#1
Posted: 4/2/10 at 3:12pm
Just arrived home from my trip to London and New York. Had a great time, enjoying the great company of our very own Phantom and enjoying a host of great shows and plays. I will write comments about the plays a little later - and I have not included comments on Next To Normal as I posted extensively on this show last year (and it's still the best show on Broadway!). But here are my humble views on the musicals I saw:
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC ***
A great Sondheim show, of course, but Trevor Nunn's production was pretty bland and lifeless in London and I'm afraid I was just as underwhelmed by his New York staging. (And the silly prancing about he has the characters do as they enter a room made them look as if they had just dropped in from a production of Spamalot! lol) BUT - this time it has a much better cast all round and Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones were incredible. (And Alex Hanson is even better than he was in London - definitely the best Fredrik I've ever seen). So the 3 stars are for the production - performance-wise, score-wise etc. it would be 5.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY ****
Very funny - great set - superb Lippa score - and a collection of knock-out performances. Every member of the cast was brilliant but Carolee Carmello stole the show and her solo number ("Waiting") was a genuine show-stopping performance. If it weren't for Angela Lansbury's Madame Armfeldt in the same year, I think Carolee would walk away with the Tony.
BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON ***
Hugely entertaining show - very funny - great rock score.
YANK *****
Both funny and heartbreaking, with a beautifully written book and a very tuneful score. All the cast were great and Bobby Steggert was simply awesome. If this show does transfer to Broadway, Steggert will be the one to beat for the Best Actor in a Musical Tony.
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM *****
Brilliant set - a very cleverly put together show, linking video clips of Sondheim interviews, etc. with the live vocal performances. And the vocal performances from a stellar cast are
all from the top drawer.
PROMISES PROMISES *****
Stunning choreography - stunning set - stunning direction & choreography by Ashford - stunning performances - stunning Bacharach score - stunningly witty Simon book. So the show was - stunning! My only slight reservation is over the decision to enhance the score with two Bacharach-David hit songs that were not written for the show (Say A Little Prayer and A House Is Not A Home). But they are great songs and hearing Kristin singing them was one of the highlights of the show. Kristin was absolutely fabulous throughout - a close contender for the Tony with Ms Zeta-Jones, I reckon. (And Sean Hayes was superb also.)
AMERICAN IDIOT *****
Breathtaking show! Although the book is admittedly thin, it works seamlessly with the score - and the score is mindblowingly brilliant. This show should have mega-Tony success - at the very least for Kevin Addams' lighting, Steven Hoggett's choreography, Michael Mayer's direction and for Best Musical. All the performances were excellent, especially Tony Vincent, John Gallagher and Stark Sands (who would get my vote for the Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Tony).
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC ***
A great Sondheim show, of course, but Trevor Nunn's production was pretty bland and lifeless in London and I'm afraid I was just as underwhelmed by his New York staging. (And the silly prancing about he has the characters do as they enter a room made them look as if they had just dropped in from a production of Spamalot! lol) BUT - this time it has a much better cast all round and Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones were incredible. (And Alex Hanson is even better than he was in London - definitely the best Fredrik I've ever seen). So the 3 stars are for the production - performance-wise, score-wise etc. it would be 5.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY ****
Very funny - great set - superb Lippa score - and a collection of knock-out performances. Every member of the cast was brilliant but Carolee Carmello stole the show and her solo number ("Waiting") was a genuine show-stopping performance. If it weren't for Angela Lansbury's Madame Armfeldt in the same year, I think Carolee would walk away with the Tony.
BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON ***
Hugely entertaining show - very funny - great rock score.
YANK *****
Both funny and heartbreaking, with a beautifully written book and a very tuneful score. All the cast were great and Bobby Steggert was simply awesome. If this show does transfer to Broadway, Steggert will be the one to beat for the Best Actor in a Musical Tony.
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM *****
Brilliant set - a very cleverly put together show, linking video clips of Sondheim interviews, etc. with the live vocal performances. And the vocal performances from a stellar cast are
all from the top drawer.
PROMISES PROMISES *****
Stunning choreography - stunning set - stunning direction & choreography by Ashford - stunning performances - stunning Bacharach score - stunningly witty Simon book. So the show was - stunning! My only slight reservation is over the decision to enhance the score with two Bacharach-David hit songs that were not written for the show (Say A Little Prayer and A House Is Not A Home). But they are great songs and hearing Kristin singing them was one of the highlights of the show. Kristin was absolutely fabulous throughout - a close contender for the Tony with Ms Zeta-Jones, I reckon. (And Sean Hayes was superb also.)
AMERICAN IDIOT *****
Breathtaking show! Although the book is admittedly thin, it works seamlessly with the score - and the score is mindblowingly brilliant. This show should have mega-Tony success - at the very least for Kevin Addams' lighting, Steven Hoggett's choreography, Michael Mayer's direction and for Best Musical. All the performances were excellent, especially Tony Vincent, John Gallagher and Stark Sands (who would get my vote for the Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Tony).
THEATRE 2020: CURTAINS**** LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS***** WICKED***** KEITH RAMSAY TAKING NOTES WITH EDWARD SECKERSON***** KAYLEIGH MCKNIGHT CONCERT***** RAGS***** ON MCQUILLAN'S HILL** DEAR EVAN HANSEN***** THE JURY***
Updated On: 4/2/10 at 03:12 PM
