#1
Posted: 10/3/04 at 11:12am
Well, LotsWife had a chance to take in BROOKLYN and boy was it interesting. This longtime theatre goer had never seen anything like this on Broadway. Here's my review (possible spoilers ... hopefully not too many, though).
So we know the overall story, right? It's that Brooklyn was born in Paris and her mother committed suicide because Brooklyn's father left her while she was pregnant. Then Brooklyn sets out to America to find her father and discover "who she is" (which is a bit cliche in this sense). Brooklyn meets up with the incredible, yet a bit overaged, Ms. Paradice. This woman thinks Brooklyn has come to town to steel her spotlight and she challenges her to a "battle of the voices" (I guess you could say). To round this out, she find her father and he kind of denies her for one reason or another ... then somehow throughout Brooklyn finds herself and gains an appreciation for who she is and what she has yet to become.
THE PERFORMERS: This has to be one of the best vocal groups on Broadway. They are really standout performers in every sense of the word. Eden Espinosa is radiant as Brooklyn, but she was so underused here. So many times I felt her whole existance was a bit cliche in the sense of her search for "who she was" and "where does she come from" ... it was a bit out of sorts with the continuity of the other characters. But her's is the central story. Karen Olivo has a fantastic voice and she is quite versatile. As Brooklyn's mother she is very soft-spoken and gentle and kind. Then as the city weed, she's a bit more harsh and outspoken. She fits in well here. Kevin Anderson is extremely sexy and has great vocals. I thought he was the singer on the sampler, but he's not. He's much better than that. Only a few times I felt he was a tad out of place with the other performers. Cleavant Derricks is so great. He's such a vet of the Broadway stage and that comes across. His charisma is infectious and his presence is so welcome when he's on stage. The unique vocal work he displays in quite amazing and I think he fits the stage very nicely. And then there's the AMAZING AMAZING Ramona Keller. Where has this woman been all my life. I saw her in CAROLINE and thought she was a standout, but here she downright steals the show from everyone. Her vocal work is off the charts and she must be commended for her comedic timing. Her spirit and performance is quite infectious. I hope she takes the supporting actress Tony, because she has earned it in this great show.
THE STORY: Weak. It's just a bit thin for my taste. I think the writers have an amazing concept. It's a sweet concept and they want to expand on that. I just think they spread their story thinly over the 2 hours. It didn't expand as well as I had hoped. Certain characters, especially Brooklyn, are just not written well. Eden is trying hard to make layers out of layerless material. Paradice is often seems to be the central character in the show. She's given a varied array of emotions to display and plays on each of them very well. We have Brooklyn's search, the father's demons, Paradice's breakdown, the magic man/streetsinger, the city weeds, etc. etc. Nothing is really exceptionally written here.
THE MUSIC: The songs on the sampler (Once Upon on a Time, Raven, Heart Behind the Hands, Sreetsinger) are the best songs in the show. Also, Paradice's two songs (Superlover & Love Me Where I Live) are great numbers ... on your feet kind of numbers. Eden belts it in OUaT, but it seems like she is so wanting to do it again and doesn't get the chance until Streetsinger. I really wish they had given Karen Olivo more. She's got a beautiful voice. Anderson's songs were just not attractive ... too ballady. His songs brought more depression to his character. He was always breaking down.
STAGING, SET, COSTUMES: The sets and costumes were incredible. I was blown away by how the designers captured the essence of story in the set. It was so creative. HOW DID THEY COME UP WITH ALL OF THIS? Very nice work here guys. The staging was fine. The sampler songs had the best staging ... Once Upon a Time was very breathtaking ... probably the highlight of the show, in a sense. Raven was just simple and so well staged around Ramona, allowing her to do what she needed to get the song out. Streetsinger was pretty. It was a very lovely moment and kind of reminded me a bit of a "Mr. Bojangles" moment. VERY "Mr. Bojangles". So much of the play reminded me of Godspell for some reason. It just had that feel to it. I mean, not the story, of course, but the setting and the staging and everything. It had that eclectic rhythm to it.
So my concern for this show is weather or not it will hold its own on Broadway. It's a lovely show and I know it will only get stronger as it approaches the opening night. I remember reading a comment someone had written on here saying, "Does BROOKLYN belong on Broadway." It doesn't have the scale of Broadway show, but it sure has the heart of one.
