Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton ThroneEver since being completely shut out of this year's Tony race,
the vultures have been hovering over Broadway's
Hilton Theatre anticipating that
The Pirate Queen would close. The deal seemed sealed when
Mel Brooks confirmed that his latest Great White Way venture --
Young Frankenstein -- would occupy the large capacity venue.
Now it's official:
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg's
The Pirate Queen, perhaps the most expensive Broadway musical ever, will shutter on June 17 after just 85 performances. Capacity for the tuner dropped to a fragile 54.5% last week for box office earnings of $442,000.
You may recall that I found the show -- during its Chicago tryout -- to be among the
worst shows I saw during the 2006-07 Theatrical Season. Now I already have my tickets to catch the Seattle tryout of its replacement in just two months -- yes, they're already on sale. My expectations on the Hilton's new occupant are running considerably higher.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Pirate Queen tickets.
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).
Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Musical, The Pirate Queen, Young Frankenstein
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre"
It looks like the Hilton Theatre. It’s a beautiful theatre where I saw Ragtime and 42nd Street. We just simply need a big place. It used to be called the Ford. It’s on 42nd Street. Strangely enough, The Producers was a very backstage, very hip musical. And you’ve got to know a lot, you’ve got to buy a lot. You have to go along with a great, great Broadway flow.
But Young Frankenstein, it’s kind of like a great Gothic opera, you know, and young people, children love it. I get a lot of letters from 9-year-olds. Would you please sign my “Young Frankenstein" DVD or whatever. It’s amazing that Young Frankenstein, with some hip references, is a very, very family-oriented show. So we’re very lucky to get a 42nd Street theater. There are literally millions of people in New York City, especially in the summerm [sic] and they see the big monster up on the marquee and they say, I want to see that.
The next question, presumably to be answered by someone else, is when will
The Pirate Queen's closing notices be posted?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Labels: Blogs, Broadway, Film, Mel Brooks, Musical, The Pirate Queen, Young Frankenstein
Tony Box Office Bumps
With the exception of only four productions, every show on Broadway saw an increase (or held steady with SRO pacing) in box office totals last week.
The biggest gains were reserved for the two top Tony nominated musicals,
Spring Awakening and
Grey Gardens, that saw capacity increases of 21.2% and 15.1%, respectively.
No surprise that the week's biggest loser was
The Pirate Queen, which saw a drop in capacity of 9.2%. That tuner was completely snubbed by the Tony nominating committee last week. Its average ticket price is now under $65.
Despite its nod for Best Musical
, Curtains experienced a slight decline of 0.8%. Two other musicals that had been considered potential nominees for Tony's top prize were the other two shows with a drop in capacity:
LoveMusik (-5.7%)
and
Legally Blonde (-3.9%). The first may have had more to do with uncertainties over
Donna Murphy's
well-publicized absences, which are further threatening her reputation.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Box Office, Broadway, Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening, The Pirate Queen, Tony Nominations
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen?
Just to get you caught up on the musical theatre version of musical chairs, the highly popular
Grinch played last season at the
Hilton Theatre, current home to
The Pirate Queen. A move to another theatre may on the surface appear to assure that
The Pirate Queen plans to be around for a while, right? Wrong.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Pirate Queen $55 tickets. Related Stories:
Labels: Film, Hilton Theatre, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Megan Mullally, Mel Brooks, Pure Conjecture, Roger Bart, Shuler Hensley, Sutton Foster, The Pirate Queen, The Producers, Young Frankenstein
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2006-07As
noted earlier, I've been enormously blessed to have had opportunities over the past year to take in 77 different theatrical productions. I purposely try to see productions that I think I would enjoy -- after all, with the price of tickets continuing to climb, who wants to throw good money after bad?
Much like last year, a solid majority of the shows I've seen were at least enjoyable, even if some lacked inspiration or inspiring tone. But unfortunately, there were still enough bad productions that I'm compelled to provide my second annual list of the "5 Worst" shows. Remarkably, this year, those five productions literally run from A to Z.
What
I stated last year still holds true: "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."
