Posted: 3/20/24 at 11:46am
I was at first preview. I’ve only heard the amazing things, so I guess I’ll be the bad guy. This was the show I was looking forward to most this season, but I’m quite disappointed...
While the design itself is fairly innovative, there is nothing remarkable about Rachel Chavkin’s direction. It’s conventional and formulaic: scene, song, scene, song. Set piece on, set piece off. It doesn’t hold a finger to Chavkin’s other work. “Our Time”, the opening number, is all over the place and begins as a book scene (?) which then transitions into a 10-minute song (?). My eyebrows were furrowed in question the entire number. Throughout the show, the music is a little choppy and you can’t always tell when one song ends and the next starts. It gets repetitive sonically, but there are a handful of excellent numbers.
I found Raja Feather Kelly’s choreography awkward and rigid with very little connection to the text. Lots of quick movements are placed into a single note of music. As of last night, the lyrics are still displayed onstage towards the end of “Perfection” and I’m shocked Chavkin approved that...
The cast is mixed. For me, the highlights are Amber Iman (what a star!) and Andrew Samonsky (what a voice!) Beth Leavel has very little to do as The Baroness. Her Act 2 duet “Just This Way” with Tamara wants to be the emotional climax of the story, but we hardly know who The Baroness is, so it just feels wasted. George Abud is doing an over-the-top caricature of a villain as Marinetti. He could’ve been twisting a long handlebar mustache while snickering “mwahaha”. I admire Eden Espinosa as much as the next Wicked fan, but she struggles vocally with the higher, beltier moments. I worry how sustainable this material is for her voice and hope they will use previews to toy around with the key and alternate notes.
But the biggest problem for me was the lack of investment I felt in the story. I wanted mega-musical melodrama and crazy high stakes, but this show is basically a love triangle with tidbits of political turmoil. Weirdly enough, it left me with a very similar feeling as The Great Gatsby did at Paper Mill. All flash with little depth. I manage to cry in almost every musical I see, but Lempicka left me dry-eyed.
I sat on the left side of the rear mezzanine. The view was fine, but missed some far side-upstage moments and projections. I’d say this show is best experienced from center orchestra and/or front mezzanine. (The code LPFAN22 reduces some premium seats too!)
From what I’ve seen on social media and know of the fanbase, I imagine the show will do well with younger Gen Z audiences, social media influencers, and the super-fans who’ve been following its development. I was incredibly (and maybe foolishly) optimistic in my hope that Lempicka would be our next Hamilton - a critical and commercial success guaranteed a lengthy run. But based on what I saw last night, I'm sad to say I don’t think either the critics or the general public will take fondly to this.
Critiques aside, I’m THRILLED to see this type of work on Broadway - especially during this season. No stunt casting, no page-to-screen-to-stage adapting, a queer love story, original music, diverse casting. Ironically and unfortunately, we’ve seen these traits be the exact reason(s) for a show’s closure in recent years so I hope Lempicka can prove otherwise. Regardless, I do plan to revisit post Opening as I believe this is a show that could greatly benefit from its preview period.
Updated On: 3/20/24 at 11:46 AM
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