‘FLOYD COLLINS’: (collage, left): Jeremy Jordan & (collage, right) Lizzy McAlpine & Jeremy Jordan. Photos: Joan Marcus.

FLOYD COLLINS
Book by Tina Landau
Music & lyrics by Adam Guetell
Directed by Tina Landau
Through June 22, 2025
Lincoln Center Theatre
at the Vivian Beaumont
150 West 65^th Street
https://www.lct.org/

By Scott Harrah

A century ago in 1925, the news of a cave explorer trapped in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky became a media sensation. This true story is the basis for the narrative of the Broadway musical Floyd Collins.  The show was originally produced off Broadway in Philadelphia in 1994 and later in New York at Playwrights Horizons in 1996. Now, this latest iteration starring Jeremy Jordan as Floyd has received six Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical .

Golden-voiced Jeremy Jordan

Broadway star Jeremy Jordan, with his golden voice and kinetic stage presence, is the perfect actor to bring Floyd Collins to life. The historical saga of a man who went spelunking in a Kentucky cave, hoping to find a new tourist attraction, and ended up pinned 55 feet below ground under a rock is not exactly a recipe for a great musical. Regardless, Mr. Jordan actually makes the concept as riveting and sensational as possible. Mr. Jordan charmed Broadway audiences last year with his Tony-nominated role in The Great Gatsby. As Floyd, he is consistently outstanding with such solo songs as “The Call, “ “And She’d Have Blue Eyes,” and “It Moves.”

Media hasn’t changed much in a century

The show is ultimately a tragedy, and the media circus that surrounds him is, of course, unfortunate but it simply shows that the press a century ago were just as ruthless as they are today. Floyd Collins might remind some of Kander and Ebb’s long-running Broadway phenomenon Chicago simply because it also shows how the media will often sensationalize any unfortunate news story to sell to a voracious public. The second act opens with “Is That Remarkable,” a song about how the media indulges in exploitative journalism. However, while Chicago is a dark yet upbeat musical full of irony and derisive frivolity, Floyd Collins is simply dark.

Floyd’s family, townsfolk & the press

We also meet a number of characters above ground, all of whom are supposedly trying to help Floyd. His younger brother Homer (Jason Gotay) leads the quest to rescue Floyd. His younger sister Nellie (Lizzy McAlpine) is quite concerned about Floyd. She has just been discharged from a mental hospital and is often misunderstood. Nonetheless, she thinks rationally when trying to help her brother and has unique insight about his emotional state.

Marc Kudisch plays Lee, Floyd’s devastated father who has trouble coping with his son’s dangerous situation.  His wife Miss Jane (Jessica Molaskey) is also Floyd’s stepmother, but she spends most of her time trying to console her husband. Local townsfolk include Bee Doyle (Wade McCollum), a land owner who is the first to see that Floyd is trapped in the cave. He is the first one to seek help and eventually he gets quite wrapped up in the rescue attempts, along with Ed Bishop (Clyde Voce), another town cave explorer.

‘FLOYD COLLINS’: Taylor Trensch. Photo: Joan Marcus.

Taylor Trensch plays Skeets, a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal. He becomes deeply involved in the story of Floyd Collins and ends up winning a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting. Mr. Tresnch imbues the character of Skeets with a profound sense of concern and altruism. He starts out as simply a newspaper reporter.  Eventually, we see a wonderful arc to the character of Skeets.  He becomes more like a concerned friend of Floyd’s.  It is no surprise that Taylor Trensch has received a Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical Tony nomination.

Book & direction

Writer-director Tina Landau’s book is not always perfect. The characters are all well written, but there is often too little detail about each one’s backstory. As a director, however, Ms. Landau extracts many great performances.

It’s great to see Broadway veteran Marc Kudisch back on stage again as Floyd’s father, Lee. Mr. Kudisch does his best with the limitations of the character and material.

Newcomer Lizzy McAlpine shows a lot of promise as Floyd’s sister Nelly. Ms. McAlpine’s unique vocals can be both high and low, and there is sometimes a country twang heard and that fits the indie folk-style songs in the show.  Jason Gotay is engaging as Homer, Floyd’s baby brother.

