‘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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FLIPPING OUT FOR ‘HEDWIG’: Neil Patrick Harris gives the performance of his career. Photo: Joan Marcus

A LOVABLE LOW LIFE IN HIGH HEELS: Neil Patrick Harris in ‘Hedwig & the Angry Inch.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

By Scott Harrah

Phenomenons are rare on Broadway, but here is one with two once-in-a-decade things in its favor: It is a beautiful production of a cult-rock opera with a fanatical following of both the Off-Broadway and indie film incarnations, and stars TV and stage icon Neil Patrick Harris at the pinnacle of his career, giving an electrifying performance that has the whole city (and soon, the entire nation) abuzz with gender-bending glee. No, this is not another Book of Mormon since it will be difficult for any star to fill Mr. Harris’s killer pumps when he leaves the run, but it has arrived with Mormon’s unprecedented spirit and irreverence. The revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch for the mainstream theater is far more complex and ground-breaking than anything critics can shower with mere adulation in the April crush of back-to-back shows opening to meet the Tony-nomination deadline. Hedwig is a show-biz anomaly, something reviewers cannot easily categorize, making it all the more revolutionary.

One could not find a more fitting actor to sell Hedwig to the masses than Neil Patrick Harris, the openly gay star of TV’s “How I Met My Mother,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and beloved Tony Awards host. He has the powerful voice necessary to sing the complicated rock ballads and the triple-threat skills and comic timing and charm to mesmerize audiences with the many jokes and stage antics.  Granted, Mr. Harris doesn’t have the haunting, David Bowie-style vocal delivery that John Cameron Mitchell did when the show played Off Broadway at the Jane Street Theatre in 1998. Yet it does not matter, for this is one hell of a glamour makeover.  With his toned biceps and all-American look, tottering across the Belasco stage, through many costume changes, in runway-model stiletto heels and gold platform boots, sporting numerous wigs, denim cutoffs and  glittery thrift-store hooker dresses, Neil Patrick Harris sheds any traces of his goody-goody “Doogie” persona at last and morphs into a self-proclaimed “internationally ignored song stylist” and a lovable freak. He’s Ziggy Stardust, Farrah Fawcett and an amalgam of a younger Madonna or Kylie, Gaga, young Marlene Dietrich and every diva worth lip-synching to, all at once.  In fact, in his first entrance, he is lowered onto the stage in a bejeweled jumpsuit in a rocket-style landing, very similar to the opening of recent Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga concerts.  It’s the sort of razzle-dazzle, high-tech spectacle that was not possible Off Broadway, but is magical here. However, the glitzy androgyny ends with Arianne Phillips’ fabulous costumes and Mike Potter’s make-up and wig designs because this is not a drag show or a pop diva’s concert.  In order for Hedwig to gel with audiences, male charisma, copious amounts of testosterone and stage presence are needed.

While Book of Mormon had traditional foundations of musical-theater storytelling (songs that propel the plot) in its score, Hedwig is still a bit too avant-garde for its own good, so the uninitiated might make little sense of “The Origin of Love” (about how humans were once one sex). Just savor Mr. Harris’s heartfelt vocals and Stephen Trask’s emotionally charged lyrics and his music played by The Angry Inch band (Justin Craig, Matt Duncan, Tim Mislock and Peter Yanowitz). “Angry Inch” is the one number that actually explains Hedwig’s confusing backstory. When Mr. Harris sings the most infectious song of the night, “Wig in a Box,” a ditty about self transformation, complete with a contraption that drops down from the ceiling to the stage to project the sing-along lyrics, everyone in the audience joins in the fun, offering the type of interactive Broadway experience people paying top dollar for tickets crave. Visual projections by Benjamin Pearcy and Julian Crouch’s set, complete with what looks like an old AMC Gremlin and a grid of wig mannequins, add to the excitement.

Timing is always part of success, and Hedwig opens at a time of great change in America, when both the people and the federal government have finally recognized equality for people regardless of sexuality. Gay men and lesbians can legally marry in many states, and LGBT activists now focus on enlightening the ignorant (straights and especially gays) about why transgender people are human, too. Just 16 years ago, when John Cameron Mitchell first mounted the show, talk of transgender people and sex changes was still in the realm of camp and the unexplained, relegated to sordid tabloid stories.  It is part of the reason why Stephen Trask’s glam-rock score and Mr. Mitchell’s book, about a “girly” boy in Soviet-controlled East Berlin, who had a botched male-to-female gender-reassignment surgery, originally worked so well. What was “punk” in the late 1990s, however, has a curious poignancy and relevance today that will win over new, younger audiences.

