Broadway musical

On The Road To Somewhere X 2

Dusty Wright — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:00:00 +0000

On The Road To Somewhere X 2 Dusty Wright March 8, 2022 - 10:00

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Photo Credit: d. Bindi

The following is one of two reviews of the same show.

Ian Alterman's review of the show in 2022 was preceded by Dusty Wright's original review from 2020.

American Utopia - March 9th, 2022

A touch more than two years ago (see review below), Dusty did a review of this show just before it closed due to the pandemic. The show re-opened recently at the St. James Theater for an abbreviated run, and will close, permanently, on April 3^rd. I went to see the show on March 9^th -- my first entertainment venture out of my apartment since the pandemic began.

Dusty was effusive about the show, and it is easy to see why. There has simply never been anything quite like this show in any theater anywhere. Part musical, part narrative play, part rock concert, part educational drama, and a thoroughly and deeply philosophical work of art, it focuses on the concept of "connections" (human, technological, and other). Mr. Byrne uses narrative and song (some Talking Heads songs, and some that were written specifically for the show) to delve into these connections in almost every way imaginable. He touches on the good, the bad and the ugly in art, media, race, and psychology (primarily loneliness and confusion). For a fun night at the theater (which it is), it is pretty heady stuff.

What makes this show most extraordinary is the staging. The entire "cast" of 12 are the actual musicians (there is no pit, no orchestra, no recorded music) -- and with no wires of any kind (all vocals and instruments are wireless) the cast (all barefoot) is free to move around the stage. And do they ever move around the stage! The choreography is continual -- simple but mesmerizing -- and the interplay among the cast (including Mr. Byrne) is disciplined but fun. There were a couple of moments when cast members, moving quickly, came very near to crashing into each other or tripping each other. Mr. Byrne and his team simply made fun out of those moments -- smiling, laughing, and giving quick nods -- and the audience laughed with them.

I was sitting in the center mezzanine, aisle seat, second row -- which the woman at the box office assured me was the best seat in the house. And she was right. Because even when I saw Spike Lee's film of the show, I could tell that the audience in the orchestra were missing a lot of what was happening vis-à-vis staging, movement, lighting, and effects, all of which are relatively simple, but utterly brilliant. This is a show that needs to be seen (and heard) from "above."

The show is so powerful that I found myself welling up with tears a few times due to the combination of power and performance. But for all its headiness, the show is great fun: people were invited to sing along with songs they knew, and even invited to dance, though not in the aisles. (As Mr. Byrne jokingly pointed out, "In case of fire, the people dancing in the aisles have an unfair advantage.")

The show is only open until April 3^rd. So run, don't walk, to see it before it disappears. You will thank yourself for doing so.

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David Byrne's American Utopia

Hudson Theatre, NY

According to David Byrne during the encore we are all on a "road to nowhere" even if that message is delivered from the stage of the fabulously intimate and historic Hudson Theatre on West 44th Street in Times Square. This is not a musical, it is a full blown pop concert. It started as a tour for his 2018 solo album American Utopia. Many of the same musicians who graced the stage of that tour have migrated and morphed his vision onto a Broadway stage. And while it may be performed with grand theatrical gestures and choreographed movements, it is still an extraordinary theatrical performance, albeit one with intricate movements and 12 wireless musicians weaving in and out and around each other with each song. While there are songs from that aforementioned album there are plenty of crowd-pleasing songs from Talking Heads and his solo work, too. Those songs were met by clapping and yelling and standing ovations after each number -- "Slippery People," "Once In A Lifetime," "Burning Down The House," "This Must Be The Place," to name but a few.

Although this run is winding down and finally ending on February 16th, it was truly a "once in a lifetime" musical experience. Clearly it was as exciting and exhilarating as my first live encounter with Mr. Byrne's Talking Heads 40 years ago -- in full bloom and rock majesty -- played at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Oct. 31st (Halloween) 1980. (The Psychedelic Furs opened for them!) Mr. Byrne has carefully curated a celebration of his catalog while framing his favorite music with his new musical comrades.

I have always been drawn to Mr. Byrne's existentially poetic and cerebral music from the moment I head the Talking Heads' debut album 77. They were always a cut above the rest of their contemporary rock peers. Always with one foot into the future. So one should not be surprised at how forward thinking this thoughtful and artistic statement might be presented on the Great White Way.

