‘BOOP!’: Jasmine Amy Rogers. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

BOOP! THE MUSICAL
Based on characters created by Max Fleischer
Book by Bob Martin
Music by David Foster
Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead
Directed & choreographed by Jerry Mitchell
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44^th Street
https://boopthemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The iconic cartoon character Betty Boop was created by Max Fleischer in 1930. Now, the creative team of book writer Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), composer David Foster, lyricist Susan Birkenhead and the always-brilliant director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell have brought everyone’s favorite animated Jazz Age flapper to vivid life in Boop! The Musical. Betty Boop’s heyday was the 1930s, a time when her black-and-white cartoons brought levity and escapism to people during the Great Depression. Now, in 2025, she’s live, in color and being portrayed by the effervescent “triple threat” Jasmine Amy Rogers—one of the most exciting newcomers to hit the Broadway stage in ages.

A tonic for troubled times

I heard mixed things about the show before seeing it. One friend who caught an early preview said he loved it, while another said it “wasn’t my cup of tea.” Another friend told me she thinks it’s the “type of show America needs right now,” with the unstable economy, a volatile stock market and a tense, divided political temperature nationwide. I agree with the latter sentiment because Boop! Is certainly a tonic for troubled times.

Time machine nonstop to NYC

The musical opens as Betty fantasizes about leaving her make-believe comic world, one in which she is a superstar and faces all the trappings and downsides of fame. She mostly lives with her dog Pudgy (portrayed onstage with a clever marionette controlled by artist Philip Huber). With the help of Grampy (Stephen DeRosa) and his time machine, she’s transported nonstop to 2025 New York City, in living color. She soon experiences everything the modern-day city has to offer, from music to romance.

She is immediately beamed to the Comic Con convention in Manhattan. Here, she meets young Trisha (Angelica Hale), an adorable Betty Boop fangirl. The fan introduces Betty to the charming, handsome Dwayne (Ainsley Melham), an aspiring jazz musician. Dwayne takes care of Trisha and works for her busy aunt, Carol Evans (Anastacia McCleskey). Her aunt works for an unscrupulous mayoral candidate, Raymond Demarest (Erich Bergen).

Lighthearted & a delightful diversion

The ensuing plot is silly and full of color characters, including Valentina (Faith Prince), an astrophysicist who wears a lot of funky outfits and has romantic designs on Gramps. Most of the story line is lighthearted fluff, an excuse to showcase lavish production numbers featuring Jerry Mitchell’s visually appealing choreography, David Rockwell’s gorgeous scenic design and whimsical, outrageous costumes by Gregg Barnes. Lighting designer Philip S. Rosenberg adds more optical treats with glittering projections, lights and digital confetti that bathe the cast and the stage in multiple colors.

Book writer Bob Martin has created Betty as a feminist heroine—perhaps to add a touch of 21^st century verisimilitude—but don’t go searching for any profound meaning or message here. Yes, the show makes some important statements about sexual harassment and the dark side of city politics, but Boop! is hardly an intellectual musical. I don’t think it’s intended to be anything but a delightful diversion to make theatergoers forget their troubles and watch a glitzy spectacle. Isn’t that the main purpose of any Broadway musical?

Score, lyrics & cast

Composer David Foster (with 16 Grammy Awards, one Emmy, one Golden Globe and three Oscar nominations) and lyricist Susan Birkenheard (Jelly’s Last Jam) pack the score with such peppy songs as “Ordinary Day” and “Where I Wanna Be” to “Where is Betty?” and “Something to Shout About.”

Although not all the songs are memorable, the gifted cast does a superb job in nearly all production numbers. Let’s start with the supporting characters first.

Seeing Broadway veteran Faith Prince back on the New York stage is a treat, and long overdue. She gives everything she’s got to Valentina, the astrophysicist who dabbles in vaudeville. Her zest and witty spirit add much humor to the character. Her love interest Gramps is splendidly portrayed by Stephen DeRosa and the two are lots of fun on their duet “Whatever It Takes.”

Broadway newcomer Angelica Hale is sweet and engaging as Trisha. Anastacia McCleskey is equally compelling as Trisha’s aunt Carol Evans and the campaign manager for the unsavory mayoral candidate Raymond Demarest (played by the marvelous Erich Bergen, who seems to be having a blast playing the despicable character).

Aubie Merrylees is a hoot as Oscar Delacorte, Betty’s director in the cartoon world, while Ainsley Melham plays the perfect heartthrob as Dwayne, Betty’s love interest. Kudos also go out to Phillip Huber, the marionette artist who brings Betty’s pooch, Pudgy, to life.

