Mack & Mabel City Center Encores!- Page 2

[barcelona20]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 10:13am

Saw it last night. Not a perfect show at all, but certainly entertaining with a great score.  Biggest problem is the book, especially how Mabel falls for Mack instantly, which I didn't understand at all.  Perhaps if Mack was cast differently and radiated "star" it would make a difference.  Alexandra's acting was remarkable as always. Enjoyed seeing Ben Fankhauser back on stage, even if he played a Newsie again for a brief moment haha.  Hope to see him on Broadway again soon.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 11:46am

Attended the 2/19 evening performance. Went in with little to no expectations. Familiar with some of the songs but none of the plot/characters. Left pleasantly surprised. Woke up this morning happy that I saw the production! Paid approx $60 for row G Mezz and loved the show so much more than I did paying $33 for Beetlejuice in the Orchestra! In fact, if I had the time I would go see Mack and Mabel a second time for $150 full price! Act one was a bit flawed for me as far as the story. I enjoyed the music and seeing the placement and origins of many songs I've heard countless times. Enjoyed the sets and choreography as well as the performances. By the end of act 1 I was not invested in the characters. I didn't care about them. At the end of act 2 I really had falling in love with Mack and Mabel. I wasn't upset about the ending (not saying what happened in case others reading this don't know) but I viewed it that she is now free. Loved the drop down tribute to Jerry Herman as the music played after the intermission. I am happy I went. I enjoyed it. Who cares if it is not "perfect" - just go enjoy it. This really is better than many productions that I've paid more for in the past few years and went in hoping for a great show! Encourage you to attend if you are in the fence about going.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 12:36pm

"Mack" really needed to be cast with a Star.  Sills sang the role amazingly -- but I never bought him as being romantically interested in Mabel.  James Naughton would have been perfect in the role. Peter Gallagher might also work. 

[forgetmenotnyc]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 12:40pm

I went into this only knowing the songs, so what a delight to see it all in context! I had of course heard of Mack Sennett & seen Keystone Cops but never even knew that Mabel Normand was a real actress who had achieved such success or that the story is told as a memory. (Loved the way Mack could present a scene as the way he wished it could have gone - sided with the reality of saying the wrong thing.)

I didn't have a hard time with Mack's somewhat cold character because he is what he was - a former Iron worker & actor who valued producing film comedy over romance. He clearly communicates it with his "I Won't Send Roses" when somewhat pushed into a fast relationship by Mabel & her Catholic upbringing demands. He is a controlling frugal sugar-daddy/narcissist who barks his direction - but she's not perfect either.

The film footage at the end was so well done, it very effectively presents Alexandra Socha with the expressive film face/Cupid bow lips that unfortunately we don't see earlier on on a big stage. (Wish it could be used in Act I & in its place at end some real Mable Normand footage the way true story movies do over closing credits?)

Lily Cooper as Lottie was spot-on great color-blind casting (unlike using Major Attaway for famous white actor 'Fatty' Arbuckle) but unfortunately has the joy of her 2nd act # "Tap Your Troubles Away" robbed by multilayered subtext.

Supporting cast have surprisingly little to do but Michael Berresse, Raymond Lee (should have been in Freddy/Evan Kasprzak's slot) & Ben Fankhauser stood out. "When Mable Comes in the Room" was the most moving # to me because we see all those people earlier really seeking to have Mable back (unlike other formula Jerry Herman title songs that sport admiration for its leading ladies in a way that always struck me a little less true than here.)

Using the Entr'acte to honor Jerry Herman with those 3 gold-framed beautiful portraits that came down (were those from the recent Memorial?) was impressive. I, also, liked the unusual for Encores open set utilizing the back wall of the stage & kinda making the orchestra less featured visually.

Updated On: 2/20/20 at 12:40 PM

[dave1606]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:21pm

I was there last night and thought that Alexandra Socha and Lili Cooper were both absolutely fantastic. 

I had more problems with Douglas Sills who I thought was nearly unintelligible for chunks of the show. The book does not help this but I also thought he did not have chemistry with Alexnadra Sohca. 

I never understood how these two characters fell in love as another poster mentioned.  However for whatever issues with the story I had, the score is just glorious. It sounded lovely with the Encores orchestra though I will say the OBC I listened to has such a brass presence I wish they had beefed up the brass more for this. Still the Entr'acte was an absolute highlight. 

I'm very glad to have seen it and there were some fantastic moments (Socha's "Wherever He Ain't, "When Mabel Comes Into the Room", and Lili Cooper's "Tap Your Troubles Away". 

 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:58pm

I was there last night but had to leave after the Entre Acte. Seeing those pictures of Jerry while that magnificent orchestra played his music had me bawling like a baby. Nothing at his Memorial affected me the way this did. Jerry and I had become friends and I miss him terribly.

Losing Jerry and Carol in less than a year is asking too much of this aging Dollypop.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 5:27am

Losing Jerry and Carol in less than a year is asking too much of this aging Dollypop.