Some of the "tai chi" soft and flowing movements have been seen on stage before both in filmmaker Jonathan Demme's iconic Stop Making Sense rock concert doc and Byrne's dance/music collaboration with choreographer/dancer Twyla Tharp for The Catherine Wheel. Regardless, the movements during the various songs was never indulgent nor redundant unless purposely redundant to make a point. With his crack 11- piece band providing all the live/wireless instrumentation, this is music performed without incident in the age of bluetooth technology. In fact, Mr. Byrne even made a point of their "music" when he introduced every cast member and their place of origin before they shared their instrument's sound with the audience. It was a very clever sequence that put to rest that they were performing to tracks!

There was also a wonderful story about the song "Everybody's Coming to My House" that was recorded by a group of teenagers from Detroit -- Detroit School of Arts featuring the Vocal Jazz Ensemble -- who completely remade the song into a more positive and uplifting version of his brooding exploration of loneliness. The version above is so far removed from his staging that both need to be seen to fully appreciate their converse relationship.

If Byrne continues to tour this pop art masterpiece, do not miss it. He will not stop making sense.

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As Fiddler Wanders Its Way Across the U.S...

C. Jefferson Thom — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 14:41:18 +0000

As Fiddler Wanders Its Way Across the U.S... C. Jefferson Thom January 15, 2020 - 09:41

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Photo by Joan Marcus

Over four years after its opening date on Broadway, this touring production of Fiddler on the Roof is presently making a brief sojourn here in Seattle. This iconic musical made its original debut in 1964 and is unlikely to ever fall from favor with audiences around the world. Between its memorable characters and unforgettable score (even if you've never set foot in a theatre in your life you know "If I Were a Rich Man"... even if only Gwen Stefani's gender altered version). But with such notoriety and familiarity comes the potential trap of phoning in what everyone expects. As I am personally a big fan of this classic I decided to check it out for myself and brought my niece along with me, who was seeing it for the first time.

To start, as much as I appreciate Jerome Robbins and recognize his unquestionable significance, I was pleased to see that we would be privy to some new direction and choreography. Bartlett Sher's direction, as recreated by Sari Ketter, starts and ends with an odd trick, having a man in modern clothes look up at a sign reading "Anatevka" in Cyrillic, who then morphs into Tevye in period clothing as the opening chords of "Tradition" are struck. Spoiler alert: he then morphs back to the modern world for the last seconds of the production just before the curtain falls. This seems like a device intended to tie this story into the on-going life of the modern world but ultimately feels a bit tacked on. That quirk aside, the tone of the production takes on an interestingly casual quality and flows with a relaxed manner. Instead of hitting hard on many of the scripts most well known jokes and moments, it often lets them pass by, almost as throwaways instead of shoving in them in audience's faces with a painful nudge and wink. While some lines do get lost in this process it is also quite refreshing and helps to breath new life into the dialogue, allowing its humorous and touching exchanges some softer and more subtle landings. Sher's direction stands out most during the second act number "Chavaleh" and is greatly complimented by Hofesh Shechter's moving and guttural choreography. As Tevye sings this plaintive eulogy he is separated by a sheer screen from his daughter Chava. The metaphor is not subtle, but it is visually effective, particularly as Chava breaks through the divide to confront her mourning father. Shechter's unique movements are both captivating and uncanny and beautifully performed by the actors.

The cast takes a few numbers to warm up this half a century old musical and Yehezkel Lazarov, Tevye, is no exception. It wasn't until about half way through "Rich Man" that a promising glimmer began to shine through, but it grows gradually stronger from there on out. Lazarov most embodies the casual tone mentioned earlier and succeeds in landing his own, unique interpretation of this legendary role (even inching a little out of the looming shadow of the great, late Zero Mostel, the role's originator, is no small feat). Lazarov doesn't fill out all of Tevye's many dimensions, but he provides enough to carry the role with an interpretation which leans towards levity and in moments dips into the deeper sorrows and humanity of the complicated role. Nick Siccone offers a stand-out performance as "Motel" finding a very natural, comic approach which never sacrifices the genuine essence of the character to get a laugh, but rather comes by his comedy honestly and organically. Most of the production's actors manage to keep their characters human in this manner instead of easing into the preconceived notions held by anyone who has ever suffered through a bad high school or community theatre production of the piece. One unfortunate exception to this effort is Carol Beaugard's Yente. In opposition to the new and less-traveled paths everyone else is trying to take, Beaugard trods down an all-too-familiar one, delivering a Yente who assumes everyone prefers what they already know, "Right? Of course right.". Fortunately the cliches are greatly out-numbered by those working to escape them, resulting in a largely fresh take on this established masterpiece.

