MAME (Kennedy Center) reviews

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:08pm

Wondering if the likelihood of its transferring are kaput...

Ben Brantley, New York Times:

IT first slides onto the stage about five minutes into the Kennedy Center's brightly polished revival of "Mame," which opened Thursday night in a production starring Christine Baranski that manages to be lively and listless at the same time. Curved, sleek, shimmering and impossibly tall, with about two dozen steps ascending toward heaven, this is no mere staircase. It is a shrine, and she who rules the staircase, descending to a chorus of peppy hosannas, is a goddess. Worship her with a racing heart and misty eyes, devoted theatergoer, or you might as well not bother to be at this particular ceremony.

That was always the formula at the heart of the Jerry Herman musical "Mame" — adapted from the Patrick Dennis novel, "Auntie Mame," about a high-living Manhattan bohemian who assumes the upbringing of her orphaned nephew — as it was for Mr. Herman's earlier (and better) exercise in apotheosis, "Hello, Dolly!," another show with an immortal staircase. "Mame," which rejuvenated the stage career of Angela Lansbury when she starred in the Broadway production in 1966, and K.O.'d the film career of Lucille Ball when she unwisely took on the movie version, is above all a religious celebration of the seasoned female actress, the kind who proves that style, stamina and spidery eyelashes can trump youth and beauty any day.

Though the myth of such a glorious creature is dear to those who celebrate the mysteries of old-time Broadway, she hasn't been spotted on big-city stages much of late, suggesting that this musical-comedy goddess may now firmly belong to the past. But if you were looking for a likely candidate to resurrect this shiny dinosaur, Ms. Baranski, a Tony- and Emmy-winning actress of glittering eccentricity and drop-dead timing, would seem to be an excellent place to start. Yet from the moment she comes into view at the top of that staircase, blowing a bugle and dressed to thrill, she seems reluctant to grab the mantle once worn by stars like Ms. Lansbury and Carol Channing and Ethel Merman.

It's not that she can't negotiate those coiling stairs with serpentine grace (and in really high heels too) or dance, when required, with sinuous expertise. Her way with a withering putdown is peerless. Vocally, she may be the most accomplished Mame ever, lending enriching shades of jazz and jive and torch to her character's solos. And with a bright blond wig capping her majestically long face, she is certainly an eyeful, encouraging us to imagine how Marilyn Monroe might have looked as painted by Modigliani.

But even as this Mame is exhorting the people around her to "live, live, live" and gorge themselves on the banquet of life, you have a feeling that the inner Christine Baranski is standing back just a bit and rolling her eyes. That life force that Mame is supposed to embody is a steamroller in overdrive. She cannot, for a second, be self-conscious, or the illusion of her divinity falls. And self-consciousness, which often takes the form of deliciously wry self-commentary, has been Ms. Baranski's stock in trade. Which leaves a gifted actress trying to create a layered symphony out of a trumpet blast of a role, amid a deluxe production (directed with custodial reverence by Eric Schaeffer) that wants only to be merry and bright.

In the 1950's — which saw Dennis's novel, a stage version and film adaptation (both starring Rosalind Russell) produced in swift succession — Auntie Mame became a symbol of high sophistication for mainstream audiences. Though she consumed great quantities of bootleg liquor and had romances with decidedly suspicious men, it was always clear that a maternal heart and moral soul resided beneath the dazzle. For all her supposed disdain of the bourgeoisie, Mame has always been the kind of madcap relative that middle-class families love to have, if only to tell anecdotes about.

And the Mame of "Mame" is essentially a figure in a long-running series of anecdotes. (Remember the time she served pickled python and sheep spleen as hors d'oeuvres? How about when she sent her little nephew to that nudist school?) The gentle shock value of such stories has long since worn away, of course, revealing a sugary sentimentality beneath the brittleness. For the show to work now (if indeed that is possible), its star must seem to take charge of the production, as Mame takes charge of her life, with an energy that refuses to quit.

In the first act, in particular, set just before and during the Great Depression, Ms. Baranski's Mame registers as oddly passive, like an Anita Loos jazz baby waiting for something momentous to happen rather than making it happen herself. Her speaking voice tends to either Marilynesque breathiness or Greer Garson orotundity, reserved for when Mame is revealing her noble love for her young nephew, Patrick (Harrison Chad). (When they sing the Oedipal duet, "My Best Girl," her aching sincerity sounds like a put-on.) She seems to be changing attitudes almost as often as she changes costumes (designed as a fey Hollywood wife's dream wardrobe by Gregg Barnes), never quite locating a bedrock of character beneath.

This "Mame" certainly looks entertainingly expensive, in an old-fashioned way, from its Art Deco sets (Walt Spangler) to its vast ensemble, which the choreographer Warren Carlyle keeps busy with crowd-pleasing kick lines, cake walks and Charlestons to adorn Mr. Herman's insistent toe-tapper songs. But without a white-hot core of conviction at its center, the production starts to seem as quaint as the operetta in which Mame, having fallen on hard times, makes a brief and disastrous appearance.

