exedore sees 5 SHOWS in 4 DAYS for $25* (With Reviews)

[exedore]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 12:39pm

*not including restoration and telecharge fees

So, I was in NYC for the past few days. Below are (hopefully brief) reviews of what I saw, with info on how I got the tix, and a grade of what the show, IMO, is worth paying.

Thursday Night: The Color Purple
Ticket Type: General Rush

The rush seats for TCP are nice, except that you 1)have to stare up a lot, and 2)risk getting spit on by Kingsley Leggs during his big number.

Personally, as a caucasian male, I don't think I took everything away from this show that other people may have. I liked the story, and while the show only has a couple of big defining songs (Hell No!, The Color Purple), I liked it as a *score*, much like "Caroline, or Change" is taken as a *score*. I also felt that the show glosses over some of the issues presented (Celie's rape, Mister's physical violence), although it was clear what was going on. As others have stated, I too felt the Africa scene went on for too long, and also wished they'd have done a better job of physically aging Celie in the first act - LaChanze still looked 14 at the end of act one instead of 30.

Favourite aspects: The cast in general, but especially Felicia P. Fields as Sofia and the Church ladies.
Worth paying: $50

Friday night: Dog Sees God
Type of ticket: All 10PM tix are $25

While this show is going to date itself quickly, it will still run for ages in regional and university theatres. The show is funny, edgy, and brutal, and will work regardless of cast (disclaimer: I didn't know who any of the 'celebrities' were going in and judged them on their own merits). While I wish they'd kept the Fringe ending, the B/VS scene wasn't as bad as I'd heard. On the other hand, Tricia and Marcy were (intentionally but still) obnoxious, and so much more could have been done with their characters.

Highlights: Keith Nobbs as Van and Eliza Dushku as Van's Sister. Both nailed their roles and delivered some of the best material in the show.
Worth Paying: $40.

Saturday Matinee: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Type of Ticket: SRO

SRO tickets are off to the sides in the back. You're not allowed to sit down or lean too far because the cast runs around back there, but the view is still great thanks to the layout of Circle in the Square.

Spelling Bee is one of the shows I wanted to see most in NYC, but it had the least amount of OOMPH for me, perhaps out of familiarity with the CD and having read a number of the jokes online. I think that I would have enjoyed it more had I gone with somebody who hadn't seen the show before so I could watch them and gauge reaction as well. The guest spellers were top notch, including one doctor who "wanted to grow up to be a doctor but would refuse to dress like one", and a little girl who "won her district bee by spelling her own name". Nevertheless, it was a highly entertaining afternoon, and well worth the wait.

Highlights: The whole cast was on (and in!), but my favourite parts were "My Unfortunate Erection" and Marcy's scene which includes "I Speak Six Languages"
Worth paying: $50

Saturday Evening: Jersey Boys
Ticket Type: Student Rush

The rush tix for JB are in the restricted view section of center orchestra. You don't miss any of the real action, but all of the projection screens (with lots of groovy pop art) are cut off at about 1/3 of the way up. The sad thing is that except for the student tickets, restricted view is being sold at full price, much to the ire of patrons standing in the queue with me.

As for the content, the first thing to say is that they need to add a section in the pre-show noise warning telling people to STFU and not sing along during the show. While the crowd was mostly aging boomers who should know how to act in theatres, any time a major number started up the singing did as well. If this pisses any of you off as much as it does myself, I'd wait a few months for the major crowds to die down and the noise to go away.

Now then, the show itself is a biopic done as a stage musical, and it works pretty well. The perspective changes halfway through each act to a different member in the band, and they do a good job of telling the story and the band's rise, fall, and rebirth. McAnuff's direction is superb, and the set designs are brilliant, as is the use of the on (and off) stage orchestra. Jersey Boys is very much an event, and compared to some jukebox musicals (WWRY, GV) actually has a decent plot. My only real criticism of the book is that when the three #1's hit, there's no dramatic building between them; just a couple lines and then another song - not even a set change or visual of something greater and grander. Except for that sequence, the show is solid and will run for years to come, especially once they put together an abbreviated version for Vegas.

Highlights: The concert scene and the cast. Phenomenal cast. John Lloyd Young will be getting a Tony nomination.
Worth paying: $65, add another $20 if you remember when the Four Seasons were new.

Sundy Matinee: Souvenir
Ticket type: Student Rush

The rush tickets for Souvenir are the first row of the orchestra. They're a bit cramped (right up against the stage), and the stage is high so you miss a couple things further in the back. Fortunately, this isn't a show that relies on big sets but rather a great deal of heart. While it isn't the great event that Jersey Boys or Color Purple is, Souvenir is a charming, warm, and loving tribute to one of the most intriguing singers in history. I found the book humourous and tender, and am saddened that the sales numbers are as low as they are, because the show really is that good. With the right name playing Florence Foster Jenkins, the show could sell so well, and word of mouth would keep it alive after. On the upside, the usher I talked to during intermission commented that the show should be running through February, and that a few more seats are filled each week, though he's not sure how many of them are being comped. I have a feeling that if it stayed Off B'way (perhaps in Dodgers One), it would be considered a greater success.

Souvenir takes the prize as my "Go see it now!" recommendation of this trip, and should not be missed either in NYC or the numerous local productions that deserve to follow.

Highlights: The whole show, but especially Judy Kaye's army themed costume and song and the way that Donald Corren nails the emotions of narrating this piece, not to mention the way he handles Kaye's character at the end of the second act.
Worth paying: $65. (Full price off B'way)

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 1:09pm

nice! great reviews!

[RockabyeHamlet]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 3:51pm

Nice Reviews!

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 4:03pm

I disagree. I hated SOUVINER.

[exedore]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 4:31pm

Munk: May I ask what you disliked about it?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 4:36pm

The play. I left at intermission.

It's incredibly boring - how many times can you hear the same conversation? How many times can you hear her sing off-key and have it still be funny?

The guy in the show was completely irritating.

Judy Kaye was fine, but she never convinced me that she actually THOUGHT she could sing. It was almost like Kaye was performing kind of winking at the audience. They were acting too campy - it should be completely serious - and the comedy would come out of THAT, rather than Kaye and the man (name?) TRYING to make us laugh. The direction was ATROCIOUS.