‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Roe Hartrampf & Jeanna de Waal. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

DIANA, THE MUSICAL
Book & lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music & lyrics by David Bryan
Choreography by Kelly Devine
Music arrangement & supervision by Ian Eisendrath
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
(866) 302-0995, https://thedianamusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

By now, many of you have read the vicious reviews this show received from the critics.  It’s as if everyone released all the pent-up venom they had stored for other shows this season (but couldn’t or wouldn’t say a bad word about) and pounced on Diana, The Musical because it was an easy target. Despite all the naysayers, Diana is not as horrific as you may have heard and the musical has at least one element that may make some actually want to see it.

As a “Second Night” critic, this reviewer doesn’t often get the chance to say anything about a Broadway show until the “major” critics who see a production in previews have already given their verdict.  This is one of the few times I must admit some went too far in panning a show.  Is it a great musical?  Of course not.  Is it the worst thing you’ll ever see on Broadway? No.  Let’s start by talking about someone nearly all the critics overlooked: Jeanna de Waal as Princess Diana.  A leading lady is supposed to anchor a show, and that’s exactly what Ms. de Wall does here so well.  She is the only one in the show who truly transcends the material she’s been given and does what any good actor must:  She gives shading and multiple dimensions to Diana, a complicated, deeply troubled woman mired in gossip, myths and misunderstandings.  We see the arc of Diana’s life, starting out as “shy Di,” as the Fleet Street Brits once called her, a 19-year-old Protestant virgin born into nobility, with the title Lady Diana who worked as a kindergarten assistant.  Young Lady Diana Spencer was considered the perfect prospective wife for Prince Charles (Roe Hartrampf), who was already in his 30s at the time and the most eligible bachelor in the world.  As the show progresses, Ms. de Waal displays the transformation from sheepish Lady Di to the adult Princess Di, her frustration as a young wife and mother as Charles carries on an extramarital affair with “the Rottweiler” Camilla Parker Bowles (Erin Davie).  Finally, she evolves (with many changes featuring William Ivey Long’s lavish costumes) as Diana, the “People’s Princess” who emerged from scandal and a very public bad marriage to win everyone’s hearts as a humanitarian. Ms. de Waal’s portrayal of Diana the media sensation is always realistic and sincere, no matter how preposterous the material gets.  Diana’s every move was tabloid fodder and front-page news, from charity work ranging from visiting and actually touching gay men in hospital AIDS wards at the apex of the crisis (something few would do back then) to raising awareness about the dangers of landmines in Africa. She was a princess with a purpose indeed and redefined what royalty should do with their fame and influence.

Remember the dreadful Broadway musical Scandalous back in 2012, written by Kathy Lee Gifford?  Scandalous was a true train wreck—and even worse than Diana because it was pointless, amateurish and dull—but it also had a leading lady that rose above the material: Carolee Carmello, portraying evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.  Ms. Carmello got a Tony nomination for being brave enough to go onstage each night to give a great performance in a horrible musical.  Diana, The Musical may not last long but Jeanna de Waal should be remembered during next spring’s award season because, like Carolee Carmello, she prevailed.

Now, let’s address the obvious shortcomings of the show.  The story of Princess Diana is a true tragedy, and it might have been done better as an opera or even a pop opera like Evita, but it simply does not work as a musical comedy.  Joe DiPietro’s book is a hot mess of hokey, cringeworthy dialogue and head-scratching narrative choices.  Mr. DiPietro tells the story of Diana with all the basic factual elements of her life, but both his and David’s Bryan’s music and lyrics are beyond absurd.  There’s no need to quote any of the mind-numbingly bad lyrics (every critic has already done that), but one wonders why Mr. DiPietro and Mr. Bryan chose to use so much profanity, automatically giving what should have been a “PG-13” family musical an “R” rating (if Broadway shows were actually rated).  The same four-letter words are used repeatedly to rhyme in a couple songs, as if they are dirty limericks being sung by preteen boys.  Another song, “The Dress,” overuses the “F” bomb in one of the show’s many lame attempts at humor.

Besides Ms. de Waal, one other noteworthy performance is by Erin Davie, who is wonderfully catty as Camilla Parker Bowles (and much prettier than the real Duchess of Cornwall).  The Diana and Camilla verbal catfight in the production number “The Main Event” is sublimely ridiculous.   As for the rest of the cast, the real Prince Charles has more charm than Roe Hartrampf, but Mr. Hartfampf is far better looking than the real-life Prince of Wales ever was.  Most of the performances seem like caricatures of the royals, especially Judy Kaye, doing a dual role of Queen Elizabeth II and pulp romance novelist Barbara Cartland (please, don’t ask).  Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley (Come from Away) directs everyone haphazardly, but even more puzzling is two-time Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine’s ludicrous choreography.  The dance routines are so spastic and over the top that they are both distracting and laughable—especially when set to such a dreadful score and silly songs.  Regardless, Diana, The Musical is never boring and no worse than the 2017 musical Anastasia. The show was filmed for posterity for Netflix during the height of the 2020 pandemic, so even when it closes on Broadway, it already has the potential to be a campy cult classic that fans can enjoy via streaming.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 21, 2021
Reviewed at November 19, 2021 press performance.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Jeanna de Waal & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Jeanna de Waal & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Roe Hartrampf, Judy Kaye & Jeanna de Waal & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Jenna de Waal & Roe Hartrampf & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Roe Hartrampf & (on couch) Holly Ann Butler & Jeanna de Waal. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Cast & (center) Roe Hartrampf & Judy Kaye. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Jeanna de Waal. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Jeanna de Waal & Erin Davie. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Jeanna de Waal & Anthony Murphy. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘DIANA, THE MUSICAL’: Publicity still from the Netflix film of the Broadway musical. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘COME FROM AWAY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

