NYMF 2009- Page 4

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 10:53am

So far this year at NYMF has been excellent, and I seriously doubt anything will be able to outdo what I saw last night. Hurricane is simply one of the best new musicals I am familiar with of the past 5 years. I have my program handy to single out members of this uber-talented cast and creative team.

Michael Holland is credited with the score and shares a book credit with Eric Bernat. The score is absolutely breathtaking. A combination of Parade, Ragtime and Titanic, I can't tell you how much this soared when sung by all 33 voices of the cast. There is no orchestrations credit, but whoever did them deserves commendation as well, because it sounded like a 30 piece orchestra last night.

Jesse Vargas was Musical Director, and he had this cast singing in astounding perfection. There are a few Broadway shows Vargas could visit to clean up the slop that is happening on stage.

The direction by Michael Rush was really well done. These spaces are so tiny, and a story about a hurrican is SO big, especially when told by a cast this size. The fluidity of the staging was great. The pose at the end of the first number gave me chills alone!

Now for the cast. Steven Booth played a meteorologist who predicted a hurricane will devastate Rhode Island, even though his boss thought it could never happen. Steven was in wonderful voice, and created a nice character arc as he became more and more desparate to warn this town.

The rest of the action took place in Napatree, Rhode Island. Christy Morton played a Betty Draper-esque housewife with a killer voice. She had a rocky relationship with husband John Antony. I found her to be so captivating on stage, and maybe it was because of some similarities in the role, but I think she would make a superb Mother in Ragtime.

There was an Irish immigrant Mother played by Karen Elliot, who had a great act one lament about her life in New England and trying to deal with her daughter, played by Brittany Lee Hamilton. Her daughter was involved with a Portuguese boy (Joey Khoury) and they wanted to run off together. Elliot couldn't deal with the interracial relationship, but it never devolved into the cliches brought up with this stuff (see Memphis for all cliches brought up by this stuff).

Zachary Clause played the Portuguese boyfriend's "sensitive" brother who wanted to move to the big city and be a dancer. The gay subtext was so expertly handled it was almost shocking, as subtlety isn't something found in musicals much nowadays.

There was a trio of sisters, brilliantly sung by Natalie Charle Ellis, Catherine Charlebois and Mishaela Faucher. Vargas probably deserves some credit her for having them so well rehearsed, but they had every harmony and dance movement down. I mean I thought this shows only had a few weeks to rehearse!

The father of the two Portuguese boys (he was White and the mother, who was dead, was Portuguese) had a gripping act 2 diatribe at God for all the misfortunes that had fallen on his family.

Lastly, the living LEGEND Rita Gardner deserves an all out rave for her performance as the town busybody. I searched the internet for her birthday and it doesn't seem to exist, but she must be near 70. This is impossible to tell after last night. She bounced around the stage, and more importantly her voice hasn't worsened with age AT ALL! She has that same lovely soprano she had during the Fantasticks/Family Affair era. A true treat to see this woman on stage.

Ok, well I may have been a little gushy about this, but I even decided to sleep on it before I wrote anything and this is still how I feel. I cannot recommend this show more strongly. It must have life after this festival, or at least a recording. This is a score, and these are performances that should be heard again.

[gravity87]

Posted: 10/4/09 at 11:56pm

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing RRRED this afternoon, and I freakin LOVED IT. The cast is rediculously talented. It Stars Katie Thompson and Patrick Livingston (and they co wrote it) Loved Katie's work for a while since I saw her at one of Scott Alan's shows, but not only can she sing like crazy but shes a great piano player and hilarious to boot. And Patrick Livingston? who is this guy and why isn't he famous, hysterical, and a ridiculous voice a total find. Also Great to see kathy deitch out of the chorus playing an absurd character-cant get over how great she was,when ever she was onstage i peed my pants. And Nathan Balser who I didnt know much about before is also very very good. Kate shindle made a guest appearence, and showed off some comic chops, and that signature crazy high belt. All in all great show, way to tired to get into all the specifics. but so glad that they got another extension, this I may have to see again

