Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

Dame Edna and Flight of the Conchords

This past weekend, I had the chance to see both Dame Edna and Flight of the Conchords during their recent stints in Boston. Yeah, that's a pretty divergent set of events. But seeing them both within the space of 24 hours provided an interesting comparison between an established performer and a comedic duo in the midst of a meteoric rise.

As you may know, Dame Edna is the popular alter ego of actor/comedian Barry Humphries. Humphries has had a long and successful theatrical career: he played the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry in the original Broadway cast of Oliver. But somehow the Dame Edna character has taken over, overshadowing much of what Humphries has otherwise accomplished. (Speaking of Oliver, allegations have emerged that creator Lionel Bart may have plagiarized, or not given proper credit for, the work of his erstwhile collaborator, Joan Maitland. In fact, it's alleged that he paid her hush money for years. See the full story here. A hat tip to my friend and fellow blogger Kevin for providing the scoop.)

The last time I saw Humphries as Dame Edna was during the national stretch of Dame Edna: The Royal Tour. I recall being convulsed with laughter at the seeming genius of Humphries improvisational skills. Well, upon second viewing, it's clear that while Humphries certainly has a knack at extemporizing, he also has a large arsenal of stock jokes and bits. A very large arsenal. In fact, I noticed very little that was fresh during his current show. Yes, he's still a thoroughly engaging performer, but I had a night-long feeling of déjà vu.

The same was true for much of the set for Flight of the Conchords, the popular comedic, quasi-folk duo from New Zealand. I haven't yet seen the second season of their TV series, so I'm not familiar with a lot of their more recent material. And because of the acoustics -- or lack thereof -- at Boston University's Agganis Arena, I had trouble understanding the lyrics for the songs I'd never heard before. And with the Conchords, it's really about the lyrics: their musicality is primitive at best, perhaps deliberately so. But even their old stuff fell pretty flat for me. The audience members seemed to go nuts as they recognized the first few notes of their favorite songs, but once the songs got going, there was precious little actual laughter.

And therein lies the challenge of comedy, musical or otherwise. To engage your audience, you have to keep developing new material. It's interesting that, with regular singers and bands, we don't mind hearing the same songs over and over again. In fact, we eat it up. But with comedians, we feel somewhat cheated if we hear too much of the same old stuff. One of the refreshing things about Demetri Martin's recent set at Boston's Wilbur Theater was that almost all of the material was new, despite the fact that he's written material for numerous TV specials, a comedy CD, and a new TV series on Comedy Central, all of which I have seen or listened to. 

So, Dame Edna could use some new material. The Conchords had plenty of new material, but a 7,200-seat arena was not the ideal place for me to experience it. The Conchords would be far more engaging and effective in a significantly smaller venue, but of course that would mean they wouldn't be able to sell as many tickets, or would need to perform multiple shows. A dilemma, indeed.

Ain't Misbehavin' at Boston's Strand

Last night, I caught a performance of the 30th anniversary tour of Ain't Misbehavin'. I've always been a big fan of the show, and fortunately have a video of the TV broadcast of the original Ain't Misbehavin' cast performing it. Although the current cast members don't fully live up to their original counterparts (how could they?), they nonetheless do a bang-up job of evincing the joy and vitality of the piece.

The Boston stop of the national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' is part of a joint effort by the City of Boston and the Citi Performing Arts Center to renovate and revitalize the Strand Theater, an underutilized gem located in Dorchester, a neighborhood with a significant African American population.

The show is part of a larger program of African American-related events called SpectrumBoston.org, which also features the upcoming Boston premiere of The Color Purple. (The Color Purple, however, will not play the Strand, but rather the cavernous Wang Theater.) It was great to see so many African Americans in attendance at Ain't Misbehavin', and having a grand old time, at that. I would love to see more such efforts in Boston to bring professional theater outside of the narrow confines of the theater district and the South End.

Of course, many of the attendees had come to see "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard, in the Ken Page role. Studdard is certainly no Ken Page, but he's strong vocally and has a playful presence. Most of the comedy in the role, however, was lost to Studdard's poor diction and obvious lack of stage experience. Studdard wasn't alone in this regard. The one major issue I had with this production was that, while the lyrics were, for the most part, intelligible, most of creator Richard Maltby's priceless asides were lost to indistinct delivery. 

The tour also features two additional Idol alumni, the talented Trenyce Cobbins in the Charlaine Woodard role, and Frenchie Davis in the role originated by the late great Nell Carter. Davis was out for the performance I saw, but we instead got to see the terrific Teresa Stanley. The cast also features the dynamic Arthur W. Marks and the adorable Patrice Covington in the Andre de Shields and Armelia McQueen roles, respectively.

Overall, I was struck by the strength of the piece itself, which was created and directed by Richard Maltby at the top of his form. Surely, this is one of the most entertaining and effective revues in musical theater history, eschewing obligatory exposition in favor of a straightforward celebration of the music and artistry of Fats Waller.

Matlby is greatly aided by the superb work of orchestrator Luther Henderson and choreographer Arthur Faria whose collective efforts coalesce into a seamless evening of joy and good humor. Henderson's arrangement of "Black and Blue" is nothing less than stirring, and sent shivers through my body. In a show full of movement, the creators have chosen on this number the have the performers sit still and let Waller's heartbreaking song and Henderson's stunning vocal arrangement do the work.

For the most part, the performances in the current production are sharp, and the staging crisp. And, despite the presence of three "American Idol"-ers, the vocal histrionics were kept to a refreshing minimum. I was initially afraid that this production would be a slapdash effort to capitalize on waning celebrity, but was heartened by the genuine craft and care in evidence. Thankfully, the creators haven't changed the show to suit the talents of the stars, preferring instead to let the piece speak for itself. The show remains a lasting testament to the genius of Waller, as well as that of the creators.

