Little Miss Sunshine
Posted: December 6, 2013 Filed under: Comedy, Musical, Off-Broadway | Tags: intothewoods, jameslapine, littlemisssunshine, roryo'malley, secondstage, stephaniejblock, williamfinn, willswenson Leave a comment
Well, what a charming little show Little Miss Sunshine is. The evening was such a pleasant surprise. I’d heard mixed things (mostly negative), but it was a treat, plain and simple.
True, the show already has a lot going for it since it’s based on the excellent movie hit of 2006. I only saw it once in theatres, but it’s remained one of my favorites. The movie made an impression because it had a new, touching, funny screenplay with a talented cast, and now you can encounter that same great combination on stage.
You’ve got Stephanie J. Block, Will Swenson, and Rory O’Malley to name a few of the performers. Then there is music by William Finn whose work you might have heard if you’re a fan of Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, or A New Brain, and the book and direction is by James Lapine. You know you’re in good hands if you have Lapine taking care of you (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George). I don’t remember the last time I saw a musical with this strong of a book. Again, this may simply be because they’re working with gold. I’m not sure how many lines are taken directly from the screenplay (I think another movie viewing is in order), but the musical definitely sticks to the plot.
Why turn this particular movie into a stage show? Because it’s just so damn fun to watch them figure out the van. If you recall, the bright yellow VW bus is a key character in the movie, as the family spends many an hour riding, driving, and pushing it from New Mexico to California. In this production the bus is six chairs on wheels and boy, do they make it work. The bus transforms throughout the piece. It’s incredibly clever, and the choreography is sharp and clean. In fact, the whole show is. It’s well put together with an extremely talented cast playing well-developed characters. The supporting characters are also hilarious (I wish Wesley Taylor had more to do!).
Now it’s not perfect. The score isn’t to die for; I didn’t fall in love with it the way I did when I saw Spelling Bee on Broadway. I didn’t leave humming the songs, and a few could pack a little more punch. I wanted more from the son’s big number, and the bathroom encounter between Frank (O’Malley) and his ex left much to be desired. The opening moments of the show were also odd. It just kind of…started. It was as if it picked up in the middle of a song, and I thought I had missed something. Nonetheless, the harmonies are beautiful, and the music certainly fits the style of the piece.
Overall, it’s quirky, fun, and adorable, just like the film. It was nice to see the story again with a new twist. And you have to go simply to see that pageant at the end. After being disappointed by the musicals thus far this season, Little Miss Sunshine is a breath of a fresh air.
Little Miss Sunshine
Written by James Lapine and William Finn, Directed by James Lapine
Second Stage Theatre through December 15th
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Pictured: Stephanie J. Block, Will Swenson, and the Cast of Little Miss Sunshine
First Date
Posted: December 4, 2013 Filed under: Broadway, Comedy, Musical | Tags: bailout, bff, chuck, firstdate, musical, review, tangled, zacharylevi Leave a comment
I had hoped I wouldn’t come out of this show echoing all of the other critics, but unfortunately there’s not much new to share. We have a musical here packed with one-dimensional characters. Everyone is the ultimate stereotype: the bad boy, nagging sister, player best friend, super gay bff, the list goes on. No character ever digs below the surface, and when the writers try to do so with the leads, it only comes off as lame and ineffective.
What my companions and I were left wondering was: does the actual idea work? Can you make an entire show based on the premise of a first date? Yes, it’s funny. People easily relate; they can look at the characters up on stage and think, “Ohh yes, I’ve been there.” With the classic highlights of the introduction, small talk banter, no-no’s of first dates, awkward pauses, picking up the check, etc., there is a lot to poke fun at, but is there enough meat to make a full musical? Perhaps if there were more vignettes of multiple couples, rather than just one date, you could find more to work with. I’m not sure, but as it stands, First Date is 90-minutes of mostly filler.
The banter is light, packed with easy jokes. My theatre pal, Matt Franzetti, called it sitcom writing, and I couldn’t agree more. Now, let me stress that I love me some quality sitcoms, but I don’t go to the theatre for that. This musical could be a 22-minute sitcom with the main storyline being the horrors of a first date, but since these characters are so over-the-top and archetypal, there’s no way to connect to them as an audience. They seem fake, so when the topics try to steer their way to real connection, I didn’t go along for the ride.
I tried. I did! There are a handful of genuinely funny moments, but the rest are forced and uncomfortable. For example, there’s the gay BFF bail-out call. It’s a somewhat funny gag; yes, girls often have a friend call just in case they want to get out of a date. But then he sings the same song THREE times. They take a gag that’s not all that great to begin with and then beat it into the ground.
