{"id":251,"date":"2011-04-19T16:06:57","date_gmt":"2011-04-19T20:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/?p=251"},"modified":"2011-04-19T16:06:57","modified_gmt":"2011-04-19T20:06:57","slug":"on-the-aisle-with-larry-19-april-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/?p=251","title":{"rendered":"“On the Aisle with Larry” 19 April, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lawrence Harbison<\/strong>, The Playfixer, brings you up to date with what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not in New York. This week, Larry reports on THE BOOK OF MORMON, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, ANYTHING GOES, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, WONDERLAND, SISTER ACT, TOMORROW MORNING, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN <\/strong>and HELLO AGAIN.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A bunch of new musicals and plays (and some revivals) have opened in the last two weeks, all desperately hoping to win the Tony Sweepstakes. This week, I\u2019m telling you about all the musicals I\u2019ve seen so far.<\/p>\n

Fans of \u201cSouth Park\u201d have much to cheer with the arrival of The Book of Mormon<\/em><\/strong>, at the Eugene O\u2019Neill Theatre. SP\u2019s Matt Stone and Trey Parker have crafted a hilarious book \u2013 the funniest since The Producers<\/em> — the story of two na\u00efve young Mormon missionaries who get sent to Uganda where they have the difficult task of converting people in a small rural village to the gospel according to Joseph Smith and the Angel Moroni. It\u2019s a hopeless task, made even more hopeless by the fact that have to contend with a local warlord with an unprintable name (even for me) who is going around snipping the clits of every woman he can catch.<\/p>\n

Yes, this is wildly funny; but it\u2019s also incredibly raunchy. I think the show\u2019s creators went too far; but then, I\u2019m an old fuddy-duddy. I will admit, I laughed a lot (guiltily, though), and I loved Matthew Lopez\u2019 score. Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad are both wonderful as the clueless missionaries, as is Nikki M. James as a young woman with the last intact clitoris in the village.<\/p>\n

I also had a good time at Priscilla, Queen of The Desert<\/em><\/strong>, at the Palace Theatre, an adaptation of the Australian film about three drag queens on a cross-country journey from Sidney into the outback. Alan Scott and Stephan Elliott have crafted a delightful book, into which they have grafted pop songs from the disco era, such as \u201cIt\u2019s Raining Men\u201d and the Village People\u2019s \u201cGo West.\u201d Yes, folks, this is a \u201cjukebox musical;\u201d you know, like Mamma Mia<\/em>. I loved it. I loved the performances by the three leads (Will Swenson, Tony Shelton and Nick Adams \u2013 particularly, Shelton, who is touching as the lovelorn Bernadette). Most of all, I loved Tim Chappel\u2019s and Lizzy Gardiner\u2019s spectacular costumes, which are shoo-ins for the Tony Award.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how much I loved Priscilla, Queen of The Desert<\/em>: I would pay to see it again, and as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

The Roundabout has mounted a stylish, de-lovely revival of Cole Porter\u2019s Anything Goes<\/em><\/strong>, at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, starring Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney. I assume you know the cornball plot about romance on a voyage to England, so let me just say that the production, which is directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, is absolutely marvelous.<\/p>\n

As for the Star of the Show, Sutton Foster, what can I say other than this is Yet Another demonstration of why she is the biggest female musical comedy star of her generation. Fortunately, she is ably supported by a fine cast which includes John McMartin as the jolly tippler Elisha Whitney, Laura Osnes as the ing\u00e9nue Hope Harcourt, Colin Donnell as Billy Crocker and Adam Godley as Lord Evelyn Oakley. I wasn\u2019t wild about Joel Grey as Moonface Martin, but I seem to be in the minority.<\/p>\n

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying<\/em><\/strong>, at the Hirschfeld Theatre, is also quite delightful. The satire of corporate culture holds up well, and Rob Ashford\u2019s direction and choreography are quite witty. Surprisingly, Daniel Radcliffe has the requisite skills to pull off the role of Finch, the young nobody who climbs the corporate ladder to the very top of the heap. He sings and dances well, and he acts the role with tongue-in-cheek aplomb. John Larroquette is perfectly pompous as Bigley, and Rose Hemingway is charming as Rosemary. Of the other supporting players my favorite performance is Tammy Blanchard\u2019s as Hedy LaRue, Bigley\u2019s bimbo mistress who, like Finch, is trying to climb the corporate ladder \u2013 which is even harder for her because she\u2019s trying to do this on her back. Blanchard is absolutely hilarious.<\/p>\n

