Munk's opening night HOT FEET review — Page 2

JEROME ROBBINS BROADWAY doesn't really fit into any of these categories (though if pressed, I suppose I would call it a revue). It wasn't just a randomly assembled collection of dances. Robbins fully restaged certain classic moments from the shows he was famous for, using the original costume and set designs and included the dialogue scenes that led into those moments to give them their proper context. Even if you didn't know or had never seen or heard PETER PAN, KING AND I, WEST SIDE STORY, FIDDLER, ON THE TOWN, HIGH BUTTON SHOES, FORUM, GYPSY etc... Robbins gave you enough lead in for each scene so that you truly got a sense of how each scene worked in the original show. It's also why he didn't simply hire great dancers, but also prominently featured performers like Jason Alexander, Faith Prince, and Debbie Shapiro (now Gravitte) who were known for their acting, singing and comedic abilities and not for their dancing (none of them did much if any dancing in the show).

Truly an extraordinary even of theatre with one showstopper after another. Too bad it wasn't filmed for PBS or some other outlet (most likely because the licensing and rights fees would have been astronomical for such high profile shows).

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Updated On: 5/1/06 at 03:33 PM

With two big musical belly flops in a row (LESTAT and HOT FEET), I can't imagine that critic's won't look at DROWSY as a saving grace, at this point. Of course, after DROWSY we're back to flops, as TARZAN opens.

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indeed, TLK was awful, still a hit though.

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I do think that many critics were impressed with taymor's design and direction, regardless of how they liked the show.

Well yeah, I would agree with that. Design wise it was amazing, but it left me feeling empty. I dunno, I think it was just the horrible acting and the really bland book. I'm sure Tarzan will at least have a lenghty run because of its presale and its marketability.

The idea of the definition of a "Jukebox Musical" being primarily a piece that incorporates previously recorded music from a single source is too vague and all encompassing.

One could argue that the music from "Contact" which featured that of Bobby Darin, Benny goodman, and Robert Palmer could be found in jukeboxes and "Contact" was far from such an entity. I believe it is more accurate to describe a "jukebox" musical as one in which a book is contrived in order to allow for songs to be incoroporated into a show.

Thus, you have such bizarre scenes as that in Mamma Mia where "Dancing Girl" emerges from action so thin you could slip it under a door.

Contrast that with "Sherry" from "Jersey Boys" which is heard 40 minutes into the show and only after a prolonged setup or "Can't Take My Eyes off of You" which is almost the eleven o'clock number and it has been demonstrated drmatically and through exposition how the thing made it to the public.

"Jersey Boys" is clearly not a "Jukebox Musical". It's much more similar to "The Commitments" than a "Jukebox Movie" like "A Hard Day's Night".