Weak-willed, Unintersting, Ineffectual - But I LOVED the Book!

By Jonathan Jones
Friday, December 30, 2011

I am not familiar with the original musical or film and my only connection to the work was Barbra Streisand's rendering of the title song - but I am converted to a lover of this show, at least in its current incarnation at the St. James Theatre.


I LOVED the revised book wherein a psychiatrist (Harry Connick Jr.) hypnotizes a homosexual man (David Turner) and discovers that he was a woman in his past life (Jessie Mueller) - a woman he falls in love with through their sessions and the homosexual falls in love with him - a riveting story for sure. Unfortunately, as sexy as Mr. Connick is, his stiff and expressionless performance isn't strong enough to carry the show (think Madonna in her many film roles). Mr. Turner's David, weak-willed, unintersting, and ineffectual as his character is said to be, lacks the charisma to hold our interest. Most unfortunate, is these two men being paired against Ms. Mueller who is so INCREDIBLE that the balance of the show is completely off. But I LOVED the book (I have to keep saying it - because I was really impressed by how much I loved the story, even if the two leading men were less than spectacular). 


Like many musicals, I can sympathize with Director Michael Mayer's 2nd Act struggle, as the plot gets a little muddy as it moves to resolution, but as it is such a common problem in musicals, I can overlook it. The costumes are straight out of The Brady Bunch, but as the show is set in 1974, the rainbow parade reads more as 1960's rather than 1970's. The curtain call, with rainbow swirls and tye-die is a Dorothy in Oz moment and particularly bizarre given the tragic nature of the show. 


Alas, the lowest moment performance wise is Mr. Connick's white man who can't dance routine during "Born Again" - but damn, that man can sing!


Jessie Mueller is luminous, and as this is her Broadway debut, I expect many great things from her in the future. She is a STAR.

Tickets for On a Clear Day.. can be purchased here.

Tyler Perry Did It Better: In spite of a line in the show, this play does not "deserve to be seen"

By Jonathan Jones
Monday, December 19, 2011

Many theatre folk are critical of Tyler Perry's musical plays that criss cross the country year after year before being released on DVD and then adapted into film versions. Thanks to the unfortunate play, Stick Fly, it is now clear that the critics of Mr. Perry's work just don't get it and that he really has created something masterful.

Stick Fly is a bourgie melodrama that is so far outside of the experience of any living person, that one has to wonder if it's meant to be a farce. The audience laughs uncomfortably at scenes that are played with such sincerity, one has to wonder if the cast even understands just how dreadful the work is. Tyler Perry's plays tell similar tales, but the most wrenching of melodramatic moments are capped off in song, and whenever the play starts taking itself to seriously, in comes Tyler Perry in full Medea drag, to take the piss out of the situation, identify the ridiuculousness of the situation, and slap (sometimes literally) some sense into the hyper-realistic characters. Stick Fly has no music (aside from Ms. Keys' pleasing under-score) to punctuate the emotional insanity, and no Medea to make it clear that there is nothing serious about these inane situations. As a result, the show takes itself way too seriously and fails to connect with any sense of reality or emotional truth.

Stick Fly tickets can be purchased here.

Lysistrata Jones = Epic Fail

By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, November 22, 2011

I wish I got my act together last spring and ventured to the Judson Church to see this confection. Had I, I probably would have loved this gem of an Off-Broadway musical. Unfortunately, I found out about the show too late, and though it was extended, I could not get a ticket. So, when I heard that it would make the jump to Broadway, I knew this was my chance.


Alas, it seems I missed my chance. This show should not be on Broadway. Who is the audience for this? High school kids...undergraduates...I worked with theatre students outside of New York, so I'm sure that they would find this worthwhile when visiting - but will New York audiences sustain this through the winter? Me thinks not.


Where did they go wrong? The largest problem with the show is that it is the sister of the disastrous revival of Godspell playing at Circle in the Square. Ken from Godspell is replaced by practically perfect creamy skinned blond Barbie (Lysistrata Jones played by Patti Murin), leading her band of heathen (again, just the same as Godspell - one in every color) away from their lusty desires, toward enlightenment, peppered with idiotic pop-culture anachronisms that do get tepid laughs ("Herman Cain asked the pizza girl, 'What topping?'," some idiocy about the iPhone dropping calls, and, "Siri, can you find a brothel in the neighborhood?" among others) Patti, Kerry Butler called. She's seen your pale imitation and is not amused.