John Cameron Mitchell has made tweaks to this version for Broadway, from lewd Catholic jokes about a phantom bishop at the Belasco to a zinger about the stage tasting like Kathy Griffin to an imaginary one-night-only performance of Hurt Locker: The Musical.

The subplot about Tommy Gnossis, Hedwig’s lost love who eventually leaves him and becomes a star singing songs Hedwig wrote, remains intact. However, the purpose of the character of the other love interest, Yitzhak (Lena Hall), a former drag-queen backup singer, forced by Hedwig to be a butch male—and her subtext—can be confusing. She seems little more than an excuse to make jokes about playing a gig at the Sizzler near the salad bar and being “the only Jew singing Barbra Streisand songs from Yentl on Kristillnacht” (please, don’t ask). However, the golden-throated Ms. Hall does a spine-chilling replication of Whitney Houston’s octave range in “I Will Always Love You” near the end, and her overall portrayal is dynamic and worthy of a Tony nomination.

Director Michael Mayer somehow binds all the changes and the original narrative from a once-intimate musical (which began as a few songs performed at the alt-rock drag club Squeezebox in the Village long before Jane Street) together, assembling a genuine Broadway blockbuster as the finished product. No need to say anything more other than you may have to max out your credit cards trying to get tickets for this now.

WIG ROCK: Neil Patrick Harris. Photo: Joan Marcus

SPITTING IMAGE: Neil Patrick Harris channels Marlene, Madonna, Kylie, Gaga & more. Photo: Joan Marcus

ROCK & RAUNCH: Neil Patrick Harris, as Hedwig, gets nasty with Justin Craig. Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 24, 2014
Reviewed at press performance April 23, 2014

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ACT ONE
Written and directed by James Lapine
From the Autobiography of Moss Hart
Through June 15, 2014
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), www.ltc.org

By David NouNou

Adapting a legendary autobiography about the theatre is a risky and tricky matter, especially when the legend being discussed died in 1961, and writing about his early struggles of getting his foot in the theatrical door occurred in 1930. What makes it tricky is Act One came out in 1959, and it became a theatrical bible. People read books and didn’t go on Wikipedia to get instant summarization of a book or a man’s life. The man here is Moss Hart and he is legendary when you read his accomplishments as director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was a giant of his day. After all, he had just directed My Fair Lady, Broadway’s mega hit of 1956 and Camelot was to follow in 1960 just before his death. As a playwright, he co-wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning You Can’t Take It With You and The Man Who Came To Dinner, both with George S. Kaufman. His screenplays consist of 1947’s Oscar-winning best picture Gentlemen’s Agreement and 1954’s A Star is Born, among others. The man was a prolific genius in every sense of the word.

But Act One isn’t about any of those historic events; it’s about his early childhood growing in the Bronx and Brooklyn in total poverty. His parents were Jewish immigrants from England, leading a dreary life, and the theatre was his only outlet. His Aunt Kate took him to a play and the bug bit. His life and passion became the theatre. He worked as a theatrical office boy, actor in the Catskills, wrote horrible plays that flopped and then wrote Once In A Lifetime and started collaboration with the celebrated master of the day, George S. Kaufman. The second act is all about the trials and tribulations of getting this play on its feet and to the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.

As I said earlier, writing about the theatre is a tricky matter, so the biggest challenge here is: Do modern audiences remember Moss Hart? They barely remember Rex Harrison and he was the actor who starred in My Fair Lady on Broadway and the movies. James Lapine has adapted the book into the play and pays reverential homage to the source by not omitting nary a single semicolon, which can be a good thing. Unfortunately, James Lapine the director didn’t take notes from his subject matter George S. Kaufman and delete a lot of his own written pages. For what actor, playwright, director didn’t grow up having a dreary life, being poor and had to work hard to get in the business? Ultimately, if they pay their dues, maybe, just maybe some do end up having the rags-to-riches story. Mr. Lapine had an interesting subject matter to deal with (Moss Hart) but unfortunately the book doesn’t deal with the interesting and later timeframe of his life to which modern audiences could relate. Mr. Lapine needed a Mr. Kaufman to edit a lot of the early unnecessary scenes and repetitious dialogue from Act II.

