What would happen if SPAMALOT
got mixed with THE BOOK OF MORMON? Maybe something like this new musical by
Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick.
It begins with an inviting
“Welcome to the Renaissance”, that by its middle becomes a little too modern
for my taste; it’s followed by “God, I Hate Shakespeare”, that reminded me of
the music by Queen, not exactly my cup of tea. The song that follows, “Right
Hand Man”, got my attention and Heidi Blickenstaff gave it all singing it. And then there’s Brad Oscar leading the
company with “A Musical”. How could I resist this song? It’s the kind of number
that puts a smile on my face and my feet tapping.
I also have fun with “The
Black Death”. I enjoyed “Bottom’s Gonna Be on Top”. “To Thine Own Self” it’s a
lovely melody and “I Love the Way” is a curious love song, nicely sung by Kate
Reinders and John Cariani. By the end there’s “Make an Omelette”, that sounds
like a really exciting big number. I don’t have anything against Christian
Borle, who I believe must be terrific in the role of Shakespeare, but I
couldn’t care less for his songs “Will Power” and “Hard to Be the Bard”; the
lyrics are fun, but the music isn’t for me.
The entire cast, lead by a
Brian d’Arcy James in top shape, is in perfect tune with the crazy spirit of
the show. This is a musical comedy not be taken seriously, without any kind of
shame and its creators only intention it’s simply to entertain. To get all the
fun, it would help to know a lot about musical theatre and about William
Shakespeare as well, but in the end this is just good fun, with some good songs
and enjoyable orchestrations by Larry Hochman.
Rate: 6 (from 1 to 10) / Photos by Joan Marcus
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