[sallybrown05]

Posted: 10/5/09 at 2:09pm

I recently saw a performance of Fantasy Football the musical? What an AMAZING experience. The show is such a complete package, and you don't have to be a sports lover or know anything about sports to enjoy this show. I truly went into the show with no expectation, but I was pleasantly surprised. I feel like I could take my dad and brother, who are big in sports and not so much theater, to this show and they would have such an great time. The show is campy, but the cast knows it and plays it to perfection. I left shows with a couple of the tunes in my head, and I am still singing them today. One song that stood out to me was a song called "Man Friends". It's more of a ballad between three of the male characters. It was great because i have never seen a love song sung to another character that had nothing to do with being in love. The character Stoner sings a song about how much he loves his man friends and he will always be there to watch sports and sit in the rain delays, basically that girlfriends come and go, but his man friends will always be there for him. It was Hilarious!!! Congrats to the writer of the show he has a hit on his hands. I know this is a sold out run, but if you can somehow get your hands on tickets you will have an enjoyable experience. Or just hope that it goes on somewhere else.
Updated On: 10/5/09 at 02:09 PM

[LittleBitRacist]

Posted: 10/5/09 at 2:38pm

I saw Fat Camp saturday at 1.... WOW! The cast was phenomenal, Carly Jibson, Ryah Nixon, Sarah Saltzberg and Larry Owens (who is only 17 years old... what an incredible performer) were the highlights for me. The book is really funny and the music is catchy. The show is great, and I think if it is workshopped and worked on a little bit more it will get a lot tighter and could move on to great places.

Last night at 9 I saw Judas and Me... again another winner. I agree with someone earlier who said that there is a big difference in the tones between act 1 and act 2, but they were both incredibly funny and enjoyable. I hope this show eventually gets a cast recording because I'd really like to hear the songs again. The cast was spot on- Barbara Walsh and Leslie Kritzer were the big stand outs for me, but everyone did a great job.

I would highly suggest both of these shows, and I hope to see more from them in the future!

[FeelingElectric]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 10:25am

I'm sorry I havenn't had time to post more reviews. A lot of late nights at NYMF have been kicking my butt!

I have been throughly impress with what I have seen so far.

R.R.R.E.D., Judas And Me, and Fantasy Football were absolutely hilarious!

Under Fire ( and Jack Noseworthy's performance) were spectacular!

The Cure is a brilliant twist on the idea of a Vampire musical, very hip.

Andy Warhol Was Right was clever without saying a word ( and he WAS right!).

My Illustrious Wasteland and Nightingale and the Satin Woman were fun, but need some work story-wise.

In any language, My Scary Girl was a blast!

Max Understood was a very powerful and emotional show for me. I don't think I have been as shaken by a show since I saw Feeling Electric at NYMF 4 years earlier.

Rated RSO also blew me away. The cast was superb, and Ryan's music is brillant. I really want to see Mrs. Sharp as a full production after getting a taste last night!

I have three more shows today, The Toymaker, Hurricane, and F#@king Up Everything.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 1:30pm

HURRICANE was one of the best shows I've seen in my entire life...that include Bway, off Bway, regional, etc. Please see Whizzer's review above for more detailed information. It was an outstanding night at the theater.

FAT CAMP, on the other hand, was horrendous. Stay away.

[JonTambourine]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 1:39pm

I actually thought Fat Camp was really good, one of the best NYMF shows I've ever seen. I'm curious as to why you thought it was horrendous?

[Nick Plasia]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 1:54pm

I found Hurricane to be an epic bore.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 2:08pm

JonTambourine- Did you happen to catch Fantasy Football yet? If you haven't and can manage a ticket you absolutely need to go. I was also less than impressed with Fat Camp, but loved Fantasy Football.

A major problem I had with Fat Camp was I really disliked all the characters, except Sarah Saltzberg's. (Carly Jibson was too funny to hate, but her character wasn't likable.) Unlike in Spelling Bee where I was charmed by the band of "losers," Fat Camp left me hoping all the characters would stop being so obnoxious and annoying.

