Avenue Q), who helms the show, yet the choreography comes from Broadway first-timer
Josh Prince. You see, everything I see as good is somehow tempered.
OK, another positive is that the criminally underused, Tony-nominated
Brian d'Arcy James returns to Broadway in the title role. Tony-winning actress
Sutton Foster will portray Princess Fiona; regular readers
will recall that it wasn't until my
fourth attempt to see her that she was actually performing in a show, but on the plus side, I thought she was incredibly talented when I finally saw her. Other cast members include the Tony-nominated
Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad,
Chester Gregory II as the Donkey,
Kecia Lewis-Evans as the Dragon and the Tony-nominated
John Tartaglia as Pinocchio.
Nevertheless, with the lackluster critical success of recent
film translations to the stage, along with some early
negative press already appearing in some important quarters, I'm left still feeling a bit like a bogeyman.
So, I ask you, dear readers. Should I bite the bullet and see the "Shrek" trilogy on film? Will it have me thirsting for the stage incarnation?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Shrek Seattle tickets.Click here for Shrek Broadway tickets.Related Stories:Is It Just Me, Or... (Part III) (January 22, 2008)
Labels: Brian d'Arcy James, Broadway, Chester Gregory II, Christopher Sieber, David Lindsay-Abaire, Film, Jason Moore, Jeanine Tesori, John Tartaglia, Musical, Seattle, Shrek The Musical, Sutton Foster
Is It Just Me, Or... (Part III)
...Wouldn't it have been more appropriate for
Matthew Warchus' upcoming Broadway transfer of the British sex farce
Boeing-Boeing to be staged at the
American Airlines Theatre over the
Longacre? After all, the
airline was the sponsor of the recently departed West End revival. I'm psyched that
Christine Baranski will be joining
Mark Rylance, and the
possibility that
Sarah Jessica Parker may be added the cast has me salivating.
...What happened to all
those people barely one year ago who were sounding the deathknell for the play? With seven new plays currently kicking around the Broadway stage, coupled with a dearth of new musicals, the 2007-08 Theatrical Season must be the year that the straight play made its official comeback. As
I said a year ago: "Personally, I believe everything is rather cyclical. And working in plays' favor is the simple cost factor, along with the wellspring of excellent playwrights out there today, as well as so many thriving, vital theatre companies where plays rule the roost. I’m confident they'll always have a place, even on Broadway."
...When all is said and done, haven't
critics been a little over the top in their criticism for
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein? I mean, I totally understand the
venom directed toward Brooks' rather unorthodox practices, but when all is said and done, the show itself is actually better than OK, even if we don't have a clue what its
weekly grosses are. But here's a news flash -- remember those $450 seats? I played around on Ticketmaster and found that I could get a second row center orchestra mid-week seat for just $130.
...Was there really any doubt that both
Deanna Dunagan and
Amy Morton would each be
eligible for the Best Actress in a Play Tony for their breathtaking work in
August: Osage County? I know
some folks I respect had expressed doubt that the lesser known Dunagan could be nominated in the category, but the Tony Committee has ruled that they both are. Now the question will be, "Which one will actually win the prize?"
...Don't London's theatre offerings
sound tantalizing this year? Despite what the
West End Whingers might think, there's plenty to have those of us on this side of the pond wistfully looking at their offerings. Just ask Rocco at
What's Good/What Blows. I'm pondering an April visit myself.
...Do you wonder when stage musical adaptations of films will ever end now that
Shrek The Musical is a go for later this year?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Is It Just Me, Or...(Part II) (February 21, 2007)
Is It Just Me, Or... (June 14, 2006)
Labels: August Osage County, Boeing-Boeing, Broadway, Is It Just Me, London, Musical, Play, Shrek The Musical, West End Whingers, What', Young Frankenstein
