The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews

[canthumthetunes]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 9:28pm

First review of revue called "Rave Revue" is a rave.

Starts with:

"New definition of joy: 85 uninterrupted minutes of my friend Cy Coleman's songs at the 59E59 Theater called 'The Best is Yet to Come.'"

Ends with:

"But you won't be sitting long. You'll be on your feet, joining the ovation for the happiest show in town."

Rex Reed, Observer - Updated On: 5/24/11 at 09:28 PM

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 9:26pm

Wow. Backstage is another love letter.

"What a joy it is to settle into a theater seat and watch a show unfold in which all hands are not only on the same deck but also know how to navigate with consummate skill and artistry...This beautifully structured, exquisitely executed revue is a dry-martini delight that should leave everyone, from aficionados of Broadway's coolest composer to the uninitiated, dizzy with pleasure."

Really glad I got tix for this!


Backstage Review

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 10:18pm

Ditto TheaterMania

"You couldn't ask for a more bracing spring tonic than The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman, a tribute revue to the famed composer lovingly fashioned by David Zippel, now at 59E59 Theaters. Romance, glamour, gutsy emotion -- this felicitous compilation has it all!"

TheaterMania Review

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 11:39pm

Totally agree

Would love to see this expanded & than moved to Broadway.A cast recording would be great but doubt it will happen.

[canthumthetunes]

Posted: 5/26/11 at 2:41am

If it ends up being a success (which, from the looks of some of these reviews, might not be far-fetched), why would a cast recording be unlikely? Or do theatre recordings have to pay different rates? Confused non-theatre recording artist longs to know. In my world a good record can cost less than a half-week of performances does in theatre.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 5/26/11 at 10:30am

I really hope there is a cast recording eventually! I really loved everything especially Rachel and David's song together and would love to have it. Updated On: 5/26/11 at 10:30 AM

[canthumthetunes]

Posted: 5/26/11 at 11:06am

TalkEntertainment is another rave.

I heard NY Newsday is a negative review, but I think it's behind a paywall. Anyone able to link to it or quote?
TalkEntertainment.com review

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 5/26/11 at 4:50pm

The summary that was visible said "Too big for the room, too small for the ambition."

I've often thought she should spell her name "whiner."

Odd that the Times, Variety, AP, and a few other biggies haven't weighed in yet. Howard Kissel gave it lots of love on his Huffington Post blog.
Kissel Review Updated On: 5/26/11 at 04:50 PM

[bk]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 5:12pm

Nothing odd - they've all weighed in. If someone would like me to repost the summary of them from All That Chat I'll be happy to, but somehow I think nobody will be taking me up on the offer :)

Still, this kind of show will not live or die on reviews - it will all be word of mouth and hopefully that will work. You couldn't ask for a better cast, certainly, and we all know the music of Mr. Coleman and the lyrics of his various collaborators is top-notch.
Updated On: 5/27/11 at 05:12 PM

[Harold Over The Hill]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 5:33pm

None of the reviews in the major papers are great. But there are quotes about Cy, the cast and the band that could help sell tickets.

[egghumor]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 5:35pm

No love letter from J.D.


New York Daily News review

[bk]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 5:57pm

Harold Over The Hill: Why, welcome to the board :)

[canthumthetunes]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 6:01pm

Times was fairly mixed, haven't seen Variety or AP yet. Anyone got links?

I've linked to another love letter from David Finkle, and here are a few more good ones and one or two not-so-goods:

THE GOOD:

"If you had lyrics dripping with sex and money, you needed Coleman to bring them to musical life." [Obviously this man hasn't listened to enough Dr. Dre.] http://theaternewsonline.com/NYTheaterReviews/IVEGOTYOURNUMBERS.cfm

http://theandygram.com/Broadway-Reviews/2010-2011-Season/Off-Broadway-Review-THE-BEST-IS-YET-TO-COME-THE-MUSIC-OF-CY-COLEMAN.html "The cast is perfect, the band is hot and it looks like a million bucks."

http://talkentertainment.com/c-27718-The-Best-Is-Yet-To-Come-The-Music-of-Cy-Coleman-–All-I-Can-Say-Is-Wow!.aspx "All I can say is WOW!"

THE MIXED
http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/theater/reviews/the-best-is-yet-to-come-at-59e59-theater-review.html?hpw "Coleman’s music has plenty of style and flash of its own. It’s not really necessary to sock it to us with quite so much insistence."

It sounds like the most consistent quibble with the show is that it's too big/loud/flashy for 59E59's space. Why didn't they pick a bigger space? Are they planning on moving it?
David Finkle BYTC Review

[bk]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 6:32pm

Since you seem interested, here is Jesse 21's (from All That Chat) roundup of all the major papers (no Variety in here at the moment):

Charles Isherwood in The New York Times writes: “The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman,” [is]a finger-snapping, hard-charging, small-scale but still shiny-looking revue. . . . Despite the variety of Coleman’s music and subject matter, “The Best Is Yet to Come” tends to overdose on overbearing crescendos and throbby interpretations of the songs that would better suit a larger theater. Sitting in the fifth row, I often felt pinned to the back of my seat by the show’s need to transform Coleman’s coolly swinging, jazz-inflected compositions into something hotly theatrical. . . . The show as a whole could benefit from a softer sell. (Even the bandstand set, by Douglas W. Schmidt, is a little too sparkly.) Coleman’s music has plenty of style and flash of its own. It’s not really necessary to sock it to us with quite so much insistence.”