Aside from the unfortunate approach to multicultural casting that is now officially plaguing Broadway, this material is not strong enough for this venue (nor these ticket prices). When I saw Bring It On  last winter, I was at first dismayed by the work, feeling that this is what was to become of musical theatre, thanks to Disney's High School Musical franchise. Thankfully, Tom Kitt, Jeff Whitty, and Lin Manuel Miranda are boy-geniuses and they really made something out of that work. The same cannot be said for the creative team here. While these men made satirical magic with Xanadu, there is plenty of fun in Lysistrata, but it lacks the pizazz of the former production (and the knock-out cast). Whereas masterworks like In the Heights, Avenue Q, and Rent were readily adaptable for the Great White Way, Lysistrata just doesn't have the gravitas to make this work.


Other pitfalls? The choreography is all straight out of an *NSYNC concert circa 2000. The male lead, Josh Segarra, wants desperately to be the incomparable Jon Rua, but fails. The brilliant Jason Tam is hugely underused, though his dancing stops the show. The 11 o'clock number,  "When She Smiles," has a melody that is a complete rip off of "When the Sun Goes Down" from In the Heights. One of them haunts the audience. The other, well, guess...

Lysistrata Jones is playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.

Private Lives: Certain Women Should Be Struck Regularly Like Gongs

By Jonathan Jones
Thursday, November 17, 2011

Kim Cattrall is divine. Does that surprise you? She slinks and saunters and wraps her tongue around Coward's poetry like you wished she would. Twenty-four years after she became a household name--at least in my family, where love of Mannequin knew no bounds--she is walking sex. 


The production was fun and had some clever moments. The script is difficult, for while Cowards works are indeed luscious, the constant references to hitting women is quite jarring. At times I wanted to jump up in my seat and scream, "Revise the damn thing! No one from the Coward estate would question your choice!" Indeed, the strength of the casting of Cattrall is not just her sex appeal, but also that she is a monster, and for everything that Paul Gross' charming yet smarmy Elyot throws at her, she DEVOURS him again and again. 


In spite of my unending love for Ms. Cattrall, the real star of this show it the set in act two and three. The drab overabundance of yucky brown shutters that make of the facade of the hotel in act one flies away to reveal a beauteous undersea adventure. I'll post a picture, but you really must buy the ticket just to see the set. 

Private Lives is playing at the Music Box Theatre on 45th Street. Tickets can be purchased here.

The World May Remember Bonnie and Clyde, but Not Perhaps This Show

By Jonathan Jones
Tuesday, November 15, 2011

After seeing director Jeff Calhoun's last efforts, Disney's Newsies, I had high hopes for what I would see tonight. Unfortunately, those hopes were soon dashed as this misguided production never materialized as I had hoped it might.


Where did they go wrong? The fundamental problem with this production is the lack of choreography, and as the director is a choreographer, there really is no reason why this should have happened. The music is arguably derivative, reminiscent of Dolly Parton's entire catalog, The Color Purple, and Big River. Unfortunately, the three share in common soaring ballads, and had this show just been wall-to-wall ballads, at least the lack of choreography would have made sense. But what is the point of having up-tempo knee slappers one after another and the actors just standing in place? If one were to make the case that it would break the reality of the drama to have them break out in dance, then I would say - Why in God's name are they singing? I just didn't get it. And in Newsies, Jeff Calhoun's stage pictures were incredible. Here, not so much. The set was interesting, but nothing on it seemed worth a second glance.


Bare in mind, I have never seen any of Mr. Wedekind's shows as I've never heard anything good about them, but I was willing to see past that when I entered the theatre tonight. After this experience, I'm indifferent about his abilities. The music was not the problem. Sure "You Love Who You Love" is sonically interchangeable with Henry Krieger's brilliant "Who Will Love Me As I Am," but lacks the message of the latter. That the main theme runs through the show (and is the main melody of the chorus to "This World Will Remember Us" and "When I Drive") is so close to "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got that Swing" that it's hard to believe they're getting away with it...