Having said all that and getting the storyline out of the way, there are a couple of hosannas on their way. Not since 1966 when the Beaumont opened and as a school project we had to go and discover the wonders of Lincoln Center, and the shows they were presenting, Danton’s Death and The Condemned of Altona (yes, I was a drama major) both dreary and bleak, but what struck me the most was the vastness of its stage. The revival of South Pacific tried to fill some of the vastness, but nothing compares to the set designed by Beowulf Boritt. The set is a revolving masterpiece that fills the entire stage and is very reminiscent of Oliver Smith’s sets. Mr. Smith, the premier set designer of his day, did the sets for My Fair Lady, Camelot, Hello Dolly, among many others. To see a show with awe-inspiring sets that is absolutely breathtaking; consisting of tenements, theatres, hotel rooms, offices and posh suites all on a revolving turntable are a vision to behold. Students studying theatrical design should see this show if for no other reason but the sheer magnificence of what Mr. Boritt has designed.

My other kudo goes to Tony Shalhoub, giving what might be his best stage performance to date. He plays three different roles succinctly: the older Moss Hart (who oversees the proceedings and how it all started); Moss’ father; as well as George S. Kaufman. His largest part is that of George S. Kaufman and he plays him to the hilt. Santino Fontana as the struggling young Moss Hart does an admirable  and energetic job as the passionate and charming playwright. Then there is Andrea Martin, also playing three parts: Moss’ Aunt Kate with a cloying English accent; Frieda Fishbein, the agent, the name says it all; and finally Beatrice Kaufman, George’s socialite wife; that’s her best part, she plays her demurely and gives her a quiet touch of class.

The rest of the cast supported unevenly, the worst being Mimi Lieber as Moss’ mother, Lillie. At any given line, she had four accents going on in the same sentence: they consisted of an abominable English accent, Jewish, Bronx and Brooklynese. You never knew with which accent she would start, continue and then end the sentence. Where were Mr. Lapine, the director and the dialogue coach? Was the fake English accent really necessary? I don’t think the audience would have minded if Moss’ mother, father, and aunt, had spoken with a Jewish New York accent because at least that would have been relatable. There is a lot of good in Act One and Moss Hart was a provocative person to write about, but unfortunately it wasn’t the right time of his life that modern audiences could identify with and be riveted by in a long biographical stage drama. I still recommend seeing Act One for Beowulf Boritt’s astounding set and Tony Shalhoub’s remarkable performance.

THE THESPIAN LIFE: Santino Fontana & Andrea Martin. Photo: Joan Marcus

Five Tony Nominations, including: Best Play, Best Actor – Tony Shalhoub, Costumes, Sound

WINNER: Beowulf Boritt, Best Set Designer

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 23, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on April 22, 2014

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PORTRAIT OF THE JAZZ ICON: Audra McDonald in ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.’ Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL
By Lanie Robertson
Directed by Lonny Price
Circle in the Square Theatre
235 West 50th Street
(212-239-6200), http://ladydayonbroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

It is difficult to think of the elegant, golden-voiced, five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald portraying the late tortured jazz singer Billie Holliday. After all, Ms. McDonald is best known for her soaring soprano voice, but interpreting Billie Holiday is tricky territory for any singer/actress because “Lady Day” herself was such a unique vocalist, with a tragic persona that was mythical, bigger than life and almost impossible to mimic.  Billie was a woman in agony, and one could sense and feel her sorrow with every plaintive note she sang, so recreating her soul in a musical dramatization is a tall order indeed.  Fortunately, Ms. McDonald never tries to be a Billie Holiday impersonator, and she displays, with heart-breaking veracity, the many dimensions of the groundbreaking jazz pioneer, from her booze and drug-addled body language and salty anecdotes told in a raspy speaking voice to her reedy song delivery and unique vocal phrasings that influenced not just jazz but music in general.

