#1
Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:39am
Here are my comments on all the shows I saw in New York recently plus the show I saw in London the night before my flight:
FLASHDANCE****:
Hugely enjoyable show - though the book’s a little thin, the set is great, the performances all excellent and the songs (much to my surprise!) were really good. And Victoria Hamilton Barritt was awesome!
MEMPHIS****:
I thought I would hate this and I absolutely loved it. There is so much energy in the choreography and the performances and I loved the score (Colored Woman and Memphis Lives In Me especially are GREAT songs). Although I found the plot-line a tad pretentious, DiPietro’s writing is so good it still worked superbly. Montego Glover’s vocals were outstanding and Chad Kimball’s performance was utterly charming.
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC****:
I still found Nunn’s production somewhat lacking compared to other versions of the show I’ve seen but it is such a wonderful piece it’s impossible not to be both moved and entertained by this show. Stritch showed she has not lost her immense stage presence - though she did struggle with remembering some
of her lines (but if and when I get to 84 I doubt I’ll be able to remember anything lol so I won’t criticise her for that). And, great as I thought Catherine was in the role, Bernadette Peters took things to a whole new level. Her comic timing was extraordinary and her “Clowns” was breathtakingly brilliant.
[TITLE OF SHOW]*****:
Took the train down to New Brunswick NJ to see this and it was more than worth the effort! Hilariously funny book, brilliant score, superb production and four great performances - with the fantastic Lauren Kennedy the absolute pick of the bunch.
SONDHEIM 80TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL*****:
An awesome night. Obviously full of genius Sondheim songs - and the great man came on stage at the end. But also the atmosphere at Carnegie Hall made it a very special night. The soloists (Alex Gemignani, Christiane Noll, Kate Baldwin, Aaron Lazar & Marylin Maye) were all great - the absolute higlights being Noll/Gemignani’s SO MANY PEOPLE, Noll/Baldwin/Lazar’s GETTING MARRIED TODAY, Lazar’s BEING ALIVE, Noll/Lazar’s MOVE ON & the entire company (including an 80 strong choir) singing SUNDAY. And I had a lovely chat with Aaron afterwards - not only a stunning singer but a really nice guy. (and he’s recorded a song from my show After The Turn that everyone can hear on the album MORE WITH EVERY LINE due for release on December 6 ! - gotta get the plug in LOL)
WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN*****:
THIS SHOW IS FANTASTIC! It is by a mile the best new musical I have seen this year. The book is perfectly crafted, weaving the stories of its multitude of characters together quite brilliantly and it is very funny, a constant barrage of rapid-fire comic one-liners and I laughed so much I was literally aching. To add to this the set is pretty stunning and it has a Yazbeck score to die for - I can’t wait for a cast album to be released coz I want to listen to these songs over and over. And, of course, the entire all-star cast are superb - and if Laura Benanti does not win a Tony for this it will be criminal injustice! Cannot find enough superlatives to describe how much I loved this show other than to say again THIS SHOW IS FANTASTIC!
WEST SIDE STORY****:
A GREAT CLASSIC Broadway show and the staging and dancing are simply brilliant. But still I felt there is something missing from this production that prevents it from showing off the show as the masterpiece it is. Can’t quite put my finger on what
it is that is missing though LOL - possibly the fact that most of the lead performances were pretty ordinary - not bad but just nothing special either - apart from Matt Hyzdik who was outstanding as Tony.
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS*****:
One word - brilliant! A genius Kander & Ebb score, superlative Susan Stroman choreography & staging, stunning performances from the entire cast - and the piece strikes the perfect balance, by powerfully projecting the heartbreaking story of the injustice imposed on the Scottsboro Boys and linking it to Rosa Parks and the commencement of the famous Bus Boycott that led to the instigation of the Civil Rights movement - and never once making it feel either pretentious or “preachy”. And the small-minded, invertedly bigoted protestors outside the theatre really need to go see the show before condemning it as “racist” - it is in reality the exact opposite.
NEXT TO NORMAL*****:
My 4th time seeing this and it still blew me away - the quality of the writing is staggeringly brilliant. Regarding the three new cast members I have not seen before: Megan Fahy was an excellent Natalie and Jason Daniely was vocally the best Dan I
have heard. Marin Mazzie was excellent as Diana and certainly drew far more humour out of the role. But I did find her performance rather clinical compared to Alice Ripley’s - Alice totally inhabited the role and I really felt that she WAS this housewife with bi-polar disorder and I cried with her and for her each of the three times I saw her in the role. I didn’t feel quite that way with Marin. And, though Marin was overall
fantastic vocally, I didn’t think her “I Miss The Mountains” even came close to Ripley’s. But still, as I said, I was blown away by the show yet again and it is definitely in my list of the top half dozen musicals I have ever seen in 40 years of
going to the theatre. I hope it eventually makes it across the pond as I would love to see it yet again.
FLASHDANCE****:
Hugely enjoyable show - though the book’s a little thin, the set is great, the performances all excellent and the songs (much to my surprise!) were really good. And Victoria Hamilton Barritt was awesome!
