Wednesday is a two-show day on Broadway, and I saw a couple of major productions of the season. At the matinee I saw Parade (after the canceled performance when I first arrived in town on Saturday), and in the evening, I saw Some Like It Hot, the new musical adaptation based on the 1959 Billy Wilder classic film comedy. Parade is a revival of the show that first opened … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 4: A high-energy ‘& Juliet’ captivates
Yesterday’s show was the tongue-in-cheek take on Shakespeare, & Juliet, a jukebox musical with pop hits from the recent past that asks what might have happened if Juliet Capulet had lived instead of taking her own life. The infectious results are a little heavy-handed with its female empowerment message, but is ultimately a winner thanks to some clever plotting and a … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 3: New Broadway museum worth a visit
Those who are envious of my being in New York this week should know that the temperature is in the 30s, and when the wind whips up it is bitter cold. So it is an ideal day to get off the street and into the new Museum of Broadway at 145 W. 45th St., an interactive collection of hundreds of original costumes, props and artifacts that bring Broadway history to life. … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 6: “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical”
Expectations mean a lot to one’s enjoyment of theater, so I guess it was good that my expectations were subterranean for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. This biographical songfest divides the role of the disco queen into three parts – Diva Donna (LaChanze), Disco Donna (Ariana DeBose) and Duckling Donna (Storm Lever) – a trio of powerhouse vocalists who rip through nearly two … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 5: ‘The Band’s Visit’
There is no better illustration of the gulf between reviewers and theatergoers than this season's musicals on Broadway. The reviews for Frozen and Mean Girls were unenthusiastic at best, but audiences are going crazy for both shows, which are virtually selling out in their early weeks. On the other hand, no musical received better reviews than The Band's Visit, the new David … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 4: “Angels in America,” “Mean Girls”
Today was Wednesday, matinee day on Broadway. My shows today underlined the range of what is available now on Broadway – a first-rate revival of Tony Kushner's epic Angels in America and a so-so new musical adaptation of Tina Fey's high school anti-bullying comedy movie, Mean Girls. Subtitled "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," Angels in America first arrived on Broadway in … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 3: “Frozen”
Since the early '80s, when the Disney organization made its first assault on Broadway with Beauty and the Beast, it has regularly raided its animation vaults for musical subjects. Some have been inspired adaptations (The Lion King), some rote copies (Mary Poppins) and some painful (Tarzan). This season's Disney entry, Frozen -- the most successful animated film of all time … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 2: ‘My Fair Lady’
I am more of a Sweeney Todd and Fiddler on the Roof fan, but if you insisted that My Fair Lady is the great American musical, I wouldn't argue with you, particular after seeing the extraordinary Lincoln Center revival Sunday. Bartlett Sher, the Center's resident directing marvel (South Pacific, Light in the Piazza, etc.) has created a knockout production, with eye-popping … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 1: ‘Travesties’ and ‘Harry Potter’
Saturday was sunny, but chilly in New York, but fortunately I was spending almost six hours in a theater watching Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the hot ticket of the season. My trip began with a revival of Tom Stoppard's Travesties, another import from London. Both were in final previews, so I can't get too specific with my opinions yet, but both are challenging works, … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 9: ‘Crucible’ still works, despite directorial mangling
Sophie Okonedo and Ben Whishaw in The Crucible. And so the week in New York ended with the 12th production, a love-it-or-hate-it revival of Arthur Miller’s historical epic, The Crucible, deconstructed by Dutch director Ivo van Hove. As you probably recall from studying the 1953 play in high school, Miller’s view of history is two-pronged. On the literal level, he is … [Read more...]