A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT – Part III
Still More Potpourri
An unabashedly romantic, sinfully underappreciated musical about bridges
in Iowa. Missed connections in Israel for an Egyptian band. Two concert presentations featuring one of Broadway's iconic
leading ladies. A birthday celebration concert in honor of arguably our
greatest living composer/lyricist in the musical theatre. Truly a little bit of
this, a little bit of that.
Starting things off…
July, 2017. Just like in New York, this unrepentant curmudgeon got misty-eyed at the show's conclusion. Beautifully staged, designed, sung, and acted, this was a magical afternoon at the theatre. Marsha Norman's book is unabashedly romantic without being maudlin and tells the story with intelligence and honesty. It's Jason Robert Brown's remarkable and exceptionally beautiful score, however, that elevates this under-appreciated show and makes The Bridges of Madison County a feast for the ears. Stellar leading performances by Kathy Voytko and Nathaniel Stampley set the bar very high, and their castmates, including Bart Shatto, Wydetta Carter, Terry Hamilton, and Tanner Hake, accepted the challenge and ran with it. It was simply wonderful to see our A Christmas Story's Flick, Brooke MacDougal, as daughter Carolyn, and Emily Berman, one of Bob's former students, as Marilyn. Emily nailed one of the show's gorgeous ballads, "Another Life." Bravo to Marriott for doing this difficult, beautiful musical!! Truly a stunning production. Full stop. - at the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire.
THE BAND'S VISIT – Barrymore Theatre, New York
October, 2017. Music is universal. It can soothe, inspire, heal. It's a
bridge between cultures. Remove politics and religion and people are pretty
much the same, with the same hopes, dreams, joys, and sorrows. That's what The Band's Visit was all about. The
fish-out-of-water and the town-helping-the-strangers themes reminded me a bit
of Come From Away, but set in Israel
instead of Newfoundland. But unlike Come
From Away, which I adore, I found The
Band's Visit dull. The talent on stage at the Barrymore certainly couldn't
be faulted because they were all first-rate, but where it should have soared,
it didn't. There were so many pauses and the pace was so sluggish at times, I thought
I was watching a musical by Harold Pinter. Perhaps our seats in the rear mezzanine
had something to do with my reaction. I felt like I was simply watching the
action, rather than being involved in it. I was clearly in the minority. The
capacity audience ate it up. I wanted to like it, and I tried. I really tried.
And there were moments I really liked, eg. playing the clarinet to calm a
crying baby, anything Tony Shaloub and especially Katrina Lenk did. In the end,
however, I just didn't care. Perhaps I should give this Tony-winning musical
another chance…from a close-up orchestra seat…and perhaps one day I will. - at
the Barrymore Theatre, New York.
March, 2010. They both won Tony Awards for their roles as Eva Perón and
Che. Thirty years later, these old friends got together for a reunion concert
of songs and chat, heavily favoring Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein in the
song department. What could have and should have been a lovely, relaxed evening
of music and reminisces came off, unfortunately, as a bit flat, a
bit over-rehearsed and lacking of any feeling or semblance of spontaneity.
While their affection for each other was refreshing and evident, the chat
wasn't nearly enough or, frankly, dishy enough and the music, though sung with
precision, lacked any real passion. Hey, I get it. These shows are hard. But
this should have been fun, and we should have been able to see the two stars
having a good time, but they were both too serious. LuPone is a powerhouse of
vocal prowess and stage presence. Patinkin tends to be too introspective and
often interprets the crap out of a song, rendering it lifeless. The contrasting
styles sometimes worked in their duets, sometimes didn't. Sad to say, it was
all a bit underwhelming and a bit disappointing. – at the Cadillac Palace
Theatre, Chicago
October, 1995. A sheer force of nature. Powerful, commanding, funny,
catty, and almost preternaturally talented, I had seen Patti LuPone in person
only once before, as Eva Perón in Evita,
but I was a fan of her recordings and television work on Life Goes On. Cast as the original Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, and then famously
having her Broadway contract for Sunset voided
by Andrew Lloyd Webber in favor of Glenn Close, the Los Angeles Norma, LuPone
ended her chatty, tuneful, vastly enjoyable, and ecstatically received songfest
by treating us to the most thrilling version of "As If We Never Said
Goodbye" that I have ever heard. Was this an impromptu choice? Probably
not, but LuPone managed to make it appear that way, and it literally blew the
roof off of the venerable Walter Kerr. The capacity audience adored her, and
she adored us right back. – at the Walter Kerr Theatre, New York
Thanks for joining me for this episode. More later. Ciao!
© 2018 Jeffrey Geddes