In other news, the tour produced a recently released cast recording, which is currently available only at Amazon.com. The admittedly talented cast comes off considerably less well on the recording, or perhaps that simply my ingrained bias for the original Broadway cast recording talking. Amid the thousands of Broadway CDs that I own, Ain't Misbehavin' is undoubtedly in the top ten for me in terms of recordings that I actually listen to. Maybe even the top five. I find I go back to the CD whenever I need a jolt of joy, and it never fails me. If the national tour comes to your town, I highly recommend that you see it, but as for a permanent record of Waller's music and career, it's all about the OBC.

Dirty Dancing: Dead on Stage

The Playbill for the national tour of Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, now playing at Boston's Opera House, has a number of telling omissions. There's no mention anywhere of a librettist, a composer, or a lyricist. And why? Because not a single shred of creativity or original thought went into mounting this lazy, venal, and cynical enterprise. Even the guy who sings "I Had the Time of My Life" sounds exactly like Bill Medley on the original recording.

Say what you want about the stage versions of Footloose and Saturday Night Fever. The creators at least made the effort to integrate the songs into those shows and put them in the mouths of the main characters. But with Dirty Dancing, we have groundskeepers and chambermaids walking through the scenes singing the songs that many of us know, and some of us even love. (Though not I.) Baby and Johnny never sing a note.

Is this even a musical? Well, I happen to be of the opinion that, if the people who created a show call it a musical, then it's a musical. So Contact is a musical. Movin' Out is a musical. But note that the title of the show at hand is Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, and not Dirty Dancing: The Musical. It's like an admission of guilt on the part of the creators here. "Basically, we didn't even try."

But let's for the moment accede that Dirty Dancing is, indeed, a musical. The question is: is it any good? Is it entertaining? Does it tell a compelling story about characters whom we care about, and engage us with humor and pathos along the way?

No.

There's certainly a lot of action on stage, but there's really no focus. The wall-to-wall dance blends into an undifferentiated morass. For example, in one scene, Johnny and his dance partner demonstrate the mambo to the resort guests. Then, in the next scene, they're supposed to be letting their hair down and performing the titular "dirty dancing" in the staff quarters. But choreographer Kate Champion hasn't managed to find a way to make these two styles look different.

The whole production suffers from the same bland, uniform indifference. It also suffers from an over-reliance on numerous antiquated theatrical techniques: blackouts, crossovers, scenes-in-one, and irrelevant dance to cover set changes.

The regular Johnny Castle was out sick for this performance, so we got standby Easton Smith. To put it bluntly, except for his dancing, which is decent, Smith has no business on a professional stage. His acting is as flat as his hairstyle. He makes Patrick Swayze seem almost lifelike by comparison. Apparently the producers placed dancing first among their criteria for the role, but Smith doesn't have the acting chops to make Johnny sympathetic or credible.

There were a few bright spots in the cast, including Amanda Leigh Cobb (The Coast of Utopia) as Baby. Cobb is simply a terrific actress, very natural and endearing. Not surprising, since she boasts an MFA from Yale Drama, no less. (Oh, the indignity.) The scene in which Baby apologizes to and confronts her father almost made this turkey worth seeing. And then there was the always reliable Kaitlin Hopkins (Bat Boy, The Great American Trailer Park Musical) as the mom, bringing humor and warmth to an admittedly minor role.

Apparently there was an orchestra hiding somewhere backstage, but I can't imagine why they even bothered. Much of the time, they were just playing recordings from the movie soundtrack anyway, for instance during "Hungry Eyes." (Pedantic aside: the lyric "I feel the magic between you and I..." is painfully ungrammatical. "Between" is a preposition, which makes "I" the object of the preposition, making the use of "me" imperative, which I can show you by drawing a very simple chart...)

It's a really a shame that this production is such a dog, because there just might be a decent musical at the heart of Dirty Dancing. Typically, movie adaptations at least add something that you couldn't get from simply renting the movie. This one doesn't. Even so, apparently the producers have every intention of taking this one to Broadway, possibly at the Neil Simon, recently vacated by the long-running Hairspray. 

God help us all.

Spring Awakening Will Close in January

The shows are dropping like flies, my friends.

Now comes news that Spring Awakening, which snatched the Best Musical Tony from the hands of my beloved Grey Gardens, will close January 18th, 2009. The show will have played 859 performances and 29 previews, which is longer than Barnum and Titanic, but not as long as Ragtime or City of Angels.

I am a bit bummed because the current cast features two of my former students: Jesse Swenson and Andrew Durand. It would have been great to see these talented guys settle in for a long healthy run. I enjoyed Spring Awakening when I saw it in 2006 (read my review), and I appreciated the craft behind it, but I find that I rarely listen to the score. And I didn't think that I would want to see it again, because it is dee-ee-pressing. But then two more of my former students were cast in the touring production (Chase Davidson and Kimiko Glenn), so I will see it again when it comes to Boston.

Spring Awakening joins a string of musicals that will be closing after the new year, including Spamalot and Hairspray. It also follows the recent closure of [title of show], Xanadu, Legally Blonde, and Rent. Geez, will there be any Broadway musicals left? The only shows that seem to have the ability to weather the current economic storm are the powerhouse monoliths, like Wicked and Jersey Boys, or the Disney corporate fun rides.

It makes me question the fortunes of the raft of musicals slated to open later this season. It seems likely that the pre-sold titles like 9 to 5, Shrek, and Billy Elliot will stand a fighting chance. But what about the smaller shows, like The Story of My Life and Vanities? I have serious doubts these shows will (A) be able to raise the necessary capitalization, and (B) be able to attract enough ticket buyers to make that capitalization back.

Because it's not just that ticket buyers currently don't have the cash to shell out $120 for a Broadway musical, it's also that producers don't have the cash to keep the shows running, because much of that cash has historically come from Wall Street investments. And we all know what's happening on Wall Street. All I can say is, I will certainly continue to see shows, even if I have to live off ramen noodles and government cheese. But I'm really glad I'm not an investor, because I'd be putting that money in a mattress right now before I put it into a Broadway musical.

