Linda Eder at Carnegie, Woman in White, Jersey Boys

[Peter]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 4:21am

I'm back in CA after a whirlwind two day trip to NYC. For the most part, I enjoyed my visit. First the good news:

Ive seen many of the Broadway greats in concert over the years (Cook, LuPone, McDonald, Chenowith among them) but in my opinion, Linda Eder at Carnegie Hall gave one of the best performances I've ever seen. She has improved so much over the years as a performer and lyric interpreter. At the same time, unlike many other performers, she doesn't resort to a lot of unnecessary over-the-top physical histrionics, mannerisms or over-acting to sell songs.

The crowd went absolutely ecstatic over several numbers, delivering at least 8 nearly deafening standing ovations. Its so easy to lump Linda into the American Idolesque belter type that is currently in vogue to hate, and dismiss these ovations as reactions of a crazed belt-happy society, but they aren't really listening. Eder is one of the best belters ever IMO, but also has a soft, soprano side. It wasn't just the big belting numbers that everyone stood for...her reverential,prayerful "Always Chasing Rainbows/Over the Rainbow" and the understated, uplifting "Look for the Silver Lining" also received standing ovations. "The Man that Got Away" was especially heartbreaking. I had heard her sing this years ago, and her interpretation this time left me floored. What a difference.

I brought four other friends with me (one never heard her before, two had mixed feelings about her, and the other one was a fan, but no die-hard one). They all walked out of the theatre with the same reaction as me..like they just witnessed something even historic..Every one of them said it was one of the best concerts they've ever attended.

I also saw the Tuesday evening performance of Woman in White. I've occasionally defended ALW in the past, but this was a huge disappointment to me. It plays out like a dry, boring, British potboiler melodrama.

The first act is at least 15 minutes too long. Very little happens in scene after scene, the mystery element is very unsatisfying and the romantic element bland.

Only when the music rises to a characteristic ALW cinematic crescendo do you begin to hope for something/anything to happen. But that turns out to be a scene change. There are perhaps two or three good songs in the production, but it takes a whole hell of a lot of work to get there.

I will say that there are signs of potential here and there, but the conceptualization and focus of the show just doesn't mesh. The projections overpower the proceedings, but I found them the most original/groundbreaking element of the production. They might fit well into something like Tarzan perhaps. The acting and singing was fine with the exception of Michael Ball, who's over-the-top hammy performance left me thinking he's really trying too hard for a nomination.

The last show I saw (Wednesday matinee) was Jersey Boys. I wouldn't say this is one of my favorite shows ever, but it was enjoyable and vastly superior to Mamma Mia! in my opinion. The writing was sharp and funny and the show had an appealing nostalgic feel to it. All of the performances were excellent especially John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli. They actually do sound a lot like the original group so much so that a woman at intermission asked me if they were dubbing the original voices in..NO LIE! Everything works well in this production, but there are few truly transcendent moments. Still, it was a good show and very crowd-pleasing.





Updated On: 11/12/05 at 04:21 AM