JUNIE B. JONES (Friday at 6pm) - I'll skip discussing this for now since it'll be my Tuesday review.
JUNO (Friday at 8pm) - Let's get something straight - this is the kind of show that Encores! was designed for. the whole of the series was to do the shows that don't merit Broadway revivals - or scores that have not been heard in New York for at least two decades. To be honest, I didn't even know the show existed before Encores! announced its intent to stage it a few months ago.
A lot of people have claimed that the subject matter, JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, was not meant to be a musical. I totally disagree with that. I am optimistic enough to believe that any story can be musicalized - when done well. The dark nature of this material could have worked, but perhaps it was before its time. The very end, when the militaristic bad guys took over, reminded me of the end of CABARET. And when they aimed their rifles for the audience and fired, it reminded me of the end of ASSASSINS.
This was also a very good Encores! staging - and far, far better than APPLAUSE, the first 2008 Encores production - and probably the worst Encores staging to date. It also marked their first full production of a Mark Blitzstein score. Maybe REGINA could be next?? Garry Hynes, the prestigious director of the production, ought to stage more musical theater. Maybe an Encores production of FINIAN'S RAINBOW, or something at the Met? It was also nice to see Michael Arden in another show, though his role here was pretty forgettable in spite of one pretty song.
SOUTH PACIFIC (Saturday at 8pm) - Will need to wait till Friday to express an opinion.
THE SONGS OF JOE ICONIS (Sunday at 3pm) - I've never this singer-songwriter's work before, in spite of his various recordings and Joe's Pub concerts. This revue of his songbook took place at the tiny Provincetown Playhouse, performed by a very large ensemble of NYU Steinhardt musical theater students - in fact, too many... For the first time, I began to appreciate the fact that most songwriter revues have only 4 actors (2 males, 2 females). Keeping so many people onstage during individual solos was distracting, especially since they all appeared to have nothing to do. However, they all pretty strong vocally, and it made for an entertaining 90 minutes. Iconis' punk-style, East Village-flavored work is very smart and catchy. I'd like to hear more...
ALMOST AN EVENING (Sunday at 7pm) - "Almost a play" will be a more accurate title.