Tickets for Rent Now On Sale

OK, so you weren't able to get down to New York to see the final performance of Rent. That doesn't mean you need to be left out in the cold.

As you may know, Sony Pictures filmed a number of recent performances of the show, and compiled them together for theatrical release. The film will play movie theaters nationwide on September 24th, 25th, 27th, and 28th under the auspices of Sony's The Hot Ticket.

Tickets are $20, which isn't bad, considering a regular movie these days is $10, and Broadway shows average about $75 with discounts, about $100 without. Plus, you get to see the terrific Will Chase play Roger and the loud Eden Espinosa play Maureen. Of course, the show is slated to launch another national tour in 2009 with original stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp at the helm, so you could just wait to see it live. But something tells me there's going to be something special about the energy of the final Broadway cast. And we could certainly use something to erase the painful memory of Chris Columbus's flaccid 2005 movie.

Flawed though it may be, Rent is a landmark show, and one that had a tremendous impact on me, as well as many other people. I, for one, am thrilled at the prospect of being able to see the show again "live," and I hope this sort of thing catches on, so more people can get to see Broadway productions in far-flung areas and at affordable prices.

A Chorus Line Tour: For Mature Audiences?

Before I talk about the Boston stop of national tour of A Chorus Line, I need to address a major factor that definitely influenced my mood and may have affected my attitude toward the production. The night that I saw the show, there were hundreds of inner-city children in attendance as part of the Marilyn Rodman Theatre for Kids program, sponsored by Suffolk Construction. First, I want to say that I applaud every effort to engage children in the theatrical arts. I commend both organizations for their worthy efforts, and strongly encourage them to continue.

It would be great if, as part of providing an entree into the theater for these kids, that the organizations also educated them on proper theater behavior. The kids talked non-stop throughout the show, and there was a constant rustling of plastic bags as they enjoyed their snacks of choice. A Chorus Line has no intermission, and the kids were frequently getting up to go to the bathroom.

Also, I have to wonder if anyone involved had actually seen A Chorus Line before. There's a lot of saucy language, and the kids giggled every time someone said a dirty word, even if it wasn't meant to be funny. This was particularly distracting during Paul's monologue, which prompted hoots and cries of "Gross!" as Paul described his experiences with lecherous older men and forays into drag performance.

Again, I heartily applaud efforts to introduce children to the theater, but I would respectfully suggest that the parties involved choose the shows more carefully. The national tours of Legally Blonde and Spring Awakening are also part of the Broadway Across America series. Legally Blonde would be great for these kids, but I would strongly advise against Spring Awakening. I'm not trying to be a prude here: I vociferously oppose censorship. But the themes and language of this show would likely prompt inappropriate responses from the kids in attendance, and ruin that admirable and very serious show for others.

Anyway, about the show itself. When I saw the recently closed Broadway revival, I found it professional but bloodless. (Read my review.) Director Bob Avian captured all the details of Michael Bennett's original production, but none of the heart. Well, the current touring production makes the admittedly lackluster revival look good by comparison.

The strongest aspect of this production is the choreography, recreated lovingly by original cast member Baayork Lee. But while the dancing is crisp, the individual performances are forced and unfocused. There's no question that the people onstage are talented, but there's no clear directorial hand here to modulate and sharpen the performances.

Probably the most disappointing is Gabrielle Ruiz as Diana Morales, who crosses over the line from spunky to abrasive. Her attitude towards Zach, the director character, is far too confrontational and disrespectful. She'd never get away with being that in-your-face with this guy. Likewise unsatisfying was Kevin Santos as Paul, who seems to have passed Melodrama 101 with flying colors. Crying onstage is admittedly difficult, but Santos doesn't seem to know how to do it convincingly. Natalie Elise Hall was similarly over-the-top as Val, but she brought an impish sort of porn star charm, and some original touches, to "Dance Ten Looks Three." 

A Chorus Line is unquestionably a landmark show, and the current touring production is probably fine for people who have never seen it. But I guess I'm going to have to give up on expecting any production to even come close to the power and impact of my initial experience with the show. I was thirteen when I saw the first touring production in Boston. I was riveted by the powerful score, the electrifying dance, and the deeply personal stories that the show portrayed. I also saw my first gay role models. Granted, they were a bit stereotypical and pathetic, but they were gay, and I knew then that I was, too. As I sat crying silently in the dark of the Shubert Theater, I felt a sense of welcome, a sense that this was where I belonged. As I watched the show last night at the Opera House, I thought perhaps there might be some other thirteen-year-old boy in the audience who was having a similar experience to mine.

And suddenly I wasn't so irritated anymore.

Hair Extension and Afterlife?

Although the Public Theater production of Hair at the Delacorte Theater doesn't open until tomorrow, the producers have already long since announced an extension. The show, which started previews on July 22nd, was originally supposed to have run until August 17th, but will now play until August 31st.

Unfortunately, Jonathan Groff, Tony nominee for Spring Awakening, won't be able to play the extension, owing to a previous commitment. Enter Christopher Hanke, late of Cry-Baby, who will step into the role of Claude Hooper Bukowski for the rest of the run. Interestingly enough, Groff made his Broadway debut understudying for Hanke during the abbreviated run of the musical In My Life. (Some would call that ironic. They'd be wrong.)

According to Playbill.com, there have also been rumblings about a commercial transfer, whether via national tour or subsequent production in New York. Given the logjam of shows circling Broadway right now, it will be interesting to see if the Public tries to bring the show to the Rialto this season, or opts for an Off-Broadway venue. Perhaps the show might slip into the Circle in the Square, now that the revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf appears to be stalled.

I'm a huge fan of the score to Hair, but I've never actually seen the show on stage. I've read the script, which is sketchy and episodic at best, and the 1979 Milos Forman film version seems a major improvement, at least in terms of a cohesive plot. I'll be seeing the show this Saturday with fellow blogger SarahB. (Holla, girl!) Look for my review sometime next week.

