Post by santtu on Jul 22, 2010 13:07:08 GMT -5
Having never seen this show on stage before and having missed the previous (short-lived) Broadway revival, I was kind of keen to finally see this. And knowing that the show currently stars Kelsey Grammer, famous for his role as Frasier Crane in tv's FRASIER, I thought I'd give this one a go.
Grammer plays Georges who owns a nightclub in Saint Tropez in France. His club features drag queens performing on nightly basis and his partner, Albin (Douglas Hodge) is the star of the show and the club. One evening Georges's son Jean-Michel returns home to tell his father he's getting married to a girl named Anne. The problem is that Anne's father is a famous conservative politician and J-M hasn't had the guts to tell them the truth his father being a gay man with a partner, instead he has told them something very different. And the problem is he also has invited his future in-laws to a dinner to meet his parents. And of course, he doesn't really want Albin around that evening and wants his father to tell Albin to stay away for one day. To add to the catastrophy, J-M's real mother hasn't really ever shown any interest in her son, and this time is no exception.
The musical is based on Jean Poiret's play of the same name. The story was also filmed as "The Birdcage" with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane playing the leads.
I have never really cared for Jerry Herman's score. And now, 'having to' sit through and listen to it did make me appreciate it more but I'm still not a fan. Of course there is the hit song "I am what I am" which I think is absolutely fantastic and maybe the best song Herman has ever written, but in total the score was a bit bland. Lyrics were much stronger than the melodies. And unfortunately some songs, like "A little more mascara" and "Song on the sand" were just way too long! And what really irritated me was the odd need of an 'exit music', a sort of a quick reprise, after almost every song!
Visually the show was ok. The costumes were great and though the sets worked well to 'sell' the story. I liked the idea of having some restaurant tables in front of the stage for the audience seats!
The orchestra was very small, about 8 players, but they did a great job. The sound was "bigger" than you'd expect.
The performers weren't spectacular but each and every one of them did a good job. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with Douglas Hodge. Having heard so many raves of his performance and him winning the Tony for this, I expected a more layered and deeper performance. I found his Albin an annoying fuss, your typical drag queen ('queen' being the operative word) you've seen so many times before. Albin wasn't really a character or a person, he was more a caricature with not much of a personality. Oftentimes Hodge seemed to go for the laughs instead of the chance of creating Albin a person, most evidently in "Masculinity" and in the following scene. Sadly. But as a singer Hodge was excellent! His "I am what I am" was superb and brought the house down and quite deservingly so! Kelsey Grammer was good as Georges. In his more serious moments you could really see that he is much more as an actor than just his most famous role, but whenever his scene or lines were funnier he seemed to slip into a "Frasier mode", adapting that familiar tone and pace of speech, which wasn't nice to see. But all in all his Georges was well performed and you won't hear me complain about his singing! Maybe not the best singer in the world, but definitely not the worst either. Veanne Cox is a familiar face from many films (like "Erin Brockovich") and she seemed to have a great voice! Unfortunately we didn't get to hear her much in her two very small roles. Fred Applegate was excellent as the concervative politician Mr Dindon and in his final scene drag outfit he reminded me of the late Dom DeLouise.
The show has its moments and in the end it is a good and enjoyable show, but not a great one. Not really worth the 140 dollar ticket price.
Grammer plays Georges who owns a nightclub in Saint Tropez in France. His club features drag queens performing on nightly basis and his partner, Albin (Douglas Hodge) is the star of the show and the club. One evening Georges's son Jean-Michel returns home to tell his father he's getting married to a girl named Anne. The problem is that Anne's father is a famous conservative politician and J-M hasn't had the guts to tell them the truth his father being a gay man with a partner, instead he has told them something very different. And the problem is he also has invited his future in-laws to a dinner to meet his parents. And of course, he doesn't really want Albin around that evening and wants his father to tell Albin to stay away for one day. To add to the catastrophy, J-M's real mother hasn't really ever shown any interest in her son, and this time is no exception.
The musical is based on Jean Poiret's play of the same name. The story was also filmed as "The Birdcage" with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane playing the leads.
I have never really cared for Jerry Herman's score. And now, 'having to' sit through and listen to it did make me appreciate it more but I'm still not a fan. Of course there is the hit song "I am what I am" which I think is absolutely fantastic and maybe the best song Herman has ever written, but in total the score was a bit bland. Lyrics were much stronger than the melodies. And unfortunately some songs, like "A little more mascara" and "Song on the sand" were just way too long! And what really irritated me was the odd need of an 'exit music', a sort of a quick reprise, after almost every song!
Visually the show was ok. The costumes were great and though the sets worked well to 'sell' the story. I liked the idea of having some restaurant tables in front of the stage for the audience seats!
The orchestra was very small, about 8 players, but they did a great job. The sound was "bigger" than you'd expect.
The performers weren't spectacular but each and every one of them did a good job. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with Douglas Hodge. Having heard so many raves of his performance and him winning the Tony for this, I expected a more layered and deeper performance. I found his Albin an annoying fuss, your typical drag queen ('queen' being the operative word) you've seen so many times before. Albin wasn't really a character or a person, he was more a caricature with not much of a personality. Oftentimes Hodge seemed to go for the laughs instead of the chance of creating Albin a person, most evidently in "Masculinity" and in the following scene. Sadly. But as a singer Hodge was excellent! His "I am what I am" was superb and brought the house down and quite deservingly so! Kelsey Grammer was good as Georges. In his more serious moments you could really see that he is much more as an actor than just his most famous role, but whenever his scene or lines were funnier he seemed to slip into a "Frasier mode", adapting that familiar tone and pace of speech, which wasn't nice to see. But all in all his Georges was well performed and you won't hear me complain about his singing! Maybe not the best singer in the world, but definitely not the worst either. Veanne Cox is a familiar face from many films (like "Erin Brockovich") and she seemed to have a great voice! Unfortunately we didn't get to hear her much in her two very small roles. Fred Applegate was excellent as the concervative politician Mr Dindon and in his final scene drag outfit he reminded me of the late Dom DeLouise.
The show has its moments and in the end it is a good and enjoyable show, but not a great one. Not really worth the 140 dollar ticket price.
The ticket prices are getting out of control and ridiculously high.