New York City Theater

I know tons of dedicated musical theater junkies who passionately dislike PASSING STRANGE. We just have no interest in it. And these are people who simultaneously adore SPRING AWAKENING, the apparent rock musical predecessor of the moment without whose success PASSING STRANGE probably wouldn't have gone to Broadway.

I knew the reviews would be positive, but I at least thought there'd be at least one other major critic who'd take my side on this one. But as Sondheim said: "No one is alone. Truly." Let's see whether this musical, which as of last week made less than $100,000 in its weekly grosses , will take off. For all we know, it could find a cult audience. And if there is an audience out there for it that will find it as invigorating and brilliant as the bulk of critics believe it to be, then good for them. I have nothing against that. But what of the rest who will wonder what those critics were smoking?

Go to www.bestmusical.com. The site claims that it will find the "best musical" for you. It asks you to put your hands onto your computer screen to measure your "metaphysical temperature." It then claims to be narrowing your "best musical" from 30 to 20 to 5 to then a final section. And every time it comes up with ALTAR BOYZ. It also asks for your contact info beforehand so they can no doubt send you email offers and advertisements.

Do we this take this a joke - or a fraud - or clever advertising?

Since I doubt anyone buys into the "metaphysical temperature" bit, I'll go with a joke that also serves as cloying yet clever advertising.

While word on the street is that NEXT TO NORMAL will not transfer anywhere, I now hear that NEW JERUSALEM, the absolutely excellent David Ives play that concluded its too short run at Classic Stage two weeks ago, will supposedly move to Broadway's Circle in the Square this spring. I am truly happy to hear this. Not just because it's a great play that belongs there, but I had really wanted to see the play again before it closed.

So what did I see this weekend?

First was INTO THE WOODS at Cap21. You know, I was amazed that how much Sondheim one could see in a single weekend: INTO THE WOODS at Cap, SUNDAY on Broadway, COMPANY on PBS, SWEENEY TODD in movie theaters.

Steinhardt (which just did an overwhelmingly beautiful production of FLOYD COLLINS) did a very leaden INTO THE WOODS two years ago that was too not well acted. However, I was really amazed by how great the Cap production was. All Cap productions take place in their small blackbox theater on 18th Street. (Steinhardt shows get the benefit of a full proscenium space and ample production values.) Cap shows get little more than small building block crates. But what really amazed me about their INTO THE WOODS was how well the cast understood the material, leading to some brilliant acting choices and textual analysis. Bravo to its director! I was also glad to hear that the next Cap production will be one my fav old-school musical comedies: BOYS FROM SYRACUSE.

I was supposed to review THE ADDING MACHINE, which opens tonight, on Saturday afternoon. But just 90 minutes before the matinee was to start, I received a phone call from the press agent informing me that the show's lead actor was sick and that the matinee would be cancelled. As such, I will need to reschedule that one at some point. I've heard really mixed things on the show. Some love it, some hate it. But I think the best piece of advice I received was that I'd feel similar about ADDING MACHINE to that of SLUGS BEARORS OF KAROL ISLAND, which I found somewhat interesting, but not totally enjoyable. Oh well, we'll see.

Saturday night I reviewed PASSING STRANGE. My review will be out Friday.

Sunday night I went to LYRICS & LYRICISTS tribute to the work of FRED EBB at the 92nd Street Y. Organized by Rob Fisher, it featured a small cast and pit performing a variety of his songs (most, of course, from the Kander & Ebb songbook) including Brent Barrett, David Garrison, Judy Blazer and Tyne Daly.

An inherent production with a tribute to Ebb is that so much of his material is really well-known. Take, for instance, anything from CABARET or CHICAGO, or even to a less extent SPIDERWOMAN, WORLD GOES ROUND, FLORA, CURTAINS or ZORBA. Some rarities were mixed in to add a fuller flavor. But if anything could have been cut, it should have probably been the sexpot numbers like "All That Jazz," "Ring Them Bells" and "Arthur in the Afternoon." If you're going to do these, we need some Fosse staging.

David Garrison's narration was helpful, providing some anecdotes about the lyrics and about Ebb's Manhattan-centric personality as well.

Cabaret, Zorba, Chicago, Woman of the Year, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Curtains—Fred Ebb's four-decade collaboration with composer John Kander produced a remarkable string of unforgettable shows. Rob Fisher, the music director of the Chicago revival, explores the legacy of the lyricist whose 700 songs epitomized the wit and sophistication of Broadway.

