#2
Posted: 5/28/16 at 8:33am
I had the misfortune of seeing this last week and was filled with relief when it was over. God Bless Michael McCormick, who is far too talented to be in junk like this, for attempting to put over his material with some brio and panache.
The rest of it slogs along lifelessly towards Joyce's funeral which also opens the show. The tagline for the musical is some crap like "the greatest love story you've never heard" (all references to fart love letters and soiled panties have been nicely washed away). Even if this statement were true, Himself & Nora does nothing to make the case for it. You will learn less about Joyce's career and personal life than you would from skimming his Wikipedia page, which I'm convinced is the extent of the research Jonathan Brielle (book, music & lyrics) did for this piece. Other than mentioning Ulysses and Ireland this really could have been about any author/artist who ignores his personal relationships in favor of his obsession with writing. It's George and Dot without any of the nuance or emotion.
The low point is an extraneous number for Joyce's two children in act two that grind the complete show to a halt.
The actors give it their all. Sure, some of them struggle to hold their Irish and Italian accents more than others, but the blame lies with the writing and direction (drab and lifeless).
In short: spare yourself and don't go.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#3
Posted: 5/28/16 at 10:14am
The marketing campaign for this one is really embarrassing. And, like, wouldn't most people interested enough in the subject matter to be curious also be aware of the aforementioned fart letters and soiled panties, and be confused about it as a generic musical romance?
#4
Posted: 5/28/16 at 10:32am
The ads in the subway are awful. Seeing all that blonde hair in the ad I incorrectly assumed it was going to be an Ibsen musical about his creating Nora. "The greatest love story never told" would be that of an author and his fictional creation and not an author and his neglected wife. Bashor wears a wig in the production btw and the blonde hair is never seen so I doubly don't get the artwork.
Many of the problems could be partly forgiven if the score were any good, but alas it isn't. Keeping with Joyce's bedroom interests, each song is one turd after another!
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#5
Posted: 5/28/16 at 10:36am
Don't get me started on the sexy fountain pen in the Subway ads.
#6
Posted: 5/28/16 at 10:52am
I enjoy the cast album quite a bit so I'm surprised to see such a negative reaction to the score. I can't speak for the book or this production but I do agree that the artwork is a tad dull. I haven't seen the ads. Is it the same pictures on the website?
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