#1
Posted: 5/28/13 at 12:17pm
After last weekend’s bore-fest of The Orphans and The Assembled Parties, Memorial Day weekend’s mixed bag of Broadway plays and Off-Broadway musicals provided some amazing experiences.
LUCKY GUY (Sat 2PM). Unlike many others, I found the narrative of this play to be quite appropriate for the tell-instead-of-show aspect of investigative reporting. I wasn’t especially familiar with McAlary’s work and I’m not a New Yorker but still I found the story to be quite interesting. The cast was excellent (notably Hanks, Vance, and McDonald) and both acts moved along at a sufficiently fast enough clip to keep my attention from wandering. Still, when it was over, I thought it was slightly better than just OK. Nothing truly memorable about it and I doubt I’ll be thinking about it a month from now. (6/10)
MACBETH (Sat 8PM). A creepy, confusing yet captivating evening. I’m not a huge fan of Shakespeare and usually find the dialog overly complicated and tiresome. With shades of Sleep No More in regards to the mood it sets, this Macbeth featured one of two big Tony snubs that came to light this weekend. I thought Alan Cumming was brilliant and the show was worth seeing just on the merit of his performance alone. Not only did he deserve a nomination, I’ve seen all of the nominated performances and the Best Actor in a Play Tony should have his name on it. Mr. Cumming has got to be emotionally exhausted at the end of every performance. I certainly was. (7/10).
I’LL EAT YOU LAST (Sun 3PM). No better way to spend an afternoon (or evening) than getting served heaping portions of Bette and lewd, gossipy humor. There are 80+ minutes of near non-stop laughter but a lot of the references may slip by you if you aren’t up on your 1970’s Hollywood. The second Tony snub of the weekend, Midler’s performance was breathless and machine-gun paced but since I didn’t see Taylor’s nor Metcalf’s performance, I don’t know where she should have—or could have--fit in. (8.5/10)
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Perhaps I’m partial to musicals but the much less expensive Off-Broadway offerings I took in this weekend ended up being the standouts.
MURDER BALLAD (Sun 7PM). Thinking outside the box sometimes yields fantastic results and Murder Ballad’s reconfiguration of a traditional theatre space is near-genius. I sat at a bar table and feel that’s the best vantage point from which to view this show. Yes, there’s a lot of spinning around on one’s chair required to keep up with the action but it puts you right in the middle of the spectacle. Performances, score, story and a wonderfully unexpected and delicious twist make for an experience akin to watching a runaway train meet its spectacular end. Rebecca Naomi Jones was an absolute standout and sadly, Caissie Levy was out when I saw it, with Natalie Wachen not disappointing. Sometimes the volume of the band prevented the lyrics of this sung-through show from being understood clearly but nevertheless, it was an exceptional evening. (9/10).
HERE LIES LOVE (Sat 5PM). Sandwiched between Lucky Guy and MacBeth, Here Lies Love was a welcome respite from all things heavy and joyless. Murder Ballad might have been near genius but this show is absolute genius. I didn’t tell my partner much of anything about it so when we arrived at the theatre, he wasn’t happy when he found he’d have to stand for the duration of the show. Soon, however, he was dancing and shuffling around with everyone else, having the time of his life (the poor folks in the balcony seats above, however, were leaning way over the wall looking like captive, hungry children watching a courtyard full of kids below gorging themselves on candy and ice cream). Everything the recent revival of Evita wasn’t, Here Lies Love shares a similar story structure but does it with more heart and passion than Evita’s creative team could have imagined. A quite catchy score, excellent performances, and unbelievably creative design elements, Here Lies Love is not to be missed. Imelda wouldn’t have, but do wear comfortable shoes. (10/10)
LUCKY GUY (Sat 2PM). Unlike many others, I found the narrative of this play to be quite appropriate for the tell-instead-of-show aspect of investigative reporting. I wasn’t especially familiar with McAlary’s work and I’m not a New Yorker but still I found the story to be quite interesting. The cast was excellent (notably Hanks, Vance, and McDonald) and both acts moved along at a sufficiently fast enough clip to keep my attention from wandering. Still, when it was over, I thought it was slightly better than just OK. Nothing truly memorable about it and I doubt I’ll be thinking about it a month from now. (6/10)
MACBETH (Sat 8PM). A creepy, confusing yet captivating evening. I’m not a huge fan of Shakespeare and usually find the dialog overly complicated and tiresome. With shades of Sleep No More in regards to the mood it sets, this Macbeth featured one of two big Tony snubs that came to light this weekend. I thought Alan Cumming was brilliant and the show was worth seeing just on the merit of his performance alone. Not only did he deserve a nomination, I’ve seen all of the nominated performances and the Best Actor in a Play Tony should have his name on it. Mr. Cumming has got to be emotionally exhausted at the end of every performance. I certainly was. (7/10).
I’LL EAT YOU LAST (Sun 3PM). No better way to spend an afternoon (or evening) than getting served heaping portions of Bette and lewd, gossipy humor. There are 80+ minutes of near non-stop laughter but a lot of the references may slip by you if you aren’t up on your 1970’s Hollywood. The second Tony snub of the weekend, Midler’s performance was breathless and machine-gun paced but since I didn’t see Taylor’s nor Metcalf’s performance, I don’t know where she should have—or could have--fit in. (8.5/10)
----------
Perhaps I’m partial to musicals but the much less expensive Off-Broadway offerings I took in this weekend ended up being the standouts.
MURDER BALLAD (Sun 7PM). Thinking outside the box sometimes yields fantastic results and Murder Ballad’s reconfiguration of a traditional theatre space is near-genius. I sat at a bar table and feel that’s the best vantage point from which to view this show. Yes, there’s a lot of spinning around on one’s chair required to keep up with the action but it puts you right in the middle of the spectacle. Performances, score, story and a wonderfully unexpected and delicious twist make for an experience akin to watching a runaway train meet its spectacular end. Rebecca Naomi Jones was an absolute standout and sadly, Caissie Levy was out when I saw it, with Natalie Wachen not disappointing. Sometimes the volume of the band prevented the lyrics of this sung-through show from being understood clearly but nevertheless, it was an exceptional evening. (9/10).
HERE LIES LOVE (Sat 5PM). Sandwiched between Lucky Guy and MacBeth, Here Lies Love was a welcome respite from all things heavy and joyless. Murder Ballad might have been near genius but this show is absolute genius. I didn’t tell my partner much of anything about it so when we arrived at the theatre, he wasn’t happy when he found he’d have to stand for the duration of the show. Soon, however, he was dancing and shuffling around with everyone else, having the time of his life (the poor folks in the balcony seats above, however, were leaning way over the wall looking like captive, hungry children watching a courtyard full of kids below gorging themselves on candy and ice cream). Everything the recent revival of Evita wasn’t, Here Lies Love shares a similar story structure but does it with more heart and passion than Evita’s creative team could have imagined. A quite catchy score, excellent performances, and unbelievably creative design elements, Here Lies Love is not to be missed. Imelda wouldn’t have, but do wear comfortable shoes. (10/10)
Updated On: 5/28/13 at 12:17 PM
