MAME (Kennedy Center) reviews- Page 2

[FindingNamo]

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

I'm not speaking for myself. I'm summarizing the results of the theater queen focus groups they should've had; the results they would have gotten had they held them.

Similar focus groups would have also revealed the following:

* "Rosie, Taboo is an OFF-Broadway show, open it there and it will more than re-coup"

* "Lestat producers, some things are better left undead"

* "No one will go see Barefoot in the Park ever, but ESPECIALLY with that cast"

* "Yes, we know Ali McGraw sounds like a good idea on paper"

* "Don't listen to Suzanne Somers when she tells you she's a gay icon, they will NOT be coming to that show"

Etc.

Updated On: 6/2/06 at 12:47 AM

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:49am

First of all, it's obvious from his review that Brantley is disdainful of the show Mame, not just THIS production...ANY production. He just doesn't like it.

Marks, on the other hand, has a true reverence for this musical. His review is quite positive. (He even gives Ms. Baranski a break, allowing that she has had very few previews in which to settle into the role).


Washington Post Review by Peter Marks

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:50am

And here's The Washington Times:

"With "Mame," Miss Baranski once again steps into a role originated by actress Angela Lansbury. This time around she does not reinvent the part of the glamorous auntie, but instead gives a nod to all the Mames that came before her.

Miss Baranski's effortless sophistication and slinky figure make this the most youthful Mame in recent memory. Her distinctive, drop-dead way with a line -- the manner in which she pronounces the name of her Asian butler, Ito (Alan Muraoka), is itself worth the price of admission, and the witty delicacy of her double takes are happily abundant in this 40th anniversary production, directed with show-stopper dynamism by Signature Theatre artistic director Eric Schaeffer. "

http://washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20060601-092723-3753r.htm

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:56am

From the Washington Times review:

"Combining wicked drollery with a gift for physical comedy, Miss Harris puts you in mind of Lynn Fontanne crossed with Mercedes McCambridge."

I think my head just exploded trying to imagine that.......

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:00am

I'm sorry, but Jayne Blanchard of the Washington Times should be ashamed of herself. "Alice" Skinner? (She's confusing Emily Skinner with her Siamese twin, Alice Ripley?) And then calling Mame's nephew, "Dennis"?

I mean, REALLY! Couldn't she at least consult her program?

How can you trust anything she says now????

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:01am

At least her review is a rave.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:12am

Sorry.

Updated On: 6/2/06 at 01:12 AM

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:13am

I want my raves from people who don't sound stupid. Is that too much to ask? (Although I guess a "stupid rave" is better than no rave at all...or is it?)?

Namo, I wish I could participate in focus groups like that. Of course, the REAL results could never be as entertaining as those that came trippingly off your tongue.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:27am

"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."

Well, he lover her mannerisms as Mrs. Lovett, a role in which some people thought she was as wrong as could be. (Though it seems that Sondheim loved her.)

"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."

Well, without Mame, what is Mame? And he didn't like Skinner much, and that's an important role. Mame is not such a great show that it can afford flawed performances in two of the three major female roles. (I'm speaking in the sense of Brantley finding them flawed.)

OTOH, by all accounts it took Lansbury a while out of town to fulfill the role. Baranski might grow into it yet, but this review surely makes it seem unlikely that she'll do that growing in New York.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 8:27am

Okay, and I'm going to be catty. Looking at the pictures from all the reviews, they've got to lose that terrible dynel wig they've got on Baranski. No wonder she can't find the role, she's buried in plastic Barbie doll hair.

Here's the mixed review in VARIETY:


http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930704?categoryid=1265&cs=1 Updated On: 6/2/06 at 08:27 AM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 8:35am

Couple of pertinent highlights from Variety:

"Considering Jerry Herman's adoration for his leading ladies, a giant staircase custom-built for grand diva entrances seems almost a requirement of his shows. In the Kennedy Center's opulently appointed revival of "Mame," that staircase glides around to become a gateway to the world opened up by its ineffably worldly title character. There's plenty here to entice Broadway musical nostalgists, including a whole catalog of vintage-modern decor, more costume changes than a CherCher concert and enough beading to blind entire nations of garment workers -- not to mention a robust orchestra and a populous ensemble. What's lacking is heart."

"Christine Baranski delivers Mame's madcap spirit and the droll remove from a mundane world of dreary practicality, and she becomes a persuasive cultural guru to her impressionable charge. But she neglects to become a surrogate mother."

"With a blond bob and a svelte figure that makes her an elegant clotheshorse, Baranski looks the part, and she manages both vocal and dance duties with aplomb. She's an accomplished comic actress who can do deadpan disdain with the best of 'em, and her Mame seems sardonically detached from everyone in her orbit, which works except in the case of Patrick. Baranski does a fine job with the show's most heartfelt song, "If He Walked Into My Life." But her failure to etch a deep emotional bond with the boy who's grown up in her care robs her sudden loss of its poignancy."

"Baranski seems a more natural fit for Mame's archly theatrical, booze-sodden friend Vera Charles. That casting, however, would deny auds the amusement of Harriet Harris in the role. Shooting glowering double takes while wincing at the noise and movement going on around her and demonstrating the precarious balance of a habitual drunk, her Vera strikes an irresistible balance between the imperious but hammy grande dame of the theater and the blowsy old soak."