Fantasy Football certainly had two "losers" for leads, but they were lovable, and trying to do the right thing deep down. You were rooting for them to succeed with their crazy scheme. There wasn't anything to root for in Fat Camp. That they should lose weight? Wasn't the message that we should love ourselves for who we are? If that's the case is the camp a good thing or a bad thing?

These questions lead to my next compliant, which was lack of central plot. During act one all the characters introduced themselves and it just kind of wandered from minor problem to minor problem. There was no storyline driving the play along. This made it seem like a bunch of sort of funny SNL skits strung together. You know when you tune in every week to see a recurring character, but if you watched all the skits back to back it wouldn't really make a cohesive plot?

Fantasy Football, although filled with a bunch of campy one-liners, also had a focused, and for the most part well-constructed plot.

There was SO SO much that should have easily been cut from Fat Camp. Maybe at 90 minutes it would have played a lot better. All the stuff with Anschel's mom need to go! I mean what was that song they did in act 2? The music for the two counselors was pretty weak, as was most of the score actually.

I was thrilled for Fat Camp because on paper it sounds like such a fun, campy time. Unfortunately the execution was all wrong. *Slight spoiler* I found no reason to root for the lead virgin girl getting with Robert. I mean she was nice and sweet and he was a loser who LIED the time he was there. Why does she deserve to be with such a jerk? Just because you're fat doesn't mean you automatically cool, funny and a really great person underneath. This was clearly implied as all the skinny, pretty people were bitches. (The cheerleaders were MUCH funnier and likable than the fat kids in my opinion.)

Wow, sorry that kind of rambled on. I can try to clarify anything that seemed confusing.

[JonTambourine]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 2:19pm

Whizzer-

Thanks for your thoughtful post. Though I will say, different strokes, different folks.

I did see Fantasy Football and didn't care for it. It was well done, but the score was mostly pastiche and the central plot wasn't all that exciting. I found the subplots with the girlfriend and the christian girl confusing.

I agree with some of your points about Fat Camp. The plot went here, there, and everywhere. The characters could indeed be more likeable, though you didn't like Anschel? or Darnell? I found them totally endearing. But for me, the point of NYMF is to put the work out there and get feedback. Both FF and Fat Camp are flawed in my book, but where Fantasy Football seems like a finished product that I didn't care for, Fat Camp has so much potential to be something really special.

Does that make sense? With work, I'd love to see them focus the plot and slim down the characters. Really focus on what story is being told and make it less SNL. Theres a really good show in there.

[yeomansden]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 2:22pm

@Whizzer
Do you have any plans to see The Cure? I'd be interested to hear your take on it. I already posted my own review, but I respect your reviews, they are very well thought out and you justify every opinion, rather just saying, "This was great" or "This was terrible." I may not always agree with you, but I can usually see where you are coming from.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 2:29pm

At least not everyone is raving about every single show. This thread was starting to lose credibility, as I REALLY doubt all shows at the festival are flawless.

Or maybe they left the worst for last.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 2:41pm

JonTambourine- haha, I guess different strokes then! I do agree with you about Fantasy Football being presented as finished product and Fat Camp being much more a work in progress.

I also agree that there could be a really good idea in Fat Camp, but they just haven't cultivated it yet. I didn't find Darnell endearing because he wasn't given enough stage time to even register with me. Anschel was more endearing (the closest to a "Spelling Bee" character), but I guess I disliked his plotline with his mother too much to like him. His first number with the Leia dancers was where his arc should have kept going. Instead it went into two strange numbers about mom.

yeomansden- I'm not getting around to seeing The Cure. I was able to squeeze 19 into my schedule but this one didn't make the cut.

blaxx- There has been some excessive love for some shows on this thread, but I still stand by my gush fest for Hurricane. I truly thought it was a brilliant score/production.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 2:55pm

Whiz, 19 shows? Wow, that's a lot. How many do you have left?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 3:59pm

I have 13 left, so not even halfway there! October is a crazy month for me, especially when I add in all the normal Broadway and off-Broadway stuff I want to see.

