Review of "Matilda"

My expectations for the new Broadway musical, Matilda, were quite high what with all its pre-opening hype and pedigree of having swept London’s Olivier Awards (the equivalent of our Tony Awards) in 2012.  Fortunately, except for a bit of tedium in Act II, Matilda delivers an enchanting and magical theatrical experience to audiences both young and old. 

Based on the Roald Dahl children’s book, Matilda tells the story of young Matilda Wormwood, a precocious and highly intelligent young girl born into a family of lower class slackers.  Dad is a wheeler-dealer always looking for an easy score through one of his shady deals.  Mom, a loud-mouthed spendthrift, is only concerned about money and her next dance competition with partner Rudolfo.  Their perpetually dazed son, Michael, rounds out the dysfunctional household.  Matilda is continuously ignored and verbally assaulted by her uncaring and unresponsive parents especially in her desire to learn and read books.  Her parents treat her predilection for reading as if the Ebola virus had invaded their home.  For her mother, father, and brother the Telly (television) is the sole source of entertainment and information.  Matilda’s salvation is the local library where, in addition to consuming every book in sight, weaves a magical story of escapism for the librarian, Mrs. Phelps, as well as for her own sanity.

Finally of age to attend elementary school she is thrown into a nightmarish, crumbing institution, Crunchem Hall, overseen by the menacing and formidable principal, Mrs. Trunchbull who regards children as insignificant gnats.  Matlida’s liberation is her teacher, the sweet Miss Honey, who recognizes the young child’s intelligence and need to belong.  Together they eventually overcome the obstacles in both their lives to live, as they saying goes, happily ever after.

For a musical like Matilda to succeed the show needs a young girl with fortitude, presence and spunk.   This production doesn’t have one, but four juveniles who, in rotation during the week, play the adolescent Matilda.  On the night I saw the show Oona Laurence was in the lead and she was fearless throughout the production—singing, dancing, and performing like a certified professional.  It was rather extraordinary for such as small lass to anchor such a large-scale musical.

The real star of the show is Bertie Carvel as the monstrous headmistress, Miss Trunchbull.  He comes across as a combination of Richard III and Gru from the Despicable Me movie.  He is vindictive, loathsome, and horrid to the students under his watch.  Carvel doesn’t walk or strut across the stage, but rather glides.  He is the spark to Matilda.  His presence on stage is always great fun even as he trashes everyone and everything in his sight.

Gabriel Ebert and Lesli Margherita, as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, are vapid, self-centered irritants.  Their more over-the-top performances accentuate the plight of poor Matilda, trying to fit in, belong, and feel wanted.  Lauren Ward, a Sweet Polly Purebread type, meek at first finds her resolve towards the musical’s end.

Upon entering the Shubert Theatre, audience members are treated to Set Designer Rob Howell’s visually spellbinding set of colorful, vibrant scrabble-like tiles affixed to the walls of the stage from floor to ceiling.  They evoke a world of learning, both magical yet ominous.  His sets in the latter half of the show perfectly capture the Dickensian-themed nature of Crunchem Hall.

Roald Dahl’s story is dark and cheerless, with comedic thrusts.  Book writer Dennis Kelly faithfully adapts Dahl’s book to the musical theater stage.  There is whimsy, playfulness, and foreboding all wrapped up in a big Broadway musical.  Composer Tim Minchin’s score is mischievous, quirky, and very tuneful. 

The children in Choreographer Peter Darling’s large-scale production numbers come out with bursts of kinetic, nervous energy.  They almost attack the dance routines in a combative, rebellious manner.

Director Matthew Warchus always seems to have the perfect touch whether helming a comedy, drama, or a big, splashy musical.  In Matilda, he keeps the action flowing from scene to scene.  He allows his actors to shine, giving them their moment on stage as demonstrated by Bertie Carvel’s Miss Trunchbull.  I only wish he and librettist Dennis Kelly would have teased out the production a bit longer as the climatic scenes of enchantment, wonder, and comeuppance tumble out too quickly.