And so, (imagined drum roll, please) here you go:
5 - The Pirate Queen (Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL)
Unfortunately for the second year in a row, director
Frank Galati has landed on my "5 Worst" list. I caught this musical's opening during its Chicago tryout, months prior to its critically-panned Broadway run. As a spectacle,
The Pirate Queen often seemed much more like a spectacular dual-edged retread. Think
Les Misérables meets
Riverdance as ships passing in the night (only there were no actual ships unless you count the remarkably small scale model trotted out during one of the few battle scenes). Its jumbled storytelling made it easy to forget that this was as much about Grania -- the titular real-life 16th Century Irish leader -- as the love she was forced to abandon in order to unite the clans of Ireland. I wanted so desperately to like this new musical, but found myself laughing at some key plot points while wondering how something so visually arresting could still be so predictable and ultimately boring.
4 - Reunion (Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)
On the way to Sydney in
David Mamet's
Reunion, director
Andrew Upton lost something in its translation especially in steeping one of his two key American characters so deeply in a lower class Aussie accent. Upton punctuated this short story with many sharp breaks scattered throughout as if to accentuate the passage of minutes or perhaps longer periods of time -- it was hard to tell. However, one couldn't help but feel cheated for missing key dialogue that might have helped propel the story further along. Ultimately, this Mamet tale simply didn't feel complete (it was, after all, a one-hour play), nor was the audience ever given any reason to really care about either character.
3 - All Shook Up (Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN)
The touring Broadway production of
All Shook Up begins with a bang in the electrifying "Jail House Rock." From there, it doesn't just coast, it goes strictly downhill largely because of an incredibly convoluted plot found in an insipid-meets-corny book by
Joe DiPietro lacking virtually any real wit. The production relies almost entirely on the cocky sensuality of its charming lead
Joe Mandragona (as roustabout Chad) and the turbo-charged choreography by
Sergio Trujillo to power it along. Unfortunately, whenever the incredibly talented Mandragona is off the stage,
All Shook Up's tank teeters on empty. By packing such a twisted story into its two-and-a-half hours,
All Shook Up ultimately explodes like a shaken can of soda. It may appear to be forceful, yet when you look inside the can, there's not much left.
2 - Zombie Prom (Hennepin Stages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN)
What happens when you throw good talent after bad? The end result was the same as throwing good money after bad. It mostly ends up as a waste. Unfortunately for those players, that production --
Zombie Prom -- was just plain bad. There’s little in the utterly flat score by
John Dempsey and
Dana P. Rowe to excite beyond one or two clever tunes. In fact, I was feeling a bit like a zombie myself, despite a performance time that clocked in at less than two hours (including intermission). Most problematic was the ridiculously silly (but largely unfunny) main story line in Dempsey’s haphazardly written book, which disastrously paints its lead characters far too one-dimensionally.
1 - Zhivago (Mandell Weiss Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, CA)
After being truly relieved once the very disappointing three-hour Des McAnuff-helmed musical version of
Zhivago finally concluded, I was struck by how uninspired its score was. Like the show's integral revolving flatbed train car, the anthems seemed like an attempt to conjure up memories of another revolutionary musical,
Les Misérables, rather than imbue the audience with something truly original. The stark set made it difficult for the largely scenery-chewing cast to be convincing. Whether it was the overwrought dialogue or Cliff Notes-writing style,
Michael Weller’s book seemed bent on speeding the movement along at such a dizzying pace that the full essence of each character, including Yuri Zhivago (
Ivan Hernandez) and Lara Guishar Antipova (
Jessica Burrows), never felt fully developed or realized. Perhaps it’s because of the hurried pace of the show that lines were nearly universally delivered staccato-style with such overexcited urgency. Instead of providing nuanced performances, the cast was reduced to the kind of overacting ordinarily reserved for high school productions. No wonder there's been nary a word since of a possible Broadway berth.
So, there you have them: this SOB's choices for the "5 Worst" shows I endured during the 2006-07 Theatrical Season.
Just as two Frank Galati-helmed productions were featured on my list last year, this year, two shows associated with both lyricist John Dempsey (
Zombie Prom and
The Pirate Queen) and choreographer
Sergio Trujillo (
All Shook Up and
Zhivago ) have made the list. While I can at least positively affirm that Trujillo's choreography was among the only bright spots in each of his shows, I confess that Dempsey's scores will forever give me pause from seeking out any of his other work.