It’s no wonder that Floyd Collins received Tony nominations for Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Dan Moses Schreier) and Best Orchestrations (Bruce Coughlin). The Vivian Beaumont stage is gigantic, and in so many productions actors something appear as if they are being “swallowed” by the stage. Yes, there are some rare moments like that in this show, but making 1920s Kentucky look vivid and lively is no easy task. The lighting and sound here is superb. Bruce Couglin has done a splendid job with the orchestrations, and he has added great depth to the score.

The score & vocals

It would be inaccurate to say that Floyd Collins is an uplifting evening of theater. The show is essentially an historical American tragedy, but it’s worth seeing thanks to Adam Guettel’s richly textured music and lyrics. In addition, the performances by Jeremy Jordan and Taylor Trensch are two of the spring’s best.

Published May 11, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on May 10, 2025

‘FLOYD COLLINS’: Jason Gotay & Jeremy Jordan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FLOYD COLLINS’: Marc Kudisch & Jessica Molaskey. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FLOYD COLLINS’: (left to right) Cole Vaughan, Wade McCollum, Clyde Voce & Jason Gotay. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FLOYD COLLINS’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo & Andrew Burnap. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CAMELOT
Music by Frederick Loewe
Original book & lyrics by Alan Lerner
Book by Aaron Sorkin
Based on T. H. White’s The Once and Future King
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), https://camelotbway.com/

By David NouNou

Lord, save the musical theatre from heavy-handed “serious” writers who insert themselves into classic musicals in the name of reinventing them. Camelot was the next venture for Lerner and Loewe following their smash hit My Fair Lady. They tackled T. H. White’s fantasy novel The Once and Future King, which were short stories based about King Arthur based on the 1485 work Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory. They created this fantasy world for the theatre about King Arthur, meeting and marrying Guenevere, creating the round table with knights of the highest order and valor, and its most formidable knight Lancelot du Lac. Visually, Camelot was and may still be the most opulent, extravagant, lavish and colorful musical ever created. I know, I saw it and remember it vividly, thanks in large part to my parents taking me to the theatre at a very early age.

The book by Mr. Lerner wasn’t perfect; it contained too much plot and so many characters but it had an easy flow. The score was sublime especially the lilting music by Mr. Loewe. This is not an easily revivable musical in great part because of the complicated and overlong book and Aaron Sorkin hasn’t made it any better. Between him and Bartlett Sher—who is a formidable director of musicals: South Pacific, The King and I, My Fair Lady,  all under the banner of Lincoln Center—have stripped the fantasy, joy, glory, pomp, extravagance and whimsy and left us this dreary, vapid, monochromatic, joyless world that once was known as Camelot.

Starting with Arthur (Andrew Burnap) hiding from his arranged betrothal to Guenevere (Phillipa Soo), Princess of France, to end the wars and seal the relationship between England and France. Arthur and Guenevere, while escaping from her retinue, stumble upon each other in the wintry woods near the castle where Arthur explains the virtues of Camelot in the song “Camelot.” The two form a bond, which will lead to the creation of the round table. Arthur’s mentor and tutor, Merlin (Dakin Matthews), before dying, warns Arthur of impending doom but doesn’t tell him what it is. In walks Lancelot (Jordan Donica), the knight of the highest ideals singing his own virtues in “C’est Moi.”

Temptation does enter this magical kingdom of virtue, morals and standards where no one is above the law. Arthur’s illegitimate son, Mordred (Taylor Trensch), is the snake in the garden of Eden who tempts Lancelot and Guenevere to be caught together, and causes the undoing of Arthur and all of his idealistic dreams.

Again, although it wasn’t perfect, Lerner and Loewe attempted to create a beautiful world where one could hope for a better future. In Sorkin and Sher’s world, on the enormous Vivian Beaumont stage, their world starts out bleak, threadbare, and has no chance for any higher ideals, the illusion and fantasy are missing and there is no hint of it in Michael Yeargan’s nonexistent sets. Instead of armor, gossamer and brocade, the costumes by Jennifer Moeller are so drab, dreary and adorned with black leather that this Camelot lacks any illusion, mystique or charm.

