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Here's
my list for this year. I hope I live long enough to see a
thousand more shows in the future. And I hope you do too.
Stan Mazin
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music & lyrics by George & Ira
Gershwin, with book by Joe DiPietro...
a delightful 'old school' musical,
filled with great Gershwin standards as well as some not
often heard songs. The show stars Matthew Broderick and
Kelli O'Hara, as well as Judy Kaye, Estelle Parsons, and
a great comic actor, singer/dancer Michael McGrath.
Matthew does a very charming turn as a very rich, never
working, naive playboy during prohibition. He isn't the
greatest of all singers, but his charm more than makes
up for that minor adjustment… and he does a very
credible job in the role. Kelli sounds great, and does
her own turn as a bootlegger who travels with her 2
fellow 'leggers'. Almost stealing every scene he is in,
is the multitalented Michael McGrath. Estelle Parsons
shows up toward the end of the play, but is no
disappointment in her commitment to her role. Judy Kaye
always does a more than formidable job. The sets (Derek
McLane) and costumes (Martin Pakledinaz) are terrific,
as is the choreography and direction under the
supervision of Kathleen Marshall. A delightful (albeit
sometimes corny) show that had the almost filled to
capacity audience standing on its feet during the bows.
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with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack
Feldman, and book by Harvey Fierstein, directed by
Jeff Calhoun and choreographed sensationally by
Christopher Gattelli...
I have never seen a show, Broadway or otherwise,
that had so many showstoppers built in… primarily
due to the choreography and direction. When you see
16 of the youngest and most brilliant dancers go
through their paces, one can hardly sit still.
Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly leads the newsies on
their journey against the newspaper magnate Joseph
Pulitzer (John Dossett). In smaller but no less
important roles are Kara Linsay (playing Katherine),
Ben Fankhouser (playing Davey), Capathia Jenkins
(playing Medda Larkin), and Lewis Grosso (playing
Les, the smallest of the Newsies). The audience
could not stand soon enough to show their approval
for the show they had just seen…
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written by and starring Charles Busch,
directed by Carl Andress
If one is fortunate enough to have seen Charles
Busch in one of his plays, one knows what to expect.
His character is always in drag, and this play is no
exception. He is funny, campy, clever, and more… and
all of these are compliments to his enormous talent.
He even chooses to give us a little Mae West from
time to time. He is supported in Bethulia quite
humorously with the likes of Mary Testa, Jennifer
Van Dyck, John Wojde, Christopher Borg, and Jennifer
Cody, among others. This is a tasty bit of very
special talents in a very special show, and everyone
had an enormously gleeful time.
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by Enda Walsh with music & lyrics by Glen
Hansard & Marketa Irglova
What a delightful surprise this show is! Entering
the theatre, there seemed to be a party going on
onstage, with the cast playing music while the
audience was invited to go onstage and be a part of
the party. Before the show began, they were allowed
back to their seats, and the wonderful
musician/singer/actors began. They did everything
from changing the set pieces to changing our
emotions. Led by Steve Kazee and Christin Miloti,
this 14 member cast with great Irish accents (Christin
and others had great Czech accents as well) took us
on a journey based slightly on the film of the same
name. I cannot lie when I tell you there was more
than one tear in my eye several times during the
show… while at the same time it was filled with
humor… a delightful combination. I was thoroughly
entertained, as was the entire audience. This was
absolutely a new type of show for me, and it will
probably be copied in the future because it is such
a success.
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by Rick Elice
This show stars Christian Borle, Celia Keenan-Bolger,
Adam Chandler-Borat, and many other hysterically funny
actors. I'm told the off Broadway work project of this
show had all the actors playing instruments. This isn't
the case here, and that time allows them to 'play' with
each other onstage in a way that often seems improvised,
but is very well planned. Standouts certainly are the 3
stars already mentioned, Christian, having stepped right
out of his role in Smash… as a matter of fact he is
doing both, unless his TV show is finished shooting for
the season. It all comes together in the second act when
you realize how Peter Pan and the other well known
characters of his story developed, in a fantasy tale
with more antics than in a Marx Brothers' movie.
Delightful fun for the entire audience!
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by Peter Quilter,
direction by Terry Johnson, with Tom Pelphrey, Jay
Russell, Michael Cumpsty and starring Tracie
Bennett...
If Ms. Bennett does not win a Tony for her portrayal
of Judy Garland in this play with songs, then
something is rotten in the state of show business.
