Post by santtu on May 7, 2011 12:29:57 GMT -5
I never saw the whole movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks (got bored with it) and I never finished the book, so I was a bit hesitant going to see this show.
The creative team looked promising: Terrence McNally (book, RAGTIME, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, MASTER CLASS etc.), Marc Shaiman (music/lyrics, HAIRSPRAY), Scott Wittman (lyrics, HAIRSPRAY), Jack O'Brien (director, HAIRSPRAY, LOVE NEVER DIES, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS), Jerry Mitchell (choreography, HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES), David Rockwell (sets, HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE), William Ivey Long (costumes, HAIRSPRAY, CHICAGO, THE BOY FROM OZ, THE PRODUCERS), Kenneth Posner (lighting, HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE)... and with Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Wopat and Kerry Butler in the cast, I thought the show could be pretty great.
First off, I have to say I was very disappointed with the score! Lyrics were good, sometimes brilliant, but the melodies... The Act I was filled with big, overproduced producers-hoping-they'd-be-showstopper numbers that were simply forgettable. Some nice melodies, like "Jet Set" but none of them really took off. Even Norbert Leo Butz's first solo, "Don't Break The Rules" was quite boring as a song, but fortunately they gave the song to Butz who gave an amazing performance! The last song in Act I, "My Favorite Time of Year" was very simple and plain, and by far the best song in the first act. In Act II the score took a new direction: lots of good melodies and beautiful songs performed brilliantly: "Don't Be A Stranger" (one of the best scenes in the show!), "Little Boy, Be A Man", "(Our) Family Tree", Butler's powerful solo "Fly, Fly Away"... but then the Act II ended with two less-than-average songs: dull and repetitive "Good-bye" and boring "Strange But True".
And here we have yet another show with the full orchestra on stage. I didn't see the point of it nor the need for it. The orchestra platform kept moving back and forth as an "integral part" of the set (which it really wasn't) but I found it mostly, distracting, annoying and un-imaginative. With the huge orchestra platform on stage the whole time, there wasn't much room for other set pieces. And mostly they were only smaller set pieces; tables, chairs etc. Yeah, it's fast and easy to manoeuver, but sometimes less is not more.
The costumes were nice, worked well. The only time I frowned because of the costumes was in the very last scene, where the ladies of the ensemble were dressed in tuxedo jackets and fish-net stalkings and black high-heel shoes. How very CHICAGO of you, Mr Long.
I found the lighting excellent!! Sometimes almost overpowering with colors, sometimes very plain and simple. I don't usually pay this much attention to the lighting, but Kenneth Posner had done really wonderful job!
Jerry Mitchell had created again great choreography. Sometimes very traditional Broadway - sometimes Ballroom-ish: his creation for "Don't Be A Stranger" really won me over! Very stylish!
The actors were great. Although I didn't find Aaron Tveit's performance that excellent, he was good and he has a great voice. Having seen Tom Wopat's wonderful performance in the mind-blowingly boring A CATERED AFFAIR I was curious to see how he'd pull this one off. And he didn't let me down. He was fantastic as Frank Abagnale Sr.! Particularly in Act II when the character is really down on his luck. Just amazing. Rachel de Benedet as Frank Jr's mother Paula was excellent casting, very elegant in her role and her "Don't Be A Stranger" was one of the highlights of the show for me.
Kerry Butler did once again marvellous job. Though her role isn't the biggest, she's just brilliant. She brought the house down with "Fly, Fly Away", truly amazing performance.
But for me, the star of the show was Norbert Leo Butz. It was interesting to see how he'd handle a role so different from his Tony Award winning performance in DRS. Though his role has a lot of comedy, he didn't play it for laughs. Butz hasn't just created the character as a personality but has paid attention to the physical side as well. His two solos ("Don't Break the Rules" and "The Man Inside the Clues") may not be the best songs of the show (just my opinion) and "Don't Break..." has maybe a bit too much of choreography for Butz considering how he plays Hanratty's physical being during the show, but Butz just makes all of it work. Hope the Tony voters recognize this wonderful performance! He so deserves it.
The show was surprisingly "feeling-less". In the last scene of Act I ("My Favorite Time of Year") we get to see more about Frank Jr's feelings and emotions as he calls Hanratty and we get to see how lonely a life he's really leading. That's when the show finally got more interesting! Unfortunately it happened about 1,5 hours into the show! Had it happened sooner, the show would have been so much better.