Both Anything Goes<\/em> and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying<\/em> are first-rate revivals as well as great fun. Don\u2019t miss either one.<\/p>\n

I had high hopes for Catch Me if You Can<\/em><\/strong>, at the Neil Simon Theatre. The book is by Terrence McNally, one of my favorite playwrights, and the songs are by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, who wrote the songs for Hairspray. <\/em>But it just didn\u2019t grab me. I think part of the problem is that its creators have decided to use the device of a tacky 1960s variety show to tell their story, which includes the inevitable chorus line of leggy cuties which even I found tiresome after a while. I kept waiting for Dean Martin to wander in, drink in hand, to sing \u201cThat\u2019s Amore.\u201d Once trapped in this concept, they can do little to escape it.<\/p>\n

Aaron Tveit, as young con man Frank Abagnale, Jr., sings well but he never is able to break out of the constraint imposed upon him by the authors. What should have been a breakout star turn just seems rather bland, particularly when compared with the performance of a real Broadway star, Norbert Leo Butz, as the FBI agent leading the team which is trying to catch Frank. Butz has one of show\u2019s two best songs, \u201cDon\u2019t Break the Rules,\u201d with which he stops the show. The other song is a beautiful ballad \u201cFly, Fly Away,\u201d sung by Kerry Butler, who appears briefly as the nurse Frank almost marries, before he has to go once again on the lam.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying that Catch Me if You Can<\/em> is bad \u2013 it\u2019s not. A lot of the time it\u2019s quite delightful. It\u2019s just that it has to compete for your dollar with The Book of Mormon <\/em>and Priscilla Queen of the Desert <\/em>and Anything Goes <\/em>and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying <\/em>and Sister Act<\/em> (which I\u2019ll get to shortly), as well as Baby It\u2019s You<\/em> and The People in the Picture<\/em> (neither of which I\u2019ve seen yet, so no comment). Compared to those, for pure entertainment value it can\u2019t compete. Musical comedy fans should definitely see it. Civilians, you could miss it.<\/p>\n

Whenever I write about a show, I try to imagine who might like it and then write for that person. I sat there at Wonderland<\/em><\/strong>, the new Frank Wildhorn musical at the Marquis Theatre, trying to envision that person. An \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d fan, maybe? A Wildhorn fanatic? A Jekkie? If you\u2019re one of these, by all means go. You\u2019ll encounter a pretty witless attempt to modernize Alice in Wonderland<\/em>, by re-imagining Alice as a soon-to-be single Mom (she\u2019s separated from her husband because he has lost his job, which makes her an unsympathetic character for 49% of the population — i.e., men) and sending her down the service elevator in the apartment building where she is staying with her so-to-be ex\u2019s mother into a tacky \u201cwonderland\u201d where the Caterpillar is a jivin\u2019 dude and the Mad Hatter a demonic dominatrix. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz<\/em>, all Alice wants to do is find her way home, and she\u2019s helped to that end by the White Knight, here envisioned as a comic book superhero wannabe. She also has a daughter named Chloe who\u2019s kidnapped by the Mad Hatter\u2019s fearsome minions as part of her plot to depose the Queen of Hearts.<\/p>\n

Janet Dacal is OK as Alice, in a part which could have used some star wattage (I kept imagining what Sutton Foster might have done with the part). Carly Rose Sonenclar, as Chloe, is the reincarnation of Andrea McArdle as Annie. What a voice! I kept wishing she\u2019d sing \u201cTomorrow.\u201d I also enjoyed Darren Ritchie as the charmingly goofy White Night. His performance of one of the best songs in the show, \u201cOne Knight,\u201d done with backup superhero sidekicks like a boy band, stops the show.<\/p>\n

Wonderland <\/em>tries really hard to be another Wicked<\/em>. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s how they sold it to investors who, sadly, are gonna lose their dough on this misfire.<\/p>\n