Rob Fisher, artistic director & music director
David Garrison, host
Brent Barrett, vocals
Judy Blazer, vocals
Diana Canova, vocals
Tyne Daly, vocals
Scott Cady, piano
Andrew Sterman, reeds
Bob Millikan, trumpet
Kevin Kuhn, guitar
Jeff Carney, bass
David Ratajczak, drums

I've already watched a screener copy and am glad to report that the film version looks and sounds wonderful. It's important to note that this is, to my knowledge, the first filmed stage version of COMPANY. Otherwise, there is also a fantastic hour-long documentary about the recording of the original cast album that features a legendary breakdown from Elaine Stritch as she is recording "Ladies Who Lunch."

And considering how many other Sondheim shows have already received live film recordings (SWEENEY TODD, PACIFIC OVERTURES, SUNDAY IN THE PARK, INTO THE WOODS, PASSION), COMPANY fits in nicely with the collection.

Other sondheim film recordings include the bad film version of FORUM, the bad film version of NIGHT MUSIC, FOLLIES IN CONCERT, the recent SWEENEY film, the decent WEST SIDE STORY film, the terrible 60s GYPSY film, the great 90s GYPSY made for TV film, and SONDHEIM AT CARNEGIE HALL.

So in my review today of NEXT TO NORMAL, I decided to begin by referencing the comment in "[title of show]" about how Alice Ripley is "fierce."

Anyhow....a small problem arose. When I looked at Tuesday's paper, I noticed that the text "[title of show]" was replaced with "Next to Normal." Clearly, my editors thought I intended to replace the words [title of show] with the title of the show I was reviewing at the time.

Thinking about this in retrospect, I'm not surprised by what happened. I mean....who actually names a show "[title of show]"?? I can't but wonder whether this has actually happened to "[title of show]" before.

And speaking of "[title of show]," let's watch the latest episode of the "[title of show] Show," where the gang continues to try and get their beloved show to Broadway.

Even if the City Center Encores! staging of APPLAUSE was its most useless production to date, the extremely successful nature of the series and its contribution to the city's cultural life cannot be denied overall. So much so that it has two lower-key imitation series - Musicals Tonight and the York's Musicals in Mufti. But in fairness, Musicals in Mufti is really starting to come into its own as a formidable competitor.

It was announced today in the New York Times that New York Theatre Workshop will now produce its own Encores!-like series dedicated to Off-Broadway musicals. This will supposedly include any musical that was Off-Broadway - even the ones that eventually went to Broadway. The article reported that the series will start next year with three musicals, two of which include PROMENADE and IPHIGENIA IN CONCERT.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE TIMES ARTICLE

Thursday night: Metropolitan Opera, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. This marked no less than the third time I've seen Bartlett Sher's absolutely stunning production at the Met. Tonight marked, overall, the best cast I've seen. Sher's clever use of stagecraft is indicative of the overtly theatrical style the Met is now gunning for in most of its new stagings. Might he be the guy to stage the next TOSCA or CARMEN?

Friday night: Metropolitan Opera, CARMEN. And speaking of CARMEN, I saw Zeffirelli's production for the first time on Friday. And to be frank, I was very disappointed. Knowing Zeffirelli's other work, I knew that I was in for a pageant of costumes within a traditional staging. But I found this pretty lackluster compared with Zeffirelli's LA TRAVIATA, which I adore, or even his overdone but still sumptuous LA BOHEME. The cast was decent, but nothing to write home about. Still, CARMEN is CARMEN. And it's hard not to have at least a decent time listening to Bizet's thrilling score.

Saturday afternoon: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, THE WEDDING SINGER. I saw the Broadway production of WEDDING SINGER and grew to like it more with each successive time, until I finally became a fan. The production at NJPAC through the weekend is the non-Equity tour, which includes YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT finalist Ashley Anderson in the ensemble. I must say: this was easily the most accomplished non-Equity staging I've ever seen. In fact, if you told me it was Equity, I would have believed you. It was essentially a recreation of John Rando's staging, complete with replications of the original sets and costumes. The size of the cast and even orchestra was the same.

And they even improved the script, dropping "Pop the Question" and the Glen-Julia engagement scene, making the show about 10 minutes shorter. (So, now from the beginning of the show, Glen and Julia are engaged, but at the beginning Julia is frustrated that Glen has yet to set a date.)

