HERE LIES JENNY with Bebe Neuwirth

Posted: 6/5/04 at 10:52am

For those of you who might be interested...

This is an excellent musical theatre evening. And its for adults! It's short, about 85 mins or so, but jammed packed and it's never ever tedious or uninteresting.

Superbly mounted: conception & direction by Roger Rees (A MAN OF NO IMPORANTCE, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, and TV's CHEERS); choreography by Ann Reinking (yep!) doesn't waste a step and every movement is precise and finely executed; music is by one of the greats of the musical theatre, Kurt Weill (3PENNY OPERA, LADY IN THE DARK, LOVE LIVE; JOHNNY JOHNSTON); and lyrics by the likes of Ira Gershwin, Bertolt Brecht, Langston Hughes, Alan Jay Lerner, Ogden Nash, Weill himself, and several others.

Equisitely sung (without amplification I might add) and danced by Bebe Neuwirth (A CHORUS LINE, CHICAGO, TV's CHEERS, etc.) She is a terrific actress, too. You care about her from the moment whe walks into the seedy bar on stage and you won't stop caring. Adding to the class of the piece are Gregory Butler, Ed Dixon, Shawn Emamjomeh, and the sole pianist Leslie Stifelman.

There is no dialogue except for the song lyrics. And although each song was written for another show in another time together here they work perfectly.

JENNY is one of the most satisfying evenings of musical theatre I've personally enjoyed in months, including two on Broadway just last week.

Eventhough JENNY is in the tiny and funky off off-Broadway Zipper Theatre, everthing about JENNY is superlative. This includes what at first appears to be no set. The lighting creates its own magic, too. This is a first class production: material, performing artists; and creative artists.

Try to see JENNY if any of the above appeals to you. But hurry, it's a limited engagement (through the end of June I believe) and it only plays Thursday-Saturday at the Zipper Theatre on W. 37th Street. Curtain is 11pm. There a bar in the lobby, too, if you come early.

I'd like to think JENNY lies around for quite a while to come.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:36am

Off-Broadway.

Posted: 6/5/04 at 12:08pm

Thanks for the correction.

According to you know who the Zipper Theatre is "off-Broadway."

Either way, do see it! It's still far above the level of what you might see on, off, off off-, anywhere.

Jose'

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 12:13pm

You're welcome! Just glad to be able to do my bit to help out!

Cheers! LOL!

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:34pm

I wanted to bring JENNY to everyone's attention this evening. It's well worth it, in my opinion.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:38pm

Shill! LOL! Cheers! Let's all chat! LOL!

[Corine2]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:45pm

Thanks for the heads up. I love the Zipper and Bebe never disappoints!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:46pm

A friend of mine saw it, didn't care for it.

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:49pm

Namo, sorry to disappoint you but perhaps you misunderstood. This is a show for adults.

Your friend is entitled to his/her opinion, too.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 11:56pm

Like I said before Jose, I would laugh along with you if your joke were funny.

And like I also said before, you thought my friend was nice enough at Standing Ovations.

And like I also said before, my friend (a genuine adult) said the show just didn't have enough going for it to recommend it.

Posted: 6/6/04 at 12:00am

I've no idea who you're talking about but your friend is entitled to his/her opinion.

I believe this thread was addressed to those who might be interested in this show...so that doesn't include you or your friend, it seems. Why are you wasting your time on this thread?

But there may be other folks who might be interested in Weill or Bebe Neuwirth and for them its worth a visit. Updated On: 6/6/04 at 12:00 AM

[racerchiquita76m]

Posted: 6/6/04 at 12:01am

Thanks for the recommendation. I look forward to seeing it next Friday!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/6/04 at 12:08am

As I said before Jose, I know you run the show around here now, I mean, it seems that way, right? But still, I didn't know your threads were monologues. I thought it was a message board. Besides which, I was responding to Corine, which is what people on message boards do. But, you know, I said it before.

Shill away! Have at it! Cheers! LOL!

Posted: 6/6/04 at 12:24am

Go see JENNY folks!

Posted: 7/14/04 at 8:14pm

JENNY extends her run.

This is a late night popular hit.

If you want to see how theatre magic can be made anywhere, spend an hour, or two, with Jenny.

Just a reminder!

[Lorelai]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 8:46pm

Well...either way, I definitely thought it was great and I'm glad to hear it's extending. I hope I get to catch it again...

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 8:52pm

Jose must work for Bebe! The show simply isn't good--a strained attempt at a story line through Weill's songs leaves only a meandering narrative. Bebe is no Ute Lemperer for certain--she's out of her element here, and it shows. The show is thankfully short.

[InterestedBystander]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 9:02pm

I thought it was a terrific evening and I look forward to my return visit to the show this weekend. Well worth a trip to the Zipper!

Posted: 7/24/04 at 8:50am

Cast changes and increased performance schedule.

HERE LIES JENNY

A healthy diversion from the usual topics and lists.

Who is Jenny? Why does she return?




HERE LIES JENNY -- Cast Changes via Playbill.com Updated On: 7/24/04 at 08:50 AM