#1
Posted: 4/2/11 at 7:28pm
I've been a BWW member for a while, but I haven't posted on this board in a while, though I have always been a lurker, but after seeing "Anything Goes" and "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" this week, I felt like I needed someplace to share my thoughts on them.
"Anything Goes" is spectacular. Truly. I know it hasn't opened yet but it is one of the most delightful productions on Broadway I have seen in the last several years. Kathleen Marshall's choreography is stupendous, personally I think it is even better than her work in "Wonderful Town" and "The Pajama Game", which I thought were excellent. She's definitely picking up another Tony for choreography and I think she might give Casey Nicolaw and Trey Parker a run in the Direction for a Musical category as well.
The cast is, almost, uniformly brilliant. Sutton Foster is an excellent Reno and sings the heck out of all of her songs, especially "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". Many of the supporting players shine as well, especially John McMartin, Jessica Stone, and Adam Godley (whose comedic timing is perfect).
For me, the standout of the entire production was Colin Donnell as Billy Crocker. His voice is fantastic, his acting and dancing are equally excellent. He starts off strong, but when he hits "It's De-Lovely" everyone in the audience falls in love with him. If he is placed in the Featured Actor category, I think he has a real shot at taking home the Tony come June.
This brings me to my only issue with the production: Joel Grey. Granted, the man is a legend in the world of musical theater, but he was seriously miscast in this part. He seems to have some issues with keeping up with the pace of the production, and hams it up even more than Bill Irwin did in "Bye Bye Birdie". He redeems himself a bit with "Be Like the Bluebird", but he really doesn't fit with this production well.
Overall, RUN to see "Anything Goes". With the brilliant Cole Porter score that doesn't seem dated (more quaint than anything), brilliant choreography, and great cast Roundabout has finally hit what their mission statement claims, but they've been unable to do since their production of "Assassins": to create definitive productions of classics.
Today I went to see "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" and was tremendously disappointed. I didn't have very high expectations, but still left the theater wanting that hour and forty minutes back.
Yes there are some funny moments and the occasional clever line in this play, but how it ever got to Broadway is beyond my comprehension. The writing has a lot of issues, starting with an incredibly predictable plot, mostly one dimensional characters, and dialogue that didn't fit the characters. I like Anna D. Shapiro, but she really needs to work on the pacing of this play. It dragged A LOT, and the person I attended the show with kept checking her watch every five minutes.
Acting-wise, the only standout is Yul Vazquez who brings some much needed levity to this play and plays the only character you don't detest. Bobby Cannavale really tries with this show, but he was given a one-note character and thus is forced to give a pretty monotonous performance. Chris Rock was fairly unimpressive to me. His acting was shaky, he had issues with lines today, and seemed very uncomfortable onstage. Annabella Sciorra and Elizabeth Rodriguez are given very thankless parts and either yell or cry their way through them.
The best thing about "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" was the set. If it gets any reviews that aren't complete pans, I will be shocked.
"Anything Goes" is spectacular. Truly. I know it hasn't opened yet but it is one of the most delightful productions on Broadway I have seen in the last several years. Kathleen Marshall's choreography is stupendous, personally I think it is even better than her work in "Wonderful Town" and "The Pajama Game", which I thought were excellent. She's definitely picking up another Tony for choreography and I think she might give Casey Nicolaw and Trey Parker a run in the Direction for a Musical category as well.
The cast is, almost, uniformly brilliant. Sutton Foster is an excellent Reno and sings the heck out of all of her songs, especially "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". Many of the supporting players shine as well, especially John McMartin, Jessica Stone, and Adam Godley (whose comedic timing is perfect).
For me, the standout of the entire production was Colin Donnell as Billy Crocker. His voice is fantastic, his acting and dancing are equally excellent. He starts off strong, but when he hits "It's De-Lovely" everyone in the audience falls in love with him. If he is placed in the Featured Actor category, I think he has a real shot at taking home the Tony come June.
This brings me to my only issue with the production: Joel Grey. Granted, the man is a legend in the world of musical theater, but he was seriously miscast in this part. He seems to have some issues with keeping up with the pace of the production, and hams it up even more than Bill Irwin did in "Bye Bye Birdie". He redeems himself a bit with "Be Like the Bluebird", but he really doesn't fit with this production well.
Overall, RUN to see "Anything Goes". With the brilliant Cole Porter score that doesn't seem dated (more quaint than anything), brilliant choreography, and great cast Roundabout has finally hit what their mission statement claims, but they've been unable to do since their production of "Assassins": to create definitive productions of classics.
Today I went to see "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" and was tremendously disappointed. I didn't have very high expectations, but still left the theater wanting that hour and forty minutes back.
Yes there are some funny moments and the occasional clever line in this play, but how it ever got to Broadway is beyond my comprehension. The writing has a lot of issues, starting with an incredibly predictable plot, mostly one dimensional characters, and dialogue that didn't fit the characters. I like Anna D. Shapiro, but she really needs to work on the pacing of this play. It dragged A LOT, and the person I attended the show with kept checking her watch every five minutes.
Acting-wise, the only standout is Yul Vazquez who brings some much needed levity to this play and plays the only character you don't detest. Bobby Cannavale really tries with this show, but he was given a one-note character and thus is forced to give a pretty monotonous performance. Chris Rock was fairly unimpressive to me. His acting was shaky, he had issues with lines today, and seemed very uncomfortable onstage. Annabella Sciorra and Elizabeth Rodriguez are given very thankless parts and either yell or cry their way through them.
The best thing about "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" was the set. If it gets any reviews that aren't complete pans, I will be shocked.