WEDDING SINGER is a truly crowd-pleasing show. No, it is not HAIRSPRAY, but it's charming and fun. And it's opening number anthem is so enjoyable that it's almost hypnotic. Where did the show go wrong? I think it was both John Rando's staging (decent, but not amazing) and the fact that they employed the screenwriter of WEDDING SINGER to write the libretto. They needed someone to totally take apart the sequence of events of the movie if necessary.

Saturday night: City Center, APPLAUSE. For the past couple of days, news has spread about Christine Ebersole's flu sickness. But tonight she was totally fine, thankfully. But even if she hadn't been, this is not a challenging score. Her role was written for Lauren Bacall, a non-singer.

A lot of griping has been going on about whether Encores! should have staged APPLAUSE at all, which is an admittedly mediocre musical. (Funny, are these the same people who gripped when Encores! did FOLLIES, complaining it's a show too well-known for the series?) I think it's clear we will never see a full-scale Broadway revival of this once modest hit. But it was fair enough for an Encores production. After all, the series is now reaching its 15th year, and they are going to need to think creatively to find more musicals for production.

Frankly, ALL ABOUT EVE was not meant to be a musical - at least a musical by Adams and Strouse. It's almost as if the basic storyline is totally at odds with their score, which is spiked with 1970s light rock orchestrations.

Was the worst Encores! show I've ever seen. No. The worst was 70 GIRLS 70. This instead was the second to worst Encores! show I've seen. Funny, but both APPLAUSE and 70 GIRLS 70 were directed by Kathleen Marshall.

In the show's title number, the "gypsies" (i.e. Broadway chorus singers and dancers) are supposed to suddenly parody various famed musicals. In the original, they did shows like OKLAHOMA and OH CALCUTTA. Here, they referenced instead Encores shows. I tried to keep track of all the Encores! productions they referenced: CHICAGO, WONDERFUL TOWN, THE NEW MOON, OF THEE I SING, PROMISES PROMISES, FOLLIES, STAIRWAY TO PARADISE, CAN CAN, BYE BYE BIRDIE, HAIR, BOYS FROM SYRACUSE. Did I miss any?

‘Hair’ and ‘Hamlet’ to Lead Shakespeare in the Park Season
The Public Theater confirmed Thursday that the 2008 Shakespeare in the Park season will feature full productions of “Hair” and “Hamlet.” Based on the concert production in September, Diane Paulus will once again direct a cast of 27 led by Jonathan Groff (“Spring Awakening”) as Claude and Will Swenson as Berger. In fact, the full concert cast has been invited back. “Hamlet” will star Michael Stuhlbarg as Hamlet and Richard Easton as Polonius. “Hamlet” has not been staged at the Delacorte theatre since 1975 when Sam Waterston played the title role.

I LOVED the "Hair" concert and saw it twice in September. I absolutely cannot wait to reattend.

The conceit behind BROADWAY BACKWARDS 3 was not new to me: boys do girl songs, girls do boy songs. But to my surprise, it went a lot deeper than that. This was a benefit for the GLBT Community Center, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. And tonight marked the first time BROADWAY BACKWARDS had been performed literally on Broadway, now at the Roundabout's Selwyn Theater (I've decided not to call it the American Airlines Theater anymore. Too disgusted by the title.)

As the cast (and host Seth Rudetsky explained), the purpose of the evening went far beyond the novelty of gender switching. As Rudetsky pointed out, in spite of our familiarity with LA CAGE, FALSETTOS, and RENT, there are very few gay musicals. And tonight was about gay men and women taking possession of the songs they grew up with.

So while there were many comic moments, the night was pretty sober and serious for the most part. And with the exception of a god-awful opening number with Sandy Duncan (she wasn't bad, it was a bad concept), the night featured some pretty great performances. In particular, Tituss Burgess gave the most genuinely emotional performance of "Maybe This Time" I've ever seen.

Here's the rundown. The text comes from ATC, but was edited to correct a few details.