Go see it ... support the theatre and this incredible cast.
So we know the overall story, right? It's that Brooklyn was born in Paris and her mother committed suicide because Brooklyn's father left her while she was pregnant. Then Brooklyn sets out to America to find her father and discover "who she is" (which is a bit cliche in this sense). Brooklyn meets up with the incredible, yet a bit overaged, Ms. Paradice. This woman thinks Brooklyn has come to town to steel her spotlight and she challenges her to a "battle of the voices" (I guess you could say). To round this out, she find her father and he kind of denies her for one reason or another ... then somehow throughout Brooklyn finds herself and gains an appreciation for who she is and what she has yet to become.
THE PERFORMERS: This has to be one of the best vocal groups on Broadway. They are really standout performers in every sense of the word. Eden Espinosa is radiant as Brooklyn, but she was so underused here. So many times I felt her whole existance was a bit cliche in the sense of her search for "who she was" and "where does she come from" ... it was a bit out of sorts with the continuity of the other characters. But her's is the central story. Karen Olivo has a fantastic voice and she is quite versatile. As Brooklyn's mother she is very soft-spoken and gentle and kind. Then as the city weed, she's a bit more harsh and outspoken. She fits in well here. Kevin Anderson is extremely sexy and has great vocals. I thought he was the singer on the sampler, but he's not. He's much better than that. Only a few times I felt he was a tad out of place with the other performers. Cleavant Derricks is so great. He's such a vet of the Broadway stage and that comes across. His charisma is infectious and his presence is so welcome when he's on stage. The unique vocal work he displays in quite amazing and I think he fits the stage very nicely. And then there's the AMAZING AMAZING Ramona Keller. Where has this woman been all my life. I saw her in CAROLINE and thought she was a standout, but here she downright steals the show from everyone. Her vocal work is off the charts and she must be commended for her comedic timing. Her spirit and performance is quite infectious. I hope she takes the supporting actress Tony, because she has earned it in this great show.
THE STORY: Weak. It's just a bit thin for my taste. I think the writers have an amazing concept. It's a sweet concept and they want to expand on that. I just think they spread their story thinly over the 2 hours. It didn't expand as well as I had hoped. Certain characters, especially Brooklyn, are just not written well. Eden is trying hard to make layers out of layerless material. Paradice is often seems to be the central character in the show. She's given a varied array of emotions to display and plays on each of them very well. We have Brooklyn's search, the father's demons, Paradice's breakdown, the magic man/streetsinger, the city weeds, etc. etc. Nothing is really exceptionally written here.
THE MUSIC: The songs on the sampler (Once Upon on a Time, Raven, Heart Behind the Hands, Sreetsinger) are the best songs in the show. Also, Paradice's two songs (Superlover & Love Me Where I Live) are great numbers ... on your feet kind of numbers. Eden belts it in OUaT, but it seems like she is so wanting to do it again and doesn't get the chance until Streetsinger. I really wish they had given Karen Olivo more. She's got a beautiful voice. Anderson's songs were just not attractive ... too ballady. His songs brought more depression to his character. He was always breaking down.
STAGING, SET, COSTUMES: The sets and costumes were incredible. I was blown away by how the designers captured the essence of story in the set. It was so creative. HOW DID THEY COME UP WITH ALL OF THIS? Very nice work here guys. The staging was fine. The sampler songs had the best staging ... Once Upon a Time was very breathtaking ... probably the highlight of the show, in a sense. Raven was just simple and so well staged around Ramona, allowing her to do what she needed to get the song out. Streetsinger was pretty. It was a very lovely moment and kind of reminded me a bit of a "Mr. Bojangles" moment. VERY "Mr. Bojangles". So much of the play reminded me of Godspell for some reason. It just had that feel to it. I mean, not the story, of course, but the setting and the staging and everything. It had that eclectic rhythm to it.
So my concern for this show is weather or not it will hold its own on Broadway. It's a lovely show and I know it will only get stronger as it approaches the opening night. I remember reading a comment someone had written on here saying, "Does BROOKLYN belong on Broadway." It doesn't have the scale of Broadway show, but it sure has the heart of one.
Go see it ... support the theatre and this incredible cast.
Updated On: 10/3/04 at 11:12 AM