Matilda, family fare of a different type, settling in for a long run on Broadway.

Review of "Motown - The Musical"

Caution—anyone attending a performance of the new show, Motown – the Musical, be prepared for leg cramps from unceasing foot tapping to the Motown sound. 

Motown – The Musical, the lone jukebox production of the 2012-13 season, is rollicking, exuberant fun as a cavalcade of actors portrays Motown artists from the label’s beginnings through the early 1980’s.  The musical, like the long-running Jersey Boys, is built upon a wisp of a narrative thread.  Here, it chronicle’s how Berry Gordy built Motown records into a recording powerhouse during the first 25 years of its existence.  The book of the show, written by Gordy, serves not as a full-fledged history lesson, but more as a way to introduce the singers and musical groups that became part of the Motown family over this time-span.  Here’s Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Jackson 5, and many more.  They perform dozens of songs—some in their entirety, others short snippets—that we still listen and dance to today.

The show starts off with The Four Tops and Temptations in a flashy sing-off as they rehearse for the Motown 25 Years TV Special.  The stars of Motown past assemble for the gala, but Berry Gordy is in his home study, agitated and hurt, refusing to attend.  He harbors many hard feelings towards the performers he discovered and nurtured.  Many had deserted the label over the years for bigger contracts elsewhere.  Why should be attend even though it is about his legacy?  From there, the musical transports us back 25 years as Gordy begins his dream of building his own record company.  The show ends as it began—at the Motown 25 Year TV Special.

Gordy, as book writer, doesn’t pull his punches.  He comes off as madly driven to succeed, someone who can identify and cultivate talent, and a control freak.  The seamier side of the business is not spared as lawsuits and countersuits crop up in the latter part of the show.  But the episodic nature of the production serves, primarily, to introduce a plethora of musical numbers that leave the audience wanting more.  The songs incorporated into the show are too numerous to list.  Instead, let me focus on the actors that stood out in the show.  They include Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross.  From naïve teenager to adult superstar she truly embodied the soul of the talented diva.  Jibreel Mawry, as the young Michael Jackson, almost steals the show.  When The Jackson Five are first introduced, and Mawry begins belting out one of their hits, and putting on the moves, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre rocks to its very foundation.  Other notables in the cast include Charl Brown as the silky smooth Smokey Robinson and Bryan Terrell Clark as the rebellious, sexy Marvin Gaye.

Brandon Victor Dixon gives a credible performance as the temperamental and intensely driven Berry Gordy.  He can be forceful, manipulative, and forgiving in the stretch of one scene. 

Motown – the Musical has an extremely large cast, which enhances the large production numbers, athletic and powerful, choreographed by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams.  While the large ensemble pieces are energetic and spirited the dance routines crafted for the various Motown artists are more satisfying.

David Korins’ sparse set design actually enhances the production, allowing us to focus on the performers.  Esosa’s costumes, on the other hand, are flamboyant, rich, and incredibly sequined. They truly give you a feel for that era’s over-the-top fashion statement.

Director Charles Randolph-Wright’s main function is to keep the storyline moving, not allowing it to bog down until the next song is presented.  He handles the assignment with aplomb, never allowing the almost three hour musical to seem heavy or unappealing.

Motown- the Musical—it will leave you with a smile on your face, some soul in your heart, and a twinkle in your toes.