New Yorkers already know what a versatile musical-theater star Ms. McDonald is, but here she shows us that she’s also a richly complex actress with the ability to dig deep into Holiday’s mystique and make us understand the scale of the woman’s many afflictions, from substance abuse to troubles with the law and the discrimination and cruelty all African-American performers experienced in the pre Civil Rights days. Granted, on the surface Ms. McDonald is perhaps too glamorous for the role, but she captures, in various monologues and songs, every nuance of Billie, from her laconic mannerisms to tales of the personal abuse and oppression she suffered as a woman of color in the America of yesteryear, with very little education, an arsenal of talent and infamous inner demons.  Although Audra McDonald looks very little like Billie, even with the trademark gardenia in her hair, she gives us an illuminating portrait of one of the most important jazz artists ever.

This is the first Broadway mounting of Lanie Robertson’s 1986 Off-Broadway bio-play about Holiday, and it seems an odd vehicle for Ms. McDonald because this really cannot be classified as a play, musical or cabaret show, but is a hybrid of all these genres. Set in a small south Philadelphia bar circa 1959, shortly before the singer’s untimely death from cirrhosis and heart disease at age 44, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill is 90 minutes of Ms. McDonald as Billie reflecting on her life, sharing anecdotes and singing all of the Holiday hits, from “I Wonder Where Love Has Gone” and “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” to “God Bless the Child,” “Strange Fruit” and “T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do.”

The show is loosely based on an alleged, real-life account of Billie Holiday playing in a Philadelphia dive bar in 1959 for just seven people. She was high on drugs, swilling liquor and performing a dozen or so of her songs alongside her piano player Jimmy Powers (Shelton Becton), while holding her pet chihuahua Pepi (played here by “Roxie”) for just seven people before finally “staggering” out of the place.

Director Lonny Price gives Ms. McDonald free rein to channel Billie Holiday in all her train-wreck glory, but the performance always feels natural and authentic, and Mr. Robertson’s script always paints the legend in a dignified light and never stoops to the sensationalistic lows of such recent Broadway bio-drama musicals as End of the Rainbow, the tabloid-style show about the end of Judy Garland’s life.

Although this show sheds no new light on Billie Holiday, nonetheless we leave Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill with an appreciation for the jazz icon’s unsettling life and talent, and marvel at the truth, insight, authenticity and marvelous texture of Ms. McDonald’s performance, one of the most challenging and outstanding of her career.

LADY DAY & HER DOG: Ms. McDonald as Billie with chihuahua Pepi (Roxie). Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva

LADY SINGING THE BLUES: Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday, shortly before her death at age 44. Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 20, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on April 19, 2014

The post ‘Lady Day’: Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday appeared first on StageZine.

THE YOUNGERS: (left to right) Sophie Okonedo, Denzel Washington & Anika Noni Rose in
‘A Raisin in the Sun.’ Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

A RAISIN IN THE SUN
By Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Kenny Leon
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.raisinbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

A Raisin in the Sun has been revived as a vehicle for Denzel Washington and originally for Diahann Carroll (who left the show during rehearsals), but it’s also important to see this because Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 epic is one of the greatest American plays of all and certainly the greatest African-American drama ever, from both a structural and standpoint.

The late Ms. Hansberry’s saga of the Youngers, an African-American family in 1950s Chicago, groundbreaking when the show debuted on Broadway 55 years ago, and although parts of story are dated, the overall themes of a family grappling with adversity, broken dreams and
s struggle for independence are timeless.

The box-office draw here is certainly Mr. Washington, and he is more than effective (though a bit mature for the role) as Walter Lee, the chauffeur with dreams of one day owning liquor store.  However, the role of Lena/Mama requires the largest acting ability in the show, LaTanya Richardson Jackson is marvelous as the bighearted matriarch with plans to use late husband’s $10,000 insurance money to buy a home in a better neighborhood (Ms. was a last-minute replacement for Ms. Carroll).

The central theme is the betterment of life for African Americans, but there is a universal about family and everyone’s unique dreams that gives the story mass appeal. While wants a nicer house, Walter yearns to use his father’s money to invest in a liquor store.

One might think a play originally produced more than 50 years ago would be dated, but A Raisin in the Sun is so epic and the dialogue so crisp that we overlook such outmoded things Joseph Asagai (Sean Patrick Thomas) discussing the benefits of living in Nigeria with
Walter Lee’s sister (Anoki Noni Rose), a fellow student who wants to marry her and her back to Nigeria his homeland. Mama wants Beneatha to use some of her father’s money to attend medical school.