COME FROM AWAY
Book, music & lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 45th Street
(212-335-1873), http://comefromaway.com/

By Scott Harrah

The inherent goodwill in humanity and the kindness of strangers during a global crisis are both ongoing themes in this brilliant sleeper hit musical.  A musical about what happened when nearly 7,000 people from 38 transatlantic jets were forced to land and stranded in tiny Gander, Newfoundland, Canada on September 11, 2001 may not sound like “feel good” material to fill one hour and 45 minutes. “A 9/11 Broadway musical? Really?” one first thinks. However, it is this show’s ability to surprise and touch even the most cynical, jaded New York theatergoer that makes it so unusual and emotionally powerful.

Most of us probably forgot about or never paid attention to the little human interest story (overshadowed in the press by the grisly articles dispatched from Ground Zero in Manhattan, the Pentagon in DC and Shanksville in PA) about how a remote town in Maritime Canada opened its homes and hearts to thousands unable to return to the USA when planes were grounded as U.S. airspace closed on 9/11.

Beowulf Borritt’s barren set of weather-beaten trees and little else vividly depicts Newfoundland.  The show opens with the rousing number “Welcome to the Rock” (a reference to the fact that Newfoundland looks like a giant rock in the North Atlantic “between there and here”), and the cast sings in twangy, hard-to-decipher Newfie brogues (a strange hybrid of Canadian and Irish dialects).

The cast’s frenetic energy and the Celtic-themed music command our attention.  Broadway rarely gets original shows that are not adaptations of a film or book, and this one is based on real-life events and has a docudrama feel to it.  On paper it sounds like it shouldn’t work at all, but the fact that it does beautifully makes Come From Away all the more trenchant.  Based on interviews with the people of Gander, Canadian book and songwriters Irene Sankoff and David Hein (a married songwriting duo) have assembled a pop opera that simply tells the stories of the diverse characters stuck in Gander without being trite or sentimental.

There are the “come from aways” (Newfoundland slang for outsiders): Texans, Brits, a Jew, Muslims, Germans, a female American Airlines pilot (Jenn Colella), as well as the townspeople, ranging from a teacher to an animal rescue worker. The actors play many dual roles. Caesar Samayoa, for example, alternates between a gay man and a Muslim Egyptian (with cogent conviction). Other subplots include a budding romance between an older Texas woman (Sharon Wheatley) and an Englishman (Lee MacDougal), and the experiences of a neophyte TV reporter (Kendra Kassebaum).

There are jokes about Newfoundland and Canada in general (complete with Tim Hortons gags), and odd local customs like kissing a codfish (don’t ask). Amazingly, for such a short show, there is also plenty of depth here, and the people aren’t portrayed as cartoons or stereotypes

Songs like “28 Hours/Wherever We Are,” ”On the Edge” and “Me and the Sky” (Ms. Colella’s showstopper about being the first woman pilot of a commercial jet) and more jump out at us with the melodic, emotional force we used to experience in old show standards.

It is easy to see why this show went from a workshop at a small Ontario college to mountings in Seattle, La Jolla, Washington, DC, a major Toronto production and now Broadway.  Although the story is set in Canada, it pays tribute to one of the darkest periods in modern American history.

In addition to the outstanding cast, expertly directed by Christopher Ashley, there is innovative choreography by Kelly Devine, which contains bits of country and lots of Irish-style Riverdance moves. The narrative is expertly woven through nonstop movement and song.

Come From Away is unlike anything we’ve seen on Broadway, a musical that celebrates and glorifies humanity, understanding and the reasons to embrace the differences of people we don’t know, while showing how no one is really that different—without coming off hokey or contrived. This is a musical with a simplistic yet sobering message of unity for the divided, dark America of 2017, making the show relevant, topical, and fun. It’s a new type of never-before-seen, uncharted musical territory much like Hamilton was, and should also make musical-theater history.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 12, 2017
Reviewed at press preview performance on March 11, 2017

‘COME FROM AWAY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘COME FROM AWAY’: Kendra Kassebaum. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘COME FROM AWAY’: Jenn Colella & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

Clip from Come From Away, ‘Heave Away’

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LARA & DOCTOR ZHIVAGO: Kelli Barrett & Tam Matu. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
Book by Michael Weller
Music by Lucy Simon
Lyrics by Michael Korie & Amy Powers
Based on the novel by Joseph Pasternak
Directed by Des McAnuff
Choreographed by Kelly Devine
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
(212-239-6200), www.DoctorZhivagoBroadway.com

By David NouNou

1957 introduced us to the epic Russian novel Doctor Zhivago. Simply put, it’s the Russian version of our Gone With the Wind. Then in 1965, David Lean gave us the epic grandiose motion picture version; both of them by today’s standards border on the tedious. Now in 2015, we have the granddaddy of them all, the musical version is the epic version of boredom and tedium. Here the definition of those two words is Doctor Zhivago.