Lovely sentiment expressed from the heart. As my late mother, not an educated woman, used to say, “How sad that people have to grow old.”

All the more so when you have entered that unfortunate group.

[broadfan327]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:46pm

I saw this Friday night.  I was not familiar with this musical at all except some of the songs.  I like and try to see old shows I have never seen.  I think the cast did the best they could, but the book hinders the show.  I didn't know Jerry Herman had a musical that was not generally upbeat, but the piece in the program I read before the show explained why it was a little darker than other of his shows.  The score of course was great, as well as the orchestra.  Douglas Sills had a line flub that was comedic.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 3:22am

I didn't have a bad time seeing the show but I didn't have a great time either. I enjoyed it the most when I tried to stop thinking of it as a coherent, compelling book musical and tried to think of it as a concert that happened to have some dialogue to string together the songs and fantastic dancing. I could get way too into it but even though it was performed exceptionally well, I don't think the book works. After seeing it, I have this whole idea of how to rewrite the book to more closely reflect the real lives of Mack and Mabel and use the songs in ways that would work better to tell the story. Right now there are all these great songs but they don't fit well with the story they're meant to support. Mack and Mabel are reduced to shallow, one-dimensional echoes of characters in other, better shows that are fighting against the plot they've been shoved into. There's Oscar and Lily from On the Twentieth Century, Annie and Frank from Annie Get Your Gun, every version of A Star is Born, etc. but the characterizations don't ring true in this plot. Knowing the details of their real lives explains some of why this doesn't work. 

I'm still glad I saw it though. The performances were fantastic vocally. The acting from the leads was fine but I felt like it suffered because the book doesn't make much sense so it's hard to mine much pathos from it. Lilli Cooper was a surprisingly standout. I didn't expect her character to have those big moments. And I have yet to be disappointed by Rob Berman.

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 8:49pm

I saw it last night and feel generally pretty mixed about it, although I thought it was well worth seeing. I liked Alexandra Socha and Douglas Sills both very much individually but they were poorly matched as a couple. Given that the book shows so little of their relationship, the only way it might work is if they had remarkable chemistry, which they decidedly did not, in my opinion.

A few questions for anyone who knows the show well:

How close is this production to the original book? Has anything of substance been cut or revised?

Has the “overture” always been performed as an entr’acte, or was that just for this production?

[yfs]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 10:57pm

This production is pretty close to the original book. There have been many small revisions, but anyone who saw the original in '74 (as I did) would probably be hard-put to identify them. Some of the narration is new, and a few telling individual lines have been added. They all add up to a modest attempt to improve the believability of the romance, but they'e not earth-shattering. The Keystone Kop ballet was in the original but cut before Broadway, restored for the production at Paper Mill Playhouse. 

The "overture" from the cast album has always been the entr'acte in the actual show. Gower Champion, who directed and choreographed the original, had a thing against overtures. Among his shows, Bye, Bye Birdie, Carnival, Dolly, Mack & Mabel and 42nd Street all lack proper overtures. Not sure about the others. 

[EdEval]

Posted: 2/23/20 at 2:39pm

A black Fatty Arbuckle  doesn't matter.  It is NOT the character of the real person Roscoe Arbuckle but the character he played, "Fatty"  and with that is opened to any to the creators of what they want.  The actpr who played him did a splendid job,

 

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 2/23/20 at 3:33pm

I went to the Saturday matinee and decided to see it again tonight at 7. Love the score and all in the current cast.

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 2/23/20 at 8:34pm

Caught this afternoon’s performance and was so glad to see it after loving the score for many years.

Not much to add. The book is the problem. The score is wonderful. The cast was great. We had no trouble hearing every word.

We were reflecting back, when everyone in an Encores show carried script in hand, which makes it an impressive feat when everyone is off book.

The orchestra sounded great. If it were running longer, I would return to see it again.

[Skip23]

Posted: 2/23/20 at 10:52pm

I agree about the lack of chemistry between the leads.

 

Here, Sills comes across too light.  Not gay but not "heavy".  I would have liked a sterner presence.  Howard McGillin?  Raul Esparza?

 

And she has the 2 best songs in the show but Socha didn't impress IMHO.  Needed a gutsier delivery.  

 

I actually kept interested in the plot.  And those songs!  Every one solid and several classics.  And those orchestrations!!!  Lush, full, exciting, dramatic, surprising.  

 

Thought the Director, Josh Rhodes, did a fine job organizing everything.  Just didn't think he "got" the Keystone Cops number.  Maybe he never watched their schtick.   Tap Your Troubles Away was fine. 

 

As for the casting of some key supporting roles....nuff said...

 

 

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/23/20 at 10:56pm

I was hesitating about buying a ticket to this since it didn't fit super well into my schedule, but I just saw the final show today and I'm SO glad I did.  As others have mentioned the cast was incredible and I especially loved Alexandra Socha as Mabel, who I thought actually had quite a bit of chemistry with Douglas Sills despite the book giving them very little to work with.