Jasmine Amy Rogers & Jerry Mitchell

Boop! may not have been as enjoyable without a star like Jasmine Amy Rogers. She is the consummate Betty with her infectious energy, great vocals, and a nice combination of spunk and vulnerability. Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell has created his best, most colorful musical since Kinky Boots. Boop! is not a perfect show, but it’s a family-friendly gem and one of the most enjoyable musical comedies on Broadway this season.

Published April 20, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on April 10, 2025

‘BOOP!’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: Jasmine Amy Rogers & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’ Angelica Hale & Jasmine Amy Rogers. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: Stephen DeRosa, Jasmine Amy Rogers & Phillip Huber (marionette artist for Pudgy). Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: (Photo, left) Anastacia McCleskey & Erich Bergen. (Photo, right): Stephen DeRosa & Faith Prince. Photos: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: Ainsley Melham & Jasmine Amy Rogers. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: (left to right) Nancy Allsop, Nicola Turner, Sophia Ally & Lara McDonnell. Photo: Joan Marcus.

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA
A new play by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Through December 22, 2024
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44^th Street
https://thehillsofcalifornia.com/

By Scott Harrah

British playwright Jez Butterworth has written stage sagas about England (Jerusalem) and Ireland (The Ferryman) and now he takes on America via the elusive dreams of a widow and single mother, Veronica Webb (Laura Donnelly). She hopes to turn her four daughters in Blackpool, UK into singing stars across the Atlantic in the poignant epic The Hills of California.

America is a running theme in The Hills of California. Veronica owns a struggling hotel in Blackpool called Sea View (although it has no view of the sea) and the rooms are named after U.S. states like Mississippi. The story is told in both the past and present, depicting two eras: 1976, during a summer heatwave, when three of the Webb sisters have gathered at their childhood home as their mother lies dying of cancer upstairs; and 1955, when Veronica is trying desperately to book her daughters as a singing quartet styled after the Andrews Sisters.

Most of the story, however, is told through the eyes of the sisters. Jill (Helena Wilson) is the only one who is not married and still lives at home. Her sisters include Gloria (Leanne Best) and Ruby (Ophelia Lovibond). They are waiting for their sister Joan (incredibly played by Laura Donnelly in a dual role)—the only one to move away from England—to arrive on a flight from California. The siblings are concerned about their mother on her deathbed, and anxious about whether Joan will even show up. Joan has been estranged from the family for more than 20 years.

Back in 1955, Veronica insists on getting her daughters to polish up their sister act. However, after a visit from Luther St. John (David Wilson Barnes), a Hollywood agent, Veronica and her daughters learn that Americans have moved on from the Andrews Sisters. The girls perform such oldies as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” The play’s title is derived from “The Hills of California,” an old B side by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers, a song the Webb sisters sing as an ode to the Golden State.

Fast-forward to 1976. Jill is a long-suffering spinster who is devoted to her dying mother.  Gloria is in an often-volatile marriage to her husband and has two kids, while Ruby, despite a great singing voice, never pursued show business, is emotionally fragile and plagued with anxiety.

Sister Joan finally arrives from America in a wave of cigarette smoke and hippie glamour. She now speaks in an American twang and seems like an outsider in her childhood home. She recorded an album in the States shortly after she moved across the Atlantic, but soon spiraled into a life of substance abuse. The true fireworks in the show truly explode toward the end of the nearly three-hour drama. The chemistry amongst the four sisters is amazing, and one really feels all the pathos and grief they are all experiencing about the impending death of their mother.

Director Sam Mendes extracts outstanding performances from the gifted ensemble. The Hills of California is a story of women in crisis and the family ties of sisters united in grief. The performances of Ms. Wilson as Jill, Ms. Best as Gloria, Ms. Lovibond as Ruby and Ms. Donnelly as both Veronica and Joan are consistently moving and packed with emotion. David Wilson Barnes is fittingly direct and menacing as American show-business agent Luther St. John.

The actresses playing the younger versions of the sisters, Nicola Turner as “Young Jill,” Nancy Allsop as “Young Gloria,” Sophia Ally as “Young Ruby” and Lara McDonnell as “Young Joan” are all first rate. These young women truly flesh out the sad backstory of the Webb sisters in the 1950s with sincerity and a sense of wistfulness.

