Saw the matinee today. I have such mixed thoughts on what I saw. I really tried going in with an open mind regarding Beanie, I really did. But…..
Let’s start with the good. Jane Lynch is a star. She has perfect delivery and comedic timing, and in a season without Patti LuPone, she’d be a strong Tony contender. She doesn’t get much to sing, but she knows how to deliver a song, she has musicality in her bones….unlike some. More on that later.
Ramin is everything you’d want in this role. It’s hard to keep your eyes off him, he’s so magnetic. He’s charming, commanding, and sings like a dream. The only issue is that Nick just isn’t a well written character, and it’s hard to care about him, but Ramin is doing everything he possibly can with what he’s given. “Temporary Arrangement” a mediocre song practically brought the house down with his delivery. THAT’s how you sell a number.
Jared Grimes is a gifted performer, and his tapping is sensational. Unfortunately, his is another case of not having a well written character, but he does make the most with what he’s given.
I liked most of the sets and the lighting was well done. The costumes were a little dingy looking, nothing spectacular.
The orchestra is wonderful and sounds fuller than what it really is. Chris Walker’s orchestrations are great, and most arrangements are good with one glaring exception. What they did to “The Music That Makes Me Dance” is a travesty. What a horrid arrangement. Dropping the torch song style of the number ruined it, but maybe that’s due to Beanie’s limited skills as a singer and interpreter of song. I’m not sure how the London arrangement sounded.
Now to the unfortunate aspect sinking this revival. Beanie just doesn’t have it. There are some signs of promise but they quickly fade away as the performance progresses. To some good points, her pitch and breath control has improved since the first preview clip. And yes, she does a good job with the comedic numbers. But who the heck is seeing Funny Girl for the lesser known comedic numbers?
The main issue is she just doesn’t have musicality in her bones. It’s not natural to her. She’s not skilled in interpreting lyrics. It’s like a performance from the High School star who goes to the only singing coach in town, where all the girls sound exactly the same. She has maybe 3-4 money notes but that’s it, everything else is sung in that annoying nasal Minnie Mouse tone.
Singing aside, she just doesn’t know how to interpret a song. When Katrina Lenk was having vocal issues early on, she still had the skill to interpret the music and make character driven choices. Beanie’s ballads are like a lead balloon because she doesn’t have the skill to sell them. It’s like she’s rushing through them to hide her musical deficiencies. She does better acting wise with both act closers, when she manages to bring some pep and passion to the songs.
Otherwise, aside from the comedic moments, she gives a very one note performance. Even more problematic is that she and Ramin have ZERO chemistry. Zip. None. There’s literally nothing there. He tries though, he really does.
It’s shame they went with the wrong lead, because I liked the production and most of Mayer’s direction. I’m not familiar with the original book, but I got the sense that Harvey’s revisions are directly pulled from the film. There were several moments especially in act two that were practically identical to the film.
I would definitely see this production again with a different Fanny. Hopefully Julie Benko will succeed, as we could use a star is born moment. Beanie is a talented actress, but she just isn’t cut out for this mammoth of a role. The roaring audience was indeed having a ball though. This will be a hot ticket for a while.
Updated On: 4/9/22 at 05:53 PM