I was actually surprised at how cohesive the book was, far from the worst book in a show imho (Summer comes to mind, and I think the book here is far better than Phantom's).  I don't know too much about this show outside of the Jack Viertel bit, but I thought the book was at least serviceable.  The worst part would probably be how much is glossed over through time skips (or jump cuts, I suppose), including the part where Mack and Mabel actually fall in love.  But overall I found it a pretty compelling show, though the music definitely does a lot of work in moving it along.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/23/20 at 11:03pm

Really enjoyed this. It’s by far Jerry Herman’s best score. However I definitely see why it didn’t keep. Act 2 is a mess dramatically. The darkness of the story is interrupted with all these jolly production numbers. When Mabel Comes In the Room, the Keystone Cops number, and Tap Your Troubles Away seemed like a different musical than the central story of Mack and Mabel.

i didn’t think Socha and Sills had much chemistry. Socha had stronger chemistry with Michael Berresse (Desmond a Taylor) and Ben Fankhouser (Frank). Mack and Mabel never seemed like more than a business relationship. 
 

however the score was so strong, by far the best Jerry Herman ever wrote and both Sills and Socha delivered muisicaly. Production also was less half baked than the usual Encores! I could listen to the songs over and over again. 

[bk]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 1:27pm

If they're off book, Encores must be on an entirely different contract for the actors.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 1:45pm

Encores operates under a special Equity agreement. 

[Pashacar]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 4:59pm

poisonivy2 said: "Production also was less half baked than the usual Encores! I could listen to the songs over and over again."

A lot's been said here, but I want to really echo this. I found it majorly impressive how full of a staging this was -- so polished, multiple costume and set changes, and everyone entirely off book, including an impactful Sills who had A LOT to memorize.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 5:29pm

Pashacar said: "Matt Rogers said: "I was at the invited dress and I'm sorry but I really did not care for this at all.

This is the first production of the musicalhave seen, although I am familiar with it.

Thre orchestra is fantastic, as should be expected, and the Jerry Herman songs are wonderful, but for a show called Mack and Mabel, there is zero chemistry between the actors playing Mack and Mabel.

I don't know if the character of Mack is supposed to come off as almost an anti-hero, but he does in this production and is pretty unlikeable. Mabel barely registered for me.

The staging is just very messy.

Overall, i just didn't care about these characters as portrayed by these actors and there was an amateur feel to the whole thing that I don't usually get from Encores stagings.

Maybe it will gel in future performances. I hope it does and wish them well."

Oh boy, it'sa bummer to hear all that. This is known for having the worst book of a musical in history, and I think some of the issues you discuss with Mack and the two leads' chemistry are part ofwhat's earned it that reputation, but it sounds like there's more amiss here than just that."

Having seen the original production, I would have to ask what you expected?  It was a monumental failure, despite the great score.  The show was cold as ice, the book was terrible, the solid direction and choreography didn't matter because the entire audience was stultifyingly bored because of the rotten book and unsympathetic male lead in particular.  IMO this was one where they never should have attempted a semi-full staging, because the book was going to make it a non-starter.  They should have just performed a concert, perhaps with a narrator, maybe even covering why the show failed so miserably.

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 5:33pm

qolbinau said: "“The worst book”? Really? Worse than Anyone Can Whistle, Dear World, Carrie or 50% of the musicals written in the last 5 years? (no pun intended)."

I did not see Carrie, but the book was MUCH worse than the others you mentioned.  The audience virtually sat on its hands during the curtain call.  I have not seen as embarrassing curtain call for the cast (especially since one of the leads was a major star and the other was the one ray of sunshine I would associate with that production) in 45 years...and it was ALL because of the book.  It torpedoed everything else.

 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 5:37pm

Jarethan said: 

Having seen the original production, I would have to ask what you expected? It was a monumental failure, despite the great score. The show was cold as ice, the book was terrible, the solid direction and choreography didn't matter because the entire audience was stultifyingly bored because of the rotten book and unsympathetic male lead in particular. IMO this was one where they never should have attempted a semi-full staging, because the book was going to make it a non-starter. They should have just performed a concert, perhaps with a narrator, maybe even covering why the show failed so miserably.

 

"

Well ... isn't the point of Encores! to revive musicals that have worthy scores but for one reason or another are not viable as long-term B'way runs? A lot of musicals have great scores and very problematic books -- Merrily We Roll Along is one. I'm still really glad I got to see the songs of Mack and Mabel in context in a staged production, even though I could see why this closed so quickly -- Act 2 in particular falls apart dramatically as one dance number after another clashes with the actual dark, depressing storyline. 

[bk]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 8:45pm

Kad said: "Encores operates under a special Equity agreement."

Yes, I understand that.  But that special contract requires the holding of books, or at least it did in the past - what's changed?

[yfs]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 9:37pm

What's changed is the contract -- which, like all other theatrical contracts, is re-negotiated every few years. This is hardly the first Encores in which the actors didn't carry books. There is a note in the Playbill saying that it is a concert production in which the actors "may" be carrying books".