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 2006-07 Theatre Season (May 14, 2007)
All Shook Up (The SOB Review) (May 11, 2007)
Zombie Prom (The SOB Review) (March 9, 2007)
Reunion (The SOB Review) (December 29, 2006)
The Pirate Queen (The SOB Review) (October 30, 2006)
Zhivago (The SOB Review) (July 9, 2006)
Labels: All Shook Up, Reunion, SOB Five Worst of 2006-07, SOB's Best of 2006-07, The Pirate Queen, Zhivago, Zombie Prom
Is Pirate Slowly Sinking?
What new Broadway musical was fourth from the
bottom last week among all opened tuners in terms of average ticket price? It was none other than
The Pirate Queen.
While the spectacle
increased its overall box office capacity last week to 83.4%, its average ticket price
fell from an already less-than-stellar $65.06 to just $63.07. The only musicals with lower average ticket prices are
The Producers ($62.35),
Rent ($57.78) and
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ($54.95). Given the sheer size of
The Pirate Queen's
Hilton Theatre berth (1,799 seats), there's a lot of seats being heavily discounted just to pack 'em in.
And there's fresh word from
Michael Riedel in today's New York Post that as
Susan Stroman is openly eyeing the Hilton as an alternate home for her upcoming stage adaptation of
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein and commenting on how much she liked its "wide aisles," one member of the current tenant's cast said: "We all had the same thought...Time to start looking for the next job." (Perhaps Brooks and Stroman are just using the Hilton as a bargaining chip with
Jujamcyn Theaters -- owners of the
St. James Theatre, which was previously announced as the home for
Young Frankenstein -- that is now "badmouthing" Brooks' new show ever since he cut them out as a producer.)
While Riedel duly notes that a spokesman for
The Pirate Queen dismisses any talk of it closing, the owners of the Hilton no doubt are examining their options. After all, considering that the comparably-sized
George Gershwin Theatre's occupant
Wicked earned almost double at the box office last week ($1,487,336 versus
The Pirate Queen's $757,333), Riedel also is quick to remind us that "there's always a clause in the contract that allows the theater owner to evict a show if its grosses fall below a certain level."
Anyone want to wager when closing notices will be posted?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Pirate Queen tickets. Related Stories:
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Swashbuckling On Broadway (February 1, 2007)
SOB Readers Doubt Pirate Queen Will Float (November 21, 2006)
Bailing Out A Sinking Pirate (November 15, 2006)
Critics Assail The Pirate Queen (October 31, 2006)
The Pirate Queen (The SOB Review) – Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL (October 30, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Sails Into Chicago Opening Tonight (October 29, 2006)
Pirate Queen to Sail Into Broadway's Hilton Theatre (July 27, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This Fall (May 15, 2006)
Labels: Box Office, Broadway, Endangered Shows, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Musical, Susan Stroman, The Pirate Queen, Young Frankenstein
Critics: Pirate Queen Not See-Worthy
Last evening,
The Pirate Queen -- costing more than $16 million, making it one of Broadway's most expensive shows ever -- opened to critical pans. It has the dubious distinction of being one of
the worst reviewed shows of the entire 2006-07 Theatrical Season.
The "best" of the worst comes from
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press, who writes: "[E]ven Grace (O'Malley) is defeated by this earnest musical adaptation of her life story, a stilted history pageant that is long on looks but woefully short on emotional engagement. The lavish production...telescopes the woman's life into a series of dramatic tableaux that are underlined by a bombastic score courtesy of
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg."
Calling it a "loud and restless musical,"
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times dismisses the spectacle: "[E]verything ultimately blurs into what feels like the aimless milling of a crowd on a carnival midway...
The Pirate Queen registers as a relic of a long-gone era, and I don’t mean the 1500s. The big-sound, big-cast show pioneered by Messrs. Boublil and Schönberg is now as much a throwback to the 1980s as big hair and big shoulders....(The songs) often have such sweaty, shoehorned rhymes, it is as if they had been invented on the spot."
Using terms like "lumbering epic" and "monotonous,"
Variety's
David Rooney also pans: "Their all-plot, no-heart new show is persuasively sung by a valiant cast, yet it never forges an emotional connection with the audience....[D]espite (the
Riverdance) phenomenon being perhaps the world's most over-exposed commercialization of traditional Irish culture, the too-infrequent explosions of step-dancing -- during a wedding, a funeral and a christening -- are the only times
The Pirate Queen really comes alive. Whoever thought they'd be waiting impatiently for the next Celtic kickline?"
