NBC has announced that its live holiday musical for 2017 will be the golden oldie Bye Bye Birdie starring Jennifer Lopez. I was surprised to see the announcement before the airing of this year’s event, Hairspray, in December, but I don’t blame them for wanting to get the word out. It’s a terrific choice — an upbeat family musical with a familiar title, a great score (including several standards), a good range of wacky characters, an Elvis spoof and a nostalgic portrait of uncomplicated life in small-town America. It is set roughly in the same period as Grease and Hairspray, the two live musicals that immediately preceded it (albeit on different networks) — the late 50s and early 60s are a hot time these days, I guess, not to mention high school life. The show was apparently proposed by Lopez herself, evidently a fan of the (rather altered) movie. Hooray for her. Continue reading
Category Archives: Musical
The Little Mermaid (リットルマーメード )
リットルマーメード (The Little Mermaid) (stage)
8/24/13 (Sat), Gekidan Shiki, Tokyo
This show had stumbled badly on Broadway some five years ago, blamed widely on a bizarre and overblown production by a European operatic director. (Videos of some of the numbers suggest that the critics were right.) Shiki has picked up another version that has been reconceived by an American designer, which has reportedly been well received in Europe. I didn’t see the original stage version and didn’t have any real interest in the new production, but when a friend offered the impossible-to-get cheap seats in the last two rows, it seemed worth a look. Continue reading
Kinky Boots
Kinky Boots
4/28/13 (Sun), Broadway
I had been wary of this show given the preachy tendencies of its author Harvey Fierstein and the predictable arc of the story, which, without even knowing the movie, I could smell a mile away (boy meets drag queen, boy loses drag queen, boy learns to admire drag queens). But Fierstein is always good for a joke or two, and I was curious about the Cyndi Lauper (!) score. And having snagged a standing room seat at $27, the price was right. Continue reading
A Chorus Line @ Hollywood Bowl
A Chorus Line @ Hollywood Bowl
7/30/16 (Fri), Hollywood Bowl
This is a strange choice for the annual Hollywood Bowl musicals, since the vast venue didn’t really seem the place for a show revolving around intimate monologues. I was wondering if director Baayork Lee had something in mind. Continue reading
Takarazuka: Chicago
Takarazuka: Chicago
7/11/16 (Mon), Yokohama
Takarazuka versions of Broadway musicals are always entertaining in their inimitable way, including rewritten scripts, reshuffled songs and superstar treatment for the main male character, regardless of his/her co-stars or the needs of the story. Chicago was a strange choice since its two leads are female – it’s just not as interesting when women are playing women, especially at the usual talent level of Takarazuka players. Continue reading
London shows (June 2016)
- How the Other Half Loves, 6/11/16 (Sat), West End
- Showboat, 6/11/16 (Sat), West End
- In the Heights, 6/12/16 (Sun), King’s Cross
- Iris, 6/14/16 (Tues), Holland Park Opera
- The Invisible Hand, 6/15/16 (Wed), Tricycle
- Elegy, 6/16/16 (Thurs), Donmar
- The Flying Lovers Of Vitebsk, 6/18/16 (Sat), Sam Wanamaker
- The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, 6/19/16 (Sun), West End
- Macbeth, 6/19/16 (Sun), Globe
Grease Live (TV)
Grease Live (TV), 5/2/16 (Mon)
Fox’s entry into the live musical genre pioneered by NBC. Grease seemed a natural choice as an ever-potent title about high-school life in the 1950s, using a retooled version incorporating songs from the super-successful movie. The broadcast had received strong reviews and ratings, and while I’m not a big fan of the show itself, I had been interested in seeing what they did with it. Continue reading
How to fix LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (musical)
How to fix LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (musical)
A bit of a presumptuous heading, I suppose; I honestly doubt anyone connected with La Cage thinks it needs fixing – it remains a tremendously popular show some 40 years after its debut, and picks up a Tony for Best Production every time it plays Broadway (one for Best Musical and two for Best Musical Revival). I’m actually a fan, so it’s hard to complain too much; whatever the flaws, it’s always a fun night out.
But the flaws are there. Continue reading
Bette back on Broadway: Hello, dollars!
Well, whaddya know. Just a few days ago, I suggested an NBC Live “Mame” starring Bette Midler because I figured she wouldn’t go for a full eight-night-a-week Broadway run. And now she’s just announced that she’ll be doing that other Jerry Herman hit “Hello, Dolly!” on Broadway next year. I’m perfectly happy to be wrong in this case. What a perfect fit! They haven’t announced other casting, but does it matter?
Hopefully they’ll do two things. Continue reading
Carousel
Carousel
2 December 2008 (Tues), West End
Carousel was pleasantly and unexpectedly old-fashioned, a throwback to the days when directors were confident enough to let the material speak for itself. As much as I enjoyed the National Theatre production years ago, I’ve always thought that Carousel, a show that includes joys like wife-beating, mental abuse, armed robbery and suicide, hardly needed darkening. The singing was magnificent, the best overall that I’ve ever experienced for this show. That’s a big plus for a score as beautiful as this one. The chorus was also very strong.
The acting, however, was another story. Continue reading
Gypsy
Gypsy
9 May 2008 (Sat), Broadway
I had high hopes for Gypsy, one of everyone’s favorite shows. I had seen this on Broadway twice before with very different portrayals by Tyne Daly and Bernadette Peters, not to mention the Rosalind Russell movie and the TV production with Bette Midler. The show depends on a strong central performance, and Patti LuPone had brilliant reviews – she seems pretty much born to do this role. So I was looking forward to it. Continue reading
