#1
Posted: 4/20/06 at 2:25pm
I hadn't planned to post these, but after getting several PMs inquiring as to my opinion of these shows, I figured it would be easier to just put them in a thread, rather than responding to everyone individually. Read on if you care to and take my opinions for what they're worth (they and $2 will get you on the subway.....):
DROWSY CHAPERONE
Drowsy was fun. It's simply a celebration of the joys of pure unadulterated musical theatre escapism -- the complete antithesis of the theatre of Brecht/Weill or Stephen Sondheim -- that's well put together, antically paced and blissfully silly, and nothing more ............ and, you know what? That's just fine.
The story is simple. The Man in the Chair is musical theatre fan who loves to sit around his humble apartment and listen to cast albums. One of his favorites is a long-forgotten 20's musical called "The Drowsy Chaperone" which has all the hoary inane conventions of the shows of the period -- a simple boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girls back plot, filled out by a large assortment of stock characters -- the corrupt producer, the dim-witted floozy, the comedic gangster team, the Latin lover, and so on. When the Man in the Chair puts the record on the turntable, the show magically comes to life and for the next 90 minutes, speaking directly to the audience he acts as narrator and guide, interrupting and commenting on the proceedings, interjecting drole anecdotes and background information about the show, the actors, assorted trivia and occasionally editorializing on other topics that randomly pop into his head. Bob Martin, who plays the role, has a skittish charm and a winsome quality that's hard to resist.
There are several very good performances (Martin, Sutton Foster and Beth Leavel are standouts), appropriately flashy costumes (by Greg Barnes) and sets (David Gallo) and a book (by Martin and Don McKellar) that, although corny and often forced in the gag department, is nonetheless well-structured and sometimes quite funny. The score is 20s/30s pastiche that while tuneful, it is unfortunately rather undistinguished, relying more on simple parody than true wit with perfunctorily predictable melodies. Casey Nicholaw's direction and choreography maintains a blinding pace that's ideal for this material and he demonstrates a real gift for inventive comedic business, as well as, a knack for lively ensemble numbers. The whole show has a jovial, breathless quality that sweeps the audience along through this dizzy, fizzy musical fantasy.
My only caveat is that ironically, in a way, it fails to truly capture the musicals of that period in the truest sense because due to its totally presentational spoof-like nature, everyone on stage is a cartoon, there's really no one and nothing to care about in the story, there's nothing ever really at stake, and nothing truly heartfelt ever happens (there's never even a ballad or romantic duet that doesn't wink at the audience). But, that aside, it's kind of an inconsequential good time, which I'm sure will have its fans, garner some decent (and better) reviews and, with a better marketing campaign -- the current one is odd and somewhat off-putting (who's idea was it to put quirky unknown Bob Martin's FACE on a poster????) -- could catch on with the tourists. Not sure about its Tony chances -- with this strangely unpredictable season it could be shut out or end up picking up a half dozen, depending on the voters' moods -- but all in all it's a rather harmless, but amusing way to spend an evening.
TARZAN
Tarzan needs work -- a LOT of work. The book is somewhat bland and exposition heavy in the first act. The second act is better because it introduces actual conflict into the story when Jane and the expedition party from England enter the story -- before that it sort of meanders along and is actually a bit boring at times. It also lacks humor which would help to humanize some of the characters. Collins' score has a couple of good ballads and duets, a fun percussive number to open the 2nd Act (that has the sort of energy and propulsive force unfortunately missing from much of the rest of the show), but otherwise it's mostly just tuneful and rather forgettable pop.
This is a spectacle that is somewhat short on the spectacular. The opening shipwreck is amazing, there's a giant spider sequence that's solid, but should be scarier, and the many flying effects are initially dazzling, but get less so as the evening progresses, becoming repetitive and monotonous. So you're mostly left with predictable jungle melodrama that only occasionally really comes to life.
Director Bob Crowley's designs here are as problematic as his direction. The main jungle set consists of a thick morass of green vines (that occasionally shift in color) covering walls filled with round peep holes that the apes use to enter and exit the stage. The overall effect of all that green though is visually numbing after a while. There are some interesting uses of tarps and fabrics to simulate waves and other settings that are more effective. His costuming, however is even more problematic. The apes are clothed in bushy fur-like skirts and large unkempt black wigs that make them look more like the natives from the recent "King Kong" movie or the pre-historic human characters out of movies like "Quest For Fire" or "One Million Years BC" (or the tv show "Land of the Lost") than apes -- there's nothing whatsoever simian about their appearance, which occasionally is a bit confusing. Were it not for the loud ape sound effects that accompany their entrances, I'm not sure that who or what they were supposed to be would be clear.
Josh Strickland is very good in the title role. He has a surprisingly rich tenor voice and the strong committed physicality that the role requires. Jenn Gambatese was out, but understudy Niki Scalera couldn't have been better, acting and singing beautifully. Chester Gregory brings much needed humor and energy to his scenes (a possible Tony nod). Shuler Hensley does his best with an underdeveloped, underwritten role as head of the ape tribe. Merle Dandridge brings a believable warmth and strength to the role of Kala, Tarzan's adoptive ape mother. And Tim Jerome manages to imbue the stock role of the fussy Englishman (Jane's father) which a certain amount of depth and wit.
