I haven’t seen
this show yet (and probably for reasons stronger than I, I never will), but by
listening to the cast recording I don’t doubt this must be a lot of fun, with
terrific dance numbers by the inventive genius Susan Stroman and a cast that is
having a great time.
We all know that
almost all Woody Allen’s films have soundtracks made of “old” songs, specially
from the fabulous jazz age, one for which I’m very fond. It’s no surprise than,
that for his first Broadway musical, the creative team decided to use songs of
that age instead of ordering a new score. So, this is a kind of jukebox musical
of the jazz age. At first it seems the songs don’t fit into the plot and that
they should have used an original score, but by the second time I played the
album I was conquered.
With terrific
orchestrations by Doug Besterman, the songs are a joy to hear and there’s a
foolishness in the score that is contagious. It seems like no one takes this
seriously and the entire cast sound like a match made in heaven. In the leading
role, Zach Braff may not have a great voice; he does well with “I’m Sitting on
Top of the World”, but not so well with “The Panic Is On”. On a supporting role
Nick Cordero sounds like a perfect gangster singer with “Up a Lazy River” and
leads the gangsters dancers with an exciting rendition of “'Tain't Nobody's
Biz-ness If I Do”. The other male who shines is Brooks Ahmanskas, who sings a
hilarious “Let’s Misbehave” duet with Heléne Yorke. Yorke also has a good time
with the silly “The Hot Dog Song”. Betsy Wolfe is a delightful surprise, giving
us terrific renditions of “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me” and “I've
Found a New Baby”. As the decadent diva Helen Sinclair, the great Marin Mazzie
strongly delivers her big numbers “They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me”, “There's
a Broken Heart for Every Light on Broadway” and “I Ain't Gonna Play No Second
Fiddle”. One final word for Karen Ziemba, who gives us a terrific “There's a
New Day Comin'!”, one of my favorite tracks.
I confess I
always loved the mixture of chorus girls and gangsters, done perfectly in GUYS
AND DOLLS, and here it works very well. There isn’t a bad number in the all
score and the end result is highly entertaining. More than this Woody Allen
film, I always thought that his THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO was ideal material for
a musical; maybe if this one is a success, someone will bring ROSE OF CAIRO to
the stage.
Rate: 8 (from 1
to 10)
Photos by Paul Kolnik and Sara Krulwich
Photos by Paul Kolnik and Sara Krulwich
This works way better as a recording than it does on stage. The songs are awkwardly stuffed into the book, and the dancing isn't quite up to Stroman's usual standard. The whole evening has a rather flat quality to it. Buy the CD, and make up your own musical instead.
ReplyDeleteI already make up the show on my head. I believe you're right, I saw the number they at the Tony Awards and it's far from Stroman's best work.
ReplyDelete