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

Does anyone think this show would succeed on Broadway?

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..... 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

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..... 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

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

...... 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

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

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.

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Bobby,

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

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What recordings of this show would one recommend?

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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.

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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?

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

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..... 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

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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'

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