#1
Posted: 8/25/07 at 4:54pm
So, I usually post my reviews right after I see shows but I've been slacking lately.
Instead of giving in-depth reviews of RENT (which I've seen multiple times before), and ACL (same...and I reviewed it twice), I thought I'd just point out a few things from the performances I attended.
RENT: I went to Anthony & Adam's first show back and thought they were fantastic (they're voices have matured and sound better now than they did in '96). They really know every single in and out of their respective characters and could do the show in their sleep, but interestingly enough, they were very into it and not bored at all by material that they've performed over and over again. I commend them for keeping the energy level up and I thought they both gave wonderful performances (they are a bit too old to play these roles, I think most people will agree with me there, but they were still very good). RENT itself (I saw it in June also) is holding up exceptionally well. Unlike most shows that should have closed already and are kinda falling apart (CHICAGO, in my opinion, is one of those shows), RENT is still full of heart, talent, and energy after all these years and thanks to a first-rate ensemble, it is still in fine shape and deserves to run a few more years. Also, Tamyra Gray is giving a noteworthy performance as Mimi. She has great stage presence and sings the hell out of "Out Tonight".
*** out of ****
A CHORUS LINE: I went late July and thought it was in great shape and then I saw it again last Sunday and was a bit more skeptical. Michael Beresse has been getting weaker and weaker everytime I saw the show. Also, I know it's a really dumb complaint but he screamed too much the first time I saw it in November and it irked me that he thought the only way to get across the fact that he was playing a director was to scream...well, it's taking its toll on him. He looks tired and when he shouts out 'A FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT!' at the top of the show, it should be a valiant cry and the only real moment (besides the last line he yells at Cassie when he asks her to step out of the 'One' combination) that he should be loud at and his voice was cracking and hoarse at the last two shows. But, anyway, the rest of the cast is fine...some performances are in different leagues than others (Natalie Cortez is still giving a great performance and Jessica Lee Goldyn is getting better and better every time I go...they were the only real standouts). Both of the last times I saw the show though, Charlotte was out and her standby Jessica Lea Patty (who performs every Sunday) was in and she was simply sublime. Both times I saw her, what she lacked in the acting department she more than made up in 'TMATM' which soared in a way it hadn't before, garnering a HUGE round of applause. I also found what I didn't really like about 'TMATM'; it seems under choreographed. At least the last two times I saw it, I noticed while Patty was dancing her heart out, the choreography itself was lacking... All in all, the show is holding up well but not nearly as well as RENT...which is not a good sign considering that ACL has been running for less than a year and RENT has been on the boards for over ten. The performances are very uneven and most of them are uninspired.
**1/2 out of ****
CURTAINS:
So, I went to see CURTAINS on Thursday night and was very underwhelmed.
While I enjoyed it more than Legally Blonde (which, looking back on it, I was overly nice to), its simply nothing special.
The score is very nice but it's not Ebb and Kander's best. It is sweet and it means well but doesn't really make that much of an impression. I found there to be too many reprises and too many songs that sounded way too similar than the one before it. Standouts were 'Show People,' 'Thataway!,' 'It's A Business,' and 'A Tough Act To Follow,' although none of them will become musical theater standards like other tunes by the incomparable writing team have become. '...Business' and '..Act to Follow' were only standouts to me because of the delivery of the songs by Debra Monk and David Hyde Pierce, respectively. The songs didn't really make me swoon, the performances did. So, all in all, it's a respectable score that goes down smoothly but doesn't really make that much of an impression.
The book was uneven, I thought. Although there's once again, no doubt that Rupert Holmes and the late Peter Stone are two great book-writers, but here, they both seemed to stumble. There are moments where the show hits every right note (most of these moments are in the Second Act) and others where the show seems to hit wrong note after wrong note, predictable joke after predictable joke (a lot of the first act). The show opened promisingly (the opening sequence was very funny) and the rest of the first act was rocky at best; but the second act was much more irreverent and bubbly and while it still was not smooth sailing, it was a great improvement over Act I.
The performances were very nice. The principles, especially, were fantastic. Debra Monk is a delight, delivering each and every line (even the less funny ones) with panache and comic timing to die for. David Hyde Pierce is funny and wonderfully talented (although I think we can almost all agree Esparza deserved the Tony this year) and he really delivers a crowd-pleasing performance here. Jason Danieley was out and Matt Farnsworth was on and did a good job. Karen Ziemba was sensational, Jill Paice, Edward Hibbert, John Bolton, Noah Racey, and Megan Sikora were all great as well. This is an exceptionally talented cast...the big production numbers were the moments where the ball was really and truly hit out of the park.
The technical aspects of the show were fine...William Ivey Long's costumes weren't the best he's designed, but they were still beautiful; Anna Louizos' sets were a bit stale, Peter Kaczorowski's lighting designs were fine, and William David Brohn's orchestrations were once again spectacular.
I particularly enjoyed Rob Ashford's energetic choreography; I thought it should have won the Tony this year. While he still hasn't reached the level of brilliance he did with the choreography for MILLIE (which was one of the show's best assets), he is proving once again that he is a huge talent to be reckoned with in this production.
Scott Ellis did a fine job of keeping the show moving; he did a pretty steady job the whole way through and allowed for the production to move at a commendable pace.
All in all, I was underwhelmed by CURTAINS. It's not anywhere near being the best musical comedy on Broadway (that title belongs to SPELLING BEE, which is infinitely cheaper to produce and about an hour shorter as well as 100 times more entertaining), but it's a crowd pleaser and it LOOKS good which is enough for most tourists. If a show looks good and has a star like Hyde Pierce in the leading role, it's bound to make money...and CURTAINS will do exactly that. It's a rocky evening at the theater, but with Hyde Pierce on stage most of the time, the audience didn't seem to notice or care.