Making inevitable comparisons ("
Les Miserables going out to meet
Riverdance and somehow missing the boat"),
New York Post's
Clive Barnes musters up one and a half stars: "Apart from the repetitive and self-congratulatory music, the only major flaws in the show are the basically banal lyrics and sung-through book....Before long, though,
The Pirate Queen capsizes and sinks. There are some gallant attempts at bailing out by the crew of actors and dancers, shakily captained by director
Frank Galati and
Graciela Daniele, who's credited with the musical staging."
Labeling it "the latest bloated opus from Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg,"
Elysa Gardner of
USA Today bestows a mere one star on the show: "[T]hey've constructed a visual and sonic assault that leaves no audience-pleasing trick untapped. This package is wrapped in a faux-populist, pseudo-feminist story line, revolving around 16th-century pirate chieftain Grace O'Malley, an Irish lass whose skill and fortitude in battle were matched, we're assured, by her passion as a lover and mom....We know the Brits are morally inferior because they dress and speak grandly, and their songs sound like
Gilbert and
Sullivan rejects, as opposed to the
Céline Dion throwaways crooned by the Irish."
Gardner is not the only critic to invoke the "C" word -- Ben Brantley also stated, "Under pressure, this
Pirate Queen turns into a Céline Dion screecher." Come to think of it,
my own review last October that began with "Think
Les Misérables meets
Riverdance as ships passing in the night" (thank you, Mr. Barnes!) continued, "Céline Dion herself could not have sounded better, yet I half expected (
Stephanie J.) Block to belt out 'My Heart Will Go On.'"
Will the reviews be enough to sink the show? Next stop will be a check on the box office totals, which last week were floating around the 80% capacity mark.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories: Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Les Miserables, Musical, Riverdance, The Pirate Queen
Pirate Queen Attempts Broadway Throne Seizure Tonight
Readers will recall that
I took in the Chicago opening in what seems like an eternity ago (although it was just last October). My verdict then on what I called a "spectacular dual-edged retread":
Think Les Misérables meets Riverdance as ships passing in the night (only there were no actual ships unless you count the remarkably small scale model trotted out during one of the few battle scenes)....Unfortunately, the story was told much more coherently in the Playbill synopsis that it was on the stage....[I] found myself laughing at some key plot points (like Grania’s postpartum sword fight) while wondering how something so visually arresting could still be so predictable and ultimately boring....On the plus side... Stephanie J. Block (is) finally given a well-deserved star turn. She doesn’t disappoint as the titular Irish Pirate Queen Grace “Grania” O’Malley.
ADDENDUM:
According to a
Playbill report, Stephanie J. Block missed key pre-opening performances due to an illness. The report notes that she began the "press-heavy" Wednesday evening show, only to bow out part way through the first act (standby
Kathy Voytko took over). There is no word on whether Block will perform this evening, but the media invited to attend last night's performance "will be invited back."
Here's wishing Block, undeniably the best reason to see this show, a speedy recovery.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Swashbuckling On Broadway (February 1, 2007)
SOB Readers Doubt Pirate Queen Will Float (November 21, 2006)
Bailing Out A Sinking Pirate (November 15, 2006)
Critics Assail The Pirate Queen (October 31, 2006)
The Pirate Queen (The SOB Review) – Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL (October 30, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Sails Into Chicago Opening Tonight (October 29, 2006)
Pirate Queen to Sail Into Broadway's Hilton Theatre (July 27, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This Fall (May 15, 2006) Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Musical, Opening Night, Stephanie J. Block, The Pirate Queen
Can Pirate Queen Be Salvaged?
This morning,
New York Post's
Michael Riedel holds out hope that the notorious salvage operation might be working:
Insiders say the new script is much more action-driven that it was before, and that (Graciela) Daniele has made more fluid a production that had been a static pageant of pretty stage pictures. ([Frank] Galati's still on board, but Daniele's calling the shots.) The show's still heavy on Irish dancing -- you know, happy peasants jumping around without moving their arms -- making The Pirate Queen something of a "Riverdance With Oars." But, by all accounts, this isn't the same show that opened -- and nearly sank -- in Chicago.
