Performance date – 13 February 2020 (First Preview)
With much anticipation and fanfare, Six, the Musical arrives on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in the chilly month of February here in NYC. After a smash run on the West End, the legendary Queens of Henry VIII have finally journeyed across the pond and have been dutifully dipped in pop-diva glitz and glamour to welcome audiences on Broadway. They have been given the royal treatment as each has been disguised as a contemporary reigning “queen” of the pop scene and they are here to riff and rhyme on their individual and very compelling stories in their Contest of Consorts. This refreshing and fun (and quick) glimpse into a contemporary retelling of some very famous her-story is a raucous and exciting escape from reality that really takes you right out of the theatre humming the tuneful earworms written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.
All six of the performers who embody the wifely sextet give outstanding performances in their own right. Each one is perfectly cast as they take their command throughout the evening with regal flair and dance moves befitting their respective roles . If there is a standout here, Andrea Macasaet as Anne Boleyn has to be commended for her vocal acuity and scene stealing moves that she brings to the group. Although, it is hard to single one out from this very capable and energetic ensemble. The sound design (Paul Gatehouse) is especially refreshing as they have opted for hand-held microphones perpetuating the pop-concert vibe and giving the vocalists complete control over how their voices are being picked up by those amplification devices. The mix is pure perfection; at the same time powerful and precise.
Each of our Queens is bedecked in one singular costume for the duration of the evening that assists with placing each of them squarely in the vein of the PopStar that they have been drawn from in “queenspiration.” The designs, by Broadway newcomer (and award-wining) Gabriella Slade gild the stage with a stunning array of actual sparkling diamonds. (Her designs, not co-incidentally, also appear on a Brit girl-group that you just might have heard of.) These frocks, with update$ from the London versions, are some of the best that theatre has to offer and quite literally keep the audience staring in awe throughout the show.
The short 90 minute piece definitely leaves you wanting more; but the score, costumes, lighting, choreo and PERFORMANCES are turning out to be one of the brightly lit shining stars of the 2020 Broadway season. This one is here to stay, get your tickets now.
Performance date – 13 February 2014 (First Preview)
A musical about Rocky? Does he sing? Is it any good?
These questions are on the lips of anyone who has passed by the Winter Garden Theatre (home to only 2 other productions in the past 30 years) or anyone else that has caught news of this big budget movie-to-musical production opening 13 March 2014. The answer to all three aforementioned questions is, YES. With book by Thomas Meehan and the original Rocky, Sylvester Stallone, music & lyrics by the incomparable writing team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and directed by Alex Timbers; this mega-musical takes it’s turn on the Great White Way and makes a big splash while doing so.
There has been much discussion of the expensive, mechanical set that supports this production. It is beautifully rigid and wonderfully depicts a very industrialized aspect of the Philadelphia that this story calls home. The intimate scenes are reinforced with very intimate staging, bringing this huge set together and focussing our attention on a tiny slice of stage real-estate. This is one of the best achievements of Mr. Timbers. He plays all the serious relationship and character building moments in the confines of a very small space, therefore the big picture moments look that much larger in our consciousness. These small apartment/shop sets are amazingly over-dressed, though. The pet shop scene, for instance, is so busy and overflowing with so much color and movement (are those tv screens showing cgi fish-tanks really necessary?) that it is difficult to actually see the actors within the scene and focus on what, one would assume, the director would like us to focus on.
It has been a pleasure to watch Andy Karl, who plays the title role, over the past few years. He is a perfect fit in this Tony-Worthy performance and has captured the essence of this down-and-out character in every possible way. He can sing, act, pull off the necessary fight choreo (and btw, looks great without a shirt), and really does an excellent job of embodying this character. Most importantly, he makes the transition between songs, dialogue and boxing seem completely effortless in what could be a real disaster if not played so artfully. He has taken great care to craft this character with both brooding turmoil and lovable qualities and the audience is really rooting for him just as much as they were for Stallone’s original take on the role. Kudos to you, Mr. Karl.
