NYMF 2015- Page 2

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 7/23/15 at 2:34am

Monday was a good NYMF day.

WOMEN OF NOTE

i think the best edition NYMF has put together for this series - i think it's the 3rd or 4th year for it (it was called Music Box in the past). Jen Bender and her team and honorary chair Jeanine Tesori put together an awesome night of songs written or co-written by women, and got some great star power to perform it.

At 4pm Monday, i saw the 11th of the 10 developmental readings:

iLLA

It's a hip-hop musical, and far more staged than your ordinary staged reading... and it is WONDERFUL. To me, this is why we go to these festivals and readings - every so often there is something new and delightful, and it is such a joy. It's not a perfect, finished work, that performance was the 1st time the writers had seen it in front of an audience - and it got such a standing ovation that if one of the producers hadn't come out to talk, we might have made them late for their 8pm performance. It's hip-hop/rap music with musical theatre references (SWEENEY TODD, SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, and Ahrens and Flaherty all get shout outs in rap lyrics). Its ancestry definitely includes both FAME and PASSING STRANGE, and there are some muddled plot points, and our protagonist's family is a bit cliche... but, if you can get into the 5pm reading tomorrow (sold out but there's always a waitlist) GO!

 

Tomorrow is SINGLE WIDE and probably HELD MOMENTARILY , or maybe SONGS FOR THE FALLEN, i'm undecided. :)

Saturday will be WHAT DO CRITICS KNOW, MANUEL VS STATUE, and FOOLERIE

wheee..!

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:14am

SINGLE WIDE

I liked this a LOT. Thank heaven for sincerity and positivity. A lovely country-tinged musical aout 3 generations (single Grandma, single Mom, and son) living in a trailer park trying to make ends meet, and a new man who moves in wanting to spend time alone... which of course doesn't happen as he gets drawn into the community. (it's pretty clear early on that he is a combat vet dealing with issues) It's kinda predictable, but in a comfortable way. We spend a little too much time with the resident trailer tramp - but she has redeeming qualities too. (And kudos to our leading lady for singing a song about her 'Microwave Life' [a truly awkward metaphor] with all the sincerity in the world.) i heard several people saying this was their favorite that they'd seen this year.

HELD MOMENTARILY :|

This was in FringeNYC last year, and feels like the work of a very young writer. Some nice moments, musical and otherwise, but i wish the characters went on more of a journey than their train - they lack a certain complexity. We spend too much time with the pregnant woman giving birth, i wish we had more time with other characters backstories, the bits of that we had were enjoyable. Also, it takes place on the least populated subway car segment ever. And apparently the cleanest.

 

Feel free to agree or disagree, i'm interested in other people's opinions! :)

Too sleepy for the last 3 tonight, more tomorrow, but in short:

WHAT DO CRITICS KNOW = :) i'd recommend for anyone who likes old school 'let's put on a show musicals' 

MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY = i'd recommend for anyone

FOOLERIE = huh??  i can't quite recommend, it felt very confused in tone and story, though some good moments and songs, performed well