A Festen/Drowsy Double-Header - Saturday, 4/15

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 10:20am

Saw Festen and Drowsy Chaperone yesterday. Needless to say, I enjoyed the latter much more.

Festen is an expertly designed, brilliantly staged mess. The design and staging is about the only thing it has going for it. The acting is too extreme. Jeremy Sisto overacts so much it makes the role unbelievable, Ali MacGraw underacts so much that she looks like an idiot. Everyone else is in that middle section, except for Larry Bryggman. Bryggman is the one acting saving-grace in the production. He's the only one who seems sure of himself. Everyone else seemed like they were given the material the previous day and had 24 hours to learn and perform it.

Drowsy Chaperone was much better. It is an old-school, toe-tapping, fun musical comedy. I didn't notice one unmemorable song. I went out whisteling Toledo Surprise and Show Off. The book is very slow at points, (I guess thats why The Drowsy Chaperone failed), and the jokes are corny (another reason), but it was 1928, so the extended spit-take sequence was forgivable.
The cast does a great job and genuinely looks like they're having fun!
Bob Martin's opening monologue is hilarious, just like everything else he does on stage, be it singing along with the Chaperone or dance along with the company. It was truly a theatre crowd last night. The Elton John joke and the Disney joke got tremendous applause, as did Sutton Foster, upon entrance. She is great in her featured part. Her voice is beautiful. Those 1-handed cartwheels are excellent.

Georgia Engel and Edward Hibbert are the perfect team. Her voice has always gotten on my nerves, but it fits the part perfectly. Troy Johnson and Danny Burstein are great in their respected parts, Robert and Aldolpho. The Kravitz Bros. are among the highlights and Toledo Surprise is a show stopper.

Finally, there's Beth Leavel, who not only sings beautifully, but is a great physical comedienne, too.

Sutton and Georgia bypassed the stage door after the evening performance. The guy told me they do that a lot now. I didn't wait for Bob Martin (who I'm assuming was doing rewrites with his co-authors). Everyone else came out and were very, very nice.
Updated On: 4/16/06 at 10:20 AM

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 10:40am

I totally agree with your review! I also loved the show and Georgia was such a highlight!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 10:49am

I forgot to add a few things about Drowsy.

1. The actors were very excited to record the album.

2. Noticed Dana Tyler from CBS 2 NY in the audience.

3. The bulk of the mezzanine was empty. You could cram everyone into the first 5 rows and leave the rest empty. Maybe they should have waited for a smaller theater.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 11:05am

Oh, I know. It was so funny Beth was all " I have to work on EASTER!!!"