Gutenberg The Musical

This two-man musical was one of the funniest, most charming little musicals I have seen in a long time. Jeremy Shamos and David Turner play all the characters, German townspeople reacting to the invention of Johann Gutenbergs printing press. It's actually the making of a musical, two guys trying to write a show that will hopefully make it to Broadway. Very funny and clever. The two actors are hugely talented and make the two hour show spin almost out of control. A wonderful romp.

Chicago

How is this for a romantic Valentine.
Since I had never seen Chicago and Bebe Neuwirth was back for a couple months for the 10th anniversary of the show, Bill brought me to see it.
Having known the score, and scene the film a couple times, I was delighted to find the show much "dancier" than I had imagined. This is a true dance show. The choreography, especially in the opening, is intense. I forgot how much I loved Fosse.
This is also a real tight cast. While Bebe and Brenda Braxton were fantastic, the chorus was amazing.
OK, OK, OK, to the romantic part.
Because NJ just passed the "civil union" bill allowing us to be civilly unionized (not-quite-married-but-enjoying-all-the-benefits-of), and knowing that going to the courthouse for a certificate is not the most romantic thing in the world, he wanted to ask me to "CU" him with a grand sweeping gesture.
After the show, he arranged with his friend Donna Asbury (who was fantastic in the show) to give us a tour of backstage. We were greeted at the backstage door and taken around to meet the hair dressers, the costume crew, the cast, and then to stand on the middle of the stage, where, get this, Bill gets down on bended knee and asks me to be his "CU". Of course, I said Yes. Completely romantic. Donna came out with a couple roses from the show and took us to meet Brenda and Bebe. Both very cool and really excited about the new CU bill. They gave us a poster signed by everyone in the cast, congratulated us and wished us the best.
How can I ever top that. Bill, You win...this time.

Follies

Sunday night, my, how a show can change:
Victoria Clark as Sally: 9 She is one of the few that did not grow since dress rehersal. Gorgeous voice.
Donna Murphy as Phyllis: 9 Her timing got better. She has it all, but the dance moves.
Victor Garber as Ben: 5 Better, but still miscast. Ben has to have a real voice. VG does not. But his acting seemed less stilted.
Michael McGrath as Buddy: 5 Still not right either. Buddy is a very annoying charecter. At least he makes it somewhat watchable.
Christine Baranski as Carlotta: 6 Mis-cast. "I'm Still Here" should have been sung standing in one place. No movement, no gesturing. She would have killed. I love her comic timing.
Anne Rogers and Robert Fitch: 7 "Rain on the Roof" Much better. Obviously having a ball tonight.
SloppyYvonne Constant as Solange: 1 At least tonight I could understand her.
Mimi Hines as Hattie: 8 I really love her voice. The performance didn't change an ounce since the rehersal.
JoAnne Worley as Stella: 8 Same thing. The performance didnt change a bit.
The Folly Youth: 9.5 Fantastic four-some. They were really terrific to watch again.
The costumes: 9.5

Fantastic show. I hope the "planned" movie is as good.

Follies (Dress Rehersal)

