#1
Posted: 12/11/05 at 12:20am
Spoilers ahead
I went to see Promises, Promises tonight at the Calderwood Pavilion, put on the the Animus Ensemble. It was great fun, I really enjoyed it.
More often than not, I've always found that the libretto for a musical isn't as strong as the music/lyrics. The libretto is just there as filler for in between songs. Promises, Promises is different in that the story is just wonderful and works. Book by Neil Simon and based on "The Apartment" (which I adore), how could you go wrong? The story is the definite highlight of the show. Jeff Mahoney (Chuck Baxter) gets a fair share of the great lines, and he's absolutely charming.
The songs, a mix of ballads and dance numbers, are sort of forgettable. The dance numbers are more exciting, only because they're upbeat and so much fun to watch. But the ballads, while sweet, are just there. And of course, if anyone knows Promises, Promises, we all know that the song "Turkey-Lurkey Time" is from this show. One of the most absurdly funny songs in musical theatre. This song always amuses me to no end, just because it's so strange and yet so fun as well. Such a guilty pleasure. Definitely gets you in the holiday spirit as well.
I mentioned Jeff Mahoney above, he won me over immediately. Just enough awkwardness for the "nerdy" part of the character, but so adorably charming. I kind of felt like giving him a hug. Aimee Doherty (Fran) has a sweet voice and she's equally adorable. I'm kind of bummed that I missed New Rep's Into the Woods, I would've liked to have seen her Cinderella. The ensemble dances their butts off.
With this show, and Hairspray a few months back, I'm sort of stuck in this "I adore the 60s!" mood.
I went to see Promises, Promises tonight at the Calderwood Pavilion, put on the the Animus Ensemble. It was great fun, I really enjoyed it.
More often than not, I've always found that the libretto for a musical isn't as strong as the music/lyrics. The libretto is just there as filler for in between songs. Promises, Promises is different in that the story is just wonderful and works. Book by Neil Simon and based on "The Apartment" (which I adore), how could you go wrong? The story is the definite highlight of the show. Jeff Mahoney (Chuck Baxter) gets a fair share of the great lines, and he's absolutely charming.
The songs, a mix of ballads and dance numbers, are sort of forgettable. The dance numbers are more exciting, only because they're upbeat and so much fun to watch. But the ballads, while sweet, are just there. And of course, if anyone knows Promises, Promises, we all know that the song "Turkey-Lurkey Time" is from this show. One of the most absurdly funny songs in musical theatre. This song always amuses me to no end, just because it's so strange and yet so fun as well. Such a guilty pleasure. Definitely gets you in the holiday spirit as well.
I mentioned Jeff Mahoney above, he won me over immediately. Just enough awkwardness for the "nerdy" part of the character, but so adorably charming. I kind of felt like giving him a hug. Aimee Doherty (Fran) has a sweet voice and she's equally adorable. I'm kind of bummed that I missed New Rep's Into the Woods, I would've liked to have seen her Cinderella. The ensemble dances their butts off.
With this show, and Hairspray a few months back, I'm sort of stuck in this "I adore the 60s!" mood.
"The sense that everything's going right is a sure sense that everything's going wrong."
-The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