Things are further complicated when Walter Lee’s wife, Ruth (Sophie Okonedo) discovers she pregnant but fears having another child will only bring the family more financial trouble.

Tensions build with each successive scene, and sensitive topics ranging from abortion to are integral to the plot.

Director Kenny Leon extracts great performances from the cast, but ultimately the weight of play is Mama’s responsibility, and Ms. Richardson Jackson is consistently dynamic and in the part, an amazing feat considering she was brought in just under the wire to the lead.

Before the show begins, the curtain at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre flashes stills of the late Hansberry and the Langston Hughes poem that inspired the title.  It’s a fitting tribute the memory of Ms. Hansberry, a young woman who died of cancer at age 34 but left behind a story that is still so haunting and full of truth in the 21st century. For A Raisin in the Sun is as much a tale of families struggling and managing to stay together through adversity as it a chronicle of the African-American experience, so it is a story to which all Americans, of race or ethnicity, can relate.

WALTER LEE & MAMA: Denzel Washington & LaTanya Richardson Jackson in ‘A Raisin in
the Sun.’ Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

Five Tony Nominations, including: Best Drama Revival; Best Drama Director, Kenny Leon; Best Actress in a Drama, LaTanya Richardson; Best Supporting Actresses in a Drama, Sophie Okonedo; and Anika Noni Rose.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 5, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on April 4, 2014

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JUKEBOX JOY: Jesse Mueller as Carole King in ‘Beautiful-The Carole King Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

BEAUTIFUL–THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL
Book by Douglas McGrath
Music & lyrics by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
Directed by Mark Bruni
Stephen Sondheim Theatre
124 West 43rd Street, (212-719-1300)
www.beautifulonbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Although Beautiful–The Carole King Musical lacks the biographical wallop and dramatic intensity of such jukebox musicals as Jersey Boys and the gleeful fun of Mamma Mia, it’s hard to resist Ms. King’s massive, epic songbook if you’re a Baby Boomer or part of the younger, shoulder group of sensibility, Generation X. Anyone who lived through either the 1960s or 1970s grew up on Carole King’s pop. Unfortunately, the presentation and performances of these venerable songs is hollow and spotty, like watching a highbrow version of TV’s “Solid Gold” or the BBC’s “Top of the Pops.” Even the overture sounds canned and tinny, redolent of those kitschy old K-Tel pop compilations. Regardless, Beautiful has a guilty-pleasure sense of fun and nostalgia and a few hearty performances, making us overlook the show’s many shortcomings.

As Ms. King (Jesse Mueller) herself says in the show, she’s “square” compared to all the hip rock-and-roll creators she worked with in early 1960s New York. A quintessential nice Jewish kid from Brooklyn, Ms. King really was the stereotypical “girl next door,” more interested in marriage and babies than sex and drugs, and she didn’t fit in amongst the countercultural decadence and “free love” emerging around her. Ms. Mueller has Carole King down in every sense, from her gawky mannerisms and outerborough accent to the nasal, plaintive tones of her voice. There is a remarkable sincerity and subtlety in Ms. Mueller’s portrayal, and she does her best with book writer Douglas McGrath’s hackneyed dialogue.

Mr. McGrath’s biography-by-numbers narrative centers on Ms. King’s rise as a middle-class teenager with enough moxie to approach music mogul Don Kirshner (Jeb Brown) at the mythic 1650 Broadway in Manhattan and manages to sell her first song, “It Might As Well Rain Until September,” and have it recorded by Bobby Vee. She meets Gerry Goffin (Jake Epstein), the man who becomes her songwriting partner and husband.

The music soars, but the recreations don’t. Ms. King wrote or co-wrote so many classic pop gems, most of which are here, and the story is merely a frame for everything from “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” to “The Locomotion”(recorded first by Little Eva and decades later as the signature track of Australian pop superstar Kylie Minogue) to vintage standards many never know were written by King-Goffin, such as “Another Pleasant Valley Sunday” (yes, the Monkees song). To music aficionados, Ms. King and Mr. Goffin helped establish urban soul, written by whites to be performed by blacks.

