Saw this tonight (with the First Lady and her daughters!)....
The first act is entertaining enough. There are some funny moments, just about all of them provided by Nathan Lane, who is doing his best to salvage what he can from this show. And then...act 2 comes around, and it all falls apart...
Act 2 is a complete disaster. Simply dreadful. There are very few jokes, the musical numbers get REALLY bad, and most importantly, NOTHING HAPPENS. Everything is so rushed along in act 1, that they have very little to do in the second act. What follows is a series of pointless numbers featuring such things as the Moon and a squid.
The score to the entire show is entirely forgettable. Nothing memorable or distinctive about it. The book is not very good, either, though act 1, as I said, has some funny moments. The plot is basically La Cage Aux Folles with The Addams Family filling in for Georges and Albin, and the Bienekes taking on the role of the Dindons. The biggest book problem is that the main conflict involving the two young lovers is resolved very early on in act 2, so there's really nothing left to do afterwards- it all feels like filler.
The set design is excellent, and is one of the evening's highlights.
The staging is not very good or creative, and it was rather irritating how many numbers were staged by having a character stand in front of a red curtain and sing out to the audience.
The cast, for the most part, is game, but, other than Nathan Lane, aren't given much to work with. Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor get a generic pop ballad about their love, and then disappear until the final scene. Carmello and Mann have NOTHING to do, and poor Mann gets the squid number. Chamberlin, who seems a natural choice for Fester, does what he can with what he's given. Unfortunately, he gets the Moon number.
Jackie Hoffman does her schtick, which is fine, because she makes you laugh.
Bebe Neuwirth lands some one-liners, but mostly appeared bored throughout. Her act 2 "Death is Just Around the Corner" number isn't very good...when you have to literally explain the "corner/ coroner" reference to the audience, that should be a sign the joke isn't very funny. Good jokes don't require explanation.
There is exactly one reason to the see the show: Nathan Lane. He is trying his very best to make this all work, but the material is just too weak. He gets as many laughs as he can out of the sub-par material he's given. He's definitely giving it his all, and most of the evening's laughs come from him.
Nevertheless, the audience was wildly enthusiastic, clapping and snapping along. I suspect this will still have a decent enough run.
Random side note about some peoples' stupidity...during act 1, Jackie Hoffman has a line about making "Mary Poppins look like Medea." The woman behind me turned to her daughter and loudly whispered, "Medea is the woman with all the snakes in her hair."
Updated On: 3/23/10 at 12:34 AM