Well, not really a waste of time but not the first show I'll be recommending to people either.
The creative team looked promising: Terrence McNally (book, RAGTIME, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, MASTER CLASS etc.), Marc Shaiman (music/lyrics, HAIRSPRAY), Scott Wittman (lyrics, HAIRSPRAY), Jack O'Brien (director, HAIRSPRAY, LOVE NEVER DIES, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS), Jerry Mitchell (choreography, HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES), David Rockwell (sets, HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE), William Ivey Long (costumes, HAIRSPRAY, CHICAGO, THE BOY FROM OZ, THE PRODUCERS), Kenneth Posner (lighting, HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE)... and with Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Wopat and Kerry Butler in the cast, I thought the show could be pretty great.
First off, I have to say I was very disappointed with the score! Lyrics were good, sometimes brilliant, but the melodies... The Act I was filled with big, overproduced producers-hoping-they'd-be-showstopper numbers that were simply forgettable. Some nice melodies, like "Jet Set" but none of them really took off. Even Norbert Leo Butz's first solo, "Don't Break The Rules" was quite boring as a song, but fortunately they gave the song to Butz who gave an amazing performance! The last song in Act I, "My Favorite Time of Year" was very simple and plain, and by far the best song in the first act. In Act II the score took a new direction: lots of good melodies and beautiful songs performed brilliantly: "Don't Be A Stranger" (one of the best scenes in the show!), "Little Boy, Be A Man", "(Our) Family Tree", Butler's powerful solo "Fly, Fly Away"... but then the Act II ended with two less-than-average songs: dull and repetitive "Good-bye" and boring "Strange But True".
And here we have yet another show with the full orchestra on stage. I didn't see the point of it nor the need for it. The orchestra platform kept moving back and forth as an "integral part" of the set (which it really wasn't) but I found it mostly, distracting, annoying and un-imaginative. With the huge orchestra platform on stage the whole time, there wasn't much room for other set pieces. And mostly they were only smaller set pieces; tables, chairs etc. Yeah, it's fast and easy to manoeuver, but sometimes less is not more.
The costumes were nice, worked well. The only time I frowned because of the costumes was in the very last scene, where the ladies of the ensemble were dressed in tuxedo jackets and fish-net stalkings and black high-heel shoes. How very CHICAGO of you, Mr Long.
I found the lighting excellent!! Sometimes almost overpowering with colors, sometimes very plain and simple. I don't usually pay this much attention to the lighting, but Kenneth Posner had done really wonderful job!
Jerry Mitchell had created again great choreography. Sometimes very traditional Broadway - sometimes Ballroom-ish: his creation for "Don't Be A Stranger" really won me over! Very stylish!
The actors were great. Although I didn't find Aaron Tveit's performance that excellent, he was good and he has a great voice. Having seen Tom Wopat's wonderful performance in the mind-blowingly boring A CATERED AFFAIR I was curious to see how he'd pull this one off. And he didn't let me down. He was fantastic as Frank Abagnale Sr.! Particularly in Act II when the character is really down on his luck. Just amazing. Rachel de Benedet as Frank Jr's mother Paula was excellent casting, very elegant in her role and her "Don't Be A Stranger" was one of the highlights of the show for me.
Kerry Butler did once again marvellous job. Though her role isn't the biggest, she's just brilliant. She brought the house down with "Fly, Fly Away", truly amazing performance.
But for me, the star of the show was Norbert Leo Butz. It was interesting to see how he'd handle a role so different from his Tony Award winning performance in DRS. Though his role has a lot of comedy, he didn't play it for laughs. Butz hasn't just created the character as a personality but has paid attention to the physical side as well. His two solos ("Don't Break the Rules" and "The Man Inside the Clues") may not be the best songs of the show (just my opinion) and "Don't Break..." has maybe a bit too much of choreography for Butz considering how he plays Hanratty's physical being during the show, but Butz just makes all of it work. Hope the Tony voters recognize this wonderful performance! He so deserves it.
The show was surprisingly "feeling-less". In the last scene of Act I ("My Favorite Time of Year") we get to see more about Frank Jr's feelings and emotions as he calls Hanratty and we get to see how lonely a life he's really leading. That's when the show finally got more interesting! Unfortunately it happened about 1,5 hours into the show! Had it happened sooner, the show would have been so much better.
Well, not really a waste of time but not the first show I'll be recommending to people either.