#1
Posted: 1/9/04 at 4:10pm
I had an opportunity to catch a Wednesday matinee of Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town. Being one of Donna Murphy's biggest fans it saddens me to say that her performance was...well...not funny, not interesting, not much of anything. Let me begin by saying that the audience was dead and the average age must have been 70 or 80 years old.
(Side Note: How obnoxious are old people. They're worse than little kids in the theater. It was a problem at Wicked and Wonderful Town. What is this constant need to comment on everything and repeat jokes? Sorry I'm stereotyping but it was ridiculous. I sat behind a group of immature teenagers from a school at Henry IV and they were more respectful than the old people sitting behind me at Wonderful Town. Rude Rude Rude.)
...Anyway, the role of Eileen was being played by Nancy Anderson who I personally adore and was thrilled to see that she would be playing the role. I knew nothing about Wonderful Town going in, only a few of the numbers...you know the ones everyone knows (why oh why oh why oh...why did I ever leave Ohio). I find the show to be very interesting. Very old school musical with several numbers that were obviously thrown in with no relation to the plot. The Irish Eileen number and Wrong Note Rag in particular made no sense. But that's okay, I can appreciate the show for what it is. In conclusion I basically think that the show is so outdated it really needs a book doctor, because the jokes simply do not land.
Kathleen Marshall's choreography and direction are fine although nothing spectacular. Her smartest move was putting the orchestra on the stage. They truly were the star of the show and just a little reminder how important the orchestra in a Broadway show is.
As for the performances...well the orchestra is the only performance that got a standing ovation from me. Nancy Anderson did a fine job as the understudy for Eileen. She is quite a talent and I would have found her wasted in her regular role in the show. Greg Edelman is so incredibly boring onstage one of those old people I was talking about behind me fell asleep and started to snore. Can some one tell me how he gets so much work? What an uninteresting actor. As for Donna Murphy, she simply didn't live up to my expectations. She seemed tired and the number Swing was embarassing to watch. Some of her character choices annoyed me to no end. What was the voice about? I don't get that. It seems as if all the actors where in different worlds playing different types of comedy. Donna's Ruth was so screwballish and awkward that I had a hard time watching her. None of the actors even came close to playing the humor at this level. It was very uneven. I must say however that the man playing the ice cream man (Eileen's love interest) was sensational. He really pushed the show along for me. The Conga number and the finale to Act I were excellent as was Wreck's number "Pass That Football."
Overall the show did very little for me. Why was Donna Murphy so off? Who knows? Maybe it was the fact that it was a Wednesday matinee, maybe it was the fact that Eileen was being played by an understudy, maybe it was because Greg what's-his-name stinks, maybe it's because the jokes are so outdated that no one was laughing at her. Whatever the case may be this show did nothing for me except give me a new found appreciation for the Broadway orchestra and how important they are.
(Side Note: How obnoxious are old people. They're worse than little kids in the theater. It was a problem at Wicked and Wonderful Town. What is this constant need to comment on everything and repeat jokes? Sorry I'm stereotyping but it was ridiculous. I sat behind a group of immature teenagers from a school at Henry IV and they were more respectful than the old people sitting behind me at Wonderful Town. Rude Rude Rude.)
...Anyway, the role of Eileen was being played by Nancy Anderson who I personally adore and was thrilled to see that she would be playing the role. I knew nothing about Wonderful Town going in, only a few of the numbers...you know the ones everyone knows (why oh why oh why oh...why did I ever leave Ohio). I find the show to be very interesting. Very old school musical with several numbers that were obviously thrown in with no relation to the plot. The Irish Eileen number and Wrong Note Rag in particular made no sense. But that's okay, I can appreciate the show for what it is. In conclusion I basically think that the show is so outdated it really needs a book doctor, because the jokes simply do not land.
Kathleen Marshall's choreography and direction are fine although nothing spectacular. Her smartest move was putting the orchestra on the stage. They truly were the star of the show and just a little reminder how important the orchestra in a Broadway show is.
As for the performances...well the orchestra is the only performance that got a standing ovation from me. Nancy Anderson did a fine job as the understudy for Eileen. She is quite a talent and I would have found her wasted in her regular role in the show. Greg Edelman is so incredibly boring onstage one of those old people I was talking about behind me fell asleep and started to snore. Can some one tell me how he gets so much work? What an uninteresting actor. As for Donna Murphy, she simply didn't live up to my expectations. She seemed tired and the number Swing was embarassing to watch. Some of her character choices annoyed me to no end. What was the voice about? I don't get that. It seems as if all the actors where in different worlds playing different types of comedy. Donna's Ruth was so screwballish and awkward that I had a hard time watching her. None of the actors even came close to playing the humor at this level. It was very uneven. I must say however that the man playing the ice cream man (Eileen's love interest) was sensational. He really pushed the show along for me. The Conga number and the finale to Act I were excellent as was Wreck's number "Pass That Football."
Overall the show did very little for me. Why was Donna Murphy so off? Who knows? Maybe it was the fact that it was a Wednesday matinee, maybe it was the fact that Eileen was being played by an understudy, maybe it was because Greg what's-his-name stinks, maybe it's because the jokes are so outdated that no one was laughing at her. Whatever the case may be this show did nothing for me except give me a new found appreciation for the Broadway orchestra and how important they are.