Review of "Kinky Boots"

At last a new musical I can wholeheartedly recommend!  Kinky Boots, based on the 2005 movie, tells the story of young Charlie Price, next in line to inherit his family’s venerable shoe factory.  Being of the modern generation the twenty-something wants nothing to do with the family business and, instead, heads to London with his fiancée to start a life in the world of marketing.  Before they can set-up house Charlie’s dad passes away and the young man is back in Northampton, England as head of Price & Sons.  Unfortunately, he quickly realizes the firm is going broke, losing out to cheap, foreign shoe imports.  A chance encounter with Lola, a drag queen, inspires Charlie to ditch the stuffy men’s footwear and to manufacture wildly flamboyant boots for the niche market of drag queens, cross dressers, and others.  He recruits Lola to design glitzy, high-heeled boots as they scurry to save Price & Sons from oblivion.  Along the way Lola deals with his own self-worth and the backlash and narrow-mindedness from the more provincial employees.  At the same time he subtly and craftily inspires the staff, including Charlie, to face their own prejudices and preconceived notions.  Throw in a muddled romance or two and you have the storyline for the show.

There are a number of reasons that make Kinky Boots work.  First, there is the score by 80’s pop icon, Cyndi Lauper.  Making her Broadway debut as a composer, Lauper ‘s songs are buoyant, feisty, yet have a real Broadway traditional feel to them.  While there are heartfelt ballads, Lauper doesn’t neglect her rock roots, serving up a healthy dose of high-energy numbers.

Playwright Harvey Fierstein won a Tony Award for writing the libretto for another cross-dressing musical, La Cage Aux Folles.  In 1983, when that show opened, drag queens prancing on the stage and the backstage love story was considered a bit risqué and daring.  Fast forward thirty years and with the advent of reality television and changing social norms Kinky Boots is now more a La Cage Aux Folles lite.  While mirroring the film’s premise, Fierstein slowly and effectively paints a portrait of two individuals—Lola and Charlie--on the surface so different, but in reality so much the same.  The book writer also knows how to pull our heartstrings and by the time the first set of kinky boots rolls off the assembly line the audience is cheering.  My one quibble with the book is the way Charlie’s fiancée, Nicola, is integrated within the plot.  Her scenes seem more like an intrusion with the flow of the story.

The acting corps is led by Billy Porter as the gutsy, lust for life drag queen, Lola.  Porter embodies his over-the-top being, but also effectively shows the pain and anguish he has dealt with all his life.  When he begins work at the shoe factory he nimbly transforms himself into his more “true-to-form,” sedate self as he seeks to balance both sides of his persona. 

While Porter can be seen as the driving force of the production Stark Sands as Charlie provides a more contemplative, matter-of-fact counterpoint to Porter’s colorful Lola.  In a sense, the ying and yang of the two give Kinky Boots a satisfying symmetry.  Sands creditably portrays Charlie as a confused young man searching for his identity and place in the world to a more take charge, knowing individual by the musical’s finale.  Other notables in the cast include Annaleigh Ashford as the lovelorn Lauren who delivers a comic gem in “The History of Wrong Guys;” and Daniel Stewart Sherman as Don, a big lug of a man who eventually overcomes his boorish mindset.

Director-Choreographer Jerry Mitchell keeps the story flowing without too many wayward passages.  The sexual nature of the musical’s premise, while a central part of the show, is presented in a more family friendly matter.  He adroitly balances the more rousing nightclub numbers with Lola and his back-up performers, The Angels, as well as the Act I closing song, “Everybody Say Yeah,” with more intimate moments such as Charlie and Lola’s plaintive “I’m Not My Father’s Son.”

Kinky Boots, a winning musical to celebrate and applaud.

Review of "Hands on a Hard Body"

