#1
Posted: 2/14/04 at 11:47pm
I saw this afternoon's performance of CAN CAN at City Center. It was far superior to the mediocre offerings of last season, and the primary reason is the presence of the Magnificent Patti LuPone as Mme. Pistache. What a splendid performance she gave! She had a marvelous time acting the role and stopped the show cold when she sang "Allez Vous En". "C'est Magnifique" and "I Love Paris". She is an incredible force when onstage and the show lags when she's off. Perhaps Ms LuPone should be declared one of America's theatrical treasures! However, all afternoon I kept thinking to myself that this role was originally intended for Carol Channing, who turned it down because she was already committed to the London production of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES.
I could only imagine what it would have been like if TGC had played the role!
This was not a perfect production because the secondary plots really struggle to be funny and Michael Nouri is a wooden actor with faulty pitch--a bit of a disappointment. The choreography really seemed cramped and uninspired--and there's plenty of dancing in this show. Eli Wallach was a delight in his brief role as a judge.
At the talk-back after the performance, Ms LuPone appeared in a t-shirt, jeans, cowboy boots and a red bandana covering her hair. She spoke out about amplification in the theater, claiming that when she did ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, no mikes were needed because the orchestrations were written with an understanding of the human voice. That's not so in today's musicals. She also spoke out about how stupid it was to ask Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake to partake in the SuperBowl Half-Time show. She said they were rock performers and by nature of that were anti-establishment. The two rock performers were only doing what anti-establishment people would do: mock everything our country stands for. Needless to say, this was a very animated talk-back.
It was a very nice afternoon in the theater, howver my date and I both wished that the City Center ushering staff knew where and how to seat an audience. They didn't even know what level we were supposed to be sitting in!
I could only imagine what it would have been like if TGC had played the role!
This was not a perfect production because the secondary plots really struggle to be funny and Michael Nouri is a wooden actor with faulty pitch--a bit of a disappointment. The choreography really seemed cramped and uninspired--and there's plenty of dancing in this show. Eli Wallach was a delight in his brief role as a judge.
At the talk-back after the performance, Ms LuPone appeared in a t-shirt, jeans, cowboy boots and a red bandana covering her hair. She spoke out about amplification in the theater, claiming that when she did ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, no mikes were needed because the orchestrations were written with an understanding of the human voice. That's not so in today's musicals. She also spoke out about how stupid it was to ask Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake to partake in the SuperBowl Half-Time show. She said they were rock performers and by nature of that were anti-establishment. The two rock performers were only doing what anti-establishment people would do: mock everything our country stands for. Needless to say, this was a very animated talk-back.
It was a very nice afternoon in the theater, howver my date and I both wished that the City Center ushering staff knew where and how to seat an audience. They didn't even know what level we were supposed to be sitting in!
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
Updated On: 2/15/04 at 11:47 PM
