Tag: Musical

The Tony Awards will be awarded this weekend.  Hell’s Kitchen has a bountiful thirteen nominations including Best Musical.  Based on what I saw (along with two others), that hefty praise seems wildly generous.  I love Alicia Keys so I presume her aura has enabled this show to be viewed through rose colored glasses.  Our take was this show was somewhat mediocre on the whole.

Kristopher Diaz wrote the book for this loosely biographical tale of the making of a major pop superstar.  She grew up in the then rough Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, fights with her mom, enters into some questionable relationships, has no father in her life and discovers her genius through a spiritual piano teacher guide.

There is a paint-by-numbers approach to this story which left me feeling that all the characters were fairly one dimensional.  The story moves through these influential relationships but did not gel for me until we meet Miss Liza Jane.  Kecia Lewis delivers the bravura performance which sparks Act One to life.

The second act was muddier to me.  The long absentee father showing up at a funeral and becoming the center of the eulogy was a plot stretch I could not swallow.  Squeezing Ms. Keys’ amazing hits into the storyline was sometimes too forced.  Mom’s “Pawn It All” tirade makes absolutely no sense.

The direction (Michael Grief) and choreography (Camille A. Brown) were equally muddy.  Ali (Maleah Joi Moon), the Alicia role, can be seen wandering through dances which looked odd.  The ensemble meant to represent the hood stand around watching on tenement set pieces which seem to be trotted out at least every other year.  Why are they watching?  I’m still trying to figure that out from Lempicka so don’t ask me.

Performances in the show can be enjoyable and I totally bought the mother (Shoshana Bean) and daughter energy.  There is just not enough depth here to make this musical stand out as more than a reason to use this music as a surface treatment of what is obviously a vastly deep and rich life experience.

The current Broadway season is a perfect time to make up your own mind about what you like.  The critics and Tony nominators were head over heels in love with this one.  The three of us saw a below average offering.  No critic can destroy a song as powerful as “Girl on Fire” so there’s that indestructible defense!

Hell’s Kitchen dutifully follows the jukebox formula and ends with a rousing smash hit (cue last year’s New York, New York).  “Empire State of Mind” is a great song indeed.  Anthem level famous.  That, to me, is not enough to be wowed after the jumble which preceded it.  Rumors abound that this one will win Best Musical as it is being touted as the most commercial property for a national tour.  Ah, the business of show!!!

Hell’s Kitchen is performing at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway.

www.hellskitchen.com

My first Broadway show was with friends on a middle school trip to see The Wiz.  The tornado dance was a brilliant introduction to creative stagecraft and the allurement of live theater.  I still remember the show vividly, including Stephanie Mill’s knockout rendition of “Home”.  Much time and many changes to musicals happened from 1975 to 2024.  How will this chestnut hold up?

When I started this blog in 2017, I began watching archival footage of shows at the New York Public Library.  The Wiz was the first one.  This Tony winning Best Musical retold L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel through a then contemporary African American cultural perspective.  The show showed its age most notably in the book.  Jokes were wildly dated but the songs still worked.

In my blog post I wondered if the book could be fixed.  Amber Ruffin has used her magic wand to reorganize and enhance William F. Brown’s original.  Even the good witches are impressed.  “I have heard of houses and I have heard of murder… but to combine the two!”  When our band of misfits finally reach the city gates the guards simply dismiss them as “talking trash and a dusty cat”.

This rewrite certainly links old jokes but instead of using the slum descriptor “projects” the reference becomes the “housing market”.  The book was never the most important element since nearly everyone knows the story of Dorothy and her trip to see the wizard of Oz.  All of the fun is still intact and a significant number of truly memorable scenes can be had if you just follow that yellow brick road.

Filling Stephanie Mills’ legendary ruby slippers is a tall order and Nichelle Lewis makes the role her own.  She’s both a stabilizing presence in a world of outrageous inventions as well as a vocal powerhouse.  The “Home” finale, which everyone in the audience waited for with bated breath, is better than one could hope for.  Ms. Lewis put her spin on these songs but always let Charlie Smalls’ music and lyrics shine.  She has a big, beautiful voice but there is no bombast obstructing the melodies or her gorgeous vocal stylings.

The cast is entertaining throughout.  There is usually a battle between the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion for favorite sidekick.  Phillip Johnson Richardson has far different ideas.  His Tinman is a scene stealing wonder from his entrance song “Slide Some Oil to Me” to his second act showstopper “What Would I Do If I Could Feel?”  That song is typically a middling moment in a lesser second act.  Mr. Richardson turns the moment into solid gold. (I wanted to say Tin Pan Alley showstopper but that pun is both dated and far too silly.)