The premise for the new Broadway musical, Hands on a Hard Body, is rather unusual.  Based on a true story, the plot centers around ten individuals hoping to win a brand new red truck from a local automobile dealership.  In order to be the victor they need to keep one hand on the parked vehicle at all times.  Last hand on wins the grand prize.  After a rousing opening number, “Human Drama King of Thing,” the show settles into what I’ll call a self-confessional state.  One by one, in song or monologue, we learn about the men and women who believe winning the truck will be key to their salvation or at least a successful future.  What has brought each contestant to Longview, Texas in the eastern part of the state?  What is their personal story?  Their goals and hopes?  At first, we have sympathy and understanding.  The economy in 1990’s Texas, when the original competition took place, was dreadful with high unemployment and the immediate future bleak.  But the stories, self-examinations, and ruminations don’t resonate to a sufficiently high level for the audience to build a relation with each character.  In a musical like A Chorus Line the monologues by the dancer’s had the feeling of urgency and heartbreak.  You felt their desperation to land a spot in the chorus.  When one of the dancers was excused from the line you felt their pain and devastation.  In Hands on a Hard Body the majority of personal stories, initially poignant and despairing, lack the appeal that make you care when contestants start dropping out of the event.  Instead of gasps of disappointment emanating from the audience there is more a muted feeling of “too bad” or “tough luck” attitude towards the wayward individual.

The other significant obstacle hindering the production’s success goes back to the initial premise—ten people, center stage with virtually no other scenery or props, with one hand plastered to a truck.  For a Broadway musical this can be quite problematic as it precludes the opportunity for significant movement and musical staging.  This is not to mean the audience is simply watching a static stage.  Within the individual songs, many having a dream-like quality, the actors and actresses are freed from their real-world restriction.  This structure, along with an allotted break from their confinement, allows for some mobility and fluidity.  Choreographer, Sergio Trujillo (interestingly, listed as ‘musical stagings by’ as opposed to choreographer due to the lack of lively dance numbers) breathes some life into the production.  Still, as skilled and proficient as he is Trujillo can only generate one real show-stopping number towards the end of Act I.  The song, “Joy of the Lord,” starts slowly as Norma Valverde, played with religious zeal by Keala Settle begins, to laugh.  At first a slight giggle it slowly builds until her infectious outbursts animates the other players, allowing them to release their pent-up energies and frustrations on the very vehicle, which has entrapped them.  Soon the truck is being played like a large percussion instrument.  The exhilaration and spiritedness of the number is the highlight of the musical.  If they can get that performance on the Tony Award telecast Hands on a Hard Body will sell a lot of tickets.

The music and lyrics by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio, frontman of the musical group Phish, combines country, gospel, Texas twang, the blues, and good old-fashioned rock ‘n roll.  As with most Broadway scores these days the songs are mostly serviceable within the confines of the show.   While a cut above what we’ve heard on the New York stage this season once outside the Brooks Atkinson Theatre it would be hard to remember a note.

Librettist Doug Wright tries to breathe some dramatic tension into the production.  Unfortunately, as I’ve stated, there is very little of a connection between audience and cast.  As contestants begin to fall from the wayside we should care, silently cheering for our favorites.  At intermission I prodded my friend for his choice to win the contest.  Of course, at the beginning of Act II his selection was the first to go.  Mine was next.  Were either of us upset or did we shift our allegiance to another?  No.  By the end of the musical, when the winning contestant is apparent there were no cheers or applause, but a quiet, ho-hum acceptance.  A side story on the survival of the car dealership sponsoring the challenge becomes tiresome and boring.

Director Neil Pepe seeks to focus our attention on the stories being told, but with moderate success.  The characters, somewhat quirky, slightly compelling just don’t command our full-blown attention.

Veteran performer Keith Carradine leads the group of ten actors tethered to the red truck.  As JD Drew, he is the oldest contestant, philosophical and determined;  Hunter Foster, is a bit manic in his portrayal of Benny Perkins, the seasoned veteran of such competitions;  the aforementioned Keala Settle, as the spiritual Norma Valverde, is the one character true to her convictions; and Allison Case and Jay Armstrong Johnson play a cute coupling, the closest you come to cheering for any contestant.

Hands on a Hard Body, a show that tries hard, but just doesn’t deliver the goods.

Broadway With Love Benefit Concert

This Monday, January 28^th, there will be a benefit concert for the Newtown, CT families and first responders called, To Newtown, From Broadway with Love.  It will be held at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT beginning at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds and donations from the benefit will go to United Way of Western Connecticut’s Sandy Hook School Support Fund.

