It's pretty much a given that you can't
judge a musical by it's five-minute Tony performance anymore thank
you can judge a book by its cover. However, a book with an
eye-catching cover is more likely to get read, and a show with a good
Tony performance is more likely to draw an audience. So, how well
did last night's shows succeed at making me want to see them? Let's
find out!
Newsies: Pleasantly
amusing, but not spectacular—which, come to think of it, was pretty
much my reaction to the movie. Got a little giggle every time the
“crippled” newsie obviously put weight on his gimp leg (take some
movement tips from Norm Lewis in Porgy and Bess,
please!). Grade: C+
Jesus Christ
Superstar: The title song for
this musical asks a question that has plagued Christians and
non-Christians alike—just who is this
Jesus guy, anyway?--but Josh Young doesn't convey the
confrontational, challenging subtext to what he's singing. He could
be performing a number for a Vegas revue for all the depth he
provides. The sight of Jesus delivering the “love your enemies”
speech on the big screen is a nice touch, but otherwise there's no
there there. Grade:
D
Follies: I'm
not a Follies fan, and
this number isn't doing a whole lot to convert me. The patter is as
crisp and clever as you might expect from Stephen Sondheim, but it's
pretty much a one-joke song--”I love you when you don't love me, I
don't love you when you do”--that doesn't take me anywhere special.
Grade: C-
Ghost: *sigh*
If there's one thing that bothers me in music theater scores, it's
when you can't understand what anybody is singing, let alone why (it
pretty much killed the American Idiot cast
recording for me). This trio is a good example why—it just
degenerates into random pop wailing; how am I supposed to care about
the characters like that? Grade:
D+
Nice Work If
You Can Get It: Liked this one
more than I expected to. Matthew Broderick phones it in, but an
energetic chorus and the amusing image of Kelli O'Hara crooning
“Someone to Watch Over Me” while packing a rifle more than make
up for it. Grade: B+
Porgy and Bess:
It was a good evening for
Gershwin, I guess. The cast performs a solid medley of the score's
highlights, creating a nice sampler platter of a presentation.
Grade: A
Once: I've
watched this a few times, and I love it more each time I see it. It
has the simple, stirring quality of folk music at its best. Other
musicals have done the “actors-are-the-orchestra” thing before,
but never this effectively. Easily my favorite performance of the
evening. Grade: A
Evita: I'd
seen this performance on YouTube before and it didn't to much for me,
but this time it worked much better. Ricky Martin is charming and
sexy while still tapping into the cynicism behind the song. Grade:
B
Hairspray:
Pretty much an ad for Royal
Caribbean, and they need to find a Tracy who is actually fat rather
than curvy. Still, the music is fun as always, and it's nice to see
a cruise ship doing something beyond a bunch of Up With People
graduates dancing along to "YMCA." Grade:
C
Godspell: Not
a whole lot to recommend it, unfortunately. The cast tries its
darndest with the old dancing-in-the-aisles-with-the-audience trick,
but it doesn't do a thing for me. Grade:
D-
Leap of Faith:
I was impressed with the cast's
energy and enthusiasm—you'd never know this was a show that had
already closed from watching them Still, like a lot of
musicals-from-movies, the score never rises up above servicable.
Grade: C
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