Unless one is familiar with British regional dialects, the show can be challenging at times, especially in the beginning when the characters speak in rapid-fire Lancashire accents. It is hard to say whether the issue might possibly be resolved with tweaking the actors’ microphones but fortunately one gets used to the dialect as the story progresses.

The Hills of California is a challenging drama, but one ultimately worth the long running time. It is one of Jez Butterworth’s best plays yet. It is as complex as The Ferryman but more simplistic than Jerusalem, and is ultimately a timeless tale of grief and the ups and downs a family experiences throughout the years.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 14, 2024
Reviewed at October 8, 2024 press performance

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: (left to right): Lara McDonnell, Laura Donnelly & Sophia Ally. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’:(left to right) Helena Wilson, Laura Donnelly & Ophelia Lovibond. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: (left to right) Lara McDonnell, Nancy Allsop & Sophia Ally. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: Laura Donnelly. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’: Helena Wilson & Ophelia Lovibond. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE
Book by Anthony McCarten
Music & lyrics by Neil Diamond
Directed by Michael Mayer
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200
https://abeautifulnoisethemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

A Beautiful Noise is not exactly a Neil Diamond tribute concert or a solid jukebox musical such as MJ, Tina and Jersey Boys—all these shows had great stories to tell and also showcased the music of the artist portrayed. Instead, this show is akin to attending a Neil Diamond psychotherapy session, hearing him complaining to his therapist about his malaise and unhappiness in his old age. This therapy session takes place throughout the musical. For a man who is a world-renowned musical artist, had endless hit songs, fame and adulation, sold-out arenas, became quite wealthy, married three times and has multiple children, the show mostly focuses on the adage that fame and riches do not buy you happiness.

Neil Diamond is an American icon. He has sold more than 130 million records and had 10 #1 hits in the USA alone. Anyone who grew up in the 1970s and early 1980s knows his music was consistently played on the radio. Some say he has sold more records than Elvis. In addition, he got his break writing songs for other people, most notably “I’m a Believer” for the Monkees.

Despite the fact that all his hits are here—“America,” “Cherry, Cherry,” “Cracklin’ Rose,” “Solitary Man” and, of course “Sweet Caroline,” and tons more—there is no arc to the storyline. Neil Diamond was a multi-talented mega star who was essentially a nice Jewish boy from Flatbush, Brooklyn who made it big. Based on this show, he didn’t have any struggles with drugs or alcohol but he suffered from loneliness and had rocky marriages. A Beautiful Noise opens with a therapy session of older  Neil (Marc Jacoby) recalling his youth and start in show business through his songbook, while confessing everything to his understanding therapist (Linda Powell). Other than his three marriages, there is no insight into the man. It doesn’t leave much room for a buoyant musical. Fortunately, Will Swenson brings young rock star Neil Diamond to vivid life and gives a vibrant interpretation of Mr. Diamond in the late 1960s up to the early ’80s. When Mr. Swenson is onstage, sporting tight clothing and singing Diamond classics like “A Solitary Man” and “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” complete with dancing chorus members, the show is lively and almost campy and will thrill Neil Diamond fans. Unfortunately, there are not enough production numbers of Diamond’s golden oldies, and many of the songs they do perform aren’t always his best.  The narrative of older Neil talking to his therapist about his past really makes the story drag most of the time.

Michael Mayer’s direction is unfocused, and Anthony McCarten’s book has a paper-thin narrative thread. Steven Hoggett’s choreography is frenetic and energetic at times, but not that original. Some of the performances are noteworthy. Bri Suda does a nice job playing Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich (the woman who gave Mr. Diamond his first break), and she doubles in the role of Neil’s mother, Rose. Mark Jacoby is emotional in the right places as older Neil. The biggest redemption to the show and its greatest asset is Will Swenson as the young Neil Diamond, singing each song in a rough, mellifluous, velvety voice without trying to mimic the star. He brings the charisma, looks, energy and the sound needed to anchor and breathe life into this otherwise inert musical. A good jukebox musical about a legend often weaves cherished classic songs into a strong story that actually gives insight and perspective while showcasing the artist’s material. A Beautiful Noise fails to do much justice to the star as it never quite captures the pop-star magic of Neil Diamond in his heyday or reveals anything remarkable about such a legendary, gifted entertainer.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 21, 2023
Reviewed at January 19, 2023 press performance.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: (left to right) Will Swenson, Mark Jacoby & Linda Powell. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Robyn Hurder & Will Swenson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Marc Jacoby. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’ (left to right): Michael McCormick, Tom Alan Robbins, Linda Powell, Marc Jacoby & Will Swenson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Robyn Hurder & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Elizabeth Stanley. Photo: Matthew Murphy