Despite those changes, the buzz I continue to hear on the show is far from positive. But there's still more than a week to go before critics can founder the tuner, which is currently drawing a capacity of about 80%, for good. If the $16 million musical sinks, it would become one of the biggest flops in Broadway history.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Labels: Broadway, Buzz, Chicago, Frank Galati, Graciela Daniele, Musical, Rewrite, The Pirate Queen
The Hits From Coast To Coast
Ever since finally installing a statcounter on Steve On Broadway (SOB) last month, I've been intrigued by which stories are being read the most. In a bit of shameless self-promotion, here's the top ten according to you and other readers, along with some thoughts as to why these stories struck a chord (and for your added convenience, I've provided links to each of the original postings):
10. Were Critics Faithful To Betrayal? - Through May 27, Chicago's Steppenwolf is the place to see the company's incarnation of the Harold Pinter classic. This posting captures the reviews by the
Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones and
Chicago Sun-Times' Hedy Weiss.
8. (tie) Is It Just Me, Or...(Part II) - I learned with this story that if you load up an item with all kinds of varied information, ranging from a sequel to
The Phantom Of The Opera to discussions of Daniel Radcliffe's on-stage nudity to
Xanadu's casting (minus, Jane Krakowski, of course), you're bound to get readers. But I also took an unnecessary shot at John Doyle and indicated that Kristen Bell would replace Krakowski; I was wrong on both counts. So sorry!
8. (tie) Curtains (The SOB Review) - With this tuner from Kander & Ebb
and Holmes now in previews (with an opening set for March 22), is it any wonder that buzzomaniacs are wondering what others are saying about the show? I took in the tuner way back last summer in LA and loved it, as evidenced in my four-star SOB Review! Can't wait to see it again on Broadway, either.
7. Curtains Meets The Critics - Just as folks are searching for buzz on the aforementioned show, apparently they also want to know what the Left Coast critics have said. You can get it all via my Critics' Capsule on the show.
6. Holliday: You're Gonna Love Me...Again! - Apparently the fan base of
Dreamgirls just can't get enough of all things Jennifer Hudson
or Holliday. Just as hopes for a new Broadway revival with Miss Hudson are running high, suddenly Miss Holliday snaps us back to reality with the announcement that
she's gonna play Effie Melody White
again...in Atlanta this summer.
5. Priscilla Queen Of The Desert - The Musical (The SOB Review) - Welcome to all my Aussie cobbers who have visited this Yank's site to learn just how good the musical version of one of your fave pictures is! Well, what was initially going to be a limited run show at Sydney's Star City Casino through last October has continually expanded its run thanks to its fair dinkum popularity. I saw it in December as a Chrissie prezzie, and the performance was chock! Tickets are now selling through June 10. Good onya!
4. The Glass Menagerie (The SOB Review) - Welcome back to all you Randy Harrison fans worldwide who flocked to see how supposedly "not very positive" I was in my review of your favorite from "Queer As Folk." Well, while I may have quibbled with his meandering accent, I thought he comported himself "reasonably well, particularly in going toe-to-toe with Amanda (Harriet Harris)." You still have until March 25 to fly into Minneapolis to see this production that I awarded 3 1/2 stars out of 4 -- a great show in my book.
3. Dye Is Cast For Legally Blonde Reviews - With Left Coast critics singing this new tuner's praises and with Broadway previews less than a month away (April 3), it's no wonder that Google searches for any tidbit on
Legally Blonde are more common than split ends.
2. Betrayal (The SOB Review) - I was considerably more enthusiastic about the aforementioned Harold Pinter play at Steppenwolf than the critics. Maybe that's why so much traffic came my way. Just for the record, I gave this good, solid production 3 out of 4 stars.
1. The Pirate Queen (The SOB Review) - Two nights ago, this new musical began preview performances on Broadway...less than three months after taking a pretty severe beating from the Chicago critics. I was there on its Windy City opening night and could only muster up a two-star review. While I had hoped the production would have improved, I'm already reading comments from others (like Mike at
The Lunar Gemini), who aren't very impressed. Is there still hope of a salvage operation prior to its April 5 opening night? My bet at this point is it's going to sink.