[UPDATE: The "previous commitment" preventing Jonathan Groff from finishing out the run of Hair is apparently a starring role in the new Ang Lee movie "Taking Woodstock." Well, wouldn't you?]

Dirty Dancing Headed to Broadway?

The producers of the upcoming national tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage are billing it as the "pre-Broadway American premiere."

Thanks for the warning.

I'll be catching the show during the Boston leg of its tour in February. Never let it be said that I'm unwilling to give even the most cynical, venal, and misconceived shows the opportunity to prove me wrong.

After all, I saw Happy Days. And after an extended period of intensive therapy, I may yet be able to mitigate the damage to my psyche. Just in time for Dirty Dancing.

Drowsy Chaperone Tour A Tad...Drowsy

This past Thursday, I caught the Boston stop of the national tour of The Drowsy Chaperone. Regular readers will no doubt recall my deep affection for this sweet and funny show, which I adored both times that I saw it on Broadway. (Read my reviews here and here.)

And while I remain a devout fan of the show itself, I have to say that the pacing for the tour production was a bit slow. The Broadway running time was 1:40, while the tour ran about 1:50. And when you're talking about comedy, those ten minutes make all the difference in the world, especially when there's no intermission.

There's something about tours, particularly when you've seen the original Broadway cast, that inevitably disappoints. I know this sounds elitist, but for some reason it's true. I think it's that people tend to prefer what they're used to. So perhaps it's not the fault of the admittedly talented cast of the Drowsy tour that I found most of them serviceable but undistinguished, with the notable exception of Jonathan Crombie as "Man in Chair." Crombie had just the right amount of quirkiness and vulnerability to make the part humorous and appealing.

The delightfully talented Nancy Opel was terrific as the eponymous chaperone, and employed some nice original touches during "As We Stumble Along," but for me no one will ever compare to Tony winer Beth Leavel. One original cast member who has joined the tour cast is Georgia Engel, who's just as adorable and ditsy as ever as Mrs. Tottendale.

There are some improvements that the tour makes over the original Broadway production. "Cold Feets" somehow never worked for me with Eddie Korbich and Troy Britton Johnson performing it, but Mark Ledbetter and Richard Vida, as the tour's Robert Martin and "best man" George, respectively, give Casey Nicholaw's tap choreography a looser and more fluid interpretation, and the result is much more freewheeling and energetic.

The tour has made some inevitable changes to the script and the staging. The joke about the Marquis Theater is gone: the one about the Morosco Theater being torn down and replaced by a hideous hotel, ironically the one in which the Marquis Theater is ensconced. And for the dumb-but-funny joke in which Aldolpho mispronounces "airship" as "airchip," someone has inexplicably changed the pronunciation to "airshit." It's not necessary and not funny. Also, the "Show Off" reprise no longer features the line "disappear through the floor," which is understandable because the Janet character doesn't. I've performed in the Opera House, and I know there's room below the floor, but perhaps the requisite hydraulics were too expensive for the tour.

But I remain a steadfast admirer of of this wonderful little show. It has many detractors, including a large number who felt the need to spew invective on Amazon.com. But, to quote the Man in Chair (a part I eagerly hope to play one day), "It does what a musical is supposed to do. It takes you to another world and gives you a little tune to hum for when you're feeling blue."

The Drowsy Chaperone runs at the Boston Opera House until May 4th.

Avenue Q Tour: Still Funny and Fresh

Like many people, I was disappointed when the producers of Avenue Q initially opted to forgo a national tour in favor of a sit-down production at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel.  Well, that production shuttered after only five months, which is great in the long run, because now Avenue Q is in the midst of its first national tour, which plays at Boston's Colonial Theater until March 23.

I loved the show when I saw it in New York, and had hoped the tour would do justice to my fond memories of the show. Fortunately, it did. The best part for me was hearing all the jokes afresh, as well as the audience's uproarious response. The experience reminded me of how fresh and funny this show is, as well as how the great creative touches that director Jason Moore employs, including some very funny props and set pieces, really enhance the show's impact.

The show definitely has some slow spots: "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today" never seems to work. I know it's not supposed to be funny, but I think Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, who wrote the score, could have found a way to make it humorous in a not-supposedly-to-be-funny way, if you know what I mean. And I've never been a fan of the Lucy the Slut song, "Special." The staging makes it work, but the song itself falls flat. The same is true for "You Can Be As Loud as the Hell You Want." It's not really the song people are responding to, but the full-on puppet sex. But overall, Avenue Q remains for me a charming and efficient show: everything has...well...a purpose.

The tour cast seemed not to be aping original performers, instead finding their own idiom. Boston Conservatory grad David Benoit is terrific as Nicky/Trekkie Monster. It would have been all too easy for Benoit in particular to simply imitate original cast member Rick Lyon, but he admirably takes the characters in his own direction. Robert McClure and Kelli Sawyer, as Rod and Kate respectively, sometimes appeared to be working too hard, especially at the beginning of the show. but eventually they settled in and found a very comfortable, effective, and moving style.

In other Avenue Q-related news, director Jeff Whitty and librettist Jason Moore are working on a musical version of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. I can't wait to see what these two talented men do with one of my all-time favorite books.

My Fair Lady Tour: Boston Stop

Over the weekend, I caught the Boston stop of the national tour of My Fair Lady. It's interesting that producer Cameron Mackintosh chose to bring the show on tour rather than to New York. The last Broadway revival of the show was back in 1994, with Richard Chamberlain and Melissa Errico. Did Mackintosh (rightly?) sense that there would be more demand on the road, in the classic-deprived provinces?

As I watched the show, I couldn't help thinking of the recent Roundabout Theater revival of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, which I found cold and static. Hollywood import Claire Danes's was fine with the comedy, especially during the parlor scene (which becomes the Ascot scene in the musical), but was inept and amateurish in the dramatic scenes, relying on forced line readings and exaggerated hand gestures to prove that she was actually acting. And Jefferson Mays as Henry Higgins was a bit one-note: hard and heartless, without any redeeming qualities. An interesting choice, but not one that I found appealing or illuminating.