Fortunately the leading lady of that operetta is the alcohol-pickled Vera Charles, Mame's best friend, who is played by Harriet Harris with an inspired understanding of what a stage star of the 20's might have been like. The throaty gutsiness she brings to the role almost erases memories of Bea Arthur's great performance in the same part. And Ms. Baranski is never more at ease than when she and Ms. Harris swap putdowns (a skill Ms. Baranski honed on the sitcom "Cybill").

The cast also includes Emily Skinner, a wonderful actress who never quite makes the role of the hapless Agnes Gooch her own here; an appealingly virile Jeff McCarthy as Mame's Southern gentleman beau; and Max von Essen, who sings with melodic earnestness as the grown-up Patrick.

And of course, Ms. Baranski being Ms. Baranski, she provides some tasty off-center details to savor, from her eye-openingly strident pronunciation of Ito (the name of Mame's Japanese manservant, played by Alan Muraoka) to her way of sliding her head to one side, eyes lowered, to express amused contempt. On the other hand that last mannerism is perhaps too sly for a character with the go-ahead gusto of Mame. For all her technical skill and natural charm, Ms. Baranski never brings the sheer conviction to her part that would make it the show's irresistible center of gravity.




http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/theater/reviews/02mame.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Updated On: 6/1/06 at 11:08 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:13pm

Eh, I just have a feeling Brantley's being a little too over-protective of this gem.

The public has seemed to like it so far.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:13pm

Associated Press:

The humming and the toe-tapping — not to mention the head-bobbing — begin as soon as the overture starts.


And you know the tune — a jaunty melody that refused to leave your brain the first time you heard it more than a few eons ago. We're talking about the magnolia-scented title song from "Mame," the 1966 Jerry Herman musical being revived by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a summer run through July 2.


If anything can put a musical-theater audience in a good frame of mind, it's greeting an old favorite, particularly one you've probably sung in the shower. And that sense of benevolence is a plus while attending this unsurprising and extra-campy version of the venerable musical, starring Christine Baranski.


It may have been too much to expect a radical re-examination such as the current Broadway revival of "Sweeney Todd," which features the cast playing instruments, or a production carefully tailored to showcase the talents of its star, such as the Roundabout Theatre Company's take on "The Pajama Game," starring Harry Connick Jr.


Director Eric Schaeffer doesn't mess much with this "Mame," although Baranski certainly is an unusual choice to portray Beekman Place's most ardent spokeswoman for upper-crust hedonism who finds her maternal side.


Baranski, her blond hair bobbed in a stylish flip, can be a brilliant, brittle, brusque performer, adept at the sly comment, the cutting comic remark. Those qualities are more readily found in Mame's boozy sidekick, Vera Charles. So the actress is working against type. It takes a while to warm up to her. And her Mame has a grand, self-conscious accent — one that fortunately disappears when she sings, which the actress does with surprising strength.


Mame Dennis has a lot in common with Dolly Gallagher Levi, the heroine of Herman's earlier behemoth musical, "Hello, Dolly!" They are two strong women, able to get their way thanks to a little connivence — not to mention finding a little romance along the way.


In Mame's case, however, the real love of her life is her young nephew, Patrick, the repository for her philosophy of seizing the moment or as Herman puts it in one of his other catchy songs, "Open a New Window."


The 40-year-old show may show its age a bit, but the cast doesn't creak. It works hard. Sometimes too hard to land the jokes that pepper the sturdy, overstuffed book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, based on their play, which, in turn, was adapted from a 1950s best seller.


As Vera, Harriet Harris is an accomplished, often zany comedian, as anyone who has seen her in a Paul Rudnick comedy can affirm. Here though, less would be more, particularly in "The Moon Song," a silly faux-operetta number done in by being more overdone than usual.


Ironically, some of the best moments in the show are the quiet ones — Mame dueting with young Patrick (an appealing Harrison Chad) and then with lad's older version, a robust singer named Max von Essen, for example. And Jeff McCarthy has a strong, calming if brief presence as Mame's Southern beau.


Emily Skinner, as the put-upon and eventually pregnant Agnes Gooch, gets her laughs as do a variety of minor supporting players, particularly Mary Stout as Mother Burnside, the Confederacy's mother-in-law from hell.


Baranski, looking fabulously sleek in Gregg Barnes' stylish costumes, moves well. That's a plus since choreographer Warren Carlyle has his large chorus up and about in most of Herman's big numbers.