While this particular tour isn't going to leave much of a memorable mark on my own theatrical memory, my niece really enjoyed it and if you've never seen a professional production of Fiddler, this is probably one of the best you're going to see in a long time, so check it out before it leaves in Seattle... or catch a plane to Salt Lake City which is the tour's next stop as this cast begins their gradual migration eastward.

Fiddler on the Roof performs in Seattle through January 19th. For more information, go to: http://fiddlermusical.com/

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Comfort Food Musical

Jim Miller — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:56:30 +0000

Comfort Food Musical Jim Miller April 27, 2012 - 15:56

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Ghost

Lunt-Fontaine Theatre, NY

Avid fans of Broadway musicals love nothing more than a thrilling, exhilarating show, but we also realize that isn't going to be the case all that often. While we love it when a musical strives for and achieves brilliance, sometimes we know going in that a show is not going to redefine the genre. In those cases, we can often be content with an evening of good entertainment. We can still analyze what was good and what wasn't, but if the show ultimately works for you, it would have succeeded. It is the Broadway equivalent of a popular popcorn movie or a good summer beach read. That was the case when I saw Ghost, the new Broadway musical, adapted from the hugely successful 1990 movie that starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg.

The movie won two Academy Awards and grossed over $500 million worldwide. The musical adaptation has been playing in London and just opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Not everything gels in this production, but the storytelling is strong, and Ghost, even with its imperfections, successfully grabs the audience, draws them into the story, and tells that story with an entertaining mix of drama, humor, and emotion. The book is well written by Bruce Joel Rubin, who also wrote the movie screenplay, for which he won an Academy Award. Of course it is manipulative, as was the movie, but I'm a sucker for that and enjoyed it. Add in some nifty special effects and you have much of what is needed to please an audience.

As I indicated, Ghost has its flaws, starting with the music. Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard wrote the score, with book writer Rubin also contributing lyrics. Stewart is a Grammy and Golden Globe winner who may be best known for his collaboration with Annie Lennox in Eurythmics. Ballard is a six-time Grammy winner. Given that Ghost IS a musical, the score's shortcomings cannot be completely glossed over. It is not that the songs are terrible; based on a first hearing, there seem to be some modestly attractive pop songs that, if I heard them a few times, might grow on me. But there is not one standout musical number. The songs, while contributing something to the overall feel and atmosphere of Ghost, don't elevate the show, as you expect from good musicals. They don't take a key moment and make it into something special, whether by advancing character or story elements or by giving the audience a great showstopper. The ballads seem repetitive, although "With You" made a decent impression; the lyrics for the louder production numbers were overpowered by the musical accompaniment. The attempt at an 11 o'clock number, "I'm Outta Here," got a pretty good audience response, but comes up short of being a truly exciting showstopper. The choreography in Ghost is also unimpressive and at times unnecessary; most of the time, it takes us away from the key characters who are the core of the musical.

However, the narrative often compensates for the other problems, with able assistance from the stagecraft and special effects. There is a real dramatic tension in Ghost, which is an element that has been unfortunately missing from too many other musicals I have recently seen. The projections can be dazzling, with the visuals and LED screens creating a momentum in the show's pacing, particularly as they swiftly take the audience from location to location in New York City. At times, it can be overdone, especially with the "digital dancers," who were interesting the first time but grew a bit tiresome when repeated. Overall, however, the visuals clearly are a positive element of Ghost, with some of the special effects being truly inspired.

Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy do good, solid work as the romantic leads (roles they originated in London), although their parts as written don't allow for breakthrough performances. That said, Levy's vocals are particularly impressive. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, in the role created by Goldberg in the movie, is terrific as Oda Mae, getting all the big laughs in the role. Ghost gets a real jolt every time she is onstage. Much admired director Matthew Warchus does an effective job keeping everything moving at a brisk pace, plus successfully meshing the storytelling with the effects.