JAGGED LITTLE PILL
Lyrics by Alanis Morissette
Music by Alanis Morissette & Glen Ballard
Book by Diablo Cody
Directed by Diane Paulus
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th St.
212-239-6200
https://jaggedlittlepill.com/

By Scott Harrah

Back in 1995, Alanis Morissette became a superstar with her seminal album Jagged Little Pill. Alanis, then just 20, defined emotionally raw music for a new generation of young women with the album’s iconic smash hits, from “You Oughta Know” and “Hand in My Pocket” to “Ironic.” Alanis’s music was highly personal, neurotic, hauntingly poetic and angry—all things we’d never heard before from a female artist so young and unapologetically feminist. Her music sounded so genuine because the pain she sang about came from such an organic place. Perhaps that’s why Jagged Little Pill on Broadway is so, well, hard to swallow. With a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno), this jukebox musical only uses Alanis’s songs as the soundtrack for a story about a dysfunctional suburban family in Connecticut.  The story, while told with intelligence and a multi-talented cast of actors with good voices, is all too familiar and strained at times. Alanis’s classic songs are all here, performed with panache and with new added nuances, but they often seem out of place with such heavy-handed material.

Mary Jane Healy (Elizabeth Stanley)—cleverly named, of course, after the song “Mary Jane” on the Jagged Little Pill LP—is referred to by the nickname MJ. She pretends she and husband Steve (Sean Allan Krill), a workaholic attorney, have the perfect family. Their son Nick (Derek Klena) has just received word that he’ll be attending Harvard University when he finishes high school, but he hates the pressure to succeed this puts on him. The family also has an adopted African American daughter Frankie (Celia Rose Gooding). Of course, nothing is as idealistic as it seems. MJ was in a bad car accident and has since developed an addiction to opioid painkillers and has lost interest in sex with her husband. Steve, she discovers, has a secret addiction as well—to internet pornography. Daughter Frankie is hiding a shocking secret as well: She is bisexual and has been carrying on a lesbian fling with friend Jo (Lauren Patten). Trouble arises when Frankie meets new boy in town Phoenix (Antonio Cipriano) and falls for him.

Ms. Cody spins quite a tangled yarn here, covering enough controversial topics to fill a whole season of TV’s “Movie of the Week.” In two and a half hours (with an intermission), Jagged Little Pill covers topics ranging from rape and opioid addiction to bisexuality, marriage counseling, and so on. Despite its attempts to be “woke,” Jagged isn’t exactly original. The recent teen musical Dear Evan Hansen handled similar subject matter better because its narrative was more focused and less contrived.

The setting is 2019, but some of the characters still wear 1990s-style Seattle grunge gear. Alanis fans will love the way many of her classics are presented. For example, “Ironic” is performed during a high school writing class and characters stop to say what people said back when the song first topped the charts: Many of Alanis’s examples of “ironic” things like “a black fly in your chardonnay” or “rain on your wedding day” aren’t ironic at all. Regardless, “Ironic” is a great song.  “You Oughta Know”—the scorned woman’s anthem that made Alanis a household name, with its lyrics like “would she go down on you in a theater? —takes on a whole new meaning as sung by Lauren Patten as Jo.

Some of Alanis’ later hits are also included and used in clever ways to weave their way around the narrative. “Hands Clean” from Under Rug Swept—a song about sexual abuse Alanis encountered when she was a teenage pop singer in Canada, years before Jagged Little Pill—is used to tell the story of the rape of a teen character, Bella (Kathryn Gallagher). The infamous yet catchy “Thank U” is also here—the 1998 hit in which Alanis thanks India, terror and silence.

The Alanis songbook nearly 25 years after the release of Jagged Little Pill is still influential and groundbreaking in its own right. Alanis was always “real” and truly ahead of her time. She was singing about abusive men and helping to empower women years before the “#MeToo” movement.

Diablo Cody’s turgid story is overwhelming at times and so full of “issues” that it becomes absurd.  An experienced director like Diane Paulus should have been able to fine-tune the story much better, and Sidi Larbi Cherakaoui’s choreography is literally all over the place.

There are many fine performances in Jagged Little Pill, particularly Ms. Patten as Jo. However, despite all the talent on the Broadhurst stage, it is unfortunate that Alanis’s music could not have been used for a more satisfying musical.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 12, 2019
Reviewed at December 11, 2019 press performance.

