LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
Broadway Matt
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/17/03
#0LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
Posted: 12/13/04 at 11:05am
For once, he seems to agree with the other critics on most counts. He just manages to state it in less-than-flattering terms. His reviews of individual cast are a bit brutal and further evidence that no one can overlook that damn ponytail. I do like how he closes it out:
"As a sassy restauratrice, Ruth Williamson is dependably Ruth Williamson. The others do what little is expected of them unexceptionably. “I Am What I Am” is the show’s hit song; this Cage may not be what it is ideally, but can Broadway, parched in a musical desert, insist on Perrier?"
eh, could've been worse.
Simon's Review in NY Magazine
"The last train out of any station will not be full of nice guys." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
"I wash my face, then drink beer, then I weep. Say a prayer and induce insincere self-abuse, till I'm fast asleep"- In Trousers
#1re: LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
Posted: 12/13/04 at 11:08amRuth Williamson is one of the funniest women to grace a Broadway stage - good for her!
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#2re: LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
Posted: 12/13/04 at 11:16am
In the same issue though, he seems unduly harsh on Gem of the Ocean. Now, I haven't been to see Gem yet, but surely August Wilson deserves better than two dismissive paragraphs?
What is to be done with the state of theatrical criticism in New York City? At no other point in my time following the theatre do I remember a bigger gang of misfits and miscreants than our current crop of critics. And it has created a dangerous situation where only the mild, unchallenging evening can succeed on Broadway.
"Gif me the cobra jool!"
morosco
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/04
#3re: LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
Posted: 12/13/04 at 11:22am
No one takes Simon seriously since he has become a parody of himself. But it's nice to hear a critic mention the musicians for a change.
"The orchestra, under Patrick Vaccariello, couldn’t be more ear-filling, and performs Jim Tyler, Larry Blank, and David Krane’s orchestrations and dance arrangements with all-out brio."
Updated On: 12/13/04 at 11:22 AM
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#4re: LA CAGE gets a rave review.... by John Simon standards
Posted: 12/13/04 at 12:44pmIt's old fashioned. Of course he liked it.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
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