I will be attending the dress rehearsal that day along with the concert that night.  I will be utilizing my Twitter account, stuonbroadway, to continuously tweet about the performances, venue, reactions, and my interviews with the Broadway stars lending their support.  The list of Broadway artists include Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchel, Linda Eder, composers Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) and Frank Wildhorn (Bonnie & Clyde and Civil War, Jekyll & Hyde).   Tony winners Michael Cerveris and Christine Ebersole will perform, along with Micky Dolenz (of The Monkees), Andrea McArdle (the original Annie), Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray movie), and Robin de Jesus (In the Heights).  There will also be a special video message from Anne Hathaway.

For the past two weeks I have interviewed individuals taking part in and organizing the concert.  This included Van Dean, a Broadway producer and one of the original conceivers of the production. “The outpouring of love and support from the Broadway community has been incredibly heartwarming,” noted Dean, “and everyone was looking for a way they could use their talents to bring something positive to the community. From Broadway With Love provides them with the perfect outlet to do so.”  Two days after the tragedy in Newtown, Dean posted a message on his Facebook looking for people to put on a show.  Within hours over 100 Broadway performers, composers, and musicians had responded.

There are some tickets still available to the public. These tickets range from $50.00 to $250.00. To purchase tickets or make a tax-deductible donation, you can visit their website at http://www.FromBroadwayWithLove.org.  For people that cannot attend the benefit concert I hope you will follow this extraordinary event via my Twitter feed.

Review of "Breath and Imagination" at Hartford Stage

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For a play to succeed there needs to be dramatic tension within a well-crafted script, characters you connect with, a cadre of highly skilled actors, and nimble and intelligent direction.  The Hartford Stage’s production of Daniel Beaty’s Breath and Imagination encapsulates all these components to make for absorbing and engaging theater.

The show, with music, tells the true-life story of Roland Hayes, the first world-renowned African-American classically trained singer.  Starting off in the early part of the 20^th century the narrative is seen as a series of flashbacks of his life.  We are introduced to a young boy in poverty living on a Georgia plantation who through talent, determination, hard work, and the influence of his strong-willed mother becomes, in the end, a singing sensation in the United States and Europe.  By the early 1920’s Hayes was earning more then $100,000.00 a year, equivalent to over $2.5 million today.  During his journey, however, he had to confront the reality of the times—Jim Crow laws and racism.

The play incorporates a significant number of musical numbers throughout the show.  There are traditional spirituals, classical selections, and songs composed by playwright Daniel Beaty to flesh out the storyline.  They add a richness and vitality to the production.

The cast is small—only three performers, but they fill David Gordon’s minimal set design with solemn fervor and musical intensity.  Jubilant Sykes, depicts Roland Hayes as someone with passion, conviction, and self-confidence mixed in with self-doubt and vulnerability.  Sykes was so believable in his portrayal of Hayes, whether as an 11 year old boy, college age student, or an adult fully cognizant of his abilities.  His powerful voice resonates throughout the theater.

Kecia Lewis portrays Hayes’ mother, Angel Mo’, a woman raised as a slave who endured hardship almost all of her life.  Her guidance, bible thumping, and strong-willed personality had a significant influence on Hayes throughout his life.  Lewis fully embodies her very essence, her fortitude, and her poignancy.  As with Jubilant Sykes, Lewis possesses an impressive voice.

Tom Frey, sitting center stage for most of the show behind a piano, is a triple threat.  He accompanies the other two cast members, sings a few numbers himself, and convincingly portrays seven other characters.  A tour de force performance that cohesively binds the narrative and action together.

Playwright and composer Daniel Beaty achieves a lot with very little—three actors, a piano, and some wooden chairs.  Drawing on the whole life of Roland Hayes he has made the right choices on what to emphasize in order to tell this story of eventual triumph as well as the mother-son relationship.  My one quibble is the abridged nature of Hayes’ life.  Many aspects of this African-American singer’s career has been glossed over.  While the play succeeds as is, I would have liked more.