Superlative does not even compute to the magnitude
and depth of her ability to portray such a complex
character as the one and only Judy. Before this, the
only person I felt who came close was the
impersonator Jim Bailey, who also sang in his own
voice, and made you feel you were watching the real
thing. Backed up by real musicians, when called
for,Tracie Bennett soared, singing many of Judy's
most famous songs, and I doubt there was anyone in
the house who even tried to compare the two. The
supporting cast was quite good, as was the
interested set design (William Dudley), and
particularly the musical direction (Jeffrey Saver),
but it was Judy who starred in this play… and still
it was Tracie Bennett who starred in this play… I
think they are one.
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music by Bobo & the Edge, book by Julie Taymor,
Glen Berger & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa…
With a musical based on a comic strip character that
flies and climbs walls, one would need to have the
same effects on the stage. This final production
does exactly that. The flying is superb, and I have
not seen flying like this in even the Cirque shows.
The choreography, however, suffers but for a good
reason. The male ensemble are all aerialists, and
apparently are not dancers. The set design by George
Tsypin is extraordinary. The musical stars Reeve
Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, with great assist
from Patrick Page as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, and
Rebecca Falkenberry as Mary Jane Watson/Jane Watson.
Most of the costumes designed by Eiko Ishioka are
appropriately fantastic. Overall this was an
entertaining evening of theatre, and the full house
loved it. Let's hope there is room on Broadway with
shows that contain special effects, as well as those
that contain great stories with great acting.
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book & lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin, music & lyrics
by Dave Stewart & Glen Ballard, designer Rob Howell,
lighting Hugh Vanstone, musical direction David
Holcenberg, choreographer Ashley Wallen, and
direction Mathew Warchus
Having reviewed this in London not so long ago, I
just wanted to see if it has changed much, from the
show I enjoyed so much over there. London brought
over the stars of the show, Richard Fleeshman in the
role of Sam, Caissie Levy in the role of Molly, and
Da'Vine Joy Randolf in the role of Oda Mae Brown.
They were all just as splendid as they were in
London, and the role of Oda Mae has got to be a Tony
winning role, particularly the way Ms Randolf plays
it… brilliantly. I was given a happy surprise with
the appearance of Lance Roberts in the show, whose
work I was very familiar with. The computer graphics
are perfect, and the illusions are still
spectacular. The music was almost the same with the
exception of one of the tunes that was replaced with
another… but the show is well worth a very long
Broadway run, and then some.
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book,
music, & lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone with
choreography by Casey Nicholaw, and direction by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker
If you are even slightly irreverent, you will absolutely relish this show. I did
review it in last year's set of reviews here, and the same things apply. Andrew
Rannells and Josh Gad still helm the show and complement each other brilliantly.
The cast could not have been better, while the choreography and sets work very
well. The sound did not seem to be as clear as it was when I saw the show last
year, but that may have been that I was in a different location in the theatre…
but that is still no excuse for not being able to understand all the words, both
sung and spoken. This did in no way hinder us from howling at the antics of this
amusing and award winning musical.
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is one of
the many fundraisers Broadway Cares Equity
Fights Aids has every year. Every Broadway show
that chooses to build an Easter Bonnet, while at
the same time collecting donations at their
theatre for the event. The presentation of the
bonnets are often huge song and dance numbers,
sometimes scenes, and sometimes very small
special 'spots'. Usually a show does a Broadway
number from another show, but adds special
lyrics, which make the numbers quite funny, and
sometimes full of pathos. The emcees are usually
Broadway stars and personalities. For me, one of
this year’s highlights was the Bollywood number
that the ladies of Mama Mia performed, which was
a serious number; and I also loved their bonnet
the best as well. The show is always a treat,
and I try seeing it whenever I can, as long as I
am in NYC when it is on.
That's it for another year!
Stan Mazin
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by Amy Herzog,
directed by Daniel Aukin…
Stars Gabriel Ebert and Mary Louise Wilson with
supporting cast Greta Lee and Zoe Winters. This play did
not overwhelm me, other than the wonderful acting job of
its cast. Beyond that, I felt the direction was a tad
slow, and I personally dislike plays that after
investing an hour and a half of my time, just stops,
without any resolve. I couldn't help feel this was a
great actors' exercise, but didn't really carry to the
audience any sense of completion, or at least any
understanding of what we were supposed to get from the
experience of watching this play. The house was very
full, but the applause seemed to me to be slightly
apprehensive. |
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