MEMPHIS****:
I thought I would hate this and I absolutely loved it. There is so much energy in the choreography and the performances and I loved the score (Colored Woman and Memphis Lives In Me especially are GREAT songs). Although I found the plot-line a tad pretentious, DiPietro’s writing is so good it still worked superbly. Montego Glover’s vocals were outstanding and Chad Kimball’s performance was utterly charming.
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC****:
I still found Nunn’s production somewhat lacking compared to other versions of the show I’ve seen but it is such a wonderful piece it’s impossible not to be both moved and entertained by this show. Stritch showed she has not lost her immense stage presence - though she did struggle with remembering some
of her lines (but if and when I get to 84 I doubt I’ll be able to remember anything lol so I won’t criticise her for that). And, great as I thought Catherine was in the role, Bernadette Peters took things to a whole new level. Her comic timing was extraordinary and her “Clowns” was breathtakingly brilliant.
[TITLE OF SHOW]*****:
Took the train down to New Brunswick NJ to see this and it was more than worth the effort! Hilariously funny book, brilliant score, superb production and four great performances - with the fantastic Lauren Kennedy the absolute pick of the bunch.
SONDHEIM 80TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL*****:
An awesome night. Obviously full of genius Sondheim songs - and the great man came on stage at the end. But also the atmosphere at Carnegie Hall made it a very special night. The soloists (Alex Gemignani, Christiane Noll, Kate Baldwin, Aaron Lazar & Marylin Maye) were all great - the absolute higlights being Noll/Gemignani’s SO MANY PEOPLE, Noll/Baldwin/Lazar’s GETTING MARRIED TODAY, Lazar’s BEING ALIVE, Noll/Lazar’s MOVE ON & the entire company (including an 80 strong choir) singing SUNDAY. And I had a lovely chat with Aaron afterwards - not only a stunning singer but a really nice guy. (and he’s recorded a song from my show After The Turn that everyone can hear on the album MORE WITH EVERY LINE due for release on December 6 ! - gotta get the plug in LOL)
WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN*****:
THIS SHOW IS FANTASTIC! It is by a mile the best new musical I have seen this year. The book is perfectly crafted, weaving the stories of its multitude of characters together quite brilliantly and it is very funny, a constant barrage of rapid-fire comic one-liners and I laughed so much I was literally aching. To add to this the set is pretty stunning and it has a Yazbeck score to die for - I can’t wait for a cast album to be released coz I want to listen to these songs over and over. And, of course, the entire all-star cast are superb - and if Laura Benanti does not win a Tony for this it will be criminal injustice! Cannot find enough superlatives to describe how much I loved this show other than to say again THIS SHOW IS FANTASTIC!
WEST SIDE STORY****:
A GREAT CLASSIC Broadway show and the staging and dancing are simply brilliant. But still I felt there is something missing from this production that prevents it from showing off the show as the masterpiece it is. Can’t quite put my finger on what
it is that is missing though LOL - possibly the fact that most of the lead performances were pretty ordinary - not bad but just nothing special either - apart from Matt Hyzdik who was outstanding as Tony.
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS*****:
One word - brilliant! A genius Kander & Ebb score, superlative Susan Stroman choreography & staging, stunning performances from the entire cast - and the piece strikes the perfect balance, by powerfully projecting the heartbreaking story of the injustice imposed on the Scottsboro Boys and linking it to Rosa Parks and the commencement of the famous Bus Boycott that led to the instigation of the Civil Rights movement - and never once making it feel either pretentious or “preachy”. And the small-minded, invertedly bigoted protestors outside the theatre really need to go see the show before condemning it as “racist” - it is in reality the exact opposite.
NEXT TO NORMAL*****:
My 4th time seeing this and it still blew me away - the quality of the writing is staggeringly brilliant. Regarding the three new cast members I have not seen before: Megan Fahy was an excellent Natalie and Jason Daniely was vocally the best Dan I
have heard. Marin Mazzie was excellent as Diana and certainly drew far more humour out of the role. But I did find her performance rather clinical compared to Alice Ripley’s - Alice totally inhabited the role and I really felt that she WAS this housewife with bi-polar disorder and I cried with her and for her each of the three times I saw her in the role. I didn’t feel quite that way with Marin. And, though Marin was overall
fantastic vocally, I didn’t think her “I Miss The Mountains” even came close to Ripley’s. But still, as I said, I was blown away by the show yet again and it is definitely in my list of the top half dozen musicals I have ever seen in 40 years of
going to the theatre. I hope it eventually makes it across the pond as I would love to see it yet again.
THEATRE 2020: CURTAINS**** LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS***** WICKED***** KEITH RAMSAY TAKING NOTES WITH EDWARD SECKERSON***** KAYLEIGH MCKNIGHT CONCERT***** RAGS***** ON MCQUILLAN'S HILL** DEAR EVAN HANSEN***** THE JURY***
Updated On: 11/25/10 at 11:39 AM