[whatever2]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 4:21pm

anyone see Lorenzo yet?

[ASongULove]

Posted: 10/6/09 at 4:25pm

awww, too bad youre gonna miss The Cure. might wanna think about making 19 into 20...lol

i will say this, its a fun show that just wants to be a fun show.

[CRS14]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:33am

Saw "F*CKing Up Everything" last night. There must be something about that theater because between that and Whatever, Man I have been quite disappointed.

FUE is an extremely predictable show focused on a group of friends, some of which are in an indie rock band. Much like Whatever, Man, the only enjoyable part of the show was the talent of the lead, played by Noah Weisberg.

The score had some shining spots, but all-in-all each song sounded the same, with some sounding like cheesy ripoffs of Avril Lavigne. The cast is talented (though I was really annoyed by the character of Jake, played by Neil Haskell. But whether that was the way the character was written or just him being an annoying actor, I'm not sure).

So far I've seen Judas and Me, Whatever, Man, Fat Camp, Fantasy Football, and FUE. None have blown me away the way Rooms and Feeling Electric did when I saw them in the past. Holding out hope for All Fall Down, Plagued (maybe not as much), and Academy this Saturday.

[Broadway Bill2]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:14am

I saw The Happy Embalmer last night and it was INCREDIBLE! As you all know, these NYMF shows can be very hit or miss but this was a non-stop laugh fest with amazing music and a stellar cast (Daniel Reichard and Tituss Burgess were particularly fantastic).

It was only my second NYMF show (first being Judas & Me which I was really disappointed with considering the cast). Next up is F#@KING UP EVERYTHING and Street Lights both of which I am really excited about. Thinking I'll hit The Happy Embalmer up one more time too before its run ends.

[massofmen]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:22pm

awesome that you just joined yesterday to tell us about the happy embalmer. I am sure we all will take your review with a grain of salt.

[yeomansden]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 1:05pm

might take the review with a grain of salt, but $20 to ogle Daniel Reichard and Tituss Burgess for a couple of hours? Not sure I care how the actual show is, this seems like a deal to me...LOL!

Updated On: 10/7/09 at 01:05 PM

[massofmen]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 1:09pm

you are wonderfully shallow. :)

[yeomansden]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 1:19pm

yes, I can be on occasion...LOL! But seriously, I really like both of those actors, so for $20, I might be willing to take a chance on the show. Even if it's a bad script, it is likely they do what they can with it. (You know, like Tituss did with Little Mermaid...)

Updated On: 10/7/09 at 01:19 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/9/09 at 12:31am

Bump - we need more reviews.

[CRS14]

Posted: 10/12/09 at 11:23am

Saw 3 shows Saturday

1) All Fall Down - I had high hopes for this one. Interesting premise and a good cast. Must say I was let down. I didn't hate it like the people I was with, but it needs a LOT of work. The music was decent. Thought the playing of multiple characters took away from the show and was unnecessary in some cases (the learning how to drive scene comes to mind). Might have potential down the road, but for now was just a mess.

2) Plaged - A fluff show revolved around Cinderella's daughter and her forced marriage. The show had a few catchy tunes, some good acting, and very good talent. I never got fully into the show to really care about Dusty (Cinderella's daughter) and her "struggle". Overall a "meh" from me.

3) Academy - As the 8th and last show I'm seeing this festival, I was really hoping for a knockout since I've been relatively disappointed this year. And it came as close as it could. A show with a cast of all young boys about a bet that takes place in a private school. The music was good and the plot had me very interested. The only drawback to me was the lead character, who seemed very jittery and his voice didn't blow me away like some others (namely his cousin, played by Corey Boardman, who blew me away with his song "My Father"). This and Fantasy Football were my clear favorites of the festival, with this one probably being the one I think has the most promising future.