Elf Spreads Early Christmas CheerNo doubt banking that the best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear,
Warner Brothers Theatre Ventures is returning to the Great White Way with the musical version of one of my recent Holiday film favorites:
Elf (2003).
Elf - The Musical is set to play Broadway's
Al Hirschfeld Theatre beginning on November 2, 2010. The tuner will open on November 14, just in time for the Holiday season that begins in earnest over Thanksgiving.
The musical will star
Sebastian Arcelus as Buddy,
Amy Spanger as Jovie,
Marc Jacoby as Walter,
Beth Leavel as Emily, and the most natural actor I can think of to fill Santa's shoes,
George Wendt.
Currently scheduled through January 2, 2011, the limited engagement will get a boost this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. when
Arcelus officially opens the Hirshfeld box office with prize giveaways including chances for young audience members to win walk-on roles.
On the official
Elf - The Musical website, the stage adaptation is
described as follows:
One of the most beloved Hollywood holiday hits of the past decade is now a full grown Broadway musical! Featuring an all-star creative team led by three time Tony-nominated director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw (Spamalot), Tony-winning book writers Thomas Meehan (The Producers) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and the Tony-nominated songwriting team of Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), Elf is the one present everyone wants this holiday season.
Will audiences be willing to pass through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and perhaps even walk through the Lincoln Tunnel just to see this stage adaptation? As Broadway's only real Holiday show this season, the production just might provide the elfin magic Warner Brothers is hoping for.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. Labels: Amy Spanger, Beth Leavel, Bob Martin, Broadway, Casey Nicholaw, Chad Beguelin, Elf-The Musical, Film, First Word On New Show, George Wendt, Marc Jacoby, Matthew Sklar, Musical, Sebastian Arcelus, Thomas Meehan
Annie (The SOB Review) – Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
* (out of ****)
Leapin' lizards, what a dog.
Regular readers will know that in my appreciation for live theatre, I cut my teeth on the original Broadway production of
Martin Charnin and
Charles Strouse’s
Annie when
I saw the London mounting way back in 1979.
I was charmed by virtually every aspect of the show, beginning with
Martin Charnin and
Charles Strouse's winning score and
Thomas Meehan's lighthearted, whimsical books (with auspicious beginnings for Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal) right through the nuanced, winning performances by
Stratford Johns and
Sheila Hancock, and ultimately to all the magical design elements, particularly
David Mitchell's intricate set.
Flash forward to the current touring production of
Annie, and it’s a pale imitation of that original show. Bet your bottom dollar, because it looks that cheap.
Sure, the story and score still hold up -- in fact, given the current state of the economy, they resonate brilliantly -- but strip away practically every last nuance from the lackluster performances and the glorious design elements that wowed me thirty years ago, and it all comes down to what this
Annie amounts to.
To put it simply, it’s a scrim. No, not a scream, but one scrim after another after another, nearly devoid of most actual scenic design. It looks as cheap as it is bad. There's absolutely no magic. No wonder this revival falls so flat.
I’m truly grateful to
Gratuitous Violins for taking me as her guest, but at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, I’d like to scratch what
I had to say about
Guys And Dolls. This warmed-over
Annie marks the worst, most disappointing musical revival I’ve seen over the past year.
It’s a hard knock, but someday, if not tomorrow, a dazzling revival worthy of the exceptional core show will come knocking.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Annie, Charles Strouse, David Mitchell, Gratuitous Violins, Martin Charnin, Musical, Sheila Hancock, Stratford Johns, The SOB Review, Thomas Meehan, Touring Production
Did Cry-Baby Induce Critical Cries of Joy?First off, let me apologize for being so tardy today in posting this critics' capsule. I'm currently in Paris and enjoyed my day by strolling around this beautiful city, which I'm afraid takes precedence over
this site any day.