I only saw the movie once, and it was a long time ago. I remembered some of the key elements, didn't remember others. The story told in Ghost is often hard to resist, and the musical has some truly first-rate scenes, culminating in the well-done final scene, which is satisfying, emotionally moving, and features several powerful visuals. I wish the music were better, and that a few of the choices the creators made regarding production numbers and visual effects had been different. The critics, not surprisingly, were not kind in their reviews, but I enjoyed Ghost overall -- it is not an artistically brilliant Broadway musical, but it effectively tells a good story with comedy as well as genuine drama and emotion, two elements that have often been lacking in this less-than-stellar season for new Broadway musicals.

It still hasn’t found what it’s looking for....

C. Jefferson Thom — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:51:51 +0000

It still hasn’t found what it’s looking for.... C. Jefferson Thom June 21, 2011 - 08:51

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Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Foxwoods Theatre, NYC

Between the confused book that’s there and the music that you wish weren't, it's difficult to say who failed Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark more: Julie Taymor or Bono and The Edge. Considering the combined track records of these entertainment heavyweights, it is shocking that they should get together only to deliver an overpriced, finely polished turd dressed up as a musical, but after years of delays and an unprecedented seven months of previews, the result cannot match the hype that has surrounded it. Fast forward to the action sequences, because there’s nothing else to see here.

Taymor, an undisputed master of theatrical design and ingenuity, has proven that she is better utilized when limited to the fields she knows. Among her many failings as the piece's book writer (including the introduction of a new villain with the lame name Swiss Miss), she misguidedly foists a figure out of Greek mythology, Arachne, into this comic book world, and while this provides an excuse to create some stunning moments of aerial acrobatics, it demonstrates both her deficient understanding of the genre and a lack of respect for dedicated fans of the series. She even has the audacity to credit herself for "Mask Design"… Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and the original artist, may deserve a mention as well.

On the whole, Taymor's focus appears to have been lopsidedly visual, allowing for multiple embarrassing moments of staging and dialogue that would not have slipped past a more balanced director. In the end, Taymor seems completely indifferent to the subject and could have very well sought to realize these incredible effects without exploiting the name of one of America’s favorite superheroes. Being given the thankless job of undoing all her wrong landed on the unlucky shoulders of Philip Wm. McKinley, whose improvements hold the same impact as putting a band-aid on a rotting corpse.

It turns out 22 Grammys don’t qualify you to compose musicals; Bono and The Edge deliver one of the season’s most forgettable original scores. Musical theater fans and U2 groupies alike are bound to be disappointed by this collection of half-baked songs that lack any signs of inspiration or sincerity and are forgettable even as they are being sung. "Rise Above" marks the score’s one slight veer away from completely faceless anonymity, leaving the rest to wallow in the worst realms of pseudo-alternative rock. Bono and The Edge appear not to have taken this task too seriously; audiences must suffer through their utter mediocrity while waiting to get to the good stuff.

Redemption and an excuse for this show’s existence are found only in the fantastic stunts that have never before been attempted on a Broadway stage, making the real heroes of the production Scott Rogers (Aerial Design) and Jaque Paquin (Aerial Rigging Design) as well as those brave souls who compose a small army of flying Spider-Men. The aerial effects are astonishing and, aside from the same instinct that leads to rubbernecking a fantastic freeway accident, provide the only legitimate reason for buying a ticket. The feats these masters accomplish are likely to outlive this production and find more worthy homes in spectaculars of the future. Daniel Ezralow (Choreography and Aerial Choreography) directs magic in the air but can’t make anything fly when his dancers are on the ground.

The actors are left hanging with what little is there to play with and, what’s more, all that isn’t -- mainly a soul. Both Reeve Carney (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) and Jennifer Damiano (Mary Jane) strain to hit their notes and find a heart in their words as they are lost inside the machine of this massive contraption. Patrick Page (Norman Osborn/Green Goblin) is the only actor on the stage who seems to have found a way to be comfortable inside the beast, shooting out self-deprecating humor at the production’s expense. Page’s bits of what seem to be ad-libs are the most human moments in the entire show.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark may be billed as a Broadway musical, but it is not one. Rather, it is some unlovable hybrid of Cirque Du Soleil, a forgettable rock concert, and artistic "vision" gone terribly wrong, all plastered onto the world of Spider-Man for no apparent reason. Tourist traffic may keep the monstrosity afloat but, in the end, even Spidey can’t save this ill-fated train from wrecking.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is playing at Foxwoods Theatre, 213 West 42nd St., NYC.