Alas, Laura Osnes was luminous in South Pacific and I adored Jeremy Jordan in Newsies, so there was no lack of talent (though Melissa Van Der Shyff is the real showstopper in this work) but tonight was yet another example of when a bad production happens to good people.

"This World Will Remember Us"

Bonnie and Clyde is playing at the Schonfeld Theatre, opening in the first week of December. Tickets are available here. 

The Greatness in Mary Testa: Queen of the Mist

By Jonathan Jones
Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Mary Testa is divine. So divine, in fact, that I spent much of this show imagining a film version featuring The Divine Miss M. I've never seen work by Mr. Lachiusa (sacrilege, I know), but I've been told that he is often innovative, and I have limited taste for "innovation." In Queen of the Mist, innovation was simply not on the menu--and thank heaven for that! This is a new story indeed told in a very traditional musical comedy style. A quintet supports Mary Testa's Anne Edson Taylor, who famously was the first person to descend Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive way back in 1901. Their numbers are all show, straight out of turn-of-the-century vaudeville--and what fun they are! These numbers provide great counterpoint to Ms. Testa's angst ridden tomes--all-in-all creating a fabulous evening at the theatre.

Queen of the Mist is scheduled to run at The Gym at Judson Church on Washington Square South through November 20. Tickets can be purchased here.

Queen of the Mist was commissioned by Transport Group Theatre Company and is the first production of Transport Group's ten-year cycle, "The 20th Century Project," exploring themes from each decade in the 20th century. Queen of the Mist takes place during the first decade, 1900-1910. 

Timeless: No Day But Today

By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, November 2, 2011

If I measured my life in love, the chills all over my body this afternoon were evidence that love in my life is in the theatre. Rent is, as always, an unparalleled live thrill.


Last spring, a critic asked if reviving Rent was worthwhile; would the work hold up in a new time? The answer is YES YES YES. Students in my musical theatre history class were equally skeptical, but I told them then that a timeless work can never go out of style. Michael Greif's ability to dress Mark Wedland's signature stage boxes is fine tuned. The stage pictures are thrilling, harking back to the Rent publicity stills that papered subway stations and telephone booths fifteen years ago (and remember the wall of images in the Times Square subway station?) and it was glorious to see the show in this fragmented way: watching them watch the action. The costume decision to have all the jackets closely mirror the original jackets from the previous production was unfortunate as so much of the show is an artistic re-conception, all other costumes included.


For a show with a history of blowing out the voices of untrained young performers, I understand the production's choice of hiring tried and true Equity performers, but sometimes (as with Matt Shingledecker's interpretation of Roger) the Broadway belt is inappropriate. Conversely, Arianda Fernandez's limited vocal control displayed in "Take Me Out" made me worry that she had hurt herself, as she tried to regain her voice through "Another Day" (not a good time to have vocal trouble--such a beauteous melody). Thankfully she was in fine form again by the time of "Without You." Today's Star Watcher award goes to Annaleigh Ashford. I wish I had seen her as Galinda in Wicked. Her rendition of "Over the Moon" is AMAZING, comic, fun, fresh, and inventive. As I often say, she too should have her own show.

Rent plays at The New World Stages Off-Broadway Theatre complex on 50th Street. Tickets can be purchased here.

Godspell: When a Bad Show Happens to Good People

By Jonathan Jones

November 1, 2011

We’ve been down this road before: amazingly talented actors and musicians in a poor, unfortunate show (Urban Cowboy, A Tale of Two Cities among others). Not only is the show unfortunate (early Stephen Schwartz may have a handful of memorable numbers, but overall, dreck), but this production embraces a level of unfortunate-ness that soured my evening from the moment the cast took the stage.