And given what
I thought of Cry-Baby during previews, it's not exactly like I was champing at the bit to drop what I was doing to post. You get it,
Cry-Baby critics' capsule or Paris?! Well, my feet finally needed a rest so here goes.
Last evening,
Cry-Baby, the second stage adaptation of a
John Waters, opened at the
Marquis Theatre under the direction of
Mark Brokaw. Boasting a book by
Mark O'Donnell and
Thomas Meehan, the tuner features a score by
Adam Schlesinger and
David Javerbaum and a cast that includes
Harriet Harris,
James Snyder and
Elizabeth Stanley. Critics were split on the merits of the show.
Concluding that "
Cry-Baby will make you smile, and laugh, without patronizing you, or anyone else,"
Elysa Gardner of
USA Today awards three out of four stars: "The rockabilly-inspired numbers that David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger have crafted for
Cry-Baby aren't as ambitious or infectious (as
Hairspray), but the show is similarly good-hearted, and has more of a Waters edge. Javerbaum and Schlesinger's lyrics and Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan's book are both more inventively crass and less snarky than those of other contemporary musical winkfests; you get the sense that these writers share Waters' affection for his goofy subjects."
Lamenting that it "just doesn't gel as well" as
Hairspray,
Clive Barnes of
New York Post nevertheless provides a mixed review: "...book writers Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, who co-wrote the book for
Hairspray, have done a pretty nifty job with material not nearly so malleable. Decidedly less nifty are the songs by David Javerbaum and Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger. The music comes in two rocky flavors -- cheery and droopy. It's the kind of music that makes you wonder whether you've heard it before, just before you stop caring."
Labeling the show as "tasteless,"
The New York Times' Ben Brantley calls out the blandness of the production, "I meant without flavor: sweet, sour, salty, putrid or otherwise. This show in search of an identity has all the saliva-stirring properties of week-old pre-chewed gum. (Not to be tasteless.)... The songs by Mr. Javerbaum (a producer for 'The Daily Show With
Jon Stewart') and Mr. Schlesinger (of the pop group
Fountains of Wayne) include plenty of rockabilly riffs and soulful wails (for a
Little Richard-like character played by
Chester Gregory II), but they often feel stuck in a groove, repeated until they go dry."
Criticizing it as "benign, kitschy satire,"
Variety's
David Rooney also is less than positive: "There's a lot of talent, sass and sweat onstage, particularly in the dance department, plus a sprinkling of wit in the show's good-natured vulgarity. But somehow, it never quite ignites."
Commencing his review by stating, "Some musicals have high ideals and aspirations. Some even have something profound to say.
Cry-Baby isn't one of them,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News offers two out of five stars: "It hits the mark about half the time, whenever the show is dancing. The star of
Cry-Baby is choreographer
Rob Ashford, who has created some of the most inventive and athletic dancing seen on Broadway all season.... Snyder and Stanley are likable leads, but it's two featured actors who stand out -- Chester Gregory II and
Carly Jibson, as soulful sidekick and nasty knocked-up sister of
Cry-Baby. They bring big talent and oddball originality to the stage -- precisely what this baby needed more of."
So there you have it folks, it looks like the show hasn't improved much from when
I saw it a few weeks ago. Critics are hardly excited by this latest entry on the Great White Way, and there's now only
one more original musical left to open before the season is officially over and the Tonys are announced. Doesn't look like
Cry-Baby will be in contention other than for supporting roles and Mr. Ashford's pretty decent choreography.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Cry-Baby Finally Given Birth On Broadway Tonight (April 24, 2008)
Theatre Etiquette, Part Four (Or Drunken City) (April 15, 2008)
Cry-Baby (The SOB Preview) (April 2, 2008)
Looking Forward: The SOB Top Five (January 2, 2008)
John Waters: This Filthy World (The SOB Review) (November 12, 2007)
Giving Birth To Cry-Baby (September 27, 2007)
Cry-Baby To Move Forward Without Schuck (May 6, 2007)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Cry-Baby, Film, Harriet Harris, John Waters, Mark Brokaw, Mark O'Donnell, Musical, The SOB Preview, Thomas Meehan
Cry-Baby (The SOB Preview) - Marquis Theatre, New York, NY
* (out of ****)Those screeching sounds you hear are
Mark O'Donnell and
Thomas Meehan as they literally scrape the bottom of the barrel.
