#1
Posted: 8/14/05 at 11:34am
LENNON Review
LENNON, the new “show” that opens at Broadways Broadhurst Theatre today, has soul, spirit, and a cast of extremely talented individuals. Sadly, the show, which is at its heart a John Lennon bio-epic concert, is harmless, semi-biased, and a completely thoughtless romp.
From Mister Lennon’s teenage years, to his first child and forgettable (or so it is portrayed here) first marriage, his Beatle days, marriage to Yoko Ono (who does indeed have plenty of influence in this work), birth of child number two, political activism, and his untimely death; this pre packaged event covers it all. The role of John Lennon however, is portrayed at one time or another during the shows simple two hours, by all nine superbly gifted performers male and female alike. As able as these stars may be, the concept is not only jarring, but void of any impact that may otherwise have become obvious. What is worse is that the majority of the Lennon playing time is given to two of the shows gifted stars, leaving the audience perplexed as to why the others need to take on the persona of John boy. After all, the other characters in his life are portrayed by only one individual throughout. A statement of some sort? Maybe! But rather a strident decision that only exemplifies this works mediocrity.
If mediocrity rue the majority, it is even more shameful then that the majority of the talent here is extremely underused. Yes indeed, Chad Kimball (late of last seasons clunker “Good Vibrations”) and especially Will Chase (from “Aida” and “The Full Monty”) turn in rewarding vocal performances and do the best Lennon impersonations of the bunch; but, the rest of the cast which includes the likes of Terrance Mann, Julia Murney, and Mandy Gonzalez are more wasted than not. Yes indeed, each get their chance to shine with their own song snippet in the ballad heavy act two, but that is not nearly enough. And while the majority of the talent on stage is strong, it is quite obvious that Julie Danao-Salkin (most notably as Ono) and Michael Potts have neither the acting chops nor the vocal prowess to match the rest of the cast.
The concept of a Lennon Musical may have worked. His story is extremely interesting and could and should be paralleled with today’s society. Unfortunately the parallels are all but missing and this concert version of Lennon’s life is far from musical theatre. What is left is a gripping and obviously hard working ensemble backed by a rather loud orchestra performing in a hodge-podge and entirely forgettable event. Under better direction than what Don Scardino (who also wrote the story – which pretty much says it all right there) brings to the piece, and even more reworking (especially with Natasha Katz’ in your face lighting design) and less help from outside sources – “Lennon” could be something good. And while this audience member certainly is thrilled that hard work still exists on Broadway, the actual, visible “working” at this point should not exist, and in “Lennon” it indeed still does.
LENNON, the new “show” that opens at Broadways Broadhurst Theatre today, has soul, spirit, and a cast of extremely talented individuals. Sadly, the show, which is at its heart a John Lennon bio-epic concert, is harmless, semi-biased, and a completely thoughtless romp.
From Mister Lennon’s teenage years, to his first child and forgettable (or so it is portrayed here) first marriage, his Beatle days, marriage to Yoko Ono (who does indeed have plenty of influence in this work), birth of child number two, political activism, and his untimely death; this pre packaged event covers it all. The role of John Lennon however, is portrayed at one time or another during the shows simple two hours, by all nine superbly gifted performers male and female alike. As able as these stars may be, the concept is not only jarring, but void of any impact that may otherwise have become obvious. What is worse is that the majority of the Lennon playing time is given to two of the shows gifted stars, leaving the audience perplexed as to why the others need to take on the persona of John boy. After all, the other characters in his life are portrayed by only one individual throughout. A statement of some sort? Maybe! But rather a strident decision that only exemplifies this works mediocrity.
If mediocrity rue the majority, it is even more shameful then that the majority of the talent here is extremely underused. Yes indeed, Chad Kimball (late of last seasons clunker “Good Vibrations”) and especially Will Chase (from “Aida” and “The Full Monty”) turn in rewarding vocal performances and do the best Lennon impersonations of the bunch; but, the rest of the cast which includes the likes of Terrance Mann, Julia Murney, and Mandy Gonzalez are more wasted than not. Yes indeed, each get their chance to shine with their own song snippet in the ballad heavy act two, but that is not nearly enough. And while the majority of the talent on stage is strong, it is quite obvious that Julie Danao-Salkin (most notably as Ono) and Michael Potts have neither the acting chops nor the vocal prowess to match the rest of the cast.
The concept of a Lennon Musical may have worked. His story is extremely interesting and could and should be paralleled with today’s society. Unfortunately the parallels are all but missing and this concert version of Lennon’s life is far from musical theatre. What is left is a gripping and obviously hard working ensemble backed by a rather loud orchestra performing in a hodge-podge and entirely forgettable event. Under better direction than what Don Scardino (who also wrote the story – which pretty much says it all right there) brings to the piece, and even more reworking (especially with Natasha Katz’ in your face lighting design) and less help from outside sources – “Lennon” could be something good. And while this audience member certainly is thrilled that hard work still exists on Broadway, the actual, visible “working” at this point should not exist, and in “Lennon” it indeed still does.