The central conceit of the misguided revival is to add as many anachronisms as possible to make the show seem fresh and topical—and more (horror of all horrors), to appeal to a younger audience. The problem is that good musical theatre is timeless—that’s what makes it good (Gypsy, Follies, Hairspray, etc). Godspell, as an adaptation of the Bible should easily lend itself to a timeless quality, but like the animated Shrek films and KathyGriffin’s comedy shows which have heavily influenced this production, the work here will not age well. Kathy circumvents this by constantly recreating her bits—and maybe that is the plan for this production as well—forever in state of re-writes to keep the jokes and allusions fresh and topical—but the problem (should they not) that I suspect this work will share with the Shrek films is that after a few months, the jokes refer to events and people that are better left forgotten. You might imagine that this is what happens when a well-meaning high school theatre director adds some new ‘hip’ jokes to an older musical to keep it fresh for the kids—but this is Broadway and someone should knock-knock-knock on the stage door of the Circle in the Square and remind them of this fact.

Aren’t we done with the Black Judas bit? Me thinks it’s just a bit overdone at this point (Black man betrays Jew, news at eleven). Further, as the production team have gone out of their way to have a diverse cast (oh yes, one or two of every color), they quickly forget how unfortunately condescending it is to have the blond haired, blue eyed Ken-doll-Jesus leading the heathen infidels….

Production problems aside, Telly Leung is a star. If I were writing for Broadway (you never know), I would write him a show. Pluck him from the ensemble and put him center stage! His charisma is infectious and his voice will blow you away (his opening to act II makes the ticket worthwhile).

A wise man once said that if reviewers just tear down shows, all they’re gonna get is Andrew Lloyd Webber. Little did he know the real horror that could be upon us: not just the onslaught of movie transfers, but bad-movie-inspired-revivals. I’m all for a new approach to old material, but this was not the best incarnation.

Godspell is playing at Circle in the Square. Tickets are available at telecharge

Quiet Please - There's a Lady on Stage

By Jonathan Jones
Thursday, October 27, 2011

This is Hugh Jackman's third trip to Broadway, and I am 3 and 0 for seeing his work. Before I begin, I must confess: I do not like his voice. It is very irritating - and watching The Boy from Oz was tolerable as he was in role as Peter Allen - or so I thought. I have watched Oklahoma many times, but somehow he did not grate me so much as he does live - but again, perhaps I just accepted that as his interpretation of Curly. But Hugh as Hugh would be like attending a Carol Channing concert - it's just not done (though how could you miss her if she insisted on another trek of Hello Dolly? [just once before she goes])

In this concert performance, he does a lot of Peter Allen, which was fun to relive. He plays with the audience incessantly. He dances. He parades with lady dancers, though he was most at home with the gay guy he brought up on stage during "Fever." He is so swishy though - which the women seem to love (which is so odd - are they all fag hags, I wonder?). 

It was fun, for sure, but I didn't get the hype 8 years ago and I am still a bit confused - there are many men on Broadway who are much better though he does have charisma - but the ego is overwhelming.

Here's my close encounter -

At The Boy From Oz, I saw the show in previews and I was sitting in the front row. After he sang "Once, Before I Go," the audience of middle aged ladies jumped to their feet and applauded and it went on and on. I have seen a lot of Broadway and I just was not that impressed. So I sat there. Basking in the love, Hugh was taken aback by my resistance so he looked over at me and made a "come on" gesture and I just flatly refused. Eventually, he gave up and turned his attention back to the love.

Well, tonight I was further away, so I could better hide my lack of enthusiasm. But, there he was again, goading people into giving him accolades. It's very odd to watch. And not to say that people don't love him - because trust me, many of them were nearly apoplectic, but I was not one of those. 

Alas, in the end, I can appreciate why I loved The Boy from Oz so much - it was the history lesson on Peter Allen - and I am very grateful for that lesson.

My Life As a Sitcom: The Judy Show

By Jonathan Jones

Thursday, October 20, 2011

It Shoulda Been You

By Jonathan Jones

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I must be transparent: I will see Tyne Daly in anything. She is a god among women. This show - eh - what can I say? Nothing Earth shattering here, but it was quaint fun. With Tony and Tina's Wedding  still going strong, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and My Big Fat Gay Wedding - it's no wonder that it wasn't time for a Jewish wedding story--apparently Fiddler on the Roof has been forgotten? Nonetheless, here are two clips of songs from the show:

 This Day:

Whatever: 

It Shoulda Been You plays at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ through November 6. Tickets can be purchased here 

Tonight, We, as a People, Will Get to the Promised Land!

