Five Course Love - a show to watch out for...

[Craig]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 11:45pm

This show played out of town and was wildly successful. I had the good fortune to be present for a sing-through this afternoon (my first exposure to the show) - and while a "review" would be inappropriate, I will say that it's definitely a show to watch for when it opens off-Broadway. A unique and clever premise/device and a diverse score. It's similar in style to I Love You, You're Perfect... and Little By Little. (The latter being one of my favorite underrated shows).

It's a one act musical that is divided into 5 stories or "dates" at 5 different restaurants - and three actors playing the roles. The songs/music for each story matches the setting (i.e. the italian restaurant story has italian operetta-like music while the date at the BBQ restaurant is western, and so on).

It's definitely an "original" while feeling familiar.

Updated On: 9/15/05 at 11:45 PM

[Craig]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 12:43pm

Forgot to mention the cast..

Heather Ayers (Forbidden Broadway, Pardon My English), John Bolton (Spamalot, Contact, Titanic) and Jeff Gurner (The Lion King).

Did anyone see this at GEVA?

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 1:42pm

I was doing a conservatory at Geva at the same time this show was running. We used to perform on the set quite a bit, which looked very interesting. I've had Gregg Coffin as a musical director on other shows and he's also written another fabulous musical called Convenience.

[marilynrita]

Posted: 10/4/05 at 2:57am

Oh my!! I just saw this show tonight and it is absolutely brilliant! They have 25$ rush tix for anyone day of show. John Bolton is absolutely brilliant. I can't recommend this show enough!

[Girlfriend to All]

Posted: 10/4/05 at 7:25am

Happy to hear this! I saw John Bolton in Spamalot and thought he was just brilliant.. I didn't miss Tim Curry at all.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 10:50am

I'm seeing it tonight. What's the approximate running time, anyone?

[twogaab2]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 10:57am

Saw the show. Extremely mediocre music, jokes that never quite land in spite of the efforts of a good cast(you could almost hear them grunt-trying too hard). Enless you know someone in the show I wouldn't reccomend it. I was hoping that one of the sketches would be more inspired than the last one, but one at least had to admire the show for it's consistancy.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:18pm

And how long is it?

[twogaab2]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:28pm

@80' No intermission.

[marilynrita]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 10:13am

It got a pretty good NY Times review! Has anyone else seen it? I really liked it. I think some of the reviewers (daily news) really missed the boat on this show. Can't anything just be fun anymore?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 10:18am

I saw it last night. I... thought it was alright. I don't want to feel like I totally missed the boat, but I felt like it, even though varied, is something of a one-trick pony after a while. Technically, it isn't really, but my personal feeling for a good bit of the show was boredom. Some of it is great, but I thought the whole idea got sort of old after a while, even though each sketch was pretty different. I don't know. I had a good time, but I wasn't raving. My roommate loooooved it, though.

My favorite part was the take-off of Two Ladies. I laughed so, SO hard.

[Madame X]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 10:45am

I was there last night as well and pretty much concur word-for-word w/ luvtheEmcee. It's a cute premise and some of the 'courses' were pretty hilarious (the German one? HA! Which was Two Ladies emcee?), but I didn't feel particularly drawn into the story the whole time and felt the "one-trick pony" after a while as well. Cute ending though. I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 10:53am

Yeah, the German one. The "dance." A lot of that was lifted almost directly from Cabaret, and some of it was the dirtier version. Cabaret showed a lot, but it was still kind of edited and "clean." I mean, they did it behind a curtain. This was the dirtier-yet-clowny version.

The ending was cute. It sort of redeemed a bit of the boredom for me, simply because I'm a sucker for cuteness.

[AndSoItBegins]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 2:49pm

Saw the show in a final preview. I found the show cute. There are some catchy tunes and a few that aren't. The performers all work really hard and will eventually get in the groove after all the changes and feel more comfortable in the piece I have a feeling. John Bolton is amazing, of course. His singing and acting are fantastic. The other two are equally as strong but don't stand out quite as much. The cast is to be commended for sure. The sound was funky the night I saw it. Too loud at times during final belting sequences etc. Also, in the end I am not sure I buy the idea of the plot. *SPOILERS* The beginning and then end dates are reality and the three in the middle are books being read. End of Spoiler** I think the directing could have been more precise and although Mr. Coffin says he isn't much of a book writer, perhaps a small book could have helped the fluidity of the show a bit more. All and all a nice show. It will be a big hit with dinner, regional, and community theatres in the future.

[badrice_15]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 3:30pm

I watched the show here in Sacramento and it was hilarious! I loved it

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 3:37pm

Hated the show. Torturous mediocrity.