Despite being such a groundbreaker for a woman of her era, Ms. King herself was earthbound and ordinary, and although her story is so epic, the details are dull. Bad marriages and a husband’s womanizing are clichés of rock biographies, but the King-Goffin partnership had none of the drama, brutality and twists of, say, Ike and Tina Turner or other music couples of the 1960s and 1970s.

The story of songwriting team Cynthia Weil (Anika Larsen) and Barry Mann (Jarrod Spector) is told simultaneously, and is slightly more compelling than that of King-Goffin. Weil and Mann wrote such classics as the Righteous Brothers’ blue-eyed soul masterpiece “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” (performed here rather haphazardly), “On Broadway” and the Animals’ rock anthem “We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place”.

Last season, Broadway was bludgeoned by Berry Gordy’s vanity project Motown: The Musical, with a dreadful book by Mr. Gordy himself. As puerile and inept as that show was, at least the arsenal of songs were performed seamlessly, like a Motown tribute concert. Although the hit parade here is a nice compendium of King-Goffin and Weil-Mann songs, fans of their work may feel a bit cheated by the shoddy recreations, which sometimes have all the “soul” of a swing choir or an “Up with People” revival.

Director Marc Bruni gets good performances out of most of the actors onstage. Alejo Vietti’s costumes and Josh Prince’s choreography capture the time period, but seem pedestrian and robotic at times.

Even the final scenes, featuring Ms. King performing the tracks from her mega-selling, Grammy-winning solo album Tapestry, from “It’s Too Late” to “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman” sound wooden and half-baked, despite Ms. Mueller’s heartfelt vocal delivery. Still, for fans of Ms. King, Beautiful is far better than most jukebox efforts for the simple fact that a tribute to her oeuvre was long overdue, and her work still influences artists in the 21st century.

GREAT SONGS, BUT BOOK FAR FROM ‘BEAUTIFUL’: Jesse Mueller as Carole King. Photo: Joan Marcus

POP DUO: Jessie Mueller as Carole King and Jake Epstein as Gerry Goffin in ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

THE SHIRELLES: (L-R) Ashley Blanchet, Rashidra Scott, Alysha Deslorieux, & Carly Hughes) in ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical’. Photo: Joan Marcus

HITMAKERS: (L-R) Jessie Mueller, Anika Larson, Jarrod Spector, & Jake Epstein in ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 16, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on January 15, 2014

The post ‘Beautiful’ is new ‘King’ of jukebox musicals appeared first on StageZine.

MULTI-TALENTED: Jefferson Mays in ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER
Book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman
Music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak
Based on the novel by Roy Horniman
Directed by Darko Tresnjak
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 48th Street
New York, NY
(212-239-6200), www.AGentlemensGuideBroadway.com

By David NouNou

While watching A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, and it starts looking familiar to you, as it will, that’s because it is loosely based on the brilliant 1949 British black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, with Alec Guinness playing the eight D’Ascoyne family members. The authors (Mr. Freedman and Mr. Lutvak) have cleverly retained the British flavor with a delightful Edwardian score befitting the period, and enough English humor and sensibility in the book to make it a most delightful and charming evening.

The D’Ascoyne name has been changed to D’Ysquith and Louis Mazzini, the disowned distant poor relative, is now Monty Navarro (Bryce Pinkham). After his mother’s funeral, young Navarro learns that his mum was a D’Ysquith and disowned by the family and left penniless because she married for love and beneath her station. He also learns that he is ninth in line to the Earldom of Highhurst. What follows is murder most foul and in the most hilarious of manners.

The eight members of the D’Ysquith family are all played by the wonderful Jefferson Mays. Each member has his or her own identity and they each get their comeuppance in due time. Each of their demises is cleverly executed and therein lies the fun. Mr. Mays is an incredible talent, and although each character he portrays only appears for a few minutes, they each have a distinct personality and tone. One should also give credit to the costume designer, Linda Cho, for making his costumes so easy to change, and to the assistant backstage helping him in and out of the costumes in mere seconds.

Besides Mr. Mays, there are three additional memorable and worthy performances. Mr. Pinkham as the mastermind behind the D’Ysquith murders is formidable in both acting and singing. The two ladies pursuing him, Lisa O’Hare as the luscious Sibella, and Lauren Worsham as the enchanting Phoebe D’Ysquith, are both in fine voice and pleasing to eyes and ears.

