#26
Posted: 11/20/10 at 9:36pm
Saw the matinee today and I'm pretty much in agreement with Ben Brantley that even Kelli O'Hara with a very good performance could not carry this slight musical on her back. The audience (performance appeared sold out although I could not see the rear mezzanine) enjoyed the show but there was no standing ovation at the curtain call. But it is worth seeing.
When Mr. Brantley doesn't think much of a show he is often kind enough to say little about the show and spend much time complementing the performers. Here he praises Ms. O'Hara greatly and writes that "[t]he opportunity to be seduced, anytime and anywhere by Ms. O'Hara's artful air of guilelessness is not to be dismissed. Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be much reason for resurrecting 'Bells are Ringing' ... as part of the Encores! series...."
I saw the film version with Judy Holliday a few months back. I wanted to see Ms. Holliday in her prime before she was snatched away by breast cancer a few years later. The film was just good also, even with Ms. Holliday giving a very appealing performance. It has never made it into the ranks of the best movie musicals.
In the film, Dean Martin played the Jeffrey Moss part. Oddly, when Will Chase sang "Just in Time" he seemed to me to be doing a Dean Martin imitation with the slurred lines. I wish that this song had been extended and treated with more respect, for it is a wonderful song.
When Mr. Brantley doesn't think much of a show he is often kind enough to say little about the show and spend much time complementing the performers. Here he praises Ms. O'Hara greatly and writes that "[t]he opportunity to be seduced, anytime and anywhere by Ms. O'Hara's artful air of guilelessness is not to be dismissed. Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be much reason for resurrecting 'Bells are Ringing' ... as part of the Encores! series...."
I saw the film version with Judy Holliday a few months back. I wanted to see Ms. Holliday in her prime before she was snatched away by breast cancer a few years later. The film was just good also, even with Ms. Holliday giving a very appealing performance. It has never made it into the ranks of the best movie musicals.
In the film, Dean Martin played the Jeffrey Moss part. Oddly, when Will Chase sang "Just in Time" he seemed to me to be doing a Dean Martin imitation with the slurred lines. I wish that this song had been extended and treated with more respect, for it is a wonderful song.
Updated On: 11/20/10 at 09:36 PM
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