I am in a complete state of shock. I don't know what I just witnessed. As one of my friends said when the lights came up, Oy Vey. Oy double Vey! If ever a show would feel at home in the pages of Not Since Carrie this is it.
I don't even know where to start. I feel so loopy and drunk, although I haven't had a drop of alcohol.
Harriet Harris' big number is called "Where Did I Go Wrong" which sounded just like "I Did Something Wrong Once," except the latter was a little more tuneful. (In general, the score had little melody and even though there are SIX credited lyricists, the accompanying words managed to keep at a generic not even good enough for NYMF quality.)
Harris (and Hibbert in a wig for the ages) tried their best to camp it up, and I laughed, or rather groaned a few times, but the humor is dire. Most CBS multi-cam sitcoms would veto this dialogue.
Tyne Daly and Lisa Howard are left to do most of the heavy lifting (Howard is the lead and gets the only showstopper, which she manages to put over with sheer force of will).
The first half is generic, by the books wedding story. She's Jewish, he's Catholic. We've seen it all before and you can imagine every joke before it comes out. And then there is a huge twist and upending of the show halfway through that throws the rest of the night off balance. It's a lot to get through, and the final denouement, which is crammed with more reprises than an ALW megamix, feels like it lasted an extra 30 minutes. There's no intermission and we got out around 10, so cuts can and should be made.
There are lots of characters and songs, but most of them are paper thin, at least until the twist comes along.
Anne Nathan is on Baby, It's You cast doubling duty, changing wigs and costumes all the time. There really need to be a fleet of wedding helpers (or guests) under Hibbert's command. The show is done on the cheap, but they did their best to cover that up.
What is maybe most striking is how out of touch the musical is. In a season of Fun Home, The Visit and The Last Ship, this feels more like A Family Affair crossed with Tony n Tina's Wedding.
Yikes.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
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