By Jonathan Jones

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Angela Bassett on Gayle King - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-QV-bRfKas

Katori Hall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TqdNQ9_rc

Angela Bassett http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL3D7dVCK9o

Kenny Leon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjhvGOUQe5U

The Mountaintop is playing at The Bernard Jacobs Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here

Ten Cents a Dance

By Jonathan Jones

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Ten Cents a Dance was produced by the McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ. It premiered at The Williamstown Theatre Festival in August, 2011. There are currently no plans for further productions.

Arise and Seize the Day

By Jonathan Jones

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Set

Disney Theatrical's production of Newsies was presented at The Papermill Playhouse. It is not clear where the next professional production will surface, but one can hope that Broadway is in this musical's bright future.

It's All Going Down Hill

By Jonathan Jones
Sunday, October 2, 2011

Sons of the Prophet plays at The Laura Pells Theatre through December 23, 2011. Tickets can be purchased here

Follies: Musical Theatre Heaven

By Jonathan Jones

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Walking into the Marquis Theatre, I was a bit put off by the sad attempt at distressing the house. Clunky old bits of shoddy fabric festoon any available surface you can imagine bearing an unmistakable and unshakable resemblance to godforsaken dinner theatre. Fortunately, this fabric folly is the only sour note in Eric Schaeffer's masterful production.


When it's good, it takes your breath away. "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Broadway Baby," "Who's That Woman," and "I'm Still Here" soar with a consistent brilliance I've rarely seen in revivals of late. The ballads in act one detract for me, but I am well aware how beloved they are so I'll leave good enough alone.


The follies in Act 2 are so amazing that I can only say - if you love musical theatre, you MUST see this show. Bernadette is Bernadette - nothing new there, but Jan Maxwell is in prime form and her rendition of "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" is a Fosse extravaganza not to be missed. She may well win a Tony (these performances are hard to top), and I certainly hope that Jayne Houdyshell will get a nomination for featured actress, as her rendition of "Broadway Baby" is so stirring, it stops the show. 


Run to the Marquis (Donnie and Marie are long gone--it's safe again) and relive the magic.

Follies has just extended its run at the Marriott Marguis Theatre, at least through January 22, 2012. Tickets are available at http://folliesbroadway.com/

With Great Money Should Come a Great Show

By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Nine months after viewing the initial incarnation of Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, I returned to the Foxwoods Theatre this afternoon to catch the re-imagined version. Nine months ago, I found the work to have dazzling special effects, but little else to light the imagination. Much of the music was one rock-ballad after another, bland, and the book was in complete disarray. The so-called "Geek Chorus" who framed the piece was ill-placed and distracting. Too many threads were leading the audience in a variety of directions with no clear unifying vision. And the dancing spider fashion show was the most ridiculous waste of theatre space I think I have ever had the bad luck of being treated to (at least since the whole of Dirty Dancing).


Now, the book works! Praise be to the gods of theatre who made this dreck actually engaging on its own dramatic merits. Sure the teens are still whiny and annoying, but there is a good, clean, and clear story here. The music is mostly (unfortunately) still a bit of a ballad-laden disaster--unfortunate because the underscore is very powerful (perhaps The Edge should turn his full attention to scoring James Bond films and the like), but every time Mary Jane or Peter Parker opens their mouth to let out their latest angst-ridden warble, I died a little. In this performance, stand-by Mathew James Thomas was Peter Parker, and like lead performer, Reeve Carney, it is clear that he got the role due to the nearness of his vocal styling to Bono's - but really, we don't need another Bono (some might say, we don't need Bono at all, but I digress...) Jennifer Damiano is beloved by many, but I am not a supporter. Perhaps with better material she would shine, but the neither the music here nor in her previous effort Next to Normal makes me move. To each his own.


