Another visit to THE FROGS

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 4:42pm

I was there last night (visit # 3, though my first with Roger Bart). I don’t understand why it has been so savaged in the press though I assume that there are those who expect no less from the Sondheim/Lane/Stroman triumvirate than a seamless masterpiece, which THE FROGS isn’t. It’s an ambling, smart, cheerfully scattered show that at times tries to do and say too much - and that’s OK.


The improvements brought to the show by Roger Bart’s Xanthias cannot be overstressed. Both looking and sounding like a tetchy terrier (or Joe Penner) barking out wisecracks and asides to the audience, he makes a perfect traveling companion for Nathan’s Dionysus – so much so that when he vanishes from the show in the middle of Act II, his hyper presence is much missed. Indeed, while Act I is smoothly plotted, punctuated by clever, tuneful songs and sprightly staged, Act 2 still feels somewhat padded with fewer musical highlights - the Dionysians dance and “Do the Shaw” slow the action considerably ( though the latter number features some good, snarky lyrics about the nature of celebrity). Though its seriousness is in stark contrast to the vaudevillian shenanigans that preceded it, the contest between Shaw & Shakespeare held the audiences attention and was well staged and played. The political asides were warmly appreciated by the audience (I saw several patrons proudly sporting anti-Bush buttons), but (alas) there were no stiletto adlibs from Lane, who knocked himself out onstage. But this is not the usual Shtickmeister routine that Brantley and others have claimed it is. Even while bouncing from a bungee cord, giddily gamboling around the stage or flustered by a virago Amazon, Lane demonstrated a new finesse, even delicacy to his performance, his dramatic moments and his singing of "Ariadne" (my favorite song in the show) wistful and tender. In addition to his partnership with Bart, Lane proves himself a most generous star, ceding the stage to the swaggering, nostril-flaring camp of Burke Moses in “Dress Big” and the delectable Pluto of Peter Bartlett, channeling Bea Lillie with every golden-sandaled step.

Is THE FROGS a classic? No. But you’d be a fool to miss it.