WOAH, that brassy score sounded stellar in a theatre built for jazz. Kicking myself that I didn’t accidentally turn on my voice memos app ;)
It's an unevenly written show with lots more good than bad, and I liked it much better than two of the other "forgotten musicals" recently onstage, Baker's Wife and Bat Boy (haven't seen Chess yet). I know the choir is a “thing” for Mastervoices, but maybe Guare needs to look at slimming down the cast (but not the band!!!!) if they actually want a future life for the show, the greek chorus-style commentary might be unnecessary. This also felt much more professionally mounted than other things I’ve seen by Mastervoices (their STRIKE UP THE BAND at Carnegie Hall was one of the worst things I saw on stage last year).
Esparza was predictably sublime, and brought way more to the role vocally than John Lithgow. You just love to hate him, and he appeared to be having a blast as the villain. High kicks at 55!! Ali Louis Bourzgui is a special talent. Noah Ricketts vocally was also a vast improvement over Jack Noseworthy on the cast album. Maybe Lizzy McAlpine is only good with a few months of prep? I didn’t like her at all the first time I saw Floyd Collins in previews, but saw it later in the run and was really taken by her performance.
The JJ and Sydney relationship kept making me think about Mamdani’s chummy press conference with Trump.
The ending felt a little toothless. Maybe too optimistic for the two hours that came before it.
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the movie and original bway show ended with the murder of Sydney Falco, and JJ Hunsecker remaining on top as the gossip king. Now, it ends with JJ’s sister Susan threatening to squeal on him, Sidney becoming the gossip king, and Susan having the final moment in the spotlight. Maybe there’s a better version where Sidney and JJ can both get their comeuppance.