Thankfully, this production succeeds where other Movie Musical creations have failed in that they retain much of the musically thematic elements that assisted in making the original film a success. The original Rocky Theme, composed by Bill Conti and “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, have retained a major presence in this production. The two melodies are inextricably linked to this story in the hearts and minds of the millions of would-be theatre patrons and it is both refreshing and exhilarating when the tunes make their appearance in the show. Unfortunately, composer/lyricist team Ahrens/Flaherty aren’t as successful here as they have been in the past. Perhaps they, too, were struggling with where and when to put songs into this already richly established story and how to go about having a boxer(s) sing without becoming campy and unappealing. Rocky’s first song, “My Nose Ain’t Broken” is where this is all too apparent. Nice melody, nice scene even (yes, he sings a ballad to his pet turtles), but does the audience really need to start off on this journey about a struggling boxer who’s down on his luck by hearing him repeat over and over “Hey, my nose ain’t broken”? I mean, isn’t the point of music in a musical theatre piece generally that whole “the emotional point of the scene has become so great that we can no longer express the character’s emotion in any medium other than song” where we should probably be headed in the early stages of the show? Shouldn’t this be the driving crux of our Hero’s problem, OR a realization that he needs to make a change OR some other IMPORTANT story element other than a bleating lament and variation on the theme of “it’s not that bad”? Apollo’s opening number “Patriotic” is a nice distraction both visually and thematically from the dreary, dark world of the lead character’s struggle. It’s bright, refreshing, fun and gives insight into the motivation behind Creed’s actions. The beginning of Act II opens with a brilliant visual of the highly-anticipated training sequence, but seems interrupted by an insipid attempt to give the character of Micky a song that just begs to either be cut or integrated into some other point in the show. By this point in the show, we don’t really care about Mickey’s back-story and it brings the beginning of this act to a SCREECHING halt. Why not keep the seemingly unstoppable momentum going by combining the two training montages into one continuous knock-out blow for the audience? Or better yet, insert Adrian’s show-stopping number between the two?
Thanksgiving and what follows are two very heart-felt scenes where we really see the Rocky/Adrian romance blossom while being supported by a quirky song that embraces the awkwardness of these two characters finding each other at this moment in their lives. The bad jokes abound and we, the audience, begin to fall for this guy just as much as Adrian is finally showing us.
The character of Adrian, portrayed by Margo Seibert, has some stunning revelations throughout this show and in some ways a stronger character arch then our leading man. The opening pet shop scene in which we are introduced to her (which is one of those over-cluttered sets that I mentioned before), has her giving our Hero the VERY cold shoulder. So much so, that we are really questioning why he is barking up that tree in the first place, especially with the three hotties that just exited the scene during his entrance. Karl does a great job at playing the overly-sensitive, socially-awkward, but very interested young man here, and what we get from Adrian is, albeit, scripted but such a turn-off that no one in the audience is actually sure why he is pursuing her instead of her 3 co-workers who are, obviously more attractive and more willing to chat with him. I believe this is a directing fail, as the film source has the same issue but along with the intimate nuances of film, this problem is overcome. Later in Act II when she finally makes a choice to stand up for herself and her relationship in “I’m Done” we see both the power of this fresh young actress and also the experience of the veteran composer/lyricist team SHINE in one of the best developed theatrical moments and songs in the entire piece (which, unfortunately is smashed to bits less than 5 minutes later when Rocky states “You seem like a smart guy, a guy I need in my corner” and completely negates the strong moment that came before).
Before I forget… the Woof-Factor. WOOF (® @johnnyscruff 😉 This is one of the hottest Ensembles assembled in recent memory. Wow, this makes the $35 lottery ticket price REALLY worth it. All of these big, beefy, MEN are believable as both boxers and inhabitants of the world of this familiar story with nary a Mary amongst them (well that last part is almost true… but I’m pretty sure they fooled most of the str8’s in the audience). Good work Jim Carnahan and Carrie Gardner (CSA).