Understudy Allyson Kaye Daniel played Aunt Em and Evillene the night I caught The Wiz.  Her witchy “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” remains a high point.  Glinda (Deborah Cox) belted “Believe In Yourself” a little too strongly which smothered the words but it was certainly rousing.

Along with the enjoyable performers is a staging concept that was inspired.  Schele Williams has directed The Wiz with a nod to 1970’s variety shows.  Jaquel Knight’s choreography definitely references that period but also, and ingeniously, takes these highly memorable and admired tunes and gives them a modern kick.  The Wiz bridges 1970’s disco movement with hip hop and other more recent dance styles.  Many shows try this but do not exceed at this high level.

If all of that is not enough goodness, the visuals on stage are a technicolor fantasia.  Sets (Hannah Beachler) and video projections (Daniel Brodie) are superlative, both old school and bursting with color.  The harken back to this century old story is nicely glossed with a futuristic flourish.  Evillene’s Palace is a particular visual treat.  Forest transitions are elegant and varied.  Ryan J. O’Gara’s lighting design makes this kaleidoscope of color an eye-popping feast.  Even the show’s curtain is alive.

Costumes are hugely important and Sharen Davis has given the characters and this talented ensemble an array of clever designs.  The Poppies and the Yellow Brick Road crew are two excellent examples.  The Scarecrow (Avery Wilson), Lion (Kyle Ramar Freeman) and Tinman outfits are all expertly realized.

This musical has been reworked and reorganized to great effect.  The lagging second half has been restructured to guarantee entertaining moments throughout.  The first act now closes with “Be A Lion,” one of the show’s best numbers.  If you have never seen this show or want to relive an appealing, popular score from yesteryear, simply ease on down the road to the Marquis Theatre.  Green sequins seem to be the perfect fashion choice for a number of attendees.

I have always found the ending of the Wizard of Oz to be a bit sad.  Saying goodbye to new friends who have bonded in a life changing and life affirming adventure.  The final reprise of “Ease on Down the Road” here is stunningly poignant and truly lovely.  This technicolor spectacle even knows how to pause and conjure touching intimacy.

The Wiz is for theatergoers who connect with this material in any of its many incarnations.  The Wiz is also for people excited to see a well staged, memorably sung, big Broadway musical.  Isn’t that nearly all of us?  “Can you feel a brand new day?”  I can and did.

www.wizmusical.com

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/thewiz(Retrospective Series)

Tamara de Lempicka was an Art Deco artist who gained fame for her highly stylized nude portraits.  Her work is described as refined cubism combined with neoclassical.  Her entire story is fascinating.  This musical based on her life is not.

All of the historical ingredients are there.  Born in Warsaw she married a Russian dignitary in 1917 as the projections will dutifully inform.  Immediately following it’s 1918 and the Russian Revolution has changed life forever.  She flees to Paris after arranging for her incarcerated husband’s freedom.  They need money, she likes to paint and an artist is born.

She discovers her bisexuality while ogling a carefree prostitute whom she paints.  Her fame comes at a major Parisienne art expo with 1932’s Adam and Eve painting, one of few which contain a male nude.  In this telling Adam is her husband and Eve is her lover/muse.  On and on it plods along.  An interesting story turned into a dull musical.  You know a show is falling flat when the too frequent belting numbers pause for extended ovations which do not come.

The sets and look of Lempicka seem to have little to do with her or the Art Deco style.  There is an Eiffel Tower like structure providing stairs and platforms which remains through the whole show.  People traverse these elevated platforms here and there.  For what purpose is the obvious question.

There are indeed some cool lighting effects in certain scenes such as when she discovers lady love in a beautifully lit smoky fade out.  Other time the lights are just harsh or weird.  Nothing says cheap like the depiction of the nightclub Le Monocle.  Speaking of gay, the men in the ensemble are directed and choreographed to be effete caricatures which seemed overly exaggerated.

The house and the studio (same set platform) slides on and off stage awkwardly and frequently.  It lumbers more than glides.  Go see The Who’s Tommy or The Outsiders to get a glimpse of well designed and directed transitions.  To make matters worse, people enter and exit at odd times.  During Rafaela’s love ballad, Tamara departs the platform mid-song for no apparent reason.

