Paper Mill serves fresh, sumptuous, whole-grained 'Baker's Wife' - nj star-ledger

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/19/05 at 1:34pm

If I could write a review, this would be the one I would have written. My friends who have not seen THE BAKER'S WIFE yet, think I am exaggerating when I say that I loved this show from the time the curtain starts going up and you see the village and Gay Marshall comes on stage singing and ohhhh, it just gets better and better. The characters all touch you in a different way. Those you want to slap and those who, well, I'll admit to needing a tissue by final curtain.

Go see for yourselves.. New Jersey is lovely this time of year!



NJ Star Ledger Review ~ Paper Mill Serves Fresh, Sumptuous, Whole-Grained 'Baker's Wife'

Updated On: 4/30/05 at 01:34 PM

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 4/19/05 at 1:36pm

Does anyone think this show would succeed on Broadway?

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/19/05 at 1:38pm

I would love to see this show on Broadway. I adore the score, and "Meadowlark" is absolutely galvanizing when the right diva is belting it.

I'm wondering where the other reviews are. The Times and Post have yet to run one, and the show opened Sunday night.

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/19/05 at 5:42pm

..... While time and temperment has taken its toll on musical tastes and especially musical styles, one can still understand why The Baker's Wife score has encouraged continued attention and admiration. Schwartz, a prolific composer (Pippin, Godspell, The Magic Show, The Children of Eden) finally hit the peak of success with his current mega-musical hit Wicked, but, for this listener, his score for The Baker's Wife remains his best .....


A CurtainUp Review ~ The Baker's Wife

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/19/05 at 5:50pm

With book problems and all, the show is absolutely glorious. The entire score is enchanting. I hope I get out to see this!

robbie, a former Aimable

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/20/05 at 2:48am

..... If you hadn't already guessed that 'The Baker's Wife' was based on a French film ('LaFemme du Boulanger,' a 1938 cult item by Marcel Pagnol), you'd know by the fact that this story about a young, sexy baker's wife who leaves her aging husband to run off with a young stud has a more or less happy ending. In an American story, the two lovers would have conspired to bump off the husband, the story would be called 'The Postman Always Rings Twice,' and nobody would be basing a musical on it. Well, maybe Stephen Sondheim.

Whether or not you take to 'The Baker's Wife' may depend, ultimately, on how you take to its very French attitudes toward life and love.

Let it be said at the outset: The production at Paper Mill Playhouse is exquisite......



The Record Review ~ It Takes A Village ~ A Very French Village

Updated On: 4/20/05 at 02:48 AM

[gencamera]

Posted: 4/20/05 at 11:57am

Went to see "The Baker's Wife" last Saturday!

What a great show!

Was worth the drive!

The whole cast is super!

And how can you go wrong when the leading characters name is "Genevieve"

Genevieve Rafter Keddy
LOL!!!

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/20/05 at 6:28pm

...... It is refreshing to see that strong story-telling without superfluous razzle-dazzle can captivate an audience for two hours and forty minutes. It may have taken thirty years of rewrites to get The Baker's Wife just the way they wanted it,
but Schwartz and Stein should feel like they have a hit on their hands. It is a Broadway-caliber gem .....

NYTheatre Review ~ The Baker’s Wife

Updated On: 4/20/05 at 06:28 PM

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/20/05 at 9:16pm

... To borrow a phrase from Dominique's 'Serenade,' we all should kneel down to Paper Mill for having the courage and wherewithal to present this problematic but frequently stunning musical in lieu of yet another staging of Grease or -- heaven forbid! -- Miss Saigon. Whatever the flaws in the piece itself, the direction, etc., this largely excellent production of The Baker's Wife must be seen and heard.
TheaterMania.com Review ~ The Baker’s Wife

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 10:46am

Just wondering with the excellent reviews this production received whether or not a Broadway production is in the future...or at least a recording with this cast.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 10:52am

I hope it would get recorded, but with 2 Baker's Wife recordings, I would doubt it. As for Broadway, I love this show, but it wouldn't stand a chance on Broadway.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:05am

Bobby,

Why do you think the show doesn't stand a chance on Broadway?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:05am

It would be wonderful to see the show on Broadway, but unless they get a major bankable star in the show and amazing reviews, it's not the sort of show to do very well. Maybe they could get Genevieve and Aimable to fly at the end or drop loaves of bread on the audience during the curtain call.

Updated On: 4/21/05 at 11:05 AM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:07am

What recordings of this show would one recommend?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:08am

Well there are two. The Lupone/Sorvino cast and the London Cast. The london cast preserves the whole score, on 2 discs, but I'm not too fond of the cast, and I think the Lupone version lends itself to repeat listens, more easily.

I think the show is a bit too dark, and maybe a little too smart for a contemporary Broadway audience. It would be a good show for Roundabout to do as a limited run in a smaller house, but I think a commercial run would be a big mistake. Updated On: 4/21/05 at 11:08 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:11am

The performances on the original are best, but the London recording preserves not only the score, but much of the dialogue as well, giving a more complete vision of the show. The original recording only features about half the score.

[Aphexis]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 12:05pm

Maybe it was because I saw the final dress of this show...but it wasn't all that stupendous. The show carries a lot of talent with an admirable score but I was not sitting on the edge of my seat. I'll go back this week to see if there's a bit more energy.

[AttendTheTale]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 12:46pm

Can someone tell me how far outside of NYC Papermill is? If I'm in NYC next week (from Boston) would it be possible to take a trip out to Papermill? Or do you think that would have to be its own trip?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 12:51pm

Attendthetale, it's real simple, not a seperate trip at all. Take the train from Penn Station. The city is Milburn, it drops you off literally 5 minutes from the theatre, and there is even a path that leads you there. It is very easy. I'd say it's maybe a 30 minute train ride.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 1:05pm

I've GOT to go see this soon....

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 1:06pm

Get close seats! That theater sucks.

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:08pm

..... Greenberg has drawn excellent, nuanced work from his four leads, who prove themselves superb actors and singers. Because of those performances, and because of Schwartz's superb score and Stein's funny and moving book - not to mention a physical production that will make you feel like you're a French villager too - The Baker's Wife may finally get the attention it has deserved for nearly three decades. Let's hope so....

TalkingBroadway.com Review ~ The Baker's Wife

[devonian.t]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 2:24am

Maybe it could survive if sold off the back of "from the composer of Wicked"? (Even though it is a VERY different show.)

I saw the London show, and it was a real gem- full of humanity. And the score is Schwartz's best by miles!

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 10:58am

They finally got it right. The BAKER'S WIFE, which attempted to reach Broadway in 1975 but was shuttered in Washington, D.C., during tryouts, is back — rewritten, reworked and as charming as anything you have seen in years....

TimeOff Packetonline.com Review ~ 'The Baker's Wife'

[CherylA928]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 7:05pm

It's his (Stephen Schwartz) Best Musical....

... I'd happily have Paper Mill's production of The Baker's Wife imported from Millburn to Broadway.

Michael Bourne (JAZZ 88.3 FM, WBGO, NEWARK, NJ) Reviews The Baker's Wife