Which brings us to the spectacular final fight sequence. Yes, the entire show is a buildup to this moment. Yes, it’s pretty spectacular. Yes, it’s great fight choreography. And, yes, that final moment, post-fight, is truly magical. No one has ever seen anything quite as amazing as the final fight sequence in #ROCKYbroadway. All that aside, the focus shift away from what is truly important to this story, the love story, is a bit disappointing and is, ultimately, where this stage adaptation falls flat. Not to mention the fact that if you are one of the lucky people that paid top dollar to sit in the front 6 rows of this show; SURPRISE, during the final 20 minutes you are re-located to seats onstage, which may be fun for some, but you are actually going to miss quite a bit of the visual finale of this show; which, by the way, does NOT stay in the previously stated era. Stallone himself is quoted in promotional material for this production as saying “The fight was not the most important part… the part was the Heart.” If those are the words of the iconic man that created this story and has a book writing credit in this show, then why aren’t we ending the story that way?
This is a fun night at the theatre and a show that has a willing audience to play to for years.
Performance date – 17 January 2014 (First Preview)
For those viewers unfamiliar to the poignant story of Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson; director Bartlett Sher and Co. have an emotionally moving wallop of a Musical in store for you with the stage adaptation of Robert James Walker’s book, The Bridges of Madison County, currently in previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The beautifully simplistic scenic design by Michael Yeargan drops us in the midst of a small town Iowa farm while the craftsmanship of lighting designer, Donald Holder, literally paints the backdrop with perfectly nuanced lighting effects to add their assistance to the story-telling of this wondrous moment in the lives of the two lead characters played artfully (and sung masterfully) by the powerful, masculine baritone Steven Pasquale and one of Broadway’s best and well-loved “legit” sopranos, Kelly O’Hara.
A huge part of the success of this almost “chamber operatic” piece of musical theatre is the work of composer/lyricist, Jason Robert Brown who has taken some familiar aspects of different cultural sounds and woven them cleverly and melodically into his re-telling of this story of an Italian and an American who find themselves “Falling Into…” each other at a momentous intersection of their two lives. The classical/baroque strings and piano are complimentary of Francesca’s Italian roots and Robert has a more cavalier/contemporary sound that reflects his background. The meeting of these two very specific styles is truly one piece of the musical puzzle that Mr. Brown is putting together right in front of the audience, and one that keeps the story captivating and helps move the action of the story along. One of the most interesting aspects of this wonderful score, one that kept playing in this patron’ sub-consciousness, was that at times this score doesn’t necessarily sound puritanically JRB, but had hints of an atonal approach similar to, shall we say, Adam Guettel? (although perhaps it is simply hard to separate Miss O’Hara from the score of TheLight in the Piazza)
As is often found at the viewing of a “First Preview,” there are a few speed-bumps that should be taken care of in the next few weeks before opening. Mainly, the often un-important ancillary “extras” that seem to lurk around the stage from time to time are slightly distracting as well as deliver to us a few songs that simply have no business in the show (sorry, Hunter Foster, although you are a fantastic Musical Theatre Singer/Actor we just don’t care about your characters’ “Something from a Dream” nor do we need Cass Morgan’s rendition of “Get Closer” to keep us compelled to pay attention). Not to mention that very unfortunate, “was that tap?” bit that takes place in the opening of Act II… Cut.
Unpleasantries aside, the powerful work of both of the leading actors is worth the ticket price alone. These two are running full steam ahead at the TOP of their game. Their chemistry is truly wonderful to behold and the kind of magic that producers all over “The Great White Way” keep trying to find… Look No Further… It is HERE. A multitude of congratulations to these artists!
Listen to “Falling Into You” from The Bridges of Madison County… Click HERE
The highly anticipated and newly imagined production of one of the most talked about theatrical experiences from 2004 is finally back in the New York Theatre Spotlight. Bare: the Musical, has a rocking score and a host of troubled teens that tell us about their respective stories and work out different aspects of their personal sexuality from the setting of a Catholic boarding school.