Now comes the tricky part. Director Darko Tresnjak has imbued the piece with lots of clever and delightful sight gags and they work perfectly. Whether it is the fault of the authors or the director, the two acts are uneven. A lot happens in Act I and not enough in Act II. This had all the makings for a superb musical had it been a 100-minute one act without an intermission and the excess fat in Act II could have been trimmed.

Nonetheless, it is a smart musical and can be enjoyed thoroughly. A Gentlemen’s Guide ranks as one of the highlights of the fall season.

‘A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER’: (left to right) Joanna Glushak, Lauren Worsham, Bryce Pinkham, Lisa O’Hare & Jefferson Mays. Photo: Joan Marcus

MURDER & MUSIC: Jefferson Mays (center) & the cast of ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

BIG FUN IN OLD BLIGHTY: Jefferson Mays, Jane Carr & Bryce Pinkham in ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 22, 2013
Reviewed at press performance on November 21, 2013

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MAGICAL ‘AFTER MIDNIGHT’: The cast of the new Broadway musical. Photo: Matthew Murphy

AFTER MIDNIGHT
Conceived by Jack Viertel
Music & lyrics by Various Artists
Directed & choreographed by Warren Carlyle
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
256 West 47th Street
New York, NY
877-250-2929; AfterMidnightBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Wow!

The joint is jumping with nonstop joy. 90 minutes of heart-pounding confections from the era that gave us jazz, Duke Ellington and The Cotton Club. I’m thrilled to report that After Midnight is not a jukebox musical or compilations of songs by various artists strung together with a lame storyline. This is distilled, electrifying rhythm that explodes from the stage, thanks in large part to the 17-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars Orchestra, which was handpicked by Wynton Marsalis. This is one of the rarest of occasions that the real star of the evening is the orchestra.

What is astonishing here is the brilliant pacing and placement of the artists, songs, choreography and musicians. This can be attributed to the imaginative direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle. Every number is a gem; not a single filler in the entire evening. Every time you think you’ve seen the standout number of the evening, sure enough the next number tops it.

The only spoken words are the introduction by our host and tour guide to the Cotton Club, the smooth and charming Dule Hill. He is one of the brilliant members of the all- singing and dancing ensemble. The main attraction of the piece is “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino. Her rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Zaz Zuh Zaz” is perfection. The evening is full of wonderful and entertaining turns by the entire cast. To give you a breakdown of the numbers would be unfair if for no other reason it takes the pleasure out of experiencing them firsthand. There is nothing worse than a critic setting up a spoiler alert and taking away the surprise elements and pleasure for a viewer to witness for themselves.

Suffice it to say, go to the Cotton Club by way of After Midnight and have a great time. Wish I was there again to see it with you.

‘AFTER MIDNIGHT’ MARVELOUS MADNESS: Virgil Lil O Gadson, Karine Plantadit and company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

TERRIFIC TRIO: Daniel J. Watts, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edward & Phillip Attmore in ‘After Midnight.’ Photo: Matthew Murphy

Nominated for 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical; Supporting Actress (Adriane Lenox); Best Director (Warren Carlyle); Best Costume Design; Lighting Design; Sound Design.

Winner, Warren Carlyle, Best Choreographer.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 7, 2013
Reviewed at press performance on November 6, 2013

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SCHOOL DAYS: The cast of ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

By Scott Harrah

Not since the glory days of Andrew Lloyd Webber have the Brits redefined the musical theater on this side of the Atlantic. Broadway finally has a new U.K. import blockbuster, and her name is Matilda The Musical.

The late Roald Dahl was one of Britain’s most successful children’s book writers, but never delved into the sentimental, formulaic feel-good fare that is standard in American family entertainment. Mr. Dahl was the antithesis of Walt Disney. From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to James and the Giant Peach, Dahl’s style often bordered on the macabre, with the action unfolding in a twisted, dark voice.  Some consider Matilda Dahl’s least accessible book, for the story centers on an unwanted child, born to lowlife parents, and how her precociousness, high IQ and telekinetic powers create trouble in her life.

However, book writer Dennis Kelly, Australian composer and lyricist Tim Minchin and director Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage) have done the impossible and turned a bizarre, disturbing tale into one of the most ambitious, energetic and technically mind-blowing stage musicals ever.  Everything here, from Peter Darling’s acrobatic choreography to Rob Howell’s unique set, and gimmicky but effective touches like letter tiles, lasers and confetti, all make it difficult to leave the theater without feeling, as the Brits say, “gobsmacked.”

