My TABOO review - SPOILERS!

[robyn525600]

Posted: 11/4/03 at 2:13am

Well, where do I begin?! I saw TABOO tonight and I am not quite sure how I feel about it.

OK - let's start with the negatives:

The story/plot was very weak and the show has no direction. WHO or what is the show about?! Boy George or Leigh Bowery?! The show focused so much on the Boy George character and then the 2nd act was focused alot on Leigh Bowery. I thought the montage of Leigh Bowery at the end was nice but since George O'Dowd gave me nothing from his character as Leigh Bowery, I didn't feel a thing. I found George O'Dowd to be the weakest link in the show which is a shame since he is supposed to be the "draw" for it. I felt bad for the ensemble - not only did they not have much to do but when they were onstage, I was embarassed for them! The direction is serioulsy lacking and the music is only mediocre - not a single song comes to mind after it was over.

The positives:

The rest of the cast was good and had some wonderful shining moments. I found Euan Mortons singing voice to be very pleasant to the ear and I enjoyed his performance. But Raul Esparza, as far as I am concerned, steals this show. He is brilliant as Philip and he is definitely a par above the rest of the cast. Go see it if only for his performance.

I hope this show gets all its kinks worked out before opening because I love new works and I think it does have potential but if the NY critics get their claws into this show the way it is now, you can kiss TABOO goodbye.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 11/4/03 at 8:54am

I was there last night, too, and like Robyn, I'm not sure how I feel about it either. I didn't have a bad time, but I'm not sure that's a strong enough response to foreshadow a major success.

First, about Raul Esparza (Philip Sallon). I think my daughter hit the nail on the head. She said that there were a lot of good, even great, voices up on stage....but you wouldn't necessarily be able to identify them again. Raul's voice is distinctive. There's no doubt who you're listening to when you hear him. And his stage presence is incomparable. The guy's a star.

As for the show:

It's never clear whose story this is...it's ABOUT Boy George and ABOUT Leigh Bowery. But who is the heart...the emotional center...of the show? I came away feeling that it was actually Philip Sallon's story. He was the character for whom I had the most feeling... due in no small part, I'm sure, to Raul's compelling stage presence. Some of the ensemble dance numbers seemed unfocused, as if the dancers were up there just doing whatever they wanted rather than something intentional. (But it occurred to me that if it *were* left up to the dancers to do whatever the hell they wanted, the dancing would have been more inspired.)

And I agree with Robyn... George O'Dowd was the weak link for me, too. I don't have any more of a sense of Leigh Bowery now than I did two days ago, and I never felt anything for him. You have to understand...I'm a pushover emotionally...it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to NOT have me feel something when someone exposes their soft underbelly, even if its someone I don't particularly like. I felt nothing and was just as happy when he left the stage because whenever he was on, I was constantly thinking "Oh, yeah...that's the REAL George playing someone else". It got in the way. On the other hand, I thought Euan Morton was terrific. He sings beautifully, acts well, totally captured the Boy George character, and IMO, had a reasonably strong stage presence.

To be fair, my 17 year old daughter was not as put off by the Leigh Bowery character as I was. Maybe I'm responding defensively as someone closer in age to the real George. What is funky and artistic in a 20 year old seemed sad and pathetic at 50. Maybe that was the point, but I doubt it. I don't know. Maybe I'm being age-ist. Or maybe, really, its time that I should rethink my jeans and long flowing hair of MY era even though that's *really* who I am. Maybe its time for me to buy some makeup and get an age-appropriate haircut. I suspect that this is NOT the message that Rosie hopes the show will carry home. To fail in getting past the surface,the feathers and glitter and makeup, ...to fail to let the audience find a thread of something they have in common with the person BEHIND the frou-frou exterior is a HUGE flaw.

I didn't hate it, and there was a lot I enjoyed: Raul, Euan, Liz, and Jeffery Carlson,the guy who played Marilyn...although from the mezzanine with my middle-aged vision, I kept thinking it was Sandra Bernhardt up on stage (a comment on my eyes more than a reflection on his performance...).

It's difficult for me to completely divorce my reactions from everything I've read over the past couple of weeks. I don't have strong feelings about Rosie, one way or another. I honestly can't tell how I might have reacted if I walked in cold off the street knowing nothing. I want to see this show work. I just don't think it's going to be "the next big thing" and it would better serve the purpose of seeing it have a viable run if it wasn't being postured as such.

[Horsey]

Posted: 11/4/03 at 9:25am

Boy George is not "50."
He is 42.

[Al Dente]

Posted: 11/4/03 at 9:25am

It's what I suspected all along. It's Christopher Renshaw, the director, that's most to blame. Every review posted on this board reflects that,knowingly or not. Btw, Boy George is only 42 years old (hardly ancient), he just looks beat up for his age.

[robyn525600]

Posted: 11/4/03 at 9:39am

iflitifloat:

You hit alot more details on the head (i wrote that review at 2 am so my mind wasn't getting all the details out :). I agree with everything you said.

I abolutely did not hate the show but I found it to be confusing and unfocused. I do think it has potential, I'm just not sure they have the time to "fix" everything before opening.
I would like to see it again after it opens to see what changes (if any) they made. But if worse comes to worse and it still is in dire need of help, at least I got to see the impeccable Raul Esparza again. : )

[sheekala]

Posted: 11/4/03 at 9:59am

My major problem was the lack of "fun", there had to an energy to that time period that was exciting, the show treats it like The Crusades. Lighten UP!

[PGrant]

Posted: 11/5/03 at 12:59pm

I saw the show last night and really loved it. Still, while you're in previews, I would like to suggest a few cuts, ideas.

Overall, I had wished that the musical arrangements could have been more evocative of the 80s. For example, the number that opens up the second act is excellent while the number that opens up the show pales in comparison. Why? Well maybe because it is harmonically more rooted in the music hall tradition, and that's fine, but a different arrangement would make it more exciting. It seemed more obligatory than generating the sense of excitement/suspense that I was hoping for.

Admittedly the show is ballad-heavy, especially in the second act where every main character has their "show stopper" solo, all in a row (with the exception of "Ich Bin Kunst", more on that to follow). If a verse was trimmed from each of these (with the exception of "Il Adore" which is perfect and very moving) you could pick up the pace considerably, probably trimming close to 15 min. off the running time (we got out of there a little after 10:45) and, I feel, would help out the show for the American audiences.

Speaking of "Il Adore"', the use of video projection was brilliant. It makes me think that more of this, in the first act and in the larger production numbers, on screens that flew down over the super-structure would be very welcome in conveying a sense of the 80s: chronilogically correct events of the times, etc. etc.

"Ich Bin Kunst", while off to a great start, fell flat at the end. When the costumed characters entered I felt that a different choreography could have put them to better use. The costumes alone, while stunning, didn't give the ending of the number the punch that I feel was intended, and a little more punch was needed. You could feel it in the audience. A pumped up musical arrangement toward the end wouldn't hurt either. I'm not speaking of Leigh Bowery's coda where the platform recedes upstage, but just before that. Also, this is one number that breaks up the sameness of the ballad-after-ballad format mentioned above.

All in all, it is a great show and I wish you all a tremendous success on Broadway.

All the best,
Patrick Grant