This is a very lackluster effort from Disney that surprisingly lacks the inventiveness and creativity one would expect given their resources. The story is predictable and mostly unengaging, the score is hit-or-miss (mostly miss) and the spectacle aspects are almost entirely underwhelming. And I don't know that they have time to fix everything that is missing here (they need someone to come in and add some real showstopping moments). It'll likely run a while due to the Disney marketing machine, but expect reviews to be mixed-to-negative and a paltry showing come Tony time.
http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/
DROWSY CHAPERONE
Drowsy was fun. It's simply a celebration of the joys of pure unadulterated musical theatre escapism -- the complete antithesis of the theatre of Brecht/Weill or Stephen Sondheim -- that's well put together, antically paced and blissfully silly, and nothing more ............ and, you know what? That's just fine.
The story is simple. The Man in the Chair is musical theatre fan who loves to sit around his humble apartment and listen to cast albums. One of his favorites is a long-forgotten 20's musical called "The Drowsy Chaperone" which has all the hoary inane conventions of the shows of the period -- a simple boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girls back plot, filled out by a large assortment of stock characters -- the corrupt producer, the dim-witted floozy, the comedic gangster team, the Latin lover, and so on. When the Man in the Chair puts the record on the turntable, the show magically comes to life and for the next 90 minutes, speaking directly to the audience he acts as narrator and guide, interrupting and commenting on the proceedings, interjecting drole anecdotes and background information about the show, the actors, assorted trivia and occasionally editorializing on other topics that randomly pop into his head. Bob Martin, who plays the role, has a skittish charm and a winsome quality that's hard to resist.
There are several very good performances (Martin, Sutton Foster and Beth Leavel are standouts), appropriately flashy costumes (by Greg Barnes) and sets (David Gallo) and a book (by Martin and Don McKellar) that, although corny and often forced in the gag department, is nonetheless well-structured and sometimes quite funny. The score is 20s/30s pastiche that while tuneful, it is unfortunately rather undistinguished, relying more on simple parody than true wit with perfunctorily predictable melodies. Casey Nicholaw's direction and choreography maintains a blinding pace that's ideal for this material and he demonstrates a real gift for inventive comedic business, as well as, a knack for lively ensemble numbers. The whole show has a jovial, breathless quality that sweeps the audience along through this dizzy, fizzy musical fantasy.
My only caveat is that ironically, in a way, it fails to truly capture the musicals of that period in the truest sense because due to its totally presentational spoof-like nature, everyone on stage is a cartoon, there's really no one and nothing to care about in the story, there's nothing ever really at stake, and nothing truly heartfelt ever happens (there's never even a ballad or romantic duet that doesn't wink at the audience). But, that aside, it's kind of an inconsequential good time, which I'm sure will have its fans, garner some decent (and better) reviews and, with a better marketing campaign -- the current one is odd and somewhat off-putting (who's idea was it to put quirky unknown Bob Martin's FACE on a poster????) -- could catch on with the tourists. Not sure about its Tony chances -- with this strangely unpredictable season it could be shut out or end up picking up a half dozen, depending on the voters' moods -- but all in all it's a rather harmless, but amusing way to spend an evening.
TARZAN
Tarzan needs work -- a LOT of work. The book is somewhat bland and exposition heavy in the first act. The second act is better because it introduces actual conflict into the story when Jane and the expedition party from England enter the story -- before that it sort of meanders along and is actually a bit boring at times. It also lacks humor which would help to humanize some of the characters. Collins' score has a couple of good ballads and duets, a fun percussive number to open the 2nd Act (that has the sort of energy and propulsive force unfortunately missing from much of the rest of the show), but otherwise it's mostly just tuneful and rather forgettable pop.
This is a spectacle that is somewhat short on the spectacular. The opening shipwreck is amazing, there's a giant spider sequence that's solid, but should be scarier, and the many flying effects are initially dazzling, but get less so as the evening progresses, becoming repetitive and monotonous. So you're mostly left with predictable jungle melodrama that only occasionally really comes to life.
Director Bob Crowley's designs here are as problematic as his direction. The main jungle set consists of a thick morass of green vines (that occasionally shift in color) covering walls filled with round peep holes that the apes use to enter and exit the stage. The overall effect of all that green though is visually numbing after a while. There are some interesting uses of tarps and fabrics to simulate waves and other settings that are more effective. His costuming, however is even more problematic. The apes are clothed in bushy fur-like skirts and large unkempt black wigs that make them look more like the natives from the recent "King Kong" movie or the pre-historic human characters out of movies like "Quest For Fire" or "One Million Years BC" (or the tv show "Land of the Lost") than apes -- there's nothing whatsoever simian about their appearance, which occasionally is a bit confusing. Were it not for the loud ape sound effects that accompany their entrances, I'm not sure that who or what they were supposed to be would be clear.
Josh Strickland is very good in the title role. He has a surprisingly rich tenor voice and the strong committed physicality that the role requires. Jenn Gambatese was out, but understudy Niki Scalera couldn't have been better, acting and singing beautifully. Chester Gregory brings much needed humor and energy to his scenes (a possible Tony nod). Shuler Hensley does his best with an underdeveloped, underwritten role as head of the ape tribe. Merle Dandridge brings a believable warmth and strength to the role of Kala, Tarzan's adoptive ape mother. And Tim Jerome manages to imbue the stock role of the fussy Englishman (Jane's father) which a certain amount of depth and wit.
This is a very lackluster effort from Disney that surprisingly lacks the inventiveness and creativity one would expect given their resources. The story is predictable and mostly unengaging, the score is hit-or-miss (mostly miss) and the spectacle aspects are almost entirely underwhelming. And I don't know that they have time to fix everything that is missing here (they need someone to come in and add some real showstopping moments). It'll likely run a while due to the Disney marketing machine, but expect reviews to be mixed-to-negative and a paltry showing come Tony time.
http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 4/20/06 at 02:25 PM
