Funny Girl

11 December 2015 (Fri), Menier Chocolate Factory

This is the first big-time revival of the show since its initial run in the mid 1960s, meaning anyone who saw it as a teenager then would now be retirement age. The first question on anyone’s mind is: who’s going to play Barbra? Streisand’s long shadow over the role makes casting extremely tricky; the aborted attempt at a revival a few years ago in the US was to star a Streisand impersonator from Glee, which would have been a disaster – why get a second-hand Barbra instead of a first-rate something else? The situation applies as well to London, where Streisand repeated her success after her sensational Broadway run and just before the hugely popular movie. While it’s true the show ran for a year-and-a-half on Broadway after Streisand left (with the wonderful Mimi Hines), that was before Barbra became a legend and diva nonpareil with the film, to the extent that many people think that the show and songs were written specifically for her (they weren’t). I don’t think even Fanny Brice herself could be cast these days. So when tickets for the revival by the estimable Menier Chocolate Factory went on sale, the entire run was snapped up within 90 minutes by audiences curious to see the original musical and the actress who dared take on La Barbra. The show was announced for a West End transfer before it even opened, which signals a lot of confidence on the part of the producers. I managed with difficulty to snare a seat on a Friday night. Yeah, I was excited. Even this theater’s usual pitiful printed program didn’t dampen things.

The actress who sparked all the excitement was Sheridan Smith, a blonde British shiksa who’s about as far from a Jewish Brooklyn girl as high tea from gefilte fish. Even given the impressive range in her career – her two Oliviers are for Legally Blonde and Terence Rattigan’s wartime-era Flare Path­ – this one seemed a stretch. Still, the word was good, and I was ready for anything. Continue reading →

Sunny Afternoon

9 December 2015 (Wed), West End

This was a jukebox musical built around the music of The Kinks, but it was all effectively new for me since I don’t really know the group. The songs are sung in many cases as character material, which worked to an extent. The story was a bit by the numbers and not overly compelling, but it moved along smoothly enough. Continue reading →

The Mikado

6 December 2015 (Sun), ENO

I had loved this production four years earlier, and it was just as good the second time around – better, in fact, since I could read the subtitles this time, which helped immeasurably (I wonder if this is how Italians feel listening to opera). Great sets, colorful costumes, broad bright comedy, whimsical choreography, nutty elements like the headless waiters – this production really has it all. Continue reading →

Archives: Company

17 November 2006 (Fri), Broadway

A revival (still in previews) of the Sondheim classic directed by John Doyle, the English director known for his minimalist approach in which the cast members play all the instruments. I didn’t want to miss this show, one of my all-time favorites, so I ordered the tickets from Tokyo rather than waiting for the half-price booth. I wasn’t taking any chances. I went with a friend who was seeing the show for the first time.

The previous year’s Sweeney Todd, which used the same actor/musician technique, was a revelation. While it hardly replaced the traditional version, it certainly provided a fresh perspective on the show. (Whether it would be enjoyable without having seen the original is an open question.) Company, being an abstract series of loosely related sequences rather than a proper narrative, seemed like an even more appropriate choice for this technique. The various couples interact with other couples in song but not in narrative scenes other than the birthday party that frames the show; that is, outside their specific vignettes, the characters are for the most part commenting on the action rather than participating in it directly. I figured that the use of instruments would work perfectly within this context, providing another means of commenting on the story.

The results were not what I had expected. Continue reading →