Joe Dziemianowicz in the New York Daily News writes: (** out of 5 stars) “As directed by David Zippel, who conceived the revue and is known for his collaboration with Coleman on "City of Angels," the performers oversell songs that don't need any hawking whatsoever. It's particularly true considering the relatively small space at 59E59 Theaters, where the show opened on Wednesday night. Overplaying in an intimate space is like watching hi-def with a magnifying glass. Ease up, people. If you overdo the come-hither, you end up looking like a "Basic Instinct" leftover. Zippel has devised "Best" as pure songbook sampler. In addition to the singers, there's a terrific seven-man band, led by music director Stritch on piano. There's not a word of dialogue. Except for the fact that numbers tend to revolve around tricky male-female relationships, there's no overarching theme or takeaway.”


Elisabeth Vincentelli in the New York Post writes: (**½ out of 4 stars) “An evening dedicated to the late composer seems just what the doctor ordered. But the revue that opened off-Broadway last night, "The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman," is wildly uneven. Even with a brass-heavy band and pros like Lillias White, Sally Mayes, Howard McGillin and music director/singer Billy Stritch, there isn't enough snap, crackle and pop. . . . Not surprisingly, quite a few of David Zippel's songs made the cut. The ones from 1989's "City of Angels" hold up, but we could have done without the middling excerpts from an unfinished show called "N." Especially since the two fragments from the thrilling Fields collaboration "Sweet Charity" are dispatched in medleys. Unlike the current crop of jukebox musicals and cabaret shows, "The Best Is Yet To Come" has no story line, no banter and only the barest choreography, deployed at seemingly random moments.”


Linda Winer in Newsday writes: (subscription based; link will not open to full review) “The show is oddly formal, frozen into an old-time, fancy-dressed retro-revue on a set designed like a snazzy deco nightclub. . . . But we're not in a spacious club. We're in a small Off-Broadway theater that should enhance the intimacy but, instead, makes us feel too close to all the belting and the over-directed emoting. Inexplicably, considering the size of the place, the singers are wearing head mikes. Basically, the show is too big for its room and not slick enough for its style. Lillias White is the only one, except for Billy Stritch, who genuinely seems to be having a good time. . . . Sally Mayes has a likable no-nonsense aplomb as the show's older woman, but it is hard not to want to put a small net over the enthusiasms of Rachel York, Howard McGillin and David Burnham. The staging feels embalmed. There is no chat and not enough greatest-hits. The song list leans a bit heavily on work with lyrics by [director]David Zippel, a choice more understandable than defensible.”


Adam Feldman in Time Out New York writes: (*** out of 5 stars) “The Cy Coleman revue “The Best Is Yet to Come” begins with the title tune, which sounds like a promise, and ends with a reprise of it, which sounds like a tacit apology for failing to deliver. Although performed with professional verve by a name-brand cast of six, most of the show’s songs can’t be described as the cream of the late Coleman’s bounteous crop; assembled and directed by David Zippel, the lyricist for Coleman’s hit 1989 Broadway musical City of Angels, the show heaves a Cy of mil disappointment. . . . “The Best Is Yet to Come” is truly exciting only when the sensational Lillias White is center stage, especially when re-creating the centerpiece song from her Tony-winning turn in 1997’s “The Life.” Otherwise, this is a case of too much Zippel and not enough zip.”


Melissa Rose Bernardo in Entertainment Weekly writes: (Grade = C+) “It's only natural that a Cy Coleman revue should take its name from one of the composer's most memorable tunes — 'The Best Is Yet to Come,' that swingy ode to optimism made famous by Frank Sinatra in the '60s. Yet after seeing this cramped, haphazardly staged Off Broadway show, I thought of one of Coleman's titles from Sweet Charity: 'There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This.' . . . It's just song after song after song after song...shoehorned into random situations to give the barest suggestion of a plot. . . . Along with lyricists like David Zippel, Carolyn Leigh, and Dorothy Fields, Coleman created a whole host of fascinating characters. Why cut them out of the show?”
Updated On: 5/27/11 at 06:32 PM

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 6:37pm

Seems like the critics either loved it or -- didn't. A matter of personal taste, maybe, in terms of presentation style.

The talent doesn't seem to be in question - only the direction, perhaps.

I get to see for myself in a few weeks. Hope I fall into the "loved it" camp. I adore Coleman's music, and I'm excited for the entire cast.

[canthumthetunes]

Posted: 5/27/11 at 10:02pm

The Entertainment Weekly review is just remarkable. Who complains about a lack of coherent plot in a revue?

[canthumthetunes]

Posted: 5/31/11 at 2:39pm

"Zippel uses tissue-thin relationships between the lyrics and performances to seamlessly glide from one song to the next. And as the evening goes on, the consistently high quality of lyrics Coleman worked with - from the colorful street-wise vernacular of Carolyn Leigh and Dorothy Fields to the intricate wordplay of Zippel himself - becomes startling. But everything about this revue is sublimely first rate."
BroadwayWorld.com review

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 5/31/11 at 5:27pm

StageGrade gave it a B+. A lot of the online reviews are there (including one from John Simon who's now at the Yonkers Tribune!).
StageGrade