Thankfully, what is kept intact is the beautiful and melodic score and that is in large part due to its musical director and conductor Kimberly Grigsby. One can just close one’s eyes and listen to Ms. Grigsby and her full glorious orchestra and I’ll quote “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 16, 2023
Reviewed at April 15, 2023 press performance.

‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo, Andrew Burnap, Dakin Matthews & Jordan Donica. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Andrew Burnap. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Jordan Donica. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Andrew Burnap. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Jordan Donica & Phillipa Soo. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Taylor Trensch & Marilee Talkington. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Danny Wolohan, Anthony Michael Lopez, Fergie Philippe & Dakin Matthews. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘HELLO, DOLLY!’ Bette Midler & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

HELLO, DOLLY!
Based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
Book by Michael Stewart
Music & lyrics by Jerry Herman
Choreographed by Warren Carlyle
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Sam S. Shubert Theatre
225 West 44th Street
(212) 239-6200, www.HelloDollyOnBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Hello, Dolly! was a glorious, record-breaking musical when it opened in January 1964 and if it is properly done and not chintzed on, it is still an old-fashioned spectacular musical. Dolly is an iconic character in the musical pantheon. So whoever plays her has to be bigger than life. Three women come to mind: Barbra Streisand, Cher and Bette Midler, and who better to play Dolly but Bette Midler because in addition to her singing, she has the comedic chops.

The role of Dolly, the matchmaker who goes to Yonkers to find a suitable wife for Horace Vandergelder, the “half a millionaire,” was originated by Carol Channing. Ms. Channing won a Tony that year, beating out Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl. Although she created this lovable meddling and manipulating character, there was a guilelessness about her that you embraced her for; she was perfection. Many ladies came after her to keep the show thriving through the years: Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, Martha Raye, Phyllis Diller, Pearl Bailey (probably the best Dolly) and finally ended with Ethel Merman.

Ms. Midler is a fun Dolly; after all she is the Divine Miss M. From start to finish, the crowd cheers and roars at whatever she does. I am sure that there would be lesser-name actresses who can play the part of Dolly more vibrantly and vocally be far superior, but no one can fill a house the way Ms. Midler can. Ms. Midler as I said is a joy to watch, but does she inhabit the role? No. The audience that comes to see her has no yardstick to compare or measure her performance against. They will cheer if she reads the proverbial phonebook. The only comparison that exists is the 1969 movie version with Barbra Streisand. Take your pick. In this case Ms. Midler gives more to the character of Dolly than Ms. Streisand did.

David Hyde Pierce is one of the most beloved actors in show business. He was so great in “Frasier,” which is still in reruns, but here he is not flinty, curmudgeonly, or forceful enough as Horace Vandergelder. He tries hard to imbue that character, but there is a strain. A better flintier actor ironically would have been Kelsey Grammar or John Larroquette.

Believe it or not, the original Cornelius Hackl and Irene Molloy were respectively played by Charles Nelson Reilly and Eileen Brennan. Now they are handsomely played by Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin. Ms. Baldwin is in superb voice. Kudos should go to director Jerry Zaks, who keeps the proceedings at an ever so lively a pace, so you don’t notice some of the cracks in the book.

Jerry Herman’s score is still sublime and the sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto are exquisite. They are just as good as the original sets and costumes by Oliver Smith and Freddy Whittop who both won Tony Awards. Natasha Katz’s lighting is dazzling as always. An added bonus is that Warren Carlyle has maintained as much of the original choreography by Gower Champion which is both a credit to him and the show. It keeps the show constantly afloat.

When seeing Hello, Dolly, you are really seeing Hello, Bette! You leave the theatre with a big smile and a feeling of satisfaction. What could be better?

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 13, 2017

‘HELLO, DOLLY!’ David Hyde Pierce & Bette Midler. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘HELLO, DOLLY!’ Bette Midler. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

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