Here Lies Jenny

Not I, but I went last Summer in NY - and Loved it - here is a rare off-Broadway review of mine for the show.

HERE LIES JENNY

“Here Lies Jenny” with-in its heart lies the very essence of off-Broadway Musical Theatre. A small show, for it only runs seventy five minutes in length; a small theatre, “The Zipper Theatre” is as nostalgic as ever for it was once a Zipper Factory; a small ticket price, starting now you can get a rush ticket at 10pm on Saturday nights for only $10.00; a small cast, there only five of them; and Large talent, the transcendent and resplendent Bebe Neuwirth gives yet another astonishing performance in her repertoire of luminosity.

At the very heart of “Here Lies Jenny” is a story, one that while the talent on stage emotes, the theatergoer puts together their own tale of recent tragic events. The dialogue here in spoken word is minimal, yet the dialogue in emotion, song, and dance is inevitable. Broadway razzle-dazzle this show is not, a true actor’s piece this show is! The music by Kurt Weill gives the small cast every bit of glorious material to act their hearts out. Whether it is a torch song, a fun romp, or a tango, there is something for everyone here in this thriving collaboration of the greats.

Directed by Roger Rees and choreographed by Ann Reinking, two Tony award winners for their work on the Great White Way, bring something special to the smaller side of town that this was not too often comes. Having had realized that, the crafty producers just extended this sensuous & seductive work through late September and have elongated the three late night performances a week six shows a week, Wed-Sat at 8pm, Sat at 11pm, and Sunday at 7pm.

So unzip your purse strings, stand in a small line, pull out a Hamilton, have a drink the bar, have a seat in the seedy automobile style arena, and enjoy off-Broadway as it should be enjoyed: at it’s best

I am seeing it in SF, probably late next week or the week after. I can't wait to see Bebe on stage again. The last time I saw her in SF was when she was performing in Three Penny Opera.

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BWW Comments HERE LIES JENNY, July 2004

Updated On: 5/4/05 at 03:37 PM

Beaver, I can't help the fact that what's new in New York takes a year to be "new" in San Francisco.

Maybe you're living on the wrong coast?

Updated On: 5/4/05 at 05:41 PM

Thanks to all of you who told me to go see this show. It was terrific. The "basement bar" set was done very well, and the song selection was good. I hadn't heard much of Weill's music before (and only recognized Here Lies Jenny), but enjoyed the selection of songs very much.

Bebe and her two supporting dancers were fantastic. She moves so fluidly! Beautiful! My one dissappointment in the show was Bebe's voice. A lot of her singing sounded "forced" to me, though my friend had no problem with it.

Beaverhausen, did you see the show yet?

A big thank you goes out to "Usher Man" who not only told everyone upon seating them to turn off their cell phones, but came down the aisles several times before curtain to remind the audience to do so! THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!

and now, a "pet peeve" moment:
an audience member in front of my friend had the "individually wrapped" candy and during the show unwrapped three pieces. As if that's not bad enough, she was crinkling and folding the empty wrapper into a tiny ball before putting it back into her purse. Now, when asked, my friend said she hardly heard it and was able to block it out. I CANNOT and was tempted to reach over and throttle her, but didn't want to take my eyes off the stage!

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Yeah, Bebe's voice is not for everybody, it's not the usual "broadway voice", but Here Lies Jenny is not the usual musical. I saw Here Lies Jenny last summer in NY and thought it was amazing and so was Bebe. I personally love her voice but even if you don't, she will still blow you away with her acting and her amazing dancing, god lord she gives a new meaning to the word grace.

I saw the NY production three times...astonishing! One of Bebe's finest performances.