City Center Encores. We are seeing it again on Sunday, so here is the first review of this amazing show.
The girls win in this production.
Victoria Clark as Sally: 10 Powerful voice. In Buddy's Eyes made me cry. An interesting, film noir version of "Losing My Mind". The duet "Too Many Mornings", she sweeps the floor with Victor Garber. He had no chance.
Donna Murphy as Phyllis: 9.5 Incredible version of "Leave You". Her gangly legs and only passable dancing is the reason she looses a half point from "Lucy and Jesse."
Victor Garber as Ben: 2 Zzzzzzzzzzzz! No voice, terribly miscast. This needs a powerhouse voice. He doesnt have it AT ALL.
Michael McGrath as Buddy: 4 Weak, not comic, but a decent dancer. In "Buddy's Folly", the two girls save the number. They were terrific.
Christine Baranski as Carlotta: 4 Mis-cast. "I'm Still Here" has been performed to death, and there are so many great choices for an actress/singer. She made poor ones. Hopefully it will be better Sunday because I love her. Once she put down the glass, it was a different song. Lose the glass, save the first half of the number.
Anne Rogers and Robert Fitch: 3 "Rain on the Roof" is such a tough song. Too bad they didn't rehearse it better. Sloppy
Yvonne Constant as Solange: 0 Get her off the stage
Mimi Hines as Hattie: 8 What a great lady. It must be hard to put a new spin on "Broadway Baby" but she does it and makes it her own. Funny stuff
JoAnne Worley as Stella: 8 Even though she cant really dance, she plays it up in a terrific version of "Who's That Woman". Love her.
The Folly Youth: 9.5 Young, talented and a perfect version of "You're gonna Love Tomorrow".
The costumes: 9.5 For Encores, excellent
This almost perfect show has so much to love. If a number falls flat, don't worry, the next one is terrific. Can't wait to see it again Sunday. We will see if it changes.

Roland, thanks for the last minute tickets. A thrill.

Summer and Smoke

Amanda Plummer in the Tennessee Williams play Summer and Smoke. Glad I got to see her, but we were so bored with the play, we left at intermission. The first act was almost 2 hours. Long enough. Not much to write except the southern drawls were good, the costumes were fine, and the sets looked like hold-overs from last years production of Hello Dolly.

The Vertical Hour

I'm not sure why I did not like this show, but here are two theories:
Theory 1: Sitting with a bunch of theater novices, the girl next to me asked what she should see that is currently on the boards. I offered Company and Spring Awakening. She said "what about Phantom?" That is the caliber of the audience when you go see a show well into the run. When Pierce Brosnan came into the theater, everyone around us was more interested in him than in the play.
Theory 2: The woman in front of me had a coughing attack that lasted through half the show. Distracting. The woman next to me had a cold and kept sneezing and blowing her nose. Distracting. The man behind me was snoring, and then when he was awake, he kept digging into a plastic bag of candy. His wife kept telling him to knock it off. Distracting.
Theory 3: While the play was interesting (if not terribly exciting), I kept hearing the same odd words repeated. Example: ignoble. Used twice in the first act and again in the second. The very wordy dialogue got in the way of the story for me. People don't talk like that. It was a little verbose. There was a great scene where Nadia tries to simplify bad behavior and deconstruct the justification that we all use to make our selves feel better. I liked it. I wish the author would have deconstructed a bit and made the banter easier to listen too.
Theory 4: Bill Nighy is a terrific actor. His delivery is marvelous. His hands though, have some sort of arthritis? that cause his 2 small fingers on each hand to clench. I don't think it was an acting choice, and if it was, it was very distracting, especially when he picked up a glass, or had to have "hand in hand" contact with Julianne more. Or when he used this odd gesture where he seems to be rubbing imaginary gnats from his forehead. I stopped listening to his story.
Theory 5: and probably the reason. Julianne Moore is radiant. Probably one of the great beauties of the world. And a wonderful screen actress. I did not believe a single word of what she said. It seemed to me like she learned the part yesterday, and was trying to remember the lines. There was no emotional peak or valley, and even the angry scenes were flat. Shame, because I like her so much.
I would love to see this play as a film. Maybe she would be better doing it on screen.

Frank's Home

Frank's Place in an hour and 45 minutes of uninterrupted boredom. This play, about a couple of days in the later life of Frank LLoyd Wright, has no point. I was hoping there would be something fascinating, like how the relationship with children somehow compared to the relationships with his students (only 1 student,if you can call him that, was in this show). Or how he approached each new design. Nothing,,,Nada,,,Nyet.
It was very obvious why there was no intermission, after about the first 5 minutes. No one would come back.
Pete Weller led the cast of poorly directed actors. Not a single one worth mention. Stage set, ehh, Really, there is nothing to talk about. I hope the next post follows a wonderful night of theater.