You see, they've already gone beneath the
Grease, which with all due respect to
Mr. Riedel this morning, can no longer be deemed "the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values."
Au contraire, Michael.
Cry-Baby appears to be angling for that dubious honor. Despite its multi-million dollar budget, this new musical quite incredibly comes across as a poor man's
Grease with its tired good girl gone gaga for bad boy premise. Already three weeks into previews with -- surprise, surprise -- another three plus weeks to go, the latest
John Waters-inspired Broadway musical
Cry-Baby is trashy fun.
Without the fun.
How do I put this delicately without sounding like I'm piling on?
Cry-Baby is such a piece of doggy-do that not even
Divine would dare stomach it. In fact, I'd take "
Pink Flamingos The Musical" anyday over this if it were written by Waters himself.
With a cloying score by first-timers
Adam Schlesinger and
David Javerbaum, what little story there is limps along at a snail's pace. By the time we get to the closing tune "Nothing Bad's Ever Gonna Happen Again," it's too little and far too late for any reassurance given what we've already had to endure.
Not even
Harriet Harris can save this one. In
Cry-Baby, her Mrs. Vernon-Williams is merely an extension of other characters we've previously seen her portray. That she and
Chester Gregory II as Dupree manage to upstage leads
James Snyder and
Elizabeth Stanley is not saying much.
If there is a silver lining, it's that first-time musical director
Mark Brokaw is at least benefitting from some fancy footwork from choreographer
Rob Ashford, particularly in the singularly rousing "Jailyard Jubilee" number. Indeed, Ashford seems much more in command than Brokaw. However, Ashford seems to have borrowed the license plate on shoe idea from
Matthew Bourne, who instead used trash can lids in the revival of
My Fair Lady currently touring the United States.
I can't help but wonder what the show would be like if only it had healthier doses of Waters' trademark ribald and subversively clever humor, such as in the opening scene when we first meet our "Squares" (antagonists) and "Drapes (protagonists) as they come together for a fleeting moment for their polio vaccines. Perhaps it would have been more interesting.
If there's any glimmer of hope for
Cry-Baby, it's that Waters himself was in the back of the theatre during my performance, hopefully helping punch up the script if he wasn't letting O'Donnell and Meehan have it first.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Looking Forward: The SOB Top Five (January 2, 2008)
John Waters: This Filthy World (The SOB Review) (November 12, 2007)
Giving Birth To Cry-Baby (September 27, 2007)
Cry-Baby To Move Forward Without Schuck (May 6, 2007)
Labels: Broadway, Cry-Baby, Film, Harriet Harris, John Waters, Mark Brokaw, Mark O'Donnell, Musical, The SOB Preview, Thomas Meehan
It's Alive! Young Frankenstein Opens On BroadwayIt all comes down to this evening.
After months and months of negative publicity for
charging $450 for the top seats,
not publicly sharing the grosses,
not paying dues for the Dramatists Guild,
dumping the beloved Cloris Leachman, and
star Roger Bart's bad back,
Mel Brooks' second film adaptation to be turned into a big splashy Broadway musical finally opens this evening.
Brooks' beloved
film Young Frankenstein gets fine tunered with the help of
Thomas Meehan and director/choreographer
Susan Stroman.
Bart takes on the title role, with
Megan Mullally, ahem, assuming the position of Elizabeth,
Andrea Martin instilling fear in horses as Frau Blucher,
Christopher Fitzgerald humping along as Igor,
Sutton Foster rolling in der hay as Inga and
Shuler Hensley puttin' on the ritz as the Monster.