Thanks to you, dear reader, for checking out
Steve On Broadway. And whether you agree wholeheartedly or think I'm full of it, you're always welcome to leave comments and join the discussion!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Betrayal tickets.Click here for Curtains tickets.Click here for Dreamgirls (Atlanta) ticket information.Click here for Equus tickets.Click here for Legally Blonde tickets.Click here for Priscilla Queen Of The Desert tickets.Click here for The Glass Menagerie tickets.Click here for The Pirate Queen tickets. Labels: Betrayal, Broadway, Curtains, Daniel Radcliffe, Dreamgirls, Equus, Jennifer Holliday, Jennifer Hudson, Legally Blonde, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, The Glass Menagerie, The Pirate Queen, Xanadu
Swashbuckling On BroadwayWithout even waiting to see if
The Pirate Queen manages to float on the Great White Way, producer Jonathan D. Moll has announced plans to stage
Treasure Island on Broadway this summer, according to
Variety.
Apparently, this iteration of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale is being timed to coincide with the release of the third chapter of the popular "
Pirates Of The Caribbean" Disney franchise. Helmed by noted fight director and choreographer
B.H. Barry,
Treasure Island will be a $3.5 million action extravaganza told "as much through action sequences as through dialogue."
Of course, it's yet to be seen whether
The Pirate Queen can be salvaged after poor reviews during its Chicago tryout last year. So why do I have a sinking feeling that swashbuckling adventures on Broadway might end up being the seafaring equivalent to the vampire genre, which finally (?) took a stake through its heart with the demise of
Lestat?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, First Word On New Show, Play, The Pirate Queen, Treasure Island
Critics Assail The Pirate Queen
Yesterday, I launched my
SOB review of the new
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg musical
The Pirate Queen. Apparently, Chicago critics had many of the same issues I did with the tuner, and they all agreed that
Stephanie J. Block soared.
Calling the show "ill-ruddered and oft-cartoonish,"
Chris Jones of the
Chicago Tribune deems it "...too dull and dour for the
Riverdance or the family crowd, yet too full of predictable archetypes to function as the kind of weighty but broadly accessible musical of which this Broadway season is in dire need....They lack both a coherent choreographic pallet and a central visual metaphor....And they are paying woefully insufficient attention to storytelling."
Steven Oxman of
Variety laments that "...despite great singing, it fails fundamentally to create characters deep enough to engage an audience in its too-tepid love story....While one can hear plenty of sounds that immediately bring
Les Miz [sic] to mind, particularly when the cast of 40 sing simultaneously, much of Schönberg's scoring is also reminiscent of James Horner's music for the film '
Titanic,' another enterprise that sold a few tickets. But the plotting and characterizations are sorely lacking."
Noting that "The droning tone is set from the start,"
Chicago Sun-Times critic
Hedy Weiss proclaims, "Far too much of
Les Misérables and not nearly enough of
Riverdance. That may be the simplest, if not the fullest, way to explain the problems facing
The Pirate Queen, the handsomely designed but drearily predictable quasi-operatic musical."
Even the most generous of critics
Barbara Vitello of
The Daily Herald says that
The Pirate Queen "...lacks the ballast required for an ocean crossing....The sentiment feels forced and the show lacks a consistent tone (for some inexplicable reason, the scenes set in the English court border on camp)....It’s a mixed bag musically -- the score falters when it drifts away from the traditional, Irish-sounding melodies...into the dangerous waters of pop-schmaltz."
Clearly, the critics agree that this show needs major work if not an overhaul before it's ready for Broadway. But will the three-plus months between stagings be enough to avoid completely sinking the show? Only time will tell.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Pirate Queen (The SOB Review) – Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL (October 30, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Sails Into Chicago Opening Tonight (October 29, 2006)
Pirate Queen to Sail Into Broadway's Hilton Theatre (July 27, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This Fall (May 15, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Critics' Capsule, Musical, The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen (The SOB Review) – Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL** (out of ****)Last evening, the official world premiere
The Pirate Queen opened on its course toward Broadway. What was surely intended to be an audacious debut for the
Frank Galati-helmed spectacle often seemed much more like a spectacular dual-edged retread.
Think
Les Misérables meets
Riverdance as ships passing in the night (only there were no actual ships unless you count the remarkably small scale model
trotted out during one of the few battle scenes). No surprise, the songwriting team for
Les Mis --
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg -- co-wrote the book for this tuner (Schönberg also composed the Celtic-tinged power ballad music while Boublil co-wrote the lyrics with
John Dempsey). Meanwhile, the same
Riverdream that created the dancing cliché known better as
Riverdance produced
The Pirate Queen -- and yes, there was an healthy abundance of the obligatory Irish step-dancing.
