Yes, clearly you are an ignoramus. John Treacy Egan is a terrific Max who does wonderful things with the role. I loved Brad Oscar's Max as well. Both men possess rich powerful voices and great comedic ability. I've seen all the Max's (Lane, Goodman, Oscar, Stadlen, Cullen, Alexander and Kind) and John Treacy Egan is the closest you can get to Nathan Lane's original bravado turn. He really captures Max's spirit. It's fair enough to say that Nathan's original turn is unparalled and in a league of its own, but JTE's take on Max is truly wonderful in its own way as well. Believe me, STUNT casting RUINS this show. You don't want to see Kelsey Grammar hack his way thru the role. He's very talented, but isn't a musical comedy man by any stretch. Richard Dreyfuss did not pull a disk in his back, Lane did near the end of his short run, Dreyfuss's "injury" was a smokescreen for his sheer inability to do the role.
And the show isn't closing anytime soon..it's still turning a great profit and a hit amongst audiences. The hype has died down, but that's to be expected some 5 years and a bit after its opening! Maybe Margo, the voice of reason, can chime in here.
Updated On: 5/12/06 at 08:08 AM