Set against a background of war and revolution, where an eternal love is formed might sound like an ambitious and a tempting idea to some writers and composers. After all, an epic Victor Hugo novel was turned into an epic musical. What the creators here failed to realize is the book and score in that musical propelled the storyline forward and kept the action constantly moving. The book here is sophomoric and the score is about as exciting as listening to wallpaper paste dry. It turns into almost three hours of unrelenting drab tedium. Inserting the now famous song “Somewhere My Love” or “Lara’s Theme” from the movie sung by nurses on the battlefield in the middle of Act I makes the scene so absurd and ludicrous that one yearns just to hear the entire magnificent melodic Maurice Jarre score from the movie and dispense with the entire abysmally dreary repetitious songs sung here.

We have the orphaned Yuri Zhivago going to live with the Gromekos. Yuri (Tam Mutu) grows up and marries Tonia Gromeko (Lora Lee Gayer), his childhood friend, and on the eve of his wedding a revolution is going on outside. He leaves the wedding to tend the wounded and while on this mission of mercy, he meets the love of his life, Lara (Kelli Barrett). She is on her way to find Viktor Komarovsky (Tom Hewitt), who during her youth took advantage of her maidenhood and taught her the pleasures of lovemaking and she carries this guilt throughout her life. On this particular night, she is out to kill him and he is attending Yuri’s wedding party. She bursts into the party tries to shoot him but misses, no charges are pressed, and Yuri is totally enthralled by Lara and seems to have forgotten he is getting married that night. Lara ultimately marries the revolutionary, Pasha Antipov (Paul Nolan Alexander). On their wedding night, Pasha tells her he’s a virgin and she tells him about her life of sin with Viktor. In a furious fit, Pasha goes to war, climbs up the ranks and becomes the feared and dreaded Strelnikov (he’s even more sinister than Inspector Javert; you know, from the other epic musical).

Yuri, now a celebrated poet and doctor, is off mending the wounded at the war. Viktor is also there fighting for the overthrow of the government; he is very adaptable. He switches allegiances at the drop of a hat. Madness is all around, uprisings, starvation, famine communism, cannons being fired, people getting killed all over Russia, and you know that Russia is a humongous place but Yuri and Lara keep bumping into each other in all parts of Russia and their love is eternal as mentioned in the song “On the Edge of Time.” I’ve told you enough. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the pleasures that await you.

All this could be accepted, not forgiven, had the leads had any charm, charisma, personality anything appealing. Was there a shortage of leading men in America that they had to get Tam Mutu from England? Three men in love and obsessed with Lara, in this case Kelli Barrett; what did she possess that just never came across the footlights? Paul Alexander Nolan, who was quiet good as Jesus in the recent revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, starts out pleasant enough as Sasha but as Strelnikov is shrill and ludicrous barking out orders and shooting people. Oh, the revolution does take a toll on people. I must admit that Tom Hewitt had a grasp of his character, Viktor, and played him well.

I know all directors can have a misfire, but when it happens to one someone the likes of Des McAnuff, it is mind boggling how this musical was so out of control. After all, he was the visionary who was responsible for such musicals as Tommy, Jersey Boys, Big River and a splendid revival of How to Succeed...I know it’s a challenge to tackle the impossible, but even Mr. McAnuff must have sensed the odds against this pointless travesty.

Even the design aspects of this show are at odds with themselves: the sets represent nothing but stacked-up chairs and sometimes they are on fire; the costumes are too lavish for the impoverished Tonia and the Gromekos after the fall of the Czar when they didn’t even have enough food to set on the table. Just look at the picture of her in that gorgeous beige suit and hat; what woman wouldn’t kill for that outfit? And that is the show’s representation of a poor woman. The sound effects were too loud, I guess to try to keep us awake. So it goes, one misfire after another: story, book, score, players, direction, all forms of designs. Enough said, I think you get the picture.

ONE DREARY EVENING: Sophia Gennusa & Kelli Barrett in ‘Doctor Zhivago.’ Photo: Matthew Murphy

THE GOOD DOCTOR: Tam Matu as Doctor Zhivago. Photo: Matthew Murphy

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION SET TO MUSIC: (left to right) Paul Alexander Nolan, Kelli Barrett, Tam Matu & Lora Lee Gayer. Photo: Matthew Murphy

IMPOVERISHED, BUT ABLE TO AFFORD THAT CHIC SUIT & HAT: Lora Lee Gayer. Photo: Matthew Murphy

VIKTOR: Played well by Tom Hewitt. Photo: Matthew Murphy

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 25, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on April 24, 2015

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