Tomorrow night is the night that I have been waiting for since August. I had wanted to see THE VISIT since the Signature production, but I didn’t have the means of getting there at the time. Over the summer, I made the trek to Williamstown to see THE VISIT, and was so blown away that I returned a week later, making the trip from Jersey again. It is rare that I make a strong connection with new musicals as I’m usually more a revival guy. In the past several years, some new musicals that I have really connected with include: Next to Normal, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Bridges of Madison County, and now The Visit.
This show isn't going to be an easy sell, and audiences and critics will be divided, but it is so thrilling to have Chita Rivera back in one of the final Kander & Ebb pieces. The show is dark, creepy, thought provoking, and bizarrely romantic. I cannot wait to see the work they have done since WTF, I am hoping that it really raises the stakes. The design of the production is absolutely stunning, and the direction screams John Doyle, in fact, I enjoy his direction here even more than on his Sweeney and Company revivals. I know that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I truly hope that everyone gives it a fair chance. It's not everyday we get a new Kander & Ebb musical starring Chita Rivera in quite possibly the performance of her career.
Here's to wishing the production a healthy and honored run!
Updated On: 3/25/15 at 10:22 PM