Director Darko Tresnjak has molded the cast into a tightly focused ensemble.  With almost no props or scenery he creates believable and dramatic moments within the lives of the three protagonists.  Theatrical flourishes, helped by York Kennedy’s lighting design, amplify the ferment and potency of the production.  He seamlessly incorporates Tom Frey’s many guises into the play without missing a beat.

Breath and Imagination--well-worth seeing.  Now at The Hartford Stage through February 9^th.

What's Up With Broadway This Season?

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For Broadway musical aficionados the first half of the 2012-2013 season has been one of the worst in recent memory.  Let’s look at some of the numbers—only four new musicals have opened since August.  One of these, A Christmas Story - The Musical, can be certified as a hit.  Based on the beloved holiday movie the show, for the week of December 16^th, is playing to 99% capacity with the average ticket price just over $102.00 (average of the inexpensive balcony seats, mezzanine, and orchestra).  This made it the fourth highest grossing musical—new or continuing—on Broadway.  Not bad.  But A Christmas Story - The Musical is a limited run and will be closing on December 30th.

The other three, Bring It On—The Musical, Chaplin, and Scandalous, either have already closed or will be doing so within the next two weeks.  By January 6^th there will be no original musical playing on Broadway.  You could argue that Bring It On was a success since the producers originally planned a limited run on Broadway after an extensive national tour.  Opening on August 1, 2012 the production was suppose to close on October 7^th, but was extended to January 20, 2013.  Soft ticket sales backed up the closing date to December 30, 2012.

Chaplin will close after less then four months on Broadway.  In my review I praised Act I, but Act II was a mess and the score is rather forgettable.  I’m surprised the musical stayed open this long.  Only Rob McClure’s performance as Chaplin was noteworthy and Tony voters will not forget later this spring. 

Scandalous, shuttered its doors after four weeks.  With uniformly unflattering reviews its claim to fame is that book and lyrics were by television personality Kathie Lee Gifford.

Three revivals have opened this fall and two, Elf and Annie, are doing well at the box office.  While not selling out they are playing at 86% and 87% capacity (as of the week of December 16^th), respectively.  Their average ticket price indicates not a huge number of discount tickets being sold.  But, Elf is also a limited run show and will be shutting down on January 6th.  The third show, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is a rousing success, but is struggling mightily.  Scheduled as a limited run through March 13, 2013 don’t be surprised if it closes beforehand. 

That’s the complete fall musical season.  Not very impressive.  When you factor in the bizarre circumstances surrounding the collapse of financing for the musical Rebecca, that was due to open in November, it makes the beginning of the Broadway season even more disastrous.

So, what does a Broadway musical fan do?  For new productions we will simply have to hold-off until April.  That’s when Motown - the Musical, Cindy Lauper’s Kinky Boots, and the London smash hit Matilda, open on Broadway.  There might be a few more new shows (Diner – The Musical, with a score by pop star Sheryl Crow, is planned for April 2013, but…) and a smattering of revivals, but as of this posting that’s it.  Why do we all need to wait until then?  There are many potential answers or combination of possibilities—the economy, the ability to raise the necessary funds to capitalize a show, theater availability, and producers wanting to open as close to the Tony Award deadline as possible, which will be near the end of April 2013.

If these three musicals are hits as well as a few other new shows and revivals then our disappointment with the first part of the 2012-2013 season will be a memory.  Right now both Kinky Boots and Matilda seem like surefire winners.  Kinky Boots received enthusiastic reviews in its Chicago pre-Broadway tryout this past October and Matilda ran away with the 2012 Olivier Awards (London’s equivalent to the Tony Awards) including Best Musical.  We can only hope a precocious schoolgirl with magical powers and a bevy of footwear fetish drag queens can save the Broadway musical season.