Sister Act<\/em><\/strong>, at the Broadway Theatre, is a musical version of the popular Whoopi Goldberg film. I have no idea how it compares to the film, which I haven\u2019t seen, so all I can say is that on its own it is great fun. Alan Menken\u2019s music is loaded with Broadway pizzazz and Alan Slater\u2019s lyrics are very witty. Director Jerry Zaks keeps things spinning along at a hilarious clip, and the show features a Star Is Born performance by Patina Miller as a wannabe singer who finds herself in a convent where she has to hide out from her ex-boyfriend, who\u2019s trying to kill her as she witnessed him commit a murder. Broadway stalwart Victoria Clark is also delightful as the Mother Superior.<\/p>\n

Off Broadway, there\u2019s a charming little musical by the York Theatre at Theatre at. St. Peter\u2019s called Tomorrow Morning<\/em><\/strong>, The characters are two couples, one at the start of their relationship and the other at the end, who turn out to be the same people ten years apart. Laurence Marc Whyte wrote the whole shebang, and his score consists of one lovely song after another. This show has been derided as shamelessly sentimental, in that it doesn\u2019t wind up being cynical about love and romance. I\u2019m an old softie who still believes in both, so I found the show very poignant. All four performers are terrific, too.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t wild about Peccadillo\u2019s revival of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<\/em><\/strong>, which has closed after a very successful run at the Theatre at St. Clement\u2019s. The songs by Arthur Schwartz and Dorothy Fields were the best part, but the show itself just seemed too old-fashioned, and Peccadillo\u2019s production looked like community theatre. Don\u2019t feel bad if you missed this.<\/p>\n

Also closed is the Transport Group\u2019s revival of the Michael John LaChiusa musical Hello Again<\/em><\/strong>, based on Schnitzler\u2019s La Ronde<\/em>, which was done as \u201cenvironmental theatre\u201d in a large loft. You sat at a table and the action took place all around you, and sometimes right there on the table. This action involved a lot of, well, fucking, which I found distasteful (but then, I\u2019m a prude \u2013 when the actors in a film I\u2019m seeing start going at it, I go out for popcorn). The performers were excellent, but the main problem for me with this show was LaChiusa\u2019s music, which I have never liked and which in this show was as boring as all his other scores.<\/p>\n

Hello Again<\/em> was a Hot Ticket. Don\u2019t feel bad, though, if you missed it.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE BOOK OF MORMON<\/strong>. Eugene O\u2019Neill Theatre, 230 W. 49th<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.telecharge.com<\/a> or 212-239-6200<\/p>\n

PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT<\/strong>. Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.com<\/a> or (877) 250-2929\/(800) 755-4000<\/p>\n

ANYTHING GOES. <\/strong>Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.telecharge.com<\/a> or 212-239-6200<\/p>\n

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 W. 45th<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.telecharge.com<\/a> or 212-239-6200<\/p>\n

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN<\/strong>. Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.com<\/a> or (877) 250-2929<\/p>\n

WONDERLAND<\/strong>. Marquis Theatre, 1534 Broadway<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.com<\/a> or (877) 250-2929\/(800) 755-4000<\/p>\n

SISTER ACT<\/strong>. Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway\\<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.telecharge.com<\/a> or 212-239-6200<\/p>\n

TOMORROW MORNING. <\/strong>Theatre at St. Peter\u2019s, 619 Lexington Ave (Citicorp Center)<\/p>\n

TICKETS: 212-935-5820 or www.yorktheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. <\/strong>Closed<\/p>\n

HELLO AGAIN<\/strong>. Closed<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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For discount tickets for groups of ten or more, contact Carol Ostrow Productions & Group Sales. Phone: 212-265-8500. E-Mail: ostrow1776@aol.com<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It requires a certain largeness of spirit to give generous appreciation to large achievements. A society with\u00a0a crabbed spirit\u00a0and a\u00a0cynical urge to discount and devalue will find that one day, when it needs to draw upon the reservoirs of excellence, the reservoirs have run dry.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

—– George F. Will<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawrence Harbison, The Playfixer, brings you up to date with what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not in New York. This week, Larry reports on THE BOOK OF MORMON, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, ANYTHING GOES, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, WONDERLAND, SISTER ACT, TOMORROW MORNING, A TREE GROWS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}