With some very loud and excitable additional music from a new name to the piece, Lynne Shankel along with orginal lyricist, Jon Hartmere, the musicians have embellished upon and sometimes created anew the very popular rock/pop score that was originally conceived by composer Damon Intrabartolo when this show first took shape back in the early 2000’s. The creative team have decided to trend slightly away from the originally through composed “pop opera” with the addition of scripted book scenes that help to propel the story and create a deeper insight to the characters and their stories. If only they would have stuck to this method. It seems that the entire first act has been re-written with an abundance of dramatic exchanges in-between the newly penned compositions, but by the time we make it to Act II, the through composed genre has returned which makes us, the audience, a bit confused as to which type of musical we are experiencing. The newly devised opening number is also a bit cryptic and very heavy. Granted, this is a heavy story, but maybe we need to have a bit of light-hearted “high school” fun at the outset instead of brooding on the angry theme of “A Million Miles from Heaven.” Also, a noted omission is “911 Emergency.” The replacement number (“Hail Mary”) and new direction in casting this role don’t quite capture the element of both storytelling and humor as the original.
Stafford Arima (the director who was critical player in a seemingly impossible task last season; making Carrie work), has taken on the challenge of bringing to life the trials of these high school teens and does so with the greatest of ease. The staging and direction of the cast that has been assembled is fluent, pure and heartbreaking. These people are really going through major identity questions that help to create the adults that they will become. It’s an exciting time in the life of a young person, and his efforts make for a very interesting peek into the process and holds the audience’s attention through every plot turn.
Surprisingly, the role of the Catholic church and the teens’ respective view of religion seems to have slipped away from the story-telling in this version of the tale. Making a few of the choices throughout the very emotional story rather hard to comprehend. There were numerous pre-release articles that mentioned the creative team was trying to “update” the particular events in the show to make the struggles and actions of the characters more relevant to the current times. For the most part, they have succeeded in these aspirations, but taken a bit too much of the focus away from the struggle that many young-people, even today, go through… “My faith and my feelings are very contradictory. What now, God?” That struggle, which is, essentially the core of this piece is a fantastically theatrical jumping off place, so why do we rarely hear any of the players in this play actually going through the struggle and mentioning God at all? Sure, there are social acceptance issues with much of the subject matter, and this play deals well with those issues, but for some reason, the religious aspect is somehow missing. The song, “You’re Not Alone” is an excellent example of just how we could witness the role that faith plays in the lives and choices of these characters. Instead we get a fantastic power ballad being sung by the Teacher/Nun, Sister Joan who reminds our hero that she is there for him. Unfortunately, we haven’t really had enough character development between these two for the song to ring true.
Anyway you slice this, it is a great evening of theatre. Go see this show!
—-> DISCLAIMER : I would like to make it known that the preceding post has been written after seeing the first preview of this re-imagined pop musical that was originally staged in 2004 in NYC. This is a show that I have, personally, followed since that time, and have always looked forward to its inevitable return to the New York Stage. I wish the producers and cast continued success with this fantastic story that still has a need to be shared…
What do we want from an evening of musical theatre when we set off to take in a campy piece of fluff from the early 80’s? Escape, entertainment, energy… A myriad of words could describe the answer to that question yet in the current revival of the “hit” musical, Annie, those answers are not going to readily float to the forefront your mind. It seems that the artistic staff of this scaled-down 35 year old gem is relying more on the audience’s ability to transcend the years and remember a simpler time, one in which this show was originally performed, rather than actually taking the audience on that journey through storytelling.