One thing the Pygmalion revival had in common with this production of My Fair Lady: unconvincing Cockney accents, especially by the actresses portraying Eliza Doolittle, Daines in the play, newcomer Lisa O'Hare in the musical. O'Hare was too refined as the coarse Eliza, with inconsistent Cockney vowels. Overall, O'Hare held her own as Eliza, but didn't leave a lasting impression. She was vocally thin, especially at the end of "I Could Have Danced All Night." Although she tried gamely to bring life to the role, but she remained small in stature and in effect.

But the main problem with this production was choreographer Matthew Bourne (Swan Lake). Based on his work on this show and in Mary Poppins, it seems clear that Bourne simply doesn't comprehend musical comedy, and should probably stick to ballet. For example, he's re-imagined "With a Little Bit of Luck" as a raucous romp like something out of Stomp, with dancers donning garbage-can lids on their feet to the rhythmic accompaniment of a utensil-laden chorus. Yeah, it's different, but it serves no dramatic purpose. Also ineffective was Bourne's "Ascot Gavotte," which has much of the chorus feigning horse movements -- perhaps to connect their foppish behavior in some way with the stylized movements of horses? Whatever, it's inscrutable, and it all but robs the scene of its intended humor.

Director Trevor Nunn does a bang-up job on the book scenes, bringing out both the pathos and the comedy, but he seems to have no idea how to focus a song, and Bourne certainly doesn't offer him any help in this regard. Nunn does make a few choices that mildly enhance particular songs: for instance, in "Show Me" he has Eliza meeting up with a group of marching suffragettes, creating an interesting connection between their signs reading "Action, Not Words" and Eliza's demands. Of course, the scene is supposed to be taking place in the early hours of the morning, which prompts one to wonder why these women are marching when there's no one there to see them. 

One gross miscalculation that Nunn and Bourne make together is during "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," which the pair stage as a sort of flower-girl ballet, with Eliza stand-ins weaving through each other behind Higgins as he performs the number. This was a huge mistake: it stole focus from what should be an epiphany for the character, added nothing to the meaning of the number, and undercut the dramatic weight of the song. 

Somehow the show still manages to work, but that's probably more a tribute to Alan Jay Lerner's wonderful book (edited by the sure hand of original director Moss Hart, who went through the entire libretto with Lerner, word by word, one long weekend.) Although it may be literary blasphemy to say this, the musical itself is, in many ways, superior to Shaw's original. In other ways, it's less deep and not as trenchant, although my impressions come solely from seeing the recent Broadway revival, which focused too much on the ideas and not enough on the people behind them. The musical adds heart to a cynical and cerebral exploration of class. (Shaw, of course, would be furious: the musical totally changes his intent, both in terms of the focus of the show, and the ending.)

My Fair Lady affords numerous examples of the musical transcending the play, for instance "The Rain in Spain," a terrific illustration of the power of music to heighten dramatic effect. Another great example of Lerner doing Shaw one better is the act 1 closer, which has Eliza regally descending the stairs in a shimmering gown, then gliding off to the ball to the swelling strains of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the pit. A stirring moment, and one that the play simply can't match.

The tour cast is excellent, particularly Timothy Jerome as Alfred P. Doolittle. Jerome was somewhat hampered by the staging of his two big numbers, but that's the fault of Nunn and Bourne, and not the doing of talented Broadway veteran. Christopher Cazenove is serviceable but indistinct as as Henry Higgins. To his credit, he doesn't ape Rex Harrison, but he also doesn't really find his own idiom.   

Another standout was Justin Bohon as Freddy Eynsford-Hill. Bohon plays Freddy not as the matinee idol we've come to expect but rather as a foolish and foppish boy, and it really makes what can be a two-dimensional character come to life. "On the Street Where You Live" is still a pointless-but-pretty song, which only seems to be there to allow Eliza to change out of her Ascot drag. But Bohon, in consort with director Nunn, has enlivened the Freddy character with an animated and nuanced performance. During the Embassy ball, Nunn has Freddy trying to approach Eliza for a dance, as well as with glasses of champagne. When he's left forgotten on the dance floor, he drinks the champagne himself, which nicely sets up the "Street" reprise, which has a drunken Freddy lolling outside 27A Wimpole Street, mooning over Eliza.

Finally, what an absolute treat it was to see Marni Nixon as Mrs. Higgins. Nixon, as any theater queen worth his salt can tell you, sang the role of Eliza Doolittle in the movie version, dubbing over Audrey  Hepburn's unfortunate croaking. Nixon has a tremendously regal presence as Mrs. Higgins, and terrific comic timing.

The My Fair Lady tour runs at Boston's Opera House through February 17th, after which it has scheduled stops in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle. It's well worth catching: a terrific show with a strong cast in a semi-effective staging. You could certainly do worse.

White Christmas in Boston

No, this isn't a weather report, although the way things are looking outside here in Boston it might as well be. Beantown is enjoying(?) its first major snow storm of the season, with 8-plus inches accumulating on its crowded and serpentine pathways.

Apropos of the wintry weather, I also saw Irving Berlin's White Christmas for the first time tonight. The supposed star of the show, Brian D'Arcy James, was not on tonight. But then more than 60% of the audience failed to show up as well, because of the snow. C'mon, Boston! We're hardy New England stock. We're not the sort to let a little thing like eight inches of snow keep us from the theater. The Wang Theater staff held the curtain for almost half an hour to accommodate the intrepid souls who did venture out. Then, during the overture, there was a rather humorous free-for-all to grab the best vacant seats.

It had never occurred to me to take in White Christmas when it played in Boston before. I guess I just didn't take it seriously as musical theater. I've also never been a very big fan of the "White Christmas" movie, which I find a bit perfunctory and artificial.

