#1
Posted: 9/1/08 at 5:04pm
I saw the show this past weekend as well. It is certainly not a bad show, but the score is hopelessly bland with the exception of only two or three songs, and the book, while generally well-written, lacks focus. Since they are trying to tell the story of an enormous novel in less than two-and-a-half hours, they need to cut the fat and focus more on Carton--which they have done for the most part, but not enough. I've heard they have been and will continue to cut excess stuff from the show (i.e. the now deleted graverobbers scene), but while they are doing that they need to give Carton a little more to do in the first act.
As for the cast, they are almost all great, especially Barbour. Without him it would be a much lesser show--which is obviously why they've kept him attached to the project for years, despite his um, legal problems. He really is very, very talented and deserved the rapturous applause he got at his curtain call. Aaron Lazar is good, although it really bothered me that he is so much smaller physically than Barbour and that their faces are only vaguely similar, since it's a key plot point that they look very much alike. This production has broken with tradition and cut all but one reference to their physical similarity, but that doesn't solve the lack of credibility of **SPOILER ALERT** Carton's ability to switch with Darnay in prison, or the fact that people like me who already know the story will be scratching their heads at the casting choice of Lazar. Too bad Derek Keeling left to do "Grease"--he physically would have made a lot more sense.
There are, inevitably, loud echos of "Les Mis" and especially "The Scarlet Pimpernel", as others have pointed out (it doesn't help either their red and black ad design and even letter font is very, very similar to "Pimpernel"'s). The act one finale, "Until Tomorrow" is especially problematic, given that's it's basically the poor man's "One Day More."
All that being said, it is still a great story, and Barbour's performance alone is worth the trip. However, it is certainly not worth the $110 ticket price (very few shows are, actually), so if you're going to go, I recommend getting tickets in the back of the mezzanine for $60 or if you're a student, get rush tickets for only $27.
It's a decent show, but certainly not great. It will run for a few months, close, and then have a healthy life in regional theatre--where it belongs.
As for the cast, they are almost all great, especially Barbour. Without him it would be a much lesser show--which is obviously why they've kept him attached to the project for years, despite his um, legal problems. He really is very, very talented and deserved the rapturous applause he got at his curtain call. Aaron Lazar is good, although it really bothered me that he is so much smaller physically than Barbour and that their faces are only vaguely similar, since it's a key plot point that they look very much alike. This production has broken with tradition and cut all but one reference to their physical similarity, but that doesn't solve the lack of credibility of **SPOILER ALERT** Carton's ability to switch with Darnay in prison, or the fact that people like me who already know the story will be scratching their heads at the casting choice of Lazar. Too bad Derek Keeling left to do "Grease"--he physically would have made a lot more sense.
There are, inevitably, loud echos of "Les Mis" and especially "The Scarlet Pimpernel", as others have pointed out (it doesn't help either their red and black ad design and even letter font is very, very similar to "Pimpernel"'s). The act one finale, "Until Tomorrow" is especially problematic, given that's it's basically the poor man's "One Day More."
All that being said, it is still a great story, and Barbour's performance alone is worth the trip. However, it is certainly not worth the $110 ticket price (very few shows are, actually), so if you're going to go, I recommend getting tickets in the back of the mezzanine for $60 or if you're a student, get rush tickets for only $27.
It's a decent show, but certainly not great. It will run for a few months, close, and then have a healthy life in regional theatre--where it belongs.