Not all is lost.  There are several supporting performances worth mentioning.  Marinetti is one of Tamara’s teachers.  George Abud delivers big in each of his scene stealing numbers.  Beth Leavel is the Baroness who is an early supporter of Lempicka’s art.  Everything Ms. Leavel does is right for the characterization.  “Just This Way” is sung near the end of Act II and the song deservedly receives an extended ovation.  The show finally has something memorable to say.

Amber Iman is believable and even charming as the model/whore stereotype.  As the husband, Andrew Samonsky is not given a great deal to do but the growth of the person makes sense.  As the titular star, Eden Espinosa is enjoyable.  The show surrounding her takes so much focus off her that she is overshadowed by the theatrical excess.  Multiple supporting characters overshadow the protagonist.

Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown) staged Lempicka and the direction seems to be the show’s most glaring flaw.  A great history about an inventive artist for sure.  A decent Broadway musical, however, this is not.

Lempicka is playing at the Longacre Theatre.

Avid theatergoers are occasionally rewarded by a musical that is nearly perfect.  Even less frequently is one that is essentially flawless.  Such is the case with this magnificent staging of S.E. Hinton’s bestselling classic novel The Outsiders.  All the themes are present: communities divided by economic inequality, the circle of violence, individual identity, overcoming struggle, self-sacrifice, honor and the value of friendship and loyalty.

Two rival gangs are featured in this coming of age story.  Their socioeconomic class defines them as either working class Greasers or the upper middle class Socs (as in Socials).  The novel and this musical are narrated by Ponyboy Curtis.  The story begins one night when he is jumped leaving a movie theater in the wrong neighborhood.

The Outsiders was published in 1967 and is considered a classic, selling fifteen million copies.  Francis Ford Coppola made a film starring soon to be famous young actors in 1983.  Imbeciles have been banning this book for years.  A new generation has mined this dramatic gold and adapted Ponyboy’s tale into a superlative Broadway musical.

This adaptation is written by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine.  The story is clear eyed and focused from the initial violent act through the intense gang warfare and quietly devastating conclusion.  Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) along with Mr. Levine penned the music and lyrics.  The songs propel the story, showcase the characters and completely belong in a tale which takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1967.

Scenography is by AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian.  This entire show is staged on one primary set, a marvel of dreamlike imagery and function.  The lighting design (Brian MacDevitt) is stunningly evocative and menacing as needed.  We completely know where we are at all times.  We are watching a character based drama inside a consummate diorama.

Many members of this cast are making their Broadway debuts.  Bravo to Tara Rubin Casting and Xavier Rubiano who assembled this impressive ensemble.  Everyone is perfect.  Perfect.  Absolutely everyone.  They all look right for the parts they are playing and inhabit the roles with unceasing conviction.  When conflict comes, therefore, it arrives with unbearable tension even for those who know what’s about to happen.

In a supremely confident Broadway debut, Brody Grant is Ponyboy Curtis, the center of this maelstrom.  Brothers Darrell (Brent Comer) and Sodapop (Jason Schmidt) are outstanding as Ponyboy’s only remaining family who valiantly try to maintain a safe home with few prospects.  A scene in the house near the end of the play is so damn fine with an enormous emotional payoff.  Watch their body language which equals, or even exceeds, the spoken words.

Joshua Boone’s Dallas is the roughest of the Greasers.  His bond with Ponyboy is strong and his character drives key plot points.  Mr. Boone is an extraordinary presence but his performance never throws the musical off balance.  The critical part of Johnny Cade, Ponyboy’s damaged best friend, is portrayed by Sky Lakota-Lynch with all of the heartbreak and bravado required.

The Socs cannot be forgotten here either.  Kevin William Paul’s Bob is spot on  as the uber privileged rich white jock terrorizing the unfortunate with his best bros.  Emma Pittman plays Cherry Valance, the girl who converses nicely with Ponyboy at the Drive-In.  The realism achieved in that scene is amazing.   I have not yet mentioned Rick & Jeff Kuperman’s intricate, muscular choreography.  There is just so much to love here.

How nice it is to see fresh faces mounting new shows on Broadway.  I have previously seen three plays directed by Danya Taymor off-Broadway (Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Evanston Salt Costs Climbing and queens).  Ms. Taymor knows how to tell stories brilliantly in memorable tableaus while drawing out intensely realized performances.  This time she does it with music and we are the beneficiaries beholding her massive talent and storytelling vision.