Mr. Kelly’s book brilliantly captures Mr. Dahl’s themes of how smart children who read and pursue intellectual interests are often bullied for being “geeks,” and shows how the tale is still relevant in the 21st century. (The novel was published in 1988.) Matilda Wormwood (played by four alternating child actresses; Milly Shapiro was outstanding at the performance I saw), at age 5, devours Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters and James Joyce, and recites multiplication tables with the rapid-fire accuracy of an Oxford math professor.

Meanwhile, her brother Michael (Taylor Trensch) is celebrated for being lame-brained, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (Gabriel Ebert and Lesli Marghertia), are more into their own selfish pursuits than appreciating their daughter’s many gifts.  Both Mr. Ebert and Ms. Margherita camp it up like loopy stereotypes from a classic episode of the TV Britcom “Absolutely Fabulous.” Ms. Margherita, with her gaudy outfits and sexy posturing, seems like she’s sending up a cross between Peg Bundy from “Married with Children” and a garish gal from Strictly Ballroom. Mr. Ebert is equally entertaining as her husband, a smarmy car salesman.

British rockers, from Pink Floyd to Morrissey and The Smiths, have lampooned the sadistic cruelty of U.K. school headmasters and headmistresses in popular songs over the years. However, we will never see one portrayed anything like Bertie Carvel (in glorious full drag, resembling a cross between Hitler and Eva Braun on steroids) and his show-stopping take on headmistress Miss Trunchbull.  Mr. Carvel’s Miss Trunchbull is one scary bitch; she takes pleasure in bullying and tormenting everyone from Matilda to a boy who steals chocolate cake.

Luckily, Matilda has a noble and kindhearted adult on her side: her teacher Miss Honey (played with winning sincerity by Lauren Ward).  Miss Honey encourages Matilda to take pride in her intelligence, and helps the girl stand up to her various aggressors.

Matilda is ultimately a proverbial triumph-over-evil saga, but with many jagged, jarring, and cerebral twists.  There is an arsenal of hyperactive physical comedy here that makes the somber themes amusing. Matthew Warchus directs everyone with tight reins, getting solid, kinetic performances from the large cast, and that is no easy task in a musical featuring so many children. The kids here are never shrill, annoying or cloying. Everything is filtered through a distinctly British sensibility, but an original one.

The real gem of the show is the character of Matilda herself, a role model that young children need in an era of reality TV, video games and iPhones.  When was the last time we saw any form of entertainment that celebrated a child being different and enriching her mind by reading classic novels and finding math fun? Milly Shapiro’s multifaceted interpretation of Matilda keeps us rooting for her from the very first scene.  Miss Shapiro goes into the dark recesses of the character to show Matilda’s emotional struggles. Matilda has a much harder life than, say, the little heroine in Annie.  Yes, it’s a “hard-knock” life for Matilda, but unlike Annie, the sun is not coming out for her tomorrow or anytime soon in jolly old England.

Tim Minchin’s score is rich and textured on so many levels, and his lyrics, which may seem too highbrow and obtuse for young kids, are clever and propel the story nonetheless. From the opening number “Miracle” to Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey and the kids singing “The Smell of Rebellion” and the Wormwoods’ “Telly” to the finale “Revolting Children,” nothing here is conventional, but it all works, making Matilda an instant classic.

CLASS ACT: The cast of ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

HEADMISTRESS FROM HELL: Bertie Carvel (Miss Trunchbull) & Miss Honey (Lauren Ward) in ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

BOYS & GIRLS KEEP SWINGING: The cast of ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

MEET THE WORMWOODS (L-R) Taylor Trensch (Michael Wormwood), Lesli Margherita (Mrs. Wormwood) & Gabriel Ebert (Mr. Wormwood) in ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

EXOTICA IN THE U.K.: The cast of ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

BIRTHDAY BLAST: The cast of ‘Matilda The Musical.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 14, 2013
Reviewed at press performance on April 13, 2013

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YOUNG LOVE & LYRICISM IN ‘ONCE’: (left to right) Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti in the new musical. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Once’ is contrived, lyrical love story appeared first on StageZine.