#1
Posted: 4/5/09 at 12:20am
If there is one show to see this season before it ends a limited engagement, that show would be "Happiness", currently playing at the Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center. I was fortunate enough to get tickets off of TDF, but would gladly pay $95 to see this production after what I saw tonight.
The score is pretty truthful, touching, and poignant, but you won't leave the theatre humming any of it. Normally I would have a problem with not being able to recall songs from a musical, but the show itself was so beautiful and well-crafted, that I was mesmerized to a point that I didn't care.
Each story within this show has been written in such a detailed light that I can't quite grasp how anyone could walk out of the theatre not in pure awe. If each story from these characters' lives wasn't enough to make this show work, the performers are the reason to make the trip to Lincoln Center. The opening number of this show alone engages the audience with a plethora of New Yorkers and their daily lives, some of which are portrayed by a chorus of actors delving into three or more roles/costumes in the course of five minutes. There are not enough positive things that I can say about Joanna Gleason, Jenny Powers, Hunter Foster, Sebastian Arcelus, Robb Sapp and this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G cast! The vocals, let alone the superb acting are nothing short of remarkable. I initially went to this show to see each of these performers under one roof, considering how poorly the critics' reviews had depicted the show, but within the first five minutes, I was emotionally invested in these people's lives. GO SEE HAPPINESS!
On a side note, Marian Seldes was in the audience, and she appeared to love the show.
The score is pretty truthful, touching, and poignant, but you won't leave the theatre humming any of it. Normally I would have a problem with not being able to recall songs from a musical, but the show itself was so beautiful and well-crafted, that I was mesmerized to a point that I didn't care.
Each story within this show has been written in such a detailed light that I can't quite grasp how anyone could walk out of the theatre not in pure awe. If each story from these characters' lives wasn't enough to make this show work, the performers are the reason to make the trip to Lincoln Center. The opening number of this show alone engages the audience with a plethora of New Yorkers and their daily lives, some of which are portrayed by a chorus of actors delving into three or more roles/costumes in the course of five minutes. There are not enough positive things that I can say about Joanna Gleason, Jenny Powers, Hunter Foster, Sebastian Arcelus, Robb Sapp and this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G cast! The vocals, let alone the superb acting are nothing short of remarkable. I initially went to this show to see each of these performers under one roof, considering how poorly the critics' reviews had depicted the show, but within the first five minutes, I was emotionally invested in these people's lives. GO SEE HAPPINESS!
On a side note, Marian Seldes was in the audience, and she appeared to love the show.
Updated On: 4/5/09 at 12:20 AM