The Outsiders is a theatrical masterpiece from beginning to end.  This production seamlessly blends a great streamlined book with supremely tuneful and character appropriate songs.  A striking and superbly creative production design launches this riveting drama into the stratosphere of artistic excellence through a unbeatable cast of young actors giving phenomenal performances.  Pay the extra money for really good seats in the orchestra if you are able.  That is the ideal location to be astonished.  Thank you Ms. Taymor and the entire company of The Outsiders.  I am in awe.

www.outsidersmusical.com

theaterreviewsfrommyyseat/heroesofthefourthturning

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/evanstonsaltcostsclimbing

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/queens

A bestselling book and a major movie have now been transformed into a wildly inventive Broadway musical.  Circus aficionados step right up.  Water For Elephants is stunningly well told, visually enthralling and jam packed with excellent performers of both the circus and musical theater varieties.

Sara Gruen’s book is well known.  A young man flees his family trauma and hooks up with a failing traveling circus struggling mightily during the depths of the Great Depression.  His veterinarian skills will be put to the test.  An aged narrator looks back on his life story.  Throw in a love triangle, a sadistic ringleader and a slew of memorable characters.  This show is a sumptuous feast for the senses.

An extraordinary scene early on features Marlena comforting her prized horse Silver Star.  The horse (and all the animals) are presented in the form of puppets, sometimes in representative pieces.  This horse is injured and weak from being overworked.  Marlena sings “Easy” to soothe her circus act star as only she knows how.

The imagery begins simply and becomes wonderfully evocative.  You believe her, the horse and the pain.  Then the emotion is added.  The horse, or more precisely a performer (Antoine Boissereau), takes flight in an elegant Spanish Web spectacle using dangling white fabric.  The aerial dance is beautiful and you can imagine the horse flying with joy though suffering through injury.  As Marlena sings and pets what is essentially a head on a stick, remarkable theater magic is created.  The whole show contains multitudes of images which astonish and, even more excitingly, propel the story and its underlying emotions and tensions.

Director Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo) deftly balances the awe-inspiring circus feats against a narrative which occurs both in the present and in the past.  Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll’s choreography is impressively athletic and more vividly airborne than any other show on Broadway.  Takeshi Kata’s scenic design includes the improbable live raising of a big top tent.  The visual details of the entire creative team merge seamlessly and are smile inducing and jaw dropping in equal measure.

Darkness underlying this tale also takes center stage allowing the dramatic intensity to never fall away amidst the eye-popping splendor.  Circus owner Augustus boldly inhabits his two faces as grinning ringleader and evil tormenter.  Paul Alexander Nolan (Escape from Margaritaville, Jesus Christ Superstar) is devastatingly good in the role.  We are asked to hate him but there is also an ability to recognize the pressures that made the man who he is.

Grant Gustin and Isabelle McCalla conjour slow burn chemistry that we and the entire circus company can see.  There is no hiding from this love story despite her marriage to Augustus.  Both of these actors shine.  Mr. Gustin’s Jacob Jenkowski is likable and appropriately naive.  Ms. McCalla is delicately touching but equally adept at navigating her fraught situation between choosing real love and managing a dangerous husband.

The circus characters are well developed personas given ample stage time for us to know and care about them.  Stan Brown, in his Broadway debut at age 61, is superb as Camel, the hard drinking, long-time employee at the end of his career.  Joe DePaul’s Walter is the dog owning clown with a big chip on his shoulder and is very funny indeed.  Wade McCollum is exceptionally fine as the menacing henchman who gets his hands dirty and does Augustus’ bidding.

Theater veteran Gregg Edelman (City of Angels) is the elder Mr. Jankowski and he effortlessly and winningly tells his fascinating tale during an extended break from a nursing home prison.  Marissa Rosen’s Sue is one of the most memorable Kinkers as the circus performers are known.  The entire company, however, should be commended for an exceptionally fine display of acrobatics, musical theater song and dance, and tightly orchestrated yet seemingly fluid storytelling.

Much credit has to be given to Rick Elice’s book which clearly articulates the story and allows for so many excellent individual characterizations.  Time period and carnival appropriate music and lyrics are by Pigpen Theatre Co.  Their marvelously inventive 2012 Off-Broadway show The Old Man and the Old Moon is the reason I was inspired to see this show in a month of so many options.

And what about Rosie the elephant?  She’s colossal in everyway imaginable with her five human helpers.  For those of you who know how this one ends, prepare yourselves to be wildly impressed.  Hop on the circus train to savor this underbelly slice of Americana; enjoy the nostalgia and marvel at the stagecraft.  Water For Elephants is a wonder.

www.waterforelephantsthemusical.com