As for the stars, First Date features Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez. We first heard Levi’s pipes in Tangled, and he is a king of landing awkward humor (see: Chuck). He’s just the right combination of awkward and charming to make even the lamest dialogue endearing. But it gets old quick. True, he keeps landing the jokes, but let’s give the guy some variety please. Also, I’m so over the standard stereotypes of guy meets girl: the uptight, tripping-over-his-words guy and the punk-rock, hard-shell girl who deep down is vulnerable and looking for love. And Rodriguez, whom I usually like, is just reciting her lines. It doesn’t feel organic, but can you blame her with some of the stuff she has to say?
It’s hard to be so harsh, but between that book, the primarily forgettable score, and the marketing, I just can’t get on board with this show. First Date will definitely be my last.
First Date
Written by Austin Winsberg, Alan Zachary, and Michael Weiner, Directed by Bill Berry
Longacre Theatre through January 5th
Photo Credit: Chris Owyoung
Pictured: Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez
The Vaudevillians, starring Jinkx Monsoon
Posted: October 1, 2013 Filed under: Comedy, Musical | Tags: dragrace, jinkx, jinkxmonsoon, lauriebeechman, majorscales, review, rupaul, vaudevillians Leave a comment
Thanks to my fellow show guru, I was told to run, not walk, to see The Vaudevillians at the Laurie Beechman. What started as a one-night show has since been extended through November. Jinkx Monsoon, of recent RuPaul’s Drag Race fame, stars in the production. I should note right now: I have never watched Drag Race, I had no idea Jinkx was on it (much less the Season 5 winner), but whether you’re a fan or not, her show is definitely worth checking out if you can.
Now this isn’t a drag show, but the star is in drag and she is hi-lar-ious. Jinkx Monsoon plays Ms. Kitty Witless alongside her husband and collaborator, Mr. Dan Von Dandy (played by Major Scales). You ready for the premise? I don’t think you’re ready. Together Kitty and Dan used to have a popular vaudeville show in the 1920s, but during a tour through Antarctica (!), they were caught in an avalanche and frozen alive. Decades later, thanks to global warming, they have thawed out and made it to NYC to continue singing some of their most popular hits. The problem is, their songs were never copyrighted so it turns out their best numbers have been stolen by popular artists of today. This brilliantly simple idea allows these two to sing pretty much whatever they want with a new twist. You’ll hear the original vaudevillian versions of hits like “Toxic,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and “I Will Survive” – the 11 o’clock number from A Doll’s House 2: Electric Boogaloo (haven’t you heard of the sequel to Ibsen’s classic?). That song alone is worth the price of admission.
There are some dips in momentum, most noticeably when Kitty is off taking a break leaving Dandy to take the stage by his lonesome. But it’s quickly forgiven anytime Kitty comes out into the audience to chat with the boys or has yet another fight with her hubby (frozen in ice for that many years didn’t do too much for their marriage).
Bottom line is, if you like fun, over-the-top cabarets, chock-full of mugging, then The Vaudevillians is for you. Get your tickets here.
The Vaudevillians, starring Jinkx Monsoon
The Laurie Beechman Theatre through November 19th
Photo Credit: Wilson Models
Pictured: Richard Andriessen and Jerick Hoffer
Big Fish
Posted: September 30, 2013 Filed under: Broadway, Musical | Tags: bigfish, norbertleobutz, review Leave a comment
So here’s the thing about Big Fish. There are some truly beautiful, magical moments in the show. But it’s Too. Damn. Long. The effective moments end up buried in the length and overshadowed by it. I want to sit down with the creative team and say: I know it’s like getting rid of your children, but you have to cut these songs down. That extra 20-30 minutes can make or break a show. Note: they are still in previews, so I’m curious to see how it changes come the October 6th opening.
Running approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, the show, for the most part, follows the plot of the film (I never read the book). Big Fish is about Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman with a big imagination, and his relationship with his son, Will. Edward raised his son with the most fantastical stories about his past, and Will, now grown with a kid of his own on the way, feels like he doesn’t actually know his father. Who is the real man behind all the stories? Who is his dad if all his tales are lies? I saw the movie once or twice when it was first released in 2003, and it has stuck with me over the years. Yes, maybe that’s because Ewan McGregor was beautiful in it, but regardless, I have always remembered it striking a chord.
It cannot be denied that the production is well-cast. I see Norbert Leo Butz (Edward) in everything he does, and I’m a big fan of Kate Baldwin (his wife, Sandra). She has a voice that simply soars, and I wish they gave her more to do in the show. Norbert, on the other hand, doesn’t get a break. He is in practically every scene, singing countless songs, and covering the ages of 18 to 58. It’s a marathon, no question. Bobby Steggert is also great as Will, but I wanted more depth in the writing of his character.