The choreography, while sparse, was a highlight for me back in December, particularly in "Bullying By Numbers" and "Pull the Trigger." Now, having experienced Bring It On in the interim (that work choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler), I am less amazed by this work. Additionally, I sorted out my love for the militaristic moves in "Trigger"--as they are nearly exact steps from Madonna's 1993 effort, The Girlie Show ("Holiday" and "The Beast Within" in particular).


Alas, as a whole, there is no fat to trim. Book wise, every moment is necessary though sometimes things get a little off in the midst of a song (the opener to Act II, "A Freak Like Me Needs Company" remains a disaster). I was arguable disinterested in the first act when death by rock ballad was at its height, but as the second act progressed (a time when most musicals seem to unravel a bit), I really was drawn in. There is much to be learned about allowing fresh eyes to shape a creative work when it has gone off its track from this $75 million former catastrophe now turned worth your money. It's not brilliant, but it's definitely a crowd pleaser.

Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark is playing on Broadway at the Foxwoods Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com

Death Takes a Holiday

By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I loved this simple work.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

By Jonathan Jones
Monday, July 25, 2011

On second viewing, I must provide context: my mates who I talked into seeing the show ("Everything is dark on Monday night, right?") were not nearly as impressed. They felt the heart of the movie was a little muddled in this extravaganza, but I was undeterred. My love for this confection knows no bounds.

Bette Midler Presents Priscilla: Queen of the Desert is playing at the Palace Theatre, in the heart of Times Square. Tickets can be purchased here.

Catch Me if You Can

By Jonathan Jones
Sunday, July 24, 2011

The brilliant Kerry Butler tearing it up in "Fly Fly Away"

The only other highlight was Norbert Leo Butz' Tony winning turn as Agent Hanratty, who's "Don't Break the Rules" stopped the show.

Mary Poppins

By Jonathan Jones
Saturday, July 23, 2011

I'm sure that for many, their love of the film inhibits their ability to really appreciate this work (not to mention the generation that loved the books), but I did not experience this difficulty either of the two times I sat through the performance. I was in theater heaven, and happy to be there.

Teacher, Teach Me

By Jonathan Jones
Friday, July 22, 2011

I love Tyne Daly. I've said it. Accept it. Move on.

Terrence McNally is often brilliant (I'd say always, but, you know, Catch Me if You Can is so unfortunate...), and Master Class is not exception. More brilliant than the script is Tyne Daly's performance. I don't know anything of Maria Callas the woman (see Three Hotels review where I felt I needed more context), but McNally provides us with all the information we need to know - and when interpreted by such a strong, gifted and skillful performer as Ms. Daly, there really is no escaping the who, when, how, or why of this piece. Ms. Daly is witty, charming, cunning, and contemptuous. Her words move us, but not nearly as much as a look or a pursing of the lips. Such subtlety can easily be lost in the houses of Broadway, but her face is so expressive and her presence so much larger than life, there is no mistaking the minutia of her performance. I was entralled. I was charmed. I remembered everything I despise about acting classes. And I was giddy with the thrill of being in the habitation of such a high degree of theatrical skill. 

They Took the Milk

By Jonathan Jones
Thursday, July 21, 2011

Oh, the bliss of ignorance. The scandal of Nestle's marketing of infant formula in developing nations, and the subsequent deaths caused due to the lack of clean water is a historical reality that I was unaware of. Corporate greed and lack of ethics are not surprising, but this significant context was not there for me to hold onto while watching Baitz' Three Hotels. If the play is well made, you shouldn't need that context to make it work. Alas, as this work is constructed of three mammoth monologues, there was little else on which I could hang my hat. 


To say that nothing happens in this drama is altogether an understatement. In three acts, we here from a man, his ex wife, and the man again. They speak directly to the audience, part stream of consciousness, part inner monologue. There is no reality. In spite of the title and the busy set design and requisite transitions, there is no place. There are only words. Steven Weber and Maura Tierney were in overdrive, trying to make the plight of these characters compelling, but we needed a bit more in the script to support them. Baitz is no Lindsay-Abaire so the heartache that should accompany the piece is lacking, but he definitely is deserving of accolades for tackling this subject matter.