The show is ostensibly about a real-life 16th Century Irish woman’s struggle for love and her native land against the threat of domination from England’s first Queen Elizabeth. Nearly all of the production is sung operetta-style. Yet the jumbled storytelling made it easy to forget that this was as much about her struggle and assumption of leadership as the love she was forced to abandon in order to unite the clans of Ireland. Unfortunately, the story was told much more coherently in the Playbill synopsis that it was on the stage.
I wanted so desperately to like this new musical, but found myself laughing at some key plot points (like Grania’s postpartum sword fight) while wondering how something so visually arresting could still be so predictable and ultimately boring. That’s not to say it was all bad; indeed, a significant slice of the opening night audience seemed to eat it up. Certainly, if the critically-savaged
Tarzan can still attract an audience capacity of over 75%, there’s probably room on the Great White Way for this.
On the plus side,
The Pirate Queen is loaded with actors with great pipes, yet it was extremely difficult for this audience member to decipher much of what was being sung. Thank goodness again for that story synopsis.
Among those who had no trouble enunciating perfectly was
Stephanie J. Block, who’s finally given a well-deserved star turn. She doesn’t disappoint as the titular Irish
Pirate Queen Grace “Grania” O’Malley. She transcends the storyline she’s given by turning in a solid and often breathtaking performance, even if the material is often reminiscent of the soundtrack for the movie “
Titanic” --
Céline Dion herself could not have sounded better, yet I half expected Block to belt out “My Heart Will Go On.”
There’s no denying the beauty of the singing offered by both
Hadley Fraser (who played Grania’s true love interest Tiernan) and
Jeff McCarthy (who played Grania’s ill-fated father Dubhdara), yet the latter inexplicably enjoys a robust voice right up until the moment his character expires; perhaps that works in opera, but it was hardly believable here. Just as ridiculous was the plethora of super-buff bodies in the chorus looking ripped from the
Chippendales -- hardly the physique of a crew of pirates from the late 1500s. Even more unbelievable were the number of Irish
blondes -- including
Marcus Chait, who portrays the philandering lout Donal, whom Grania is forced to marry to save Ireland -- and even one
black Irish that recalls a certain politically incorrect joke from
The Producers.
Credit must be given to
Martin Pakledinaz for a highly creative costume design -- his handiwork for Queen Elizabeth grew more outrageous with each scene.
Eugene Lee also deserves a nod for once again conceiving a gorgeous set design, yet I couldn’t help but wondering where the $15 million was squandered if this truly is the singular most expensive Broadway-bound musical ever mounted. Unlike Boublil and Schönberg’s earlier mega-musicals that featured iconic set designs --
Les Mis’ turntable stage and
Miss Saigon’s helicopter -- there is nary a memorable special effect to be seen unless you count
Howard Werner’s entrancing projection design on display just as the curtain rises.
Can
The Pirate Queen be ship-shape in time for Broadway? Possibly. Fortunately for Galati and company, the musical heads to dry dock for several months after it closes in Chicago on November 26 before beginning previews at the Hilton Theatre on March 2. But it will take a lot of work to ready this ship for its ultimate journey.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Pirate Queen Sails Into Chicago Opening Tonight (October 29, 2006)
Pirate Queen to Sail Into Broadway's Hilton Theatre (July 27, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This Fall (May 15, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Musical, The Pirate Queen, The SOB Review
The Pirate Queen Sails Into Chicago Opening Tonight
After nearly one month of previews, the Broadway-bound Chicago tryout of
The Pirate Queen opens this evening at the Windy City’s Cadillac Palace Theatre. Helmed by
Frank Galati, the musical stars
Stephanie J. Block in the titular role.
As previously noted, this is the latest creation of
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg, the songwriting team responsible for such mega-musicals as
Les Misérables and
Miss Saigon. Produced at a cost of more than $10 million, this show promises to be every bit the spectacle that its predecessors were; in fact, it is purportedly set to become the most expensive tuner ever to be mounted on the Great White Way.
How will this Riverdance-produced musical fare? Since I’ll be in the audience for tonight’s world premiere, I’ll not only be providing a synopsis of the major reviews of
The Pirate Queen, but I’ll post my own critique as well.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Pirate Queen to Sail Into Broadway's Hilton Theatre (July 27, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This Fall (May 15, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Musical, Opening Night, The Pirate Queen
Which New Broadway Musical Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing?As noted yesterday, readers of Steve On Broadway (SOB) will find a new poll feature on the right-hand column that enables you to provide a snapshot opinion on all things theatre with the click of your mouse.