While I've been highly critical of the aforementioned offenses, I also have been able to separate those issues from my enjoyment of the show during its Seattle tryouts. As cathartic as dissing it with a stinging review might have been,
I'm the first to admit that I rather liked Young Frankenstein.
The real test with tonight's opening and tomorrow's reviews is whether the critics can do the same, or if they'll use the "this was too much like the movie" line to pile on. Find out tomorrow in my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Bart's Back: Bad Omen? (October 24, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, Or Mel's Funk (October 11, 2007)
Once Again, I Have To Ask.... (September 20, 2007)
Young Frankenstein's Gross Out Factor (September 7, 2007)
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets Old (August 24, 2007)
Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Andrea Martin, Broadway, Christopher Fitzgerald, Film, Megan Mullally, Mel Brooks, Musical, Opening Night, Roger Bart, Sutton Foster, Thomas Meehan, Young Frankenstein
Giving Birth To Cry-BabyDirector
Mark Brokaw knows a thing or two about birthing shows. And this November, he'll help bring the brand spanking new
Cry-Baby to life at San Diego's
La Jolla Playhouse.
Based on the 1990
John Waters flick, the Rialto-bound
Cry-Baby has a pretty impressive pedigree. For starters, in addition to Brokaw, one of my fave Broadway babies is on board: Tony winning actress
Harriet Harris, who'll make this her second Great White Way outing this theatrical season (she replaces
Jan Maxwell). Opposite Harris will be
James Snyder in the title role. Also in the cast is a terrific talent named
Carly Jibson, whom I first saw as Tracy Turnblad in the touring production of that other Waters-inspired musical
Hairspray.
Cry-Baby's book comes from two grown men who certainly know their way around Waters' material: the estimable
Thomas Meehan (
Annie,
The Producers)
and
Mark O'Donnell, the same duo who wrote the libretto for
Hairspray. Choreography will be provided
Rob Ashford, whose fine work is much in demand on both sides of the Atlantic these days. Broadway novices
David Javerbaum (writer for
Comedy Central's "
The Daily Show") and
Adam Schlesinger (
Fountains of Wayne) are writing the score.
Cry-Baby will be born on November 6 at La Jolla Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre. It's expected to reach Broadway in March with an April opening.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Cry-Baby To Move Forward Without Schuck (May 6, 2007)
Labels: Broadway, Cry-Baby, Film, First Word On New Show, Hairspray, Harriet Harris, John Waters, La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Brokaw, Mark O'Donnell, Musical, Rob Ashford, San Diego, Thomas Meehan
High Anxiety Over What Follows Young Frankenstein?With
Young Frankenstein nearly ready for prime time on the Great White Way, what will
Mel Brooks & Co. do for an encore?
Many have assumed that a stage adaptation of "Blazing Saddles" would be next. Not so fast.
In a
New York magazine profile on Brooks, Boris Kachka says of the comedic genius, "More ambiguous is his reaction when I tell him that I’ve heard he’s considering adapting the broader, bawdier
Blazing Saddles."
Indeed, in a
Bloomberg story by Philip Boroff, Brooks collaborator
Thomas Meehan says, "It could be
'High Anxiety'....That's the leading candidate."
Hat tip to regular SOB reader Esther, for pointing me toward the two stories.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Blazing Saddles, Broadway, High Anxiety, Mel Brooks, Musical, Thomas Meehan, Young Frankenstein
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75%Apparently, according to both
Playbill and
Michael Riedel,
Mel Brooks and
Thomas Meehan are sitting through every one of the Seattle tryout performances of
Young Frankenstein to finish prepping it for Broadway.
Also, according to Riedel, Brooks thinks the show is "75% there."
Additionally, according to me, I'll be 100% in the audience this weekend.
Wonder whether these eyes will come this close.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).Related Stories:Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Film, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Musical, Seattle, Thomas Meehan, Tryout, Young Frankenstein