There are, however, some fantastic performances by this rather small cast. Lilla Crawford, for one, in the role of the title character sings through the challenging score with the greatest of ease. Her stage presence is irresistible and she captures the wide-eyed optimism of the show’s anthem with the perfection that only a child actress can. “Tomorrow, you’re only a day away” after all. Her interaction with Sandy is memorable and adorable at the same time and her relationship with Daddy Warbucks (Anthony Warlow) is well developed even for a show like this. Some of her dramatic work in the scene where she refuses to believe that her parents are truly gone is a bit hard to swallow, but, hey… the rest of her performance is so honest and awe-inspired that we choose to forgive and forget. Anthony Warlow, is blissful perfection as the crass, loud-mouthed Warbucks. His ability to capture the audience’s attention amid the distractions of all that this show has to offer (the proverbial, nothing worse that working with children or animals on stage…) is truly some of the best work in this production. His vocals are sweet and fluid, his acting ability is at the top of the game and his arc throughout this story is absolutely wonderful to behold. Bravo to the producers for FINALLY bringing this Australian native across the pond to be a part of the New York Theatre scene (it’s his Broadway Debut). Katie Finneran in the role of the tragically comic Miss Hannigan has to be one of the most anticipated performances in the current season of musicals. She’s great. Truly. That said, this reviewer believes that nothing she brings to the table is earth-shattering or makes one see the character in a new light. That’s a bit unfortunate, because she is a very talented actress. Part of the problem is that she is truly stunning. She walks onto the stage and one takes her in as a sexy star… whom they have tried to dumb down with frumpy costumes. But she is beautiful. When she is attempting to seduce Mr. Bundles (a dowdy character), you just don’t believe that she has no other options at hand. Her relationship to the small troupe of orphans is believable. She handles the vocals of the role flawlessly and at every step of the way she takes control of the scene and delivers exactly what one would expect to see from an actress of her caliber.
One of the more troubling aspect of this production seems to be it’s lack of funding. 6 orphans, approximately 12 ensemble members and very few moments when the stage actually seems full is only accented by the minimalist scenic design and an over-abundance of over-choreographed scene changes and dance numbers. Yes, Andy Blankenbuehler, you are a very talented individual, but please, don’t over-think this. There are only 12 dancers on stage! Alternately, the costume design, by Susan Hilferty, is truly something to behold. Her pieces shine spectacularly in this production. Capturing both the styles and the rich colors that we associate with this time period in American History while at the same time, throwing in some very distinguished costumes that are so offset by the bleak scenic design they truly burn magically into your memory.
An interesting directorial decision was made with regards to the character of Lily St. Regis. The very talented J. Elaine Marcos is tackling this role and for some reason a choice was made to constrain her speech to a very thick asian accent in the first appearance of the character. In that extremely comedic scene, it truly seems as if Rooster has simply picked her up somewhere, perhaps in Chinatown on the way to the orphanage. But then one gets to thinking… how will they ever pull off the parental deception in Act II with any sort of honesty? That answer comes when the character simply loses the accent altogether and acquires a North American one. Bizarre. Nothing quite as bizarre as the finale where the trio is running loose through Warbucks’ scantily clad mansion with a single police officer chasing after them, only to see them meet their end by tap dancing in handcuffs out the door. To say that the direction of this production is misguided would be an understatement.
If you are to catch this Little piece of musical theatre history, best to do so tomorrow, because it just might disappear shortly after Christmas morning. There is not much chance of “getting a new deal for Christmas” for this production.
For those viewers unfamiliar to the poignant story of Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson; director Bartlett Sher and Co. have an emotionally moving wallop of a Musical in store for you with the stage adaptation of Robert James Walker’s book, The Bridges of Madison County, currently in previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The beautifully simplistic scenic design by Michael Yeargan drops us in the midst of a small town Iowa farm while the craftsmanship of lighting designer, Donald Holder, literally paints the backdrop with perfectly nuanced lighting effects to add their assistance to the story-telling of this wondrous moment in the lives of the two lead characters played artfully (and sung masterfully) by the powerful, masculine baritone Steven Pasquale and one of Broadway’s best and well-loved “legit” sopranos, Kelly O’Hara.
TheatreBear 