A Week of Off-Broadway Muscals...

[VeuveClicquot]

Posted: 8/11/06 at 12:29am

I spent the last week Off-Broadway, seeing "Barbara's Blue Kitchen," followed by "Shout - the Mod Musical," followed by "Capitol Steps."

First of all, let me say there's some great work happening Off-Broadway right now. There are also some fatal flaws.

Let's start with the "Blue Kitchen." While this show had some flaws, it had one great thing going for it: Lori Fischer. She's an incredible talent. The show had a few problems. But most of all, it was sincere. Fischer never looked down on the characters she was portraying, which was key. It made the whole show palatable.

Now, on to "Shout." What a freaking heartbreaker this show was. It had cash. The sets, costumes, choreography, and musical arrangements were all Fierce. Until the very end, I was with this show. Unfortunately, at the very end, it became about some girl getting raped, and destroyed the whole fun that the show set out to be from the start. And it lost me right then. 60's girl group shows should be about FUN, and musical arrangements. Not about social issues. They screwed up.

"Capitol Steps" has been around for decades, and this isn't a bad version. However, the men in the show are better than the women.

All in all, not a bad week Off-Broadway. Of the three, however, I recommend "Barbara's Blue Kitchen."