#1
Posted: 4/26/08 at 11:13pm
Well, Harvey was right. I laughed, I cried, I was home by 11. Now, what to do with the rest of my Saturday night?
A CATERED AFFAIR isn't the best or worst musical ever written. I can't even call it a musical. Perhaps an operetta? A play with music? I figured this was going to be another bland downer like Light in the Piazza so I went in holding my breath.
Any other season, like next season, perhaps, it would get lost in the shuffle. A 90-minute no-dancing, no flying horses musical up against a ballet dancing kid and another big green guy? Come on. Luckily, it landed on Broadway this season, where the big green guy went bust, a bunch of mermaids drowned, and a cool, slick rebel was neither cool nor slick. No, it's up against an Hispanic gentleman rapping, a Black indie rocker, and a perky blonde on skates. And while it may not be the greatest show to hit Broadway in years, it's certainly number 2 on my list of the season (Passing Strange is #1.)
John Bucchino's score isn't one of the most memorable ones (the only song I walked out humming was "Don't Ever Stop Saying..." but I'm convinced it was because I've heard it twice a day on the radio ad nauseum for the past 3 months), but it certainly is the most emotionally effective, in terms of music and lyrics, I've heard in years (especially compared to Piazza.)
It was hard to tell where Harvey's nicely crafted book ends and Bucchino's score picked up, not sheading light on the eternal question - which comes first: the book or the score?
And while the songs weren't memorable - the delivery and motivation were. I didn't love Faith Prince - she's a great performer, arguably giving the most different performance of her career - but Aggie was just too overbearing for my taste. I really felt for Tom Wopat, who just shot to the top of my Tony pix list, and his 11 o'clock number, "I Stayed," is truly an experience to be seen. Harvey is Harvey - he gets laughs, and underneath all the croaking, there's somewhat of a good singer in there. Matt Cavenaugh, doing a great extension of his Kennedy in Grey Gardens (though this guy isn't from Boston, unfortunately), is totally wasted. Leslie Kritzer doesn't make much of a showing, either, but she's got a pretty voice.
The show's got substance. There's actually something there that makes you care for these people. It's not uninvolving or distancing. I just felt it was too slight. 90 minutes gets me to my reservations at Angus' an hour earlier, but I feel like I've just eaten half of a huge porterhouse and the waiter took the rest away. Know what I mean?
A CATERED AFFAIR isn't the best or worst musical ever written. I can't even call it a musical. Perhaps an operetta? A play with music? I figured this was going to be another bland downer like Light in the Piazza so I went in holding my breath.
Any other season, like next season, perhaps, it would get lost in the shuffle. A 90-minute no-dancing, no flying horses musical up against a ballet dancing kid and another big green guy? Come on. Luckily, it landed on Broadway this season, where the big green guy went bust, a bunch of mermaids drowned, and a cool, slick rebel was neither cool nor slick. No, it's up against an Hispanic gentleman rapping, a Black indie rocker, and a perky blonde on skates. And while it may not be the greatest show to hit Broadway in years, it's certainly number 2 on my list of the season (Passing Strange is #1.)
John Bucchino's score isn't one of the most memorable ones (the only song I walked out humming was "Don't Ever Stop Saying..." but I'm convinced it was because I've heard it twice a day on the radio ad nauseum for the past 3 months), but it certainly is the most emotionally effective, in terms of music and lyrics, I've heard in years (especially compared to Piazza.)
It was hard to tell where Harvey's nicely crafted book ends and Bucchino's score picked up, not sheading light on the eternal question - which comes first: the book or the score?
And while the songs weren't memorable - the delivery and motivation were. I didn't love Faith Prince - she's a great performer, arguably giving the most different performance of her career - but Aggie was just too overbearing for my taste. I really felt for Tom Wopat, who just shot to the top of my Tony pix list, and his 11 o'clock number, "I Stayed," is truly an experience to be seen. Harvey is Harvey - he gets laughs, and underneath all the croaking, there's somewhat of a good singer in there. Matt Cavenaugh, doing a great extension of his Kennedy in Grey Gardens (though this guy isn't from Boston, unfortunately), is totally wasted. Leslie Kritzer doesn't make much of a showing, either, but she's got a pretty voice.
The show's got substance. There's actually something there that makes you care for these people. It's not uninvolving or distancing. I just felt it was too slight. 90 minutes gets me to my reservations at Angus' an hour earlier, but I feel like I've just eaten half of a huge porterhouse and the waiter took the rest away. Know what I mean?