ACT ONE

Liz Callaway- Pretty Women (Sweeney Todd)
Kerry Butler- When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love (Finian's Rainbow)
Charles Busch- The Music That Makes Me Dance (Funny Girl)
Jenn Colella and Michelle Blakely- Hello Little Girl (Into the Woods) (Jen was Red and Michelle was the wolf)
Julie Halston, Ann Harada, Kathryn Kendall and Charis Leos- Everybody Ought to Have a Maid (Forum)
David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris- Take Me or Leave Me (Rent) (David was Maureen and Neil was Joanne)
Karen Mason- I Loved You Once in Silence/How to Handle a Woman (Camelot)
Gary Beach- 50 Percent (Ballroom)
Aaron Lazar and Tony Yazbeck- A boy Like That/I Have a Love (West Side Story) (Aaron was Anita, Tony was Maria)
Sierra Boggess- Kiss the Girl (Little Mermaid) (Jessica Lee Goldyn played the girl she kissed)

ACT TWO

Girls of Spring Awakening- Bitch of Living (Lilli Cooper as Moritz and Remy Zaken as Melchior)
TASTiSKANK- a song that I assume they wrote for this, about being "lesbos"
Malcom Gets- Dancing on the Ceiling (Evergreen) (Tony Yazbeck was his dance partner)
Jose Llana, Brooks Ashmanskas, and Gavin Creel- I Want it All (Baby)
Len Cariou- Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music)
Ensemble men- I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair (South Pacific)
Lainie Kazan- The Gal That Got Away (A Star is Born)
Andrea McArdle and Ensemble women- All I Care About Is Love (Chicago)
Titus Burgess- Maybe This Time (Cabaret)
Anthony Rapp, Cheyenne Jackson, and Ensemble- Suddenly Seymour (Little Shop of Horrors)

We expect violins. We expect classics. At least when we're typically hitting up the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. But Tuesday and Wednesday night of this week featured JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA and Thursday night featured FAMILY GUY comedy with Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein. So what did we get? Lots of cursing. Lots of smut. Lots of young folk who had probably never been in the place before.

And our verdict?

First, let's talk about the former. JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA was a big, big hit in London five years ago. It was supposed to make a quick Broadway transfer, but that somehow never materialized. The piece's future was further jeopardized after the BBC broadcast the show and the extreme Christian Right sued for blasphemy.

So is JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA ready for Broadway? Well, let's keep in mind that this was only a concert version, as staged lightly by Jason Moore of AVENUE Q. If they want this for Broadway, they will need production values - you know, stuff that goes beyond chairs and slide show gimmicks.

But what about the show itself. How good is it? Are the ravings of Ben Brantley really justified? FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK SO.

Some people are calling this the Great American Musical of the Early 21st Century. Others are calling it a piece of filth. I don't think it's either. It's a mediocrity, at least in my opinion.

Act One and Act Two are very, very different in both subject matter and in quality. Act One is a typical JERRY SPRINGER show. It begins with a chorus singing "My mom used to be my dad..." Very cute. And then, in what is the show's best section musically, a warm-up guy prepares the audience and cues them on how to be a Jerry Springer audience.

At the end of Act One, Jerry is shot. Okay... So we then spend Act Two in Hell, where Jerry is expected to arbiter a grudge match between Jesus and Satin. ACT TWO IS A TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE. Why not just expand Act One?

So is JERRY SPRINGER worth transferring to Broadway? I at least don't think so. Will it transfer? Probably not. But if it does, it will need significant work both visually and conceptually.

Let's also remember that the JERRY SPRINGER SHOW on TV doesn't have the same cultural popularity or relevance as it once did. This show should have been on Broadway, if it were meant to go there, four or three years ago. It lost its chance. It's over.

And what of the FAMILY GUY thing, which served as a fundraising effort for the Writers Guild East Strike Fund? Well, this was obviously far smaller in scale and ambition than JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA. It consisted of MacFarlane and Borstein singing some 26 songs (an A to Z theme). Some were straight from FAMILY GUY (MacFarlane singing "Shipoopee" as Peter Griffin), others were new (a jazz version of "The Never Ending Story"), and so on. It was a good deal of fun, easily the funniest cabaret act I've seen in some time.

Also, a special congrats to the winners and performers of Monday night's Nightlife Awards at Town Hall. At the last moment Bruce Valanch had to cancel hosting the gig, so in his place were the fabulous duo of Charles Busch and Julie Halston. But I think the change that made the biggest difference in the world was trimming the show down by a good 40 minutes in comparison to recent years. This made the show, in total, a bit over 3 hours, but far easier to digest.