There is some lovely work happening at the Neil Simon theatre. The design is beautiful, the staging clever, and the lighting magical. I was so excited in the first 20 minutes. It was eye candy, funny, and there was a step number near the beginning! But they need to pick and choose the stories, trim down the setup, and even cut full numbers in some cases. This would help the flow and keep up the momentum, and then more focus could come back to the emotional relationships.
Like Will, who feels he can’t connect to his father because his life is so over-the-top, I had a similar experience trying to connect to the show. What it comes down to is this: I think this story is about a father and a son. Yes, there are all of these amazing, fantastical stories that monopolize most of the plot, but ultimately it is about the father/son relationship. This is the part that I don’t think the production highlights as effectively as it could. We primarily see Edward interact with his son when he’s a young boy, but in his few scenes with adult Will, they just have the same fight over and over. Where’s the duet? Sing a song! Build that tension for real (not with a completely out of place Western number in Act II), and the end will be all the more heartbreaking.
Big Fish
Written by Andrew Lippa and John August, Directed by Susan Stroman
Neil Simon Theatre through December 29th
Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik
Pictured: Kate Baldwin and Norbert Leo Butz
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Posted: August 17, 2013 Filed under: Comedy, Musical, Off-Broadway, Shakespeare | Tags: bloodybloodyandrewjackson, delacorte, josswhedon, loveslabourslost, review, shakespeare, shakespeareinthepark Leave a comment
It’s an odd thing. Sometimes it looks like everything’s been done just right: a talented cast, creative director, nice set, beautiful park, some laughs. And yet I walked away from Love’s Labour‘s Lost feeling unaffected. I sat there wishing I was laughing as hard as the people around me, but instead I felt like a bystander, observing from the outside of the Delacorte.
The very simple plot (I’m serious, there’s nothing to it) follows three men and their king who all take an oath to give up life’s pleasures and withdraw from society for three years in order to dedicate their time to their studies. In this contemporary adaptation, these men make this promise at their five-year college reunion, and in addition to rejecting women, they give up beer, bongs, porn, the list goes on. Of course, then four women from their pasts arrive, and we know this oath isn’t going to last too long, thereby making us doubt the weight of their oaths made later to love and stay committed to these women.
That’s it. That’s the plot. The women disappear for like, half of the show. There are random other characters who pop up for a few minutes here and there purely for comic relief.
So what left me feeling so untouched you ask? I’m honestly still in the process of figuring out a concrete answer. This is the second of two Shakespeare in the Park productions this summer, and it is very much a modern adaptation. It’s been turned into a musical, with a new score and adapted book by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers. Purists, be warned: the original Shakespeare text has been left in the dust. When it does crop up (rarely), it is brief before the songs take over again or more contemporary exchanges take its place.
I don’t mind modern versions of Shakespeare plays; in fact, I encourage them and love to see new approaches. But I did have a hard time with how little original text was used. I kept wondering why they even bothered to keep it. As a result, the jokes felt thin to me. They were easy laughs because it’s funny to juxtapose Shakespeare against a profanity or colloquial phrase. He said the f-word! Such a novelty! But why not only have a couple moments like that and then work to find what’s funny in the original material? Why are extravagant, flamboyant costumes necessary to get laughs? Shakespeare gives us all that we need. I don’t know, maybe I am a purist, but I think if you’re going to change the play to that degree then leave it behind entirely, instead of just referencing it when it’s convenient.
Some will argue that this production makes Shakespeare relatable for a modern audience, but I don’t think all of the hoopla is necessary. People continue to attend Shakespeare in the Park, not only because it’s free, but because Shakespeare remains relatable and entertaining even today. As I exited the park, I found myself thinking about Joss Whedon’s recent film, Much Ado About Nothing. This was a fully contemporary approach to Shakespeare, but the text remains, the comedy reads, and an audience packed with Avengers, Buffy, and Firefly fans connected to it and found themselves enjoying (and understanding) a Shakespeare play thanks to this medium.
This production left me thinking: are any of these choices justified? Most of the “bits” felt random because they knew they would get laughs. The songs make up the majority of the play, but they felt put on and not fully earned by these characters. I like this composer; I’m a big fan of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (the same creative team). But except for “Love’s a Gun” (sung by the always-amazing Rebecca Naomi Jones) and a couple of other fun numbers, the music didn’t add to my experience.
Please don’t get me wrong; this is a wonderfully talented cast including Daniel Breaker, Colin Donnell, Jeff Hiller, and Rachel Dratch, not to mention director Alex Timbers whom we all know I love (see my Here Lies Love review). But this comedy felt mapped out. There are some genuinely funny and surprising moments. I just wish the rest of it had been as genuine.
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Written by William Shakespeare, Song by Michael Friedman, Book Adapted and Directed by Alex Timbers
Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare in the Park 2013
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Pictured: Bryce Pinkham, Colin Donnell, and Lucas Near-Verbrugghe
Becca on Broadway 