Hello Dolly

She was born in a small town somewhere between Dublin and Tel Aviv. Oye Molly!!! Was it "Hello Golda" or "Dolly's Balcony" Either way, Tovah Feldshuh was the worst cast Dolly Levy I have ever seen. Her Brooklyn/Jewish/Irish accent was so distracting and phony, and her acting was so flat and boring, and her singing was barely passable, I forgot I was watching a 4 time Tony nominee. Her performance ranks as one of the worst leading players to grace the stage of the Paper Mill Playhouse. For Christ sake, learn your damn lines. And perk it up. You look like you are bored out of your mind. Your relationship with your cast mates is non-existent. You walk past them and never look anyone in the eye. Come on, the audience deserves more.
The show Hello Dolly must be big, larger than life. Unfortunately, the orchestra was thin, the sets were embarrassingly simple, and the rest of the cast was pretty bad too. Only the two men who played Cornelius and Barnaby were watchable. Both could dance and sing, although they were not given much to work with. The choreography made no sense. Walter Charles as Horace had the worst timing. After every line, he paused, as if waiting for a laugh. Keep it moving Mr. Charles, we're falling asleep out here. There was one chorus boy who danced beautifully and had real presence. Instead of watching Tovah in the big "Hello Dolly" number, I watched Ben Hartley dancing like a pro in the background. He should have played Dolly. It would have been a much more entertaining show.

Broadway Backwards

Concept: Sing a song your particular gender would never be able too.
Ok, Seth Rudetsky, he is "wet-your-pants" funny. The best MC out there.
And the performers:
Michael McElroy: We saw him in Big River last year. Big voice, sang One Night Only. If it were any slower, no one else would have had time to go on.
Andrea McArdel: I love her voice, but come on, learn the song. Lazy lazy lazy, and really unprofessional.
Julie Wilson: Same thing, I know you are in your 80's and you sang in the same circles as Billie Holiday, but learn the damn song.
Karen Mason: Gorgeous voice. Great performance of "I've grown accustomed.."
Steven Brinberg: Fun voice work on "I'm Still Here". That is what the audience wanted. Laugh or knock-your-socks-off singing.
Pamela Myers: I thought, the best of the evening, singing "Someone is Waiting". I couldn't' believe I met her. Goose bumps.
Alice Playten: Bad song, hard to follow PM
Charles Busch: I saw him do a one man show in Key West many years ago. It was his life story. I was mezmerized. It was a performance I will never forget. Last night He sang "Bill" and I was taken in all over again. He is a fantastic and versatle actor, and lovley in person.
Christine Pedi: She is so funny and has such a strong voice. She should play Phyllis Newman in a move one day. She looked just like her last night.
Andrea Burns: "Maria" Eh, pretty voice, whatever.
Matt Cavenaugh and Cheyenne Jackson: No one know what to do after they kissed. There was something a little porn about it. Sexy, but a little gimicky and weird. Great voices, and Cheyenne is a matinee idol waiting to happen.
Harvey Evans and Kurt Peterson: Silly and fun. The song was completely unrehearsed, but who cars, They were in Follies. They can do anything they want.
Two other performances, 3 girls, then another male duet. Forgettable.
Fun evening on awful chairs. Here's to the GL community Center. Good job.
Met Donna McKechnie, Harvey Evans, Kurt Peterson and Karen Mason after the show. Very cool.

Some Girl(s)

The Lucille Lortel Theater in the West Village is the perfect spot for this wonderful Neil LaBute play. And sitting in the front row, within a few feet of this interesting group of actors made it even better. You can't fake it when you are that close to your audience.
Brooke Smith faked it. She was the "acting" so hard that it was hard to concentrate on what she was saying. I want to see her do something else, because I hear she is a very fine actress. Not obvious here.
Judy Reyes of Scrubs fame was the real surprise. She was sweet and adorable. Irresistible. I never paid much attention to her on TV, maybe the Scrubs role is not the best one on the show, but here, she is totally "on". Her laugh, her boobs, her diction, all perky.
Fran Dreshcer, wow, so much fun watching her on stage. She stripped to her bra and panties (looks great) and delivered a spotty performance. Not a trace of Fran Fine. I think her linguistic coach made her too self conscious. It seemed like she was thinking too much about trying not to sound like her nasal Brooklyn self so hard, that she forgot to act. Since this is previews, maybe she will settle in to it and eventually give a more nuanced performance.
Maura Tierney I expected to be great. And she was. Natural, mature and experience. It showed. She was the strongest of the 4 women.
Eric McCormack played straight Will. That voice is so ingrained that too often I was distracted by Eric McCormack working a few feet away. I lost the play a few times. He is a terrific physical actor and completely natural, but now he is in our heads, in our culture and it is hard to separate the two. Don't get me wrong, he was excellent. But he is a charecter now. Like Lucy, or Fran Fine, or Jerry Seinfeld, or Karen Walker. It must be very hard to put so much of yourself into a role, finish that role, and then expect schlubs like me to believe them in anything else. Unfortunately, I didn't buy Eric's "Guy".

Betty Buckley

Last night at the Blue Note, Betty Buckley played her first NYC jazz club. With her regular band, now named quintessence, she beautifully glided through new versions of classic Broadway, Sondheim, Brenda Russell, the Bergmans', and Bonnie Rait. Her voice has mellowed a bit, rounded out at the top. But still one of the most glorious and unusual voices in the world. The orchestrations were sweeping and delicate, allowing her to sing in a whisper to add intimacy, or belt out the blues and bring down the house. A fantastic evening of song by a real serious musician. I won't soon forget this night.
Thanks Donna and David for joining us. I loved having you there with us.
John, I'd go see her again with you any time.
Bill, next time we see here together, it will be with an orchestra or in a show.