** out of ****
Instead of giving in-depth reviews of RENT (which I've seen multiple times before), and ACL (same...and I reviewed it twice), I thought I'd just point out a few things from the performances I attended.
RENT: I went to Anthony & Adam's first show back and thought they were fantastic (they're voices have matured and sound better now than they did in '96). They really know every single in and out of their respective characters and could do the show in their sleep, but interestingly enough, they were very into it and not bored at all by material that they've performed over and over again. I commend them for keeping the energy level up and I thought they both gave wonderful performances (they are a bit too old to play these roles, I think most people will agree with me there, but they were still very good). RENT itself (I saw it in June also) is holding up exceptionally well. Unlike most shows that should have closed already and are kinda falling apart (CHICAGO, in my opinion, is one of those shows), RENT is still full of heart, talent, and energy after all these years and thanks to a first-rate ensemble, it is still in fine shape and deserves to run a few more years. Also, Tamyra Gray is giving a noteworthy performance as Mimi. She has great stage presence and sings the hell out of "Out Tonight".
*** out of ****
A CHORUS LINE: I went late July and thought it was in great shape and then I saw it again last Sunday and was a bit more skeptical. Michael Beresse has been getting weaker and weaker everytime I saw the show. Also, I know it's a really dumb complaint but he screamed too much the first time I saw it in November and it irked me that he thought the only way to get across the fact that he was playing a director was to scream...well, it's taking its toll on him. He looks tired and when he shouts out 'A FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT!' at the top of the show, it should be a valiant cry and the only real moment (besides the last line he yells at Cassie when he asks her to step out of the 'One' combination) that he should be loud at and his voice was cracking and hoarse at the last two shows. But, anyway, the rest of the cast is fine...some performances are in different leagues than others (Natalie Cortez is still giving a great performance and Jessica Lee Goldyn is getting better and better every time I go...they were the only real standouts). Both of the last times I saw the show though, Charlotte was out and her standby Jessica Lea Patty (who performs every Sunday) was in and she was simply sublime. Both times I saw her, what she lacked in the acting department she more than made up in 'TMATM' which soared in a way it hadn't before, garnering a HUGE round of applause. I also found what I didn't really like about 'TMATM'; it seems under choreographed. At least the last two times I saw it, I noticed while Patty was dancing her heart out, the choreography itself was lacking... All in all, the show is holding up well but not nearly as well as RENT...which is not a good sign considering that ACL has been running for less than a year and RENT has been on the boards for over ten. The performances are very uneven and most of them are uninspired.
**1/2 out of ****
CURTAINS:
So, I went to see CURTAINS on Thursday night and was very underwhelmed.
While I enjoyed it more than Legally Blonde (which, looking back on it, I was overly nice to), its simply nothing special.
The score is very nice but it's not Ebb and Kander's best. It is sweet and it means well but doesn't really make that much of an impression. I found there to be too many reprises and too many songs that sounded way too similar than the one before it. Standouts were 'Show People,' 'Thataway!,' 'It's A Business,' and 'A Tough Act To Follow,' although none of them will become musical theater standards like other tunes by the incomparable writing team have become. '...Business' and '..Act to Follow' were only standouts to me because of the delivery of the songs by Debra Monk and David Hyde Pierce, respectively. The songs didn't really make me swoon, the performances did. So, all in all, it's a respectable score that goes down smoothly but doesn't really make that much of an impression.
The book was uneven, I thought. Although there's once again, no doubt that Rupert Holmes and the late Peter Stone are two great book-writers, but here, they both seemed to stumble. There are moments where the show hits every right note (most of these moments are in the Second Act) and others where the show seems to hit wrong note after wrong note, predictable joke after predictable joke (a lot of the first act). The show opened promisingly (the opening sequence was very funny) and the rest of the first act was rocky at best; but the second act was much more irreverent and bubbly and while it still was not smooth sailing, it was a great improvement over Act I.
The performances were very nice. The principles, especially, were fantastic. Debra Monk is a delight, delivering each and every line (even the less funny ones) with panache and comic timing to die for. David Hyde Pierce is funny and wonderfully talented (although I think we can almost all agree Esparza deserved the Tony this year) and he really delivers a crowd-pleasing performance here. Jason Danieley was out and Matt Farnsworth was on and did a good job. Karen Ziemba was sensational, Jill Paice, Edward Hibbert, John Bolton, Noah Racey, and Megan Sikora were all great as well. This is an exceptionally talented cast...the big production numbers were the moments where the ball was really and truly hit out of the park.
The technical aspects of the show were fine...William Ivey Long's costumes weren't the best he's designed, but they were still beautiful; Anna Louizos' sets were a bit stale, Peter Kaczorowski's lighting designs were fine, and William David Brohn's orchestrations were once again spectacular.
I particularly enjoyed Rob Ashford's energetic choreography; I thought it should have won the Tony this year. While he still hasn't reached the level of brilliance he did with the choreography for MILLIE (which was one of the show's best assets), he is proving once again that he is a huge talent to be reckoned with in this production.
Scott Ellis did a fine job of keeping the show moving; he did a pretty steady job the whole way through and allowed for the production to move at a commendable pace.
All in all, I was underwhelmed by CURTAINS. It's not anywhere near being the best musical comedy on Broadway (that title belongs to SPELLING BEE, which is infinitely cheaper to produce and about an hour shorter as well as 100 times more entertaining), but it's a crowd pleaser and it LOOKS good which is enough for most tourists. If a show looks good and has a star like Hyde Pierce in the leading role, it's bound to make money...and CURTAINS will do exactly that. It's a rocky evening at the theater, but with Hyde Pierce on stage most of the time, the audience didn't seem to notice or care.
** out of ****