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Elizabeth Stanley & Kathryn Gallagher. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Elizabeth Stanley & Celia Rose Gooding. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Derek Klena & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Derek Klena. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Elizabeth Stanley & Heather Lang. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Lauren Patten & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘JAGGED LITTLE PILL’: Celia Rose Gooding & Antonio Cipriano. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Jagged Little Pill’: Angst & Alanis’ songbook appeared first on StageZine.

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE
Written by Terrence McNally
Directed by Arin Arbus
Through August 25, 2019
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), https://www.frankieandjohnnybroadway.com/

By David NouNou

Frankie and Johnny in the Clare de Lune first opened at Stage 2 of the Manhattan Theater Club in June 1987 with Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham, who was followed by Kenneth Welsh. As described, Frankie is a fat, frumpy waitress who is emotionally defined by her unattractiveness. She is a waitress in the diner where Johnny is a short-order cook who is in good physical condition. There was a revival in 2002 with Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci at the Belasco Theatre. Ms. Falco wasn’t fat or unattractive but had her share of hang-ups, and Stanley Tucci in that version was hot.

The current incarnation gives us a different slant of these two people; they are both still damaged souls and desperately seeking a connection. They are both fairly attractive but come with a lot of baggage. After six weeks of working together, Frankie and Johnny finally go out on a date and, from the onset of the play, we find them having explosive sex in her apartment.

Naturally for Johnny, (Michael Shannon), he feels he found his soul mate and they are meant for each other as in the song “Frankie and Johnny.” However, for Frankie (Audra McDonald) she is more cautious and feels once the deed is over, it is time for Johnny to leave. This is not going to happen. Johnny is persistent, and does everything to convince Frankie he is her man. Their differences are also their similarities. They’ve both made bad choices throughout their lives and have had consequences to pay for it. Johnny sees it as a last chance for love and redemption; Frankie is just afraid of commitment and the fear of being beaten up again. It is ultimately music that starts to bring these two together. On this particular night, Johnny calls up a radio station DJ to play the beautiful song they heard earlier that night, but the DJ instead plays the enthralling “Clare de Lune” by Claude Debussy

What makes the piece exciting is the casting. Michael Shannon is a revelation here for multiple reasons. If you ever saw him in films like The Shape of Water, Nocturnal Animals or Revolutionary Road, he does not come off as the genial “nice guy next door.” He is intense. Intense. So, Frankie has got to be thinking what the hell has she gotten herself into with this overzealous could-be psycho, who she will ultimately have to face again on Monday at the diner? The harder part of the two characters in this case is Johnny’s, not only does he have to seduce Frankie, he has to seduce the entire audience in rooting for him. In an odd perverse way, we would all like to have such a committed person in our life. His seductive manner is overpowering, but his intentions are always true and good. He brings humanity in the purest form to Johnny.

Ms. McDonald has to be constantly on her guard as whether Johnny is for real or another Saturday night crackpot. She puts barriers up, and he methodically brings them down. Matched together, Ms. McDonald’s Frankie could easily throw Johnny out of her apartment if she wanted to; she is that strong a woman. Also, what works against Ms. McDonald are the hideous costumes she has to wear, for they strip her of any femininity and vulnerability. Her Frankie could have used those two characteristics, and matched Mr. Shannon in charming and seducing the audience to her side of thinking. Instead, she just settles for the frumpiness.

This is one of Terrence McNally’s most charming and delicate plays and very accessible. However, in this case, the Broadhurst Theatre becomes a cavernous venue for such a delicate piece. The apartment in use is a studio in Hell’s Kitchen, but at the Broadhurst Theatre, it seems like a three-bedroom apartment, so a lot of the cramped, in-your-face, claustrophobic tensions are lost. Perhaps the show should have waited for the smaller venue, the Booth Theatre (which will be available soon), where the fireworks of these two talented and overwhelming leads would have ricocheted off the walls.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 5, 2019
Reviewed at June 4, 2019 press performance.

‘FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE’: Audra McDonald & Michael Shannon. Photo: Deen van Meer

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‘ANASTASIA’: (left to right) Christy Altomare & Derek Klena. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

ANASTASIA
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Pictures
Directed by Darko Tresnjak
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street
(212-239-62000, www.AnastasiaBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Anastasia is a musical that can’t make up its mind whether to cater to adults or to children. It was inspired by the two 20th Century Fox movies: the 1997 animated version with talking animals and the excellent 1956 adult version with an Oscar-winning performance by Ingrid Bergman. Luckily there are no talking animals here, but this version is a highly diluted fairy tale version of the once captivating and thought-provoking notion that Anastasia Romanov was spared by the firing squad and actually survived and reunited with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress. Two standout performances, high-tech sets and projections, plus gorgeous costumes make this Anastasia momentous, if nothing else.