And it's that irrepressible title song that gets the audience sighing and wishing it would go on forever. "Mame" has a confidence, a sense of self that few of today's musicals possess. It's a comfortable show that remains just that in this revival — comfortable if not exactly transporting.







http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/01/entertainment/e183831D04.DTL
Updated On: 6/1/06 at 11:13 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:16pm

Yeah, transfer chances just dropped considerably.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:19pm

Unless perhaps they recast the title role, which is I suppose a possibility. We've long argued that even if she were brilliant in the role, Baranski probably wouldn't have enough clout to sell out the show.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:24pm

How about Lucie as "Mame"? Arnaz that is.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:24pm

Double post.

Updated On: 6/1/06 at 11:24 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:28pm

I don't think she'd sell tickets, though, either. I mean honestly? I don't think you are going to have MAME on Broadway again without a Catherine Zeta Jones or an Annette Bening. It just demands a world class star to be commercial for mainstream audiences on Broadway.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:32pm

I wish Liza was in shape.
Updated On: 6/1/06 at 11:32 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:36pm

Annette B or Catherine ZJ would be BRILLANT in the role of Mame.

I'm seeing the show on the closing weekend and I'm so looking forward to seeing it.

So much has been written about this show on this board and others........bad stuff and good. I don't feed into these people who "know it all" when it comes to Broadway shows. The only thing that any theatre goer cares about is enjoying themselves at the theatre. I never go into any show with any preconceptions as to how I'm supposed to like it or not, because I read on a message board that so and so and such and such said, etc.....

I'm sure we've all experienced people who say, "Yeah, but the reviews weren't that good. I'm not going to see it."

Can Christine Baranski hold her own and sell out a Broadway version of "Mame?" Who knows?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:36pm

Again Bentley's review is more about the history of the show and how he thinks it should be done than the actual Production.
I think from what he does say The Show sounds like it might be a crowd pleaser.
What the Hell was Ben doing in Washington anyway?
Did he go just to spoil the chances of a transfer?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:42pm

Better to know he doesn't like it now, than to spend millions to get it to NYC to have it get negative reviews there...

I don't think Brantley is trying to spoil anyone's enjoyment of MAME. But for a show to be revived in a major production like this, there should be a concrete reason. He seems to be illustrating, why for him, this revival doesn't make a compelling case for bringing back MAME. You can take that or leave it as you wish.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:52pm

Valid point Michael B.
I just think I know very little about this production from his review other then He doesn't like some of MS. Baranski's mannerisms.
Yes, She needs to be the Reason D'Arte, so to speak, but what about the production values and the rest of the cast?
He seems to like those, but tosses them away.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:58pm

Almost every show on Broadway has a great cast and great production values. That's not enough...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:06am

Another Good point Mikey B.
But remember Ben thought SIDESHOW had the goods (so did I)
but look what happened to it.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:08am

Well, finding the balance between audience tastes and critical acclaim is the holy grail of musical theatre...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:13am

Well than we should do a Musical about finding the Holy Grail....
oh, nevermind.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:15am

CPD,

Good one.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:20am

kuchwara's review was at least more intelligently written. brantley just seemed to be whining because it wasn't "his vision" of mame.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:26am

Definitely agree AP...seemed like a lot of personal opinions, didn't seem to be objective at all. But what did you expect?

[apdarcey]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:33am

peter marks of the washington post is up. i'm too lazy to copy.

www.washingtonpost.com

in the style section

hig tag-line: "Please Ms. Baranski: relax and be a star."

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:33am

It's been so obvious to everyone that Baranski is Vera and not Mame. Well, obvious to everyone except Baranski. Or, maybe not. I mean, it has been said she KNOWS she's Vera but wanted to prove that she could also be Mame, having already been variations of Vera before. But still. Theater queens everywhere hate to say "We told you so, but..."

[Carefree-Existence]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:36am

The Washington Post Review is Out As Well...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102056.html

I must say that I am not surprised about the response to Baranski. The night I saw it I found her to be slightly unsettled. But I don't believe that she won't find her way into the role as performances progress. I have to say however that of anything, I think her voice isn't nearly strong enough for the role. Her "Boy With The Bugle" was quite underwhelming.

What I wish the reviews had spoken more to- Warren Carlyle's brilliant choreography. If anything this show needs to go to Broadway just to showcase his work. Broadway has lacked in dance for the last several years- and this ensemble and choreography have created the tightest and most thrilling dance show I have seen in years. Step aside Jerry Mitchell. Warren Carlyle has arrived and he knows what Broadway needs.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:37am

Oh, Namo, you saw it?

[Carefree-Existence]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:47am

You know who I think might be an interesting Mame...not that she is a big enough draw- Megan Mullaly. Think about it...if not atleast it would be funny to see her playing Karen Walker as Vera Charles. I'd kill to see Christine Ebersole as Mame on Broadway- but that will never happen.

Really the only 2 women with enough star power to play Mame are Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand. And I highly doubt they'll be setting foot on a Broadway stage any time soon.