But something about the show's festive logo and the overly jovial radio commercials caught my attention and made me curious. I figured I owed it to my readers, and to my students, to take in whatever musical theater comes my way. (Within reason, that is. I avoid community theater as a rule. Except as a performer. Elitist? Snobbish? Yeah, so what's your point?)

I have to admit, I was surprisingly taken in by the show and its charms, possibly because I wasn't really expecting much. It was a thoroughly professional and enjoyable, if a bit creaky, evening of theater. The show is engaging, sweet, sometimes obvious, but never boring. Most of the ineffectual jokes got lost in the cavernous space of the Wang, but there's an infectious gee-whiz quality that permeates the show and most of the performances. It's not cutting-edge theater, to be sure, but there's no reason that it should be. There's certainly room in the marketplace, and indeed the musical-theater canon, for shows that have nothing on their minds but a little mindless entertainment.

Director Walter Bobbie seems a little bit more in his idiom with this show than he was in shepherding High Fidelity, quite disastrously, to Broadway. (See my review here.) He demonstrates a much surer hand with the comedy and with keeping the action moving here. The show has lots of deliberately old-fashioned touches, such as scenes-in-one to cover the set changes. There's also lots of pointless, non-integrated production numbers, but that's certainly true to the spirit of the movie upon which the show is based. The characters also seem to come from central casting. There's the brassy broad who wants another shot at the spotlight (the delightful Susan Mansur, the original Doatsie Mae in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) and the precious little scene stealer Melody Hollis as Susan.

Librettist David Ives, currently represented on Broadway by his adaption of Mark Twain's Is He Dead?, has crafted a book for White Christmas that is certainly no masterpiece. (But then, this is also the man who wrote the Broadway book for the notoriously awful Dance of the Vampires.) The characterizations are thin and the humor is forced, but the book serves its function: to frame Irving Berlin's wonderful songs, and to provide sufficient room for Randy Skinner's rousing production numbers. I have to say, I could watch an entire evening of Skinner's tap choreography alone, but Skinner also proves himself adept at crafting the kind of flashy production numbers you don't see that much of anymore.

As for the leads, Jeffrey Denman is a terrific dancer, very light on his feet, with a downright Astaire-ian flair. His mannerisms were just a tad too fey, although he was certainly more believable as a heterosexual than Danny Kaye was in the movie, or in life for that matter. Kerry O'Malley in the Rosemary Clooney role was as bright and appealing as she was a the Baker's Wife in the recent Broadway revival of Into the Woods. Peter Reardon and Meredith Patterson were serviceable and professional, but rather unmemorable in the Bing Crosby and Vera-Ellen roles, respectively. (Oh, and a special shout-out to Luke Hawkins, one of my former Boston Conservatory students, who appeared rather ubiquitously in the chorus. That was some pretty fancy hoofing there, Mr. Luke.)

On the whole, I had a swell time at White Christmas. Perhaps the winter storm numbed my critical faculties, or maybe I was just in the mood to enjoy myself. I'm allowed my temporary lapses of cynicism, I suppose.

Sweeney Todd Tour: Still Razor Sharp

I enjoyed director John Doyle's recent Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd immensely (read my review here), so I was eager to see how the show would fare without Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone in the central roles when the national tour showed up at Boston's Colonial Theater.

In general, the tour performances weren't quite as sharp as those in the original production, but the cast members were nonetheless eminently effective and stirring. Doyle's actor/musician concept is still compelling, but it's somewhat less remarkable upon second viewing. I'm not sure if this was because I knew what to expect, or because it was easier to notice that sometimes the presentation represented style over substance. (I'm still not entirely sure what the little white casket is meant to represent. Hope?) Still, overall I found the production a thoroughly entertaining re-imagining of Stephen Sondheim's master work.

The tour stars the formidable Judy Kaye, Tony Award winner for The Phantom of the Opera, as Mrs. Lovett. Kaye was not quite as edgy as Lupone was, and not nearly as funny, but she eventually warmed up and really made the role her own, especially in "A Little Priest." Kaye's a total pro, and ultimately she gives the Lovett role a heartier and brighter spin than Lupone did.

The tour's other star, David Hess, was out for the performance I saw, so understudy David Garry donned the leather strop and chased-silver blades. Garry brought a certain smoldering sensuality to the part: he's a big burly bear of a man, and certainly the sexiest Sweeney I've seen. Now, Michael Cerveris is a hot guy, to be sure, but his interpretation of Sweeney was so grim and humorless that it was really hard to think of him as hot (unless that's the sort of thing you go in for). Garry put much more of a jovial spin on the role, albeit with a sinister subtext. The only indication that Garry was an understudy came during "A Little Priest" when he came in slightly late on one lyric and had to back-phrase to catch up. Hardly noticeable, unless you had the score memorized.

The rest of the cast comprised a healthy complement of veterans from the recent Broadway production, including Lauren Molina as Johanna, and she was just as sprightly and fresh as she was in New York. Benjamin Magnuson also repeats his role as Anthony, retaining his quirky, exuberant interpretation, although he did seem to be forcing the humor this time around. One refreshing newcomer was Edmund Bagnell as Toby, who was very different from Manoel Felciano in the role, yet each portrayal was compelling in its own way. Bagnell's Toby was far more playful and less dysfunctional: more barking mad than broodingly schizoid.

The Boston stop of the Sweeney tour ends Sunday, November 4th, but the show then goes on to numerous dates throughout the country. It's well worth checking out, especially if you weren't able to catch the show in New York. John Doyle's version breathes welcome new life into Sweeney Todd, which is without question a modern masterpiece.

Spring Awakening Recoups, Will Tour

The Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening has recouped its initial $6 million investment, according to Variety. The show had been limping along for months before it won eight Tony Awards, including one for "best musical." Suddenly the show is playing to sold-out houses and currently boasts an advanced sale of nearly $4 million.