Anastasia starts in 1907 before the Russian Revolution in St. Petersburg at the palace of Czar Nicholas II, with a young Anastasia (Nicole Scimeca) and her grandmother (the enchanting Mary Beth Peil) singing a memorable duet “Once Upon a December.” This idyllic picture soon dissolves with the massacre of the czar and his family and the new Communist regime of Russia and poverty. Leningrad and the Communists take over the grandeur that once was St. Petersburg.

It is now 1917, Anastasia has lost her memory and is sweepings the streets of Leningrad. Two survivors of the revolution: Dmitry (Derek Klena) and Vlad (John Bolton) upon hearing rumors that Anastasia may have survived the massacre,  hatch up the scheme to find the right girl, train her, take her to Paris and pass her off as Anastasia and reunite her with her grandmother and claim the reward. In the mix is Gleb, (the wonderful Ramin Karimloo). Mr. Karimloo was Jean Val Jean in Les Miz. Here he is now playing the Javert role, the Russian officer who dogs Anastasia (Christy Altomare) to eliminate any remaining Romanov.

Well, you know the rest. With lots of training, Anastasia’s memory gets jogged, she goes to Paris, meets grandmother, and along the way falls in love with the revolutionary who discovered her. All this is good and well if it wasn’t for the rambling book by Terrence McNally and the bland score by Flaherty and Ahrens, which makes the show seem interminable. Too many unremarkable songs stretch the evening as fillers and minimalize the depth of the narrative. This is where director Darko Tresnjak should have stepped in and tightened the proceedings.

Unfortunately, the show isn’t helped any by having two extremely bland performers as the protagonists. Neither Christy Altomare nor Derek Klena have the depth or charisma to carry off the leads. They both don’t seem to realize that they are portraying Russians, instead of voiceovers for an animated film. John Bolton and Caroline O’Connor (as lady-in-waiting to the empress) perform the obligatory older folks for the light comic touch, with both having too many songs and slowing up the action.

The two gems are Mary Beth Peil, who is so regal and divine as the Empress. Young performers, take notice and learn from Ms. Peil on how she commands the stage. Finally she has been given a role that utilizes her talents. The second is Ramin Karimloo, in the role of Gleb, with a voice and presence that shakes the rafters. Oh, how wonderful it would have been if he had played Dmitry. Anyone would give up everything to be able to run away with him.

Lastly one could call the show a spectacle, thanks in large part to the dazzling costumes by Linda Cho, expert lighting by Donald Holder, but especially to Aaron Rhyne for his innovative projection design. It is absolutely astounding how seamlessly the scenes change from palace to the streets, from Russia to Paris. All three evoke the mood of a fairy tale.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 27, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on April 26, 2017

‘ANASTASIA’: Christy Altomare & Derek Klena. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ANASTASIA’: Ramin Karimloo & Christy Altomare. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ANASTASIA’: John Bolton & Caroline O’Connor. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ANASTASIA’: (seated, left to right) John Bolton, Christy Altomare & Derek Klena. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ANASTASIA’: Derek Klena & Christy Altomare. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ANASTASIA’: Nicole Scimeca & Mary Beth Peil. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ANASTASIA’: Christy Altomare. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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THE FRONT PAGE
Written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Through January 29, 2017
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), http://thefrontpagebroadway.com/

By David NouNou

When you have a cast that includes Nathan Lane, John Slattery, John Goodman, Jefferson Mays, Robert Morse, Holland Taylor and Sherie Rene Scott, it hardly matters what the play is about. The people are paying to see the cast, not necessarily the show. Hence the capacity business.

Written in 1931 and set in 1928 in a press room of the Criminal Courts Building, in Chicago, Ben Hecht writing The Front Page in collaboration with his partner, Charles MacArthur, is writing of his early days as a journalist. He wrote for the Chicago Daily Journal, among others. The story centers on journalists trying to find the latest dirt or gossip that is going on around town. On this particular day they are trying to get a scoop on Earl Williams (John Magaro), a white man and supposed Communist revolutionary convicted on charges of killing a black policeman. While Williams is being given a psychological test, he shoots the examiner and flees jail.