Escape to South Pacific

Victoria Sullivan — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:13:26 +0000

Escape to South Pacific Victoria Sullivan April 16, 2008 - 11:13

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Once upon a time in the 1940s and '50s they wrote truly great musicals in America, and Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific is one of them. From the moment the Lincoln Center orchestra strikes up the overture, a mood of lush romance and wonder settles upon the theatre. The music is exquisite. And this production lives up to the high level set by the very talented composer and lyricist. Somehow it is just the right moment for a revival of this 1949 classic musical. Yes, it is set in the South Pacific Theater during World War II, but it's not the relevance to our day that makes it work. It's rather more the irrelevance, the totally different mood from our times. It is sad in places, but not cynical. Concepts such as bravery and sacrifice are not yet mired in the big-lie culture of the past thirty years. The characters are smart and witty, and -- in the case of the heroine Ensign Nellie Forbush -- innocent and romantic. But they are not cartoon characters. They are full, and rich, and complex in ways we don't often see today in mainstream American culture. Decades of television and second-rate films have lowered both our expectations and the artistic product.

The romantic leads -- Kelli O'Hara as Nellie, and Paulo Szot as French plantation owner Emile de Becque project a compelling chemistry. They look at each other and we believe they are falling in love, so that when they sing of it -- in such classic songs as "Some Enchanted Evening" or "This Nearly Was Mine" -- we are ravished by their voices and their emotions. So often, for me, contemporary musicals evoke a false lively interaction between over-acting singers and dancers. Or in the case of opera, the voices are great, but the performances demand large doses of suspending one's disbelief.

In South Pacific what we get is the power of opera with the intimacy of dramatic theatre. It is quite rare and stunning, and the audience responded with heartfelt spontaneous applause the night I went. Bartlett Sher has directed the cast to play with full-out commitment. Scene after scene comes alive with characters who move us from laughter to tears and back again to laughter. These people are just a little larger than life, as it should be in art.

Bloody Mary, the greedy capitalist islander, hawks both grass skirts and her sixteen-year-old daughter. Loretta Ables Sayre plays her with roguish gusto and yet we sense the more sympathetic mother underneath the surface bravado. Like Brecht's Mother Courage, she has to survive the rigors of wartime any way she can. It's in her story and in the engrained racism of several characters that the play script (based on two short stories by James Michener) goes beyond the sentimental into the dark seriousness that edges great art.

Sher has wisely and subtly directed the sailors, who form a lively group of singing and dancing characters, not to mix up the races, so that the three black men in the group are generally off by themselves, on the edges of a scene, observing. And the major issue between Nellie and Emile, who are clearly in love, is the fact that he was married to an island woman who died, and he had two children by her. It is their half-breed status that seems to disturb Nellie, even though she finds them lovely. A Navy nurse from Arkansas, she is embarrassed by her view, and by her distaste at the thought of his dead wife, but she nonetheless breaks off with him over this cultural and emotional impasse. Of course, being the heroine, Nellie will break free of her prejudice and Emile will prove himself a worthy mate when he leads a dangerous spying mission behind enemy lines to help the U.S. troops.

I rarely recommend theatre as a means of escape. That has always struck me as a rather trivial approach to a serious art. But in this case, it is our escape from the seaminess of the present political moment that makes this show so satisfying. For almost three hours one gets to experience an earlier time, a paradise, a deeply committed love, and marvelous singing. It is like escaping to Bali Ha'i, "your own special island" -- here sincerity is still possible, and people treat each other decently. It may be quite sentimental towards the end, and patriotic in ways that no longer make sense, but it is emotionally liberating. I saw a number of audience members with tears in their eyes at the curtain, and I too was misty-eyed. I wanted it to go on for another two or three hours.

South Pacific is playing at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street, NY NY.