As the show continues in the black on Broadway, its producers have recently announced that Spring Awakening will begin a national tour in the fall of 2008. (Why the wait? Perhaps director Michael Mayer is otherwise engaged until then.) Its first stop will be the venerable Curran Theater in San Francisco. There's also talk of a London production, as well as ones in Germany, Japan, Austria, and the Netherlands.

I must say that I've very glad for Spring Awakening's success. As I said in my review, I found the show raw, compelling, and stunningly theatrical. But the bitter, nasty, dried-up, smelly old theater queen in me can't help grumble that the show's good fortune comes at the expense of my beloved Grey Gardens, which closed last month despite winning three Tony Awards, including "best actress" for Christine Ebersole and "best supporting actress" for Mary Louise Wilson.

The Tony voters seemed to be making a statement rather than distributing awards based on actual merit. What might that statement be? Something about welcoming new voices to Broadway, perhaps? Or the desire to attract a younger demographic to ensure the future viability of live theater? Whatever.

But the whole Tony affair reminded me of when The Producers quite undeservedly won a record-breaking 14 Tony Awards, seemingly because the voters simply wanted to break the record. I mean, best lighting? Best costumes? Best sets? These aspects of that show were ordinary at best. And it all came at the expense of another worthy show that got lost in the shuffle: The Full Monty. In another season, The Full Monty might have been the show to see. But because it had the misfortune of being overshadowed by its over-hyped neighbor, it closed after a relatively meager 770 performances, compared to 2502 for The Producers.

My God. How did I get here from Spring Awakening? Talk about your ADD moments. Well, as I often say, my life is an open parenthesis.

Dirty Dancing U.S. Tour

There's certainly no shortage of classic and not-so-classic movies making their way to the musical stage. Coming soon to a theater near you: Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, which will launch a national tour in Chicago this September.

The show began with a lucrative run in Australia, then piled up a record-breaking advanced sale of £12 million (about $24 million) in London, where it's still running, despite what I can only charitably call mixed reviews. The show will open in for a sit-down engagement in Toronto in November, and there are also productions planned for or running in Germany and the Netherlands.

Notice what's missing from these announcements: any talk of a Broadway engagement. Don't look for it to happen any time soon, because the show would likely be laughed out of town, and the producers seem to know this. Of course, Broadway has seen its share of cynically compiled, irredeemable dreck (Good Vibrations, All Shook Up) and misbegotten movie adaptations (High Fidelity). But Broadway has yet to sink as low as London in this respect, which seems to have a far greater tolerance for high-grossing, long-running schlock (We Will Rock You, Fame, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, Footloose).

I have no end of contempt for Dirty Dancing, but not for the reason that many decry the show. Yes, it's not really a musical, in the classic sense. The characters don't sing, they just act out the screenplay; there's a band that performs the songs from the movie soundtrack.

But that's not what bothers me. As far as I'm concerned, a musical is anything that the creators say is a musical. So, yes, Jersey Boys, Movin' Out, and even Contact are all musicals. The question is, are they good musicals? Do they have artistic ambitions beyond merely transporting carbon copies from one medium to the next?

And here's where Dirty Dancing falls short. There's not a shred of creativity involved in the process. It reminds me of a certain community theater that I used to work with on the south shore of Boston, which will remain nameless, but anyone who knows me can probably guess which one it is. Their idea of creativity when it comes to producing a musical is slavishly aping the movie version or taking copious notes at the latest Broadway revival. There's another Boston-area theater that regularly rents the Broadway sets and costumes, and even brings in replacement cast members or understudies, from recently closed New York shows.

All of this is lucrative but artistically bankrupt. Yeah, it gives some locals a chance to experience, from both sides of the footlights, a bit of Broadway magic. And Dirty Dancing allows aging Boomers and teenage hoodsies the chance to see something familiar and unchallenging on a professional stage. But to pretend it has anything to do with artistry is arrogant in the extreme.

Sweeney Tour Features Broadway Cast Members

The upcoming national tour of director John Doyle's Sweeney Todd will feature four cast members from the recent Broadway revival. Repeating their roles will be Lauren Molina as Joanna, Benjamin Magnuson as Anthony, Diana DiMarzio as the beggar woman, and John Arbo as Jonas Fogg.

Playing the lead roles on the tour will be Tony Award winner Judy Kaye as Mrs. Lovett and David Hess as Sweeney. Both are also veterans of the recent Broadway revival: Kaye took over the Lovett from Patti LuPone, and Hess was a standby for Michael Cerveris later in the run.

No doubt one of the reasons that they'll all be part of the tour is that the roles require the performers to double as the orchestra. I didn't see Hess or Kaye, but Molina and Magnuson were both terrific in their respective roles. Molina brought a plucky, fresh interpretation to Joanna, a role that has never really stood out for me before, mostly because actresses tend to play her like a Gilbert and Sullivan soprano. Molina made her a credible and multifaceted young woman. And she did it while playing the frickin' cello.

Magnuson was likewise a welcome break from your typical cardboard, earnest, stand-and-sing Anthony. He brought a quirky, impetuous quality to the role, which made the character's choices and motivation all the more believable. And he did it while playing the frickin' cello.

Overall, I was a big fan of Doyle's production concept for this show, a skillful re-conceptualization of one of the rare masterpieces in musical theater. The actor/musician conceit was more than a mere gimmick: it illuminated the relationships between the characters. And Doyle's concept went far beyond the actors-as-orchestra ploy. He completely re-imagined the piece in a compelling and dramatically effective way.

The national tour launches at Boston's Colonial Theater on October 23rd.

See it.

Drowsy Chaperone: Musical Chairs

The Drowsy Chaperone only just opened in London (see Steve on Broadway for a compendium of the reviews) and already the producers are announcing the replacement for star and author Bob Martin.

British television star Steve Pemberton will take over for Martin in July. Pemberton was part of the insanely talented cast of the darkly funny BBC show "The League of Gentlemen." Since that show wrapped up its three-season run, League members have been showing up on the London theater scene. Fellow gentleman Reece Shearsmith was Leo Bloom in the London cast of The Producers towards the end of its run. I really wish I'd been able to see Shearsmith, but by the time I noticed he was in the show, I was too late in my London trip to catch it.