Walter Burns (Nathan Lane), head of the Herald Examiner, is looking for his head writer, Hildy Johnson, (John Slattery) to get the scoop on the escape. Hildy has quit the paper and is off to New York with his fiancée, Peggy Grant (Halley Feiffer) and her mother, Mrs. Grant (Holland Taylor). He has come back to say good-bye to his cronies for the last time and get his money from Walter and take off. Complications arise that hold him back from leaving, especially the escape of Earl Williams from prison. What a final scoop?

The storyline is interesting enough, but is verbose and way too long. The show runs almost three hours (has two intermissions) and a lot of things are repeated. Shows of the 1930s and 1940s were usually three hours and not the 90 minutes we are used to today. Although The Front Page is a comedy, it lacks a lot of humor. The humor arises in Mr. Lane’s antics. The subject matter was considered serious, so the humor is at a minimum and what there is of the humor seems dated and the journalists are stereotypes. All sorts of journalistic lingo of the day is flying around, journalists running in and out, giving their scoops to their editors over the phone. Yes, those were the days when they phoned in their story; no emails, texts, none of today’s conveniences.

The story moves along and the performances are all fine and genuine. However, the main reason to see the show, Nathan Lane, doesn’t even enter until near the end of Act II. When he finally enters, the speed of the show picks up from 35 miles an hour to 65. Mr. Lane entertains us with his high-strung mercurial speeches and manners–and we have come to love and appreciate each and every one of them, of his utterances, nuances and movements–and once he arrives, the play finally picks up speed and becomes enjoyable. The performance that Lane is giving is wonderful as usual, but he has done this performance hundreds of times, yet who cares? It moves the play along. The rest of the cast are all fine and they all give exact (if not stereotypical) performances.

Unfortunately for this play, journalism has taken such a turn; it was revered once and held as gospel. Look at journalism today and the mockery that is going on in the elections; it has hit a new low. Instead of interesting subject matters or viable candidates, networks and journalists select a candidate who gets ratings. Although it is a good revival, it is hard to get involved in the storyline, as something is missing: Salaciousness.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 20, 2016

‘THE FRONT PAGE”: John Goodman. Photo: © Julieta Cervantes

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‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Sarah Charles Lewis & the cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

TUCK EVERLASTING
Book by Claudia Shear & Tim Federle
Music by Chris Miller
Lyrics by Nathan Tysen
Based on the novel by Natalie Babitt
Directed & choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street, (212-239-6200)
http://www.tuckeverlastingmusical.com/

By David NouNou

Tuck Everlasting is a well-intentioned musical but ultimately presents nothing new. To say that it shares a similar arc to Peter Pan is an understatement. Peter Pan visits a young Wendy but throughout the show he never grows up. Jesse Tuck (Andrew Keenan-Bolger) meets an 11-year-old Winnie Foster (Sarah Charles Lewis) but he never ages. Both are fairy tales and both have boys waiting for the girl to grow older so they can be together. But as we all know fairy tales–although end up having a happy ending–do not always end the way we would like them to end.

Tuck Everlasting was a novel by Natalie Babbitt published in 1975. It chronicles Winnie Foster being forced to stay home by her mother because the mourning period for her father’s death has been less than a year. Winnie wants to go to the fair that has arrived in town. Belligerently leaving her mother and Nana, she stumbles into the woods and comes across Jesse Tuck who says he’s 17 but in reality is 102. There is a reason for that. Many years ago, he and his family drank from the water trickling from a tree in Winnie’s back woods in New Hampshire and he ultimately tells her about their lives. She is kidnapped by the family; Angus Tuck, the father (Michael Park) Jesse’s older brother, Miles (Robert Lenzi) and their mother, Mae (the always delightful Carolee Carmello). The dilemma is now that Winnie knows the truth about the Tucks, what to do with her? So the story meanders into family tsuris that drinking from this fountain of youth and being able to live forever isn’t really a cure-all, but in reality a curse watching all their friends and loved ones die and having to keep running and hiding so people don’t get suspicious they are not aging. Jesse further instructs Winnie to wait six years for him until she is 17 before she can drink from the well and then they can be together.

Casey Nicholaw, acting as both director/choreographer, has a daunting task on how to keep this top spinning without it falling on its side. After all, he has done both chores for the outrageous Book of Mormon, the glorious Aladdin, and my favorite musical of the 2014/15 season Something Rotten!, there is no way of topping any of them so we are left in that gray zone of sitting through another musical that has an interesting book but is saddled with too many non-descript songs.