Please note that the poll's mechanism only enables you to vote once meaning that if you try voting for a second time, only your last vote will count officially.
My first question is pretty simple: "Which new Broadway musical are you most enthusiastic about seeing?" Your choices include
Grey Gardens,
High Fidelity,
Legally Blonde,
Mary Poppins,
The Pirate Queen and
The Times They Are A-Changin'. I'm only listing new shows that have been confirmed to open during the current 2006-07 Theatrical Season.
I also invite your comments to each story posted on Steve On Broadway (SOB). In fact, please feel free to tell me why you're voting the way you are for a show. As always, whether you think my opinion mirrors yours or is just plain wrong, I promise to post each comment that seeks to engage in a thoughtful discussion on theatre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Take The Steve On Broadway (SOB) Poll (October 15, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Grey Gardens, High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, Musical, SOB Poll, Spring Awakening, The Pirate Queen
Pirate Queen to Sail Into Broadway's Hilton TheatreScratch
my speculation over whether
Curtains will take over Broadway's
Hilton Theatre early next year. Today it was announced that
The Pirate Queen will gain that coveted 2007 berth, which has the most seats of any venue on the Great White Way. The tuner is expected to open March 22 after an initial out-of-town tryout this fall at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre.
As
I've previously mentioned, the new
Alain Boublil/
Claude-Michel Schönberg swashbuckler musical will star the bewitching
Stephanie J. Block in the title role. As storied as
Miss Saigon and
Les Misérables are in the annals of theatrical history -- and as lovely a performer Block has been in Broadway's
The Boy From Oz as
Liza Minnelli and in the touring cast of
Wicked as Elphaba -- I have a two-fold trepidation over this production.
First, it will be helmed by
Frank Galati, whose previous direction has left me bored and befuddled with such works as
Seussical,
After The Quake and
Loving Repeating. Second, the musical is produced by
Riverdream, which is primarily known for its tired
Riverdance (although I profess that I've never seen it, its reputation has kept me far away).
Perhaps I'm being completely unfair here (and don't be afraid to tell me if I am), but those two points will give me pause in deciding whether or not to see this show.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets to performances in Chicago.Related Stories:Curtains' Calling on Broadway? (July 24, 2006)
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This Fall (May 15, 2006)
The SOB Five "Worst" of 2005-06 (May 12, 2006)
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Labels: Broadway, Curtains, Musical, The Pirate Queen, Tryout
The Pirate Queen Musical to Sail Into Chicago This FallIf you are like me -- one of the millions of theatre-goers worldwide who enjoyed two of the biggest, global theatrical spectacles of the past twenty years,
Les Misérables and
Miss Saigon -- you may want to find your way to the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago this fall as
The Pirate Queen is set to enjoy its world premiere. The latest Broadway-bound Alain Boubil/Claude Michel Schönberg musical is a fictionalized account of an actual Irish woman, Grace O’Malley, who became a legend thanks to her life as a pirate. The sensational Stepanie J. Block has been cast in the lead role.
Audiences who caught
The Boy From Oz will remember Block for her portrayal of another real life legend, Liza Minnelli, while fans of the touring
Wicked production may have thrilled to Block defying gravity as its first Elphaba. Personally, I loved Block in both roles, which she imbued with enormous style and grace, as well as her amazing vocal range.
If you read my blog last Friday, you may understand that my trepidation regarding this production comes in the form of its direction. Frank Galati will helm the large cast of forty. I saw two of his shows from the last theatrical season, and they ranked at the bottom of my list among all 54 productions I saw during that time. Could the third time be the charm? Or could it be three strikes and he's out?
Another reason for my apprehension is that the producers of
Riverdance -- perhaps aptly named Riverdream -- are behind
The Pirate Queen. I have never seen
Riverdance, but given the cliché it's become, I have my doubts about what this all adds up to.
Minus a revolving stage or helicopter, I'll have to hope for the best with Stephanie Block on board. Tickets for
The Pirate Queen go on sale on May 19 for performances running from October 3 through November 26.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Broadway, Chicago, First Word On New Show, Musical, The Boy From Oz, The Pirate Queen, Tryout
