SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Musicals
During the 2006-07 Theatrical Season, I've enjoyed the opportunity to see 16 new musicals.
While some were decidedly cutting-edge, others took a more traditional approach. Still others sought to transform beloved films into equally adored stage versions, usually (but not always) with limited success.
Overall, there are more than a handful of tuners that I enjoyed enough that they've made my personal "5 Best" list of musicals covering the past twelve months:
1 - Grey Gardens (Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY)
If I were a Tony voter,
Grey Gardens would easily be my choice for Best Musical, if not the most sublime show of the year. This unconventional yet completely satisfying tuner is a triumph of the first order.
The incredibly talented
Christine Ebersole has more than proven she's at the height of her career. Her virtuoso performance in
Grey Gardens is one that I'll never forget. Ebersole more than masterfully channels both Edith and Little Edie Bouvier Beales of the funny-if-it-weren’t-so-tragic
seventies documentary of the same name. She luminously inhabits mother Edith in act one and then incredibly suspends any disbelief that you are watching anyone but the real Little Edie in the second act. Right before your eyes, a radiant and breathtaking Ebersole becomes Little Edie.
Thanks to a potent mix of intriguing fact and supposition by
Doug Wright, the musical telling of their story provides plausible answers to the question of how the once mighty could have fallen so far. What makes this theatre of the absurd so intoxicating is not just the flawless execution of replicating key passages of the original film, but also the way Little Edie is continually haunted by the specter of the life she could have had. This musical transforms into a poignant, modern tragedy, where pathetic dismissal gives way to empathy. Credit
Michael Greif's brilliant direction,
Mary Louise Wilson’s powerful Edith and Ebersole’s heartwrenching Little Edie.
Click here for The SOB Review of Grey Gardens.2 - Curtains (Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center, Los Angeles, CA)
Thank goodness for a real honest-to-goodness old-fashioned backstage musical! Complete with stirring overture,
Curtains possesses one show-stopping number after another, invigorating choreography, sharp dialogue, intelligent book and genuinely marvelous cast. This show is exceedingly smart, exceptionally funny and a thrilling theatrical finale for the legendary songwriting team of
John Kander and the late
Fred Ebb. In a word, it’s fun.
Rob Ashford’s brilliant choreography has once again enabled a leading man not typically known for his dancing prowess to shine (see my notes on
Guys and Dolls and
Ewan McGregor), particularly on the lovely dream sequence of “A Tough Act to Follow” that pairs
David Hyde Pierce (playing Lieutenant Frank Cioffi with gusto and comic precision) and the exquisite
Jill Paice. For the rest of
Curtains’ troupe -- including the wonderful
Debra Monk, who consumes the stage with her portrayal of the brash, yet cunning producer/stage mother Carmen Bernstein -- it becomes a breathtaking ride through the unusually large number of rousing and memorable numbers.
This valentine to Broadway certainly is a fitting way to send off two of the Great White Way’s most proficient songwriting duos during the last forty-five years. It all adds up: murder + mayhem + music = must-see!
Click here for The SOB Review of Curtains.3 - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, Chicago, IL)
OK, by the time I finally took in this wonderful little musical early last summer, it probably could have been called the "26th Annual." No matter, since I completely fell for its charms, even if I spelled it N-O-N-S-T-O-P L-A-U-G-H-T-E-R. This excellent musical gem, complete with superb ensemble, absolutely delights with a little tale of one of those uniquely American displays of educational prowess: the lowly spelling bee.
In
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, director
James Lapine finds surprising depth and heart in each of his spelling bee contestants. With an exquisitely written book by
Rachel Sheinkin (she won a Tony Award in 2005 year for her effort) and blissfully funny score by
William Finn, the audience is treated to an unexpectedly strong set of back stories that set up how each of the kids made it to the competition.
But there's nothing quite like the contest itself, which is moved along by the adults played by James Earl Jones II,
Bill Larkin and
Lucia Spina and includes requisite audience participation. Yet, ultimately this is a struggle among the kids, fabulously portrayed by Eric Roediger, Cristen Paige, Jen Sese,
Derrick Trumbly,
Brad Weinstock and
Christine Werny. The members of this highly-charged ensemble expertly capture the essence of their characters. The result is a fresh, exuberant musical that moves by almost as fast as a spelling bee lightning round.
Click here for The SOB Review of The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee.4 - Spring Awakening (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY)
You didn't really think I was
not going to mention this electrifying musical based on a 116 year old German play by
Frank Wedekind, did you? While
Spring Awakening is not exactly your grandfather’s musical, credit
Michael Mayer’s expert direction for enabling this show that grapples with 19th Century German teen angst to motor on at a brisk, riveting pace.
Steven Sater's collaboration with tunesmith
Duncan Sheik on the score is anything but predictable. The songs are about as fresh, smart and downright infectious as anything I’ve seen on Broadway over the past five years (even if the words don't always quite rhyme). The music effectively amplifies every scene and revs up each actor. Chief among them is the sensational
Jonathan Groff as the bad boy with brains Melchior. He holds what the show’s “adults” (
Christine Esterbrook and
Stephen Spinella, both excellent) view as an indecent corrupting influence over mediocre student Moritz played by the breathtaking
John Gallagher, Jr. in a sharp, stunning departure that I believe will earn him a richly deserved Tony.
While the show is anachronistic and a little too self aware of how cool it's striving to be (not to mention that much of
Steven Sater’s storyline on the sexual maturation is telegraphed throughout), ultimately this astounding, astonishing musical is highly entertaining.
Click here for The SOB Review of Spring Awakening.
5 - [title of show] (Vineyard Theatre, New York, NY)
Perhaps it wasn't my absolute favorite musical from the past year, but it should matter that it wasn't my
ninth favorite! With nothing derivative about the wonderful little musical
[title of show], I can honestly say that not since
The Musical Of Musicals-The Musical have I so thoroughly enjoyed such a delightful, decidedly small tuner with an enormous heart (a key element lacking in
Spring Awakening).
The engaging and endearing
Hunter Bell and
Jeff Bowen essentially play themselves -- and true to its premise, they wrote the actual book, music and lyrics, too -- as two friends who embark on writing a musical to enter into the New York Musical Theatre Fest. They succeed in bringing it to life exactly as they wrote it against all odds. Along the way, they invite two female friends -- the effervescent
Heidi Blickenstaff and the "handsome"
Susan Blackwell -- to help shape the show.
Clever dialogue and a terrific score -- along with
Michael Berresse's lovingly precise direction -- kept the 90+ minute show moving at a quick pace that was never dull and largely entertaining, particularly when they dished on some of Broadway's most renowned guilty pleasures or were interrupted via voicemail by some of the Great White Way's most acclaimed female stars (including Christine Ebersole). Best of all, they remained true to themselves and their vision.
Click here for The SOB Review of [title of show].Honorable Mentions:Two musicals I saw over the past year are deserving of special nods. The first is a show that actually opened on Broadway last season (but I finally saw it in September), while the other is perhaps the best musical based on a film that I saw all year. Here are those honorable mentions:
Curse Of The Understudy - Part III