Fine acting and singing is done by all, especially Carolee Carmello, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Michael Park, and Robert Lenzi. Also noteworthy are Fred Applegate as Constable Joe, in search of Winnie when she is suspected to be lost; and Terence Mann as the man in the yellow suit, the carnival barker. All are talented indeed, but unfortunately the material doesn’t challenge them to be more interesting, so they end up being too one-dimensional. One must mention the lady of the evening, Sarah Charles Lewis as Winnie, for she makes a formidably self-assured Broadway debut.

Tuck Everlasting presents to each audience member the dilemma of would you drink from the fountain of youth and live forever or would you rather live your life to the fullest the way nature intended and enjoy whatever it presents you, with the possibility of a happy life: falling in love, getting married, having your own children, losing your parents and the cycle keeps revolving as life is meant to be lived? Your choice.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 1, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on April 30, 2016

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Carolee Carmello & Michael Park. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Fred Applegate & Michael Warte. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Terrence Mann & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Robert Lenzi & Sarah Charles Lewis. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: (left to right) Terrence Mann, Andrew Keenan-Bolger & Sarah Charles Lewis. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Andrew Keenan-Bolger & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Andrew Keenan-Bolger & Sarah Charles Lewis. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Robert Lenzi, Sarah Charles Lewis & Carolee Carmello. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Terrence Mann. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TUCK EVERLASTING’: Sarah Charles Lewis. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘MISERY’: Bruce Willis as Paul Sheldon. Photo: Joan Marcus

MISERY
Written by William Goldman
Based on the novel by Stephen King
Directed by Will Frears
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.MiseryBroadway.com

By David NouNou

To see or not to see Bruce Willis in Misery? That is the question.

Anyone can tell you it is far easier to adapt a thriller or mystery to the screen than it is to take an iconic suspense film and adapt it to the confines of the stage. A stage play can be expanded to the screen and sometimes made better. Case in point: Sleuth, and sometimes not, as in Deathtrap. However, when you take a novel written by Stephen King and then adapt it to an exhausting thriller, as Rob Reiner did in the 1990 movie, it is virtually impossible to turn it into a stage play unless you have a brilliant playwright and an equally experienced, visionary director.

In order for a thriller to really work, it needs tension and balance; and if you’re scaling it down for the stage, you need a scene that is totally new and the audience does not see it coming; that’s where the first-rate writer comes in. Recreating iconic scenes from a movie in semi-darkness, inserting cheesy horror music and creaky sound effects, is not innovative direction; it is lazy and unimaginative and borders on tedium. I am a proponent of big Hollywood stars coming to Broadway, it’s great for business and invigorates sales, but in this case, inserting a big movie star and a beloved TV veteran in the title roles just doesn’t cut it.

Misery is set just outside of Silver Creek, Colorado in the winter of 1987. A popular novelist, Paul Sheldon, has skidded off a mountain road in what would appear to be a fatal crash, during a snowstorm. That we see in the movie. In the play, we are told that Annie Wilkes, his “number one fan,” has pried him out of his car and brought him over to her house to recover. She is a nurse and is helping him to recuperate from his multiple injuries. In case you forgot, James Caan and the outstanding Kathy Bates (who won an Oscar for her performance) played the roles. Here, Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf portray the parts of Paul and Annie.

What Rob Reiner did in the movie, which was astounding, was he turned the viewer into Paul. We were experiencing every painful, harrowing ordeal he was going through by the hands of the grotesque Annie. The greatness of the movie also involved the dynamics and the chemistry of the actors: James Caan, who was lanky, and Kathy Bates, who at certain camera angles was huge. That’s where the tension came in, so how was he going to escape the clutches of this behemoth? You know the rest of the story, so why spoil it for you, in case you forgot the novel or the movie?

Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf are both accomplished stars, and one would think they would make a dynamic duo. Wrong. We know Mr. Willis is a great superhero on the screen; unfortunately, he is one-dimensional on the stage. We also know that no one can do crazy better than Laurie Metcalf, but from the onset here she just comes off as demented, and there is no shading to her character, thus there is nowhere for her to go but do shtick. Again, this could be attributed to the absent direction by Will Frears, which does not help either actor. Even the final battle between them, which should be epic and an edge-of-your-seat moment, just comes off as a staged, by-the-numbers fight and evokes laughter from the audience. At this point, the audience should be drained, not laughing as a tension releaser. Once more, this is the fault of lackluster direction.

Which brings us back to paying big bucks to see or not to see Bruce Willis in Misery? That is the question.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 19, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on November 18, 2015

‘MISERY’: Bruce Willis. Photo: Joan Marcus

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