Following up on my post about my NYC trip, I'm back! I ended up seeing 6 shows in total, which, if I'm not mistaken, is a new record for me. In addition to the six, which I've written up reviews about, I went to Harry Potter: The Exhibition, a collection of costumes and props and such from the movies... which was GREAT. SO much fun seeing items from movies that I will never forget. Each item had a little sign next to it, identifying what the item was... is it bad that I didn't need the little sign for probably a vast majority of the items?
Anyhoo, if you're interested, my reviews are after the cut!
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
What we have here is a flawed musical. The score, while enjoyable in the theatre, is overall pretty average. There were a few fantastic numbers… but also more than a few that now, just three days later, I can't recall. The performances were a mixed bag - Norbert Leo Butz is his typical brilliant self and Aaron Tveit turns in a more than capable star turn, but Tom Wopat and Kerry Butler fail to leave a positive impression (in Wopat's case, I blame the role… but Butler was downright laughable at points). The story isn't really a story that screams to be musicalized, but the device used to shoehorn songs into the plot was effective for me. The book, like the score, was moderately average: it told the story well enough, but too many jokes fell flat and the action tended to merely tread water too often.
With all that mediocrity abound, I must say: I really enjoyed this show. I laughed, I felt my heart warm, I felt for the characters, I tapped my foot to the music, I had fun. Given that I got a student rush ticket… what more can I ask for? This show really reminded me of Norbert Leo Butz's last musical effort, 2005's DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Thinking back, that musical shared many of the same flaws as CATCH ME… and I enjoyed that one, too.
All in all, not a bad start to my trip!
THE NORMAL HEART
This was one of the plays I was looking forward to the most. I consider Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" among my very favorite plays, so another in the so-called "AIDS plays" is certainly right up my alley. Overall, this play more or less lived up to my expectations, but not all the factors lived up to my hopes.
First, the good. Larry Kramer's characters, all built around real people, are incredibly rich, showing all sorts of different facets of gay life and types of gay men, living in New York in the early 1980s. The situation these men find themselves in is tragically real and downright horrifying. Joe Mantello as Ned Weeks is nothing short of brilliant, one of the best performances I have ever seen. The supporting cast works moderately well together… which leads me to the bad.
Two actors in particular seem incredibly out of place in the ensemble. One, Tony Award nominee Ellen Barkin, the other, I'm sorry to say, is Lee Pace. Lame pun alert: Barkin's last name is appropriate for her portrayal of Dr. Emma Brookner; her thinking is apparently the louder you yell, the more impact you make. I'd heard raves about her Act II monologue bemoaning the lack of funding for early AIDS research… but it seemed like a big screamy mess to me. The monologue went absolutely nowhere. Secondly, Lee Pace. I love me some Lee Pace, but he seemed to be in a completely different show entirely, playing some sort of sheriff in the wild west or something. I didn't get a single bit of connection to any character or the text from Pace, which makes his bit moment at the end of Act II horribly disappointing. Based on his work in "Pushing Daisies", I expected the exact opposite from him, but alas, that was not to be.
My other disappointment is actually the play itself. I had never read it before, but did read it's sequel, THE DESTINY OF ME (and preformed a monologue from it… and got an A on it, if I may add). I found the play to be extremely preachy and more a collection of facts and numbers being thrown around than anything else. I understand that that very aspect is the point of the play, but I wanted less of that.
All that said, this was a case of the "finale" forcing you to gloss over all the negatives, and leave the theatre remembering just that moment. Without spoiling anything, the audience is completely devastated, needing a moment to compose themselves before the curtain call. It was something I've very rarely experienced, which I LOVED.
One the way out of the theatre, the young couple behind me was discussing how they'd read all about the AIDS outbreak and how terrible it was, but the sheer scope of the numbers was never clear to them, until this play. As I thought about it, the same is true for me. THAT is why this revival of this play is relevant, that is why this revival needs to be playing, that is why this revival needs to be seen. And I am so glad I saw this.
How's that for a convoluted review? You're welcome.
PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT
This is a show that can be summed up in three words: "FUN", "SPARKLY" and "GAY".
The performances in this show are appropriately campy yet completely rooted in humanity (which is not easy). There is a sign outside the theatre with a quote about there being a heart beneath all the sparkles… and that it 100% accurate. I didn't think I'd get choked up in a show that includes songs like "It's Raining Men" and "I Will Survive"… but I did. Quite the trick. The lead trio of actors are particularly wonderful: Will Swenson with just the right amount of charm, Nick Adams with just the right amount of obnoxiousness, and Tony Sheldon with just the right amount of class.
Other than that, I don't think there is much more to say about PRISCILLA, other than the fact that I have never seen so many LED lights in my life. I mean, c'mon, they had a bus covered in them. Great stuff!
SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
I will be coming off very much as an elitist here with this statement: if you didn't enjoy this show, you didn't get it's intent. Now, to clarify…
The aim of this show isn't exactly the obvious: the movies on stage. When the first set was lowered onstage, it became crystal clear that this was a comic book musical, the comic book onstage. Suddenly, the cheese-tastic book made sense, the cartoony costumes were perfect, the cheesily spectacular stunts became exciting. If you went into the show thinking you were going to see a re-invention of Spider-Man, you are mistaken. If you expected Cirque du Soleil type storytelling and innovation, you are mistaken. If you expect a comic book coming to life in front of your eyes… you're on the right track.
That's not to say that all the show's issues are fine because it's a comic book. Not hardly. The show's biggest problem is the show's score. There are a few numbers that standout, both musically and where they fit in with the book (namely "Bouncing Off the Walls", "Rise Above", "If the World Should End" and "The Boy Falls From the Sky"). But there are some numbers that are so staggeringly bad that you actually feel bad for the performers performing them ("Bullying By Numbers", "D.I.Y. World"). It's a real wonder how such songs can still be in the show now three weeks from the (final!) opening date, but given the original creative team, it unfortunately makes sense, I suppose. I really think the basis of a great score is there, and Spider-Man is a story that I can envision working as a musical… it's a real shame that the score wasn't developed as it should be. The pieces are there.
This is a slight to actors everywhere, but this is a show where the performances don't matter. As long as the actor isn't a complete joke onstage, it will be fine. That said… the work done by Patrick Page here is nothing short of fantastic. He held the audience in the palm of his overly made-up green hand, creating a truly memorable villain (which is a MUST in a comic book world). Reeve Carney, the usual Peter Parker/Spider-Man is in Los Angeles this week to perform on American Idol, but special recognition is required for his alternate, Matthew James Thomas. Though he had a bit of vocal trouble with "The Boy Falls from the Sky", one would never know an understudy was playing the role (and I'd bet most in the audience had no idea).
In all, I loved this spectacle. If I didn't have three other shows in mind for today's two-show day, I'd actually consider seeing it again… I enjoyed it THAT much. Haters be damned!
ANYTHING GOES
This particular classic show is one of my favorites. Sure, the book is cheesy and clichéd. Sure, the characters fall into and out of love at the drop of a hat. Sure, many of the old fashioned jokes fall on their faces more often than not. But the score of this show is one of the all time greats. As I told one older woman in line to buy tickets, it's one of those shows that you've probably heard every song in the score somewhere before, they are absolute standards. Even a bad production allows you to hear the great songs.
When the casting was announced for Roundabout's production, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Sutton Foster seemed to young to play Reno, Joel Grey too old to play Moonface… though Laura Osnes, Colin Donnell, John McMartin, Jessica Stone and Jessica Walter were all fantastic choices. The end result? That same mixed bag, really. Foster was more than adequate as Reno: she sang the role well, acted the role as one would think she would, and danced like no Reno I've ever seen (typically Reno doesn't dance, but Foster was actually leading the tap numbers). Her problem, though, was her presense. Reno should be this larger than life figure… which Sutton Foster is not. In the case of Joel Grey, I didn't really get the sense that he was playing Moonface Martin, the comical gangster. It felt to me that he was playing Joel Grey, Tony and Oscar winner for playing The Emcee in CABARET. His strange performance didn't detract from the show, but was disappointing. Jessica Walter as Evangeline was also interesting… as she was playing Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development again. But since I love Lucille with all my heart, I'm more than ok with that. The remaining cast members were all uniformly strong, headed by relative unknown Colin Donnell and budding star Laura Osnes.
This show is the perfect summer matinee type show. Super entertaining, very funny performances, toe tapping music, great air conditioning (in fact… too cold!). The show is up against HOW TO SUCCEED for Best Revival at the Tony Awards, a show I didn't get to see, but that should be a great race.
SISTER ACT
Finishing up my trip… SISTER ACT. One would think a movie about a lounge singer who hides in a convent of nuns, eventually teaching them to be a rock and roll girl group is a story that is screaming to be musicalized… but you'd actually be surprised. The musical numbers that feature Delores/Sister Mary Clarence (Patina Miller) and the nuns are all absolutely fantastic. They work just as you'd expect them to work, which is perfect. Mother Superior (Victoria Clark) has a couple numbers as well, done in a classical, almost operatic style, which works quite well. Eddie, the token love interest, gets a song of his own, too, which works well enough, since it's largely a dream sequence. The problem numbers in the show are those of the "bad guys": Curtis, Joey, Pablo and TJ (Kingsley Leggs, John Treacy Egan, Caesar Samayoa and Demond Green). Why are these characters singing? More importantly, why are they singing in a happy, smile at the audience, have a great time kind of style? Dramatically, this particular choice undermines the quartet as villains, making them into, more or less, clowns. Given the life or death stakes for Delores, this is a very peculiar choice indeed.
All that said, this musical is a good time. Patina Miller carries the show like a seasoned theatre veteran, aided brilliantly by Victoria Clark. The pair's styles could not be more different, working perfectly for the show. Marla Mindelle, playing Sister Mary Robert, is absolute perfect as well, inexplicably storing a GIANT voice inside a little teeny tiny frame, just as you'd expect. And I dare anyone to watch the nuns perform without dancing a little in their seat.