The very busy Bob Martin will next be appearing in the Toronto run of his hit show, which starts this fall. That's a fitting start to the show's national tour, since that's where Martin and his cohorts developed the show. No word yet on whether Martin will appear in any additional cities on the tour.

I know this show sharply divides TQs (theater queens), but I am unapologetic in my admiration and affection for this delightful show. (Read my reviews of the original and replacement Broadway casts.) It's one of only two shows that I actually paid to see twice on Broadway. (The other was Thoroughly Modern Millie, another show of which I'm unapologetically fond.)

I urge anyone out there who hasn't seen the show to catch it when it hits your town, or the next time you're in New York or London. It's funny, heartfelt, and energetically performed. And it's basically a love letter to the Broadway musical. What's not to love?

Grey Gardens in London and on Tour

The producers of Grey Gardens recently announced that the show will play London next season with the luminous Christine Ebersole recreating her award-winning role. It makes me wonder whether the show will survive on Broadway without her, although there is talk of casting a replacement.

But it's entirely possible that the show will have run its course by that time, freeing Ebersole up to take Grey Gardens across the pond after her contract expires in October 2007. No word yet on whether the wonderful Mary Louise Wilson with join her in the West End production.

The producers also announced that a U.S. tour is in the works for sometime soon. It's not clear yet whether Ebersole with take part in the tour or go straight to London. Something tells me that the tour will be somewhat limited in scope, playing cities that will presumably be more friendly to a  musical with this tone (wistful and nostalgic) and subject matter (the tragedy of unfulfilled ambition).

Then again, perhaps I'm simply being elitist in this assumption. (What, me? An East Coast snob? Perish the very thought.) The tour for The Light in the Piazza played Columbus, Cleveland, Raleigh, and Des Moines, though I'm not sure how well the show performed financially on those stops.

In any case, if Grey Gardens comes to your town, see it. 'Nuff said.

Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life

I love me some Chita.

I remember seeing Chita Rivera in the recent Broadway revival of Nine. During the Folies Bergere number, Chita did a turn and ended up with her leg up on Antonio Banderas's shoulder. I turned to my friend Sarah Kimball and said, "She's 70." Well, that was four years ago, and the redoubtable Chita Rivera just keeps going. (No Energizer Bunny jokes, please.)

It's really too bad that the vehicle crafted especially to showcase her talents and her life isn't worthy of either. Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, which recently wound up a week's run in Boston, is more of an extremely well-staged Vegas act than a full-fledged Broadway show, full of soft-edged nostalgia and vague reminiscence. 

Still, this is frickin' Chita Rivera, so it feels churlish to carp. But my beloved Chita seems to have lost something of her preternatural ebullience. Yeah, she's 74. But even as recently as 2003 in Nine, she seemed downright irrepressible. I guess it's unreasonable to expect a theatrical legend not to succumb to the ravages of time.

Even so, I'll take a creaky and breathless Chita over nearly any performer half her age. She still has that undeniable spark, that ineffable star quality that few can match. I kept reminding myself that she's older than either of my parents, and Nettie and Ernie would be thrilled to be able to move half as fluidly as Ms. Chita.

But back to the show itself, only sporadically does Graciela Danielle's staging rise above the ordinary. The second act homage to Chita's great choreographers (Jack Cole, Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, etc.) was quite effective and entertaining, if not nearly as inspired as the work of the men it recounted. (Well, most of the men. I'm going to need to respectfully disagree with my beloved Chita about Peter Gennaro. I always found his work pointlessly complicated and overly focused on fancy footwork at the expense of artistic clarity.)

The book by Terrence McNally was surprisingly pedestrian, and seemed content to provide a straightforward chronicle rather than a coherent thesis. Yeah, it's not a masters thesis, but couldn't we have found something in between: entertainment with depth. That's McNally's stock in trade. The only inspired touch in act 1 was having Chita perform "Nowadays" with an empty follow spot to stand in for Gwen Verdon. (Of whom, BTW, Chita does a kick-ass impersonation.)

Worth seeing? Without question. Performers like Chita don't come around very often, and anyone who cares about the Broadway stage should take every opportunity to witness a legend like Chita in person.

Spelling Bee Original Cast Plays L.A.

Lucky Los Angeles.

The  one-month Los Angeles run of the hit musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will include the entire original Broadway cast: Derrick Baskin (Mitch Mahoney), Deborah S. Craig (Marcy Park), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Leaf Coneybear), Dan Fogler (William Barfee), Lisa Howard (Rona Lisa Peretti), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Olive Ostrovsky), Jose Llana (Chip Tolentino), Jay Reiss (Douglas Panch) and Sarah Saltzberg (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre).

The run was originally meant to be two months, but the entire cast wasn't available for that length of time, so the run was shortened to one month. To accommodate the shorter run, the producers have moved the show to a larger theater.

The Broadway production has been playing to about 80% capacity, which is good, but the average ticket price has been around $55, which is anemic. The show made back its initial investment in a scant 18 weeks, so as long as it's making its weekly nut, the rest is pure profit. The show has been pulling in about $230,000 a week, and considering the size of the cast, it's quite possible the show is profitable at that level, but perhaps just barely.

Recent efforts to spark interest in this lovely show have included all-star guests such as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lea Salonga, Raul Esparza, and Julie Andrews. Upcoming replacement cast members will include comedian Mo Rocca, formerly of "The Daily Show," a very funny guy, but his addition to the cast will hardly constitute stunt casting, since he's not exactly a household name.

So far, Spelling Bee has played about 800 performances, which is pretty damned good, especially for a modestly produced show. But I hope it can stick around a bit longer, if only to validate the notion that you don't have to be a Wicked or a Jersey Boys to enjoy a lengthy, healthy, profitable run on Broadway.