"Changing costumes onstage to become a lady astronomer in an ill-begotten "modern operetta," Harris makes Vera's "The Moon Song" one of the show's high points. Whether glaring at a chorine who momentarily upstages her or shuddering with mortification when Mame derails the performance by having a vertigo attack while suspended on a crescent moon, Harris is priceless."

"But not even she is immune to the show's overall sluggishness, particularly in some of the creaky book scenes. Dialogue that should zing and pop frequently becomes flat, laden with unnecessary pauses. From the first big number, "It's Today," it's clear that director Eric Schaeffer needs to lean harder on the accelerator; at nearly three hours, the show's second act especially starts to drag."

"While Herman reportedly has made cuts, further pruning wouldn't have hurt. Mame's song "That's How Young I Feel," which occurs during her visit to the Connecticut home of Patrick's bigoted fiancee, stops the plot. It seems dropped in merely to allow for another of choreographer Warren Carlyle's determinedly boisterous dance numbers. Conception of big production numbers like the title song and "Open a New Window" is solid, but execution generally could be a fraction tighter."

"There's some grating overacting in the large cast (of 36), making the more understated work of Emily Skinner as Patrick's frumpy nanny Agnes all the more pleasing. She does a lovely job with "Gooch's Song," an endearingly befuddled account of how Mame's exhortation to "Live, live, live!" has resulted in Agnes returning pregnant six months later. Max von Essen is an appealing, smooth-voiced presence as the college-age Patrick."

"Music director James Moore leads the 22-piece orchestra with verve, making Herman's terrific score and witty lyrics the main attraction. Even if the match of Baranski and la Dennis doesn't build an urgent case for bringing the show back to Broadway after a 23-year absence, "Mame" retains its share of sparkling pleasures."

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 8:42am

Saw Christine Ebersole as 'Mame' at the PaperMill Playhouse in NJ. Kelly Bishop (original Sheila in 'A Chorus Line', now Emily on the 'Gilmore Girls') was her Vera. They were a terrific pair, but with Ebersole bringing 'Grey Gardens' to Broadway in the fall, the timing seems poor.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 9:13am

I agree with a lot of what the Variety article says. "That's How Young I Feel" was the low-point for me. And I did feel that some of the "minor" parts were over-acted.

But neither of these things detracted from my overall enjoyment of the show.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 9:51am

I love the idea of a 22-piece orchestra. I'm looking forward to seeing this in a couple of weeks.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 9:54am

i'm looking forward to seeing it too...and seeing the person who i am seeing it with! (did that make sense?)

[Christoph]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 10:16am

This is a very good example of why I never read critics reviews before seeing a show. Reading some of these, I might have refrained from seeing this show and missed a perfectly sterling evening out with a first-rate leading lady. To term the show "listless" is incredible as the enthusiasm and high energy of the cast translates so well to the audience. While I think Baranski is better in the softer songs than the ones that require belting, one thing that did amaze me was the warmth generated in her performance and the chemistry with young Harrison Chad. The fact that so few critics have been able to pick up on this I feel is more a fault on their part than the performers, as the audience appeared to have no problem warming to this cast. And Emily Skinner owned the Gooch role by the time "Gooch's Song" was performed. I have been attending performances in DC for more than 25 years and have only been present at a handful of standing ovations. This was one of the few productions where audience members jumped to their feet at the end and gave a rousing and lengthy ovation. Such a shame if New York audiences are denied this experience, but I guess DC theatergoers have the rare opportunity to be lucky in this case.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 10:25am

who's the lucky guy Without?

[MCfan2]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 11:23am

Well, I've got my tickets for the nosebleed section next Sunday, Brantley or no Brantley! :) I haven't been to a live show in a while now, and it sounds like fun, and my family and I just decided to go. I'll let you know what this amateur thinks of it!

[philcrosby]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 11:31am

The reviews all seem to hammer home the same point, that Ms. B wasn't a "revelation" in the role. Like Lansbury at its premiere, perhaps?

Considering that the show is almost a sell-out and receiving it is getting standing ovations at every performance (a rarity in DC), perhaps it is connecting better with audiences than the critics.

I am tremendously excited about seeing it next week!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 11:33am

I really hope they decide to transfer this production to Broadway. Bad reviews certainly didn't seem to stop "Hot Feet" from moving onto Broadway.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 11:43am

"Bad reviews certainly didn't seem to stop "Hot Feet" from moving onto Broadway.".

Or"Lestat" either....


Anyway, I hope this show either makes it to NY or goes out on tour.

Who coaxed the blues right out of the horn? Mame!

[Musical Director]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 11:48am

Speaking of Christine Ebersole, I did a production of MAME with her at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2000, and she was brilliant. I think that she is this generation's Angela Lansbury. She can do ANYTHING! She is a great idea for the Boradway revival. She can sing, dance, and act. She is the most versatile singing actress on Broadway today...

[philcrosby]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 12:59pm

If I remember correctly, Ebersole's reviews were similar to Baranski's weren't they? Good but not glowing?

[apdarcey]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:05pm

i think contrary to lestat and hot feet, this show will sell and be a crowd-pleaser without glowing critical remarks.


ebersole would be great. but i feel that given a transfer opportunity so will baranski.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 3:16pm

Ebersole's reviews were not great, though some were better than others. At least some of the critics blamed Robert Johanson's direction.