My husband loves me. How do I know? He suggested our baby-moon should be to NYC for a round of brand spanking new theatre. A summary [Disclaimer: I generally loathe giving written, detailed reviews. But I've had a lot of requests. Just remember this is coming from someone who usually pays a whole lot more attention to the performers and the material than the creative details.]:
1. "Anything Goes," starring Sutton Foster (Brad's girlfriend), Joel Grey, Laura Osnes (winner of NBC's "Grease" casting reality show, among other things), and a host of character actors and hoofers.
This is a lavish production, with a killer ship set and costumes to die for. The performances are solid, for the most part, the choreography intensely marvelous, and the direction...almost non-existent. When I first heard Sutton Foster would be playing the brassy Reno Sweeney, I was a bit dubious. Her credits include almost exclusively "peppy/perky" women. I was pleasantly surprised by her performance, though there were some touches of awkwardness between her and Grey, and a few moments of...interesting vocal choices. Overall, a grand production. I was entertained and a jolly theatre-goer upon exiting the (beautifully restored and newly christened Stephen Sondheim Theatre) venue--which has 22 stalls in the women's bathroom. Bonus! That said (sigh), I think I just don't like this show very much. Each and every Cole Porter tune, classics though they are, have the exact same structure. Very few numbers forward the plot in any way, and the farcical elements feel utterly dated.
Bottom Line: Oh my, the dancing. If you were only to see the end of Act I and the opening of Act II, you would have gotten your money's worth.
2. "How to Succeed in Business..." starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), John Larroquette, et al.
I loved this show. Granted, I'm often prone to loving material I've never seen, so this felt quite fresh. The costumes were sharp and snazzy (and the character of Rosemary wears at least nine different dresses--all pink), the set felt appropriately modern, modular, creative, and complete with detailed finishing touches--my favorite being the stationary elevator that lights up each floor as it "moves" up or down.
Daniel Radcliffe, though a good 5-10 years too young for the role of Finch, is so freaking charming I almost died. First of all, this kid is shockingly nuanced. Secondly, he. can. dance. If only he was a better singer...I truly believe it's what prevented him from garnering a Tony nomination. Don't get me wrong, he sings in tune and hits all the right notes, and it's not a role that I feel really demands super-strong vocal prowess, but he clearly sounds untrained. In fact, after the show I had been thinking, "Gee, Daniel Radcliffe isn't too bad a vocalist." Then I saw Aaron Tveit's performance in "Catch Me if You Can." THAT kid can saaaaaaang. More on Tveit later. [Side note: We hear rumor that when Radcliffe goes on a two week press tour for Harry Potter this fall, he'll be temporarily replaced by Darren Criss, who plays Blaine (Kurt's BF) on "Glee." Yum! AND a singer!]
Bottom Line: It's funny, it feels fresh, and has received many updates that improve upon the original material (so I'm told). And it's simply delicious to look at.
3. "Catch Me if You Can," starring Aaron Tveit, Norbert Leo Butz, and Kerry Butler (sorta). Yes, it's based on the Leo DiCaprio/Tom Hanks film.
My new favorite tenor voice? Aaron Tveit. Aaron Tveit. Aaron Tveit. I'm one of five people who didn't see the original production of "Next to Normal," so he's new to me. HOLY COW. Why this poor kid isn't nominated for a Tony, I have no idea. He works his butt off during this show, rarely leaving the stage, looks GREAT (he's a better looking dead-ringer for Leo), sounds GREAT--I'm puzzled. However, the show stealer is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Norbert Leo Butz (you would have seen him in "The Last 5 Years," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," and he's cameo-ed on almost every recent TV drama ever made, it feels), who is nominated for Featured Actor in a Musical. He has been dramatically aged to play the Tom Hanks role, and seriously kids, if I didn't know it was him, I wouldn't have known it was him. Which, IMO, is one of the highest compliments you can pay an actor. And Kerry Butler ("Little Shop," "Hairspray," "Xanadu") is...fine. She seems a bit of an odd choice for this role, since she appears (for all intents and purposes) only in Act II, and is rather known for her comedic chops, which are completely unused in the character of Brenda Strong. I'm not a huge fan of hers, but I'm also not a huge fan of slamming actors.
I wanted to love this show, I really did. The reviews have been pretty harsh (although with "Spiderman" around, it's hard to believe the critics have any bad reviews left to give), but the creative team has some serious street cred, so I tried to go in with very few opinions. They use the show-within-a-show strategy for telling the story, which mostly works, though not always. I get a little queasy when the characters start conversing with each other before they've actually met within the storyline, etc.--feels a little hokey. (And speaking of hokey, the Laker Girl-esque dancers they've recruited to play flight attendants, nurses, and a host of other characters were just that--though Brad would strongly disagree. Then again, it's gonna be pretty tough to convince any straight man that a chorus of statuesque, mostly blonde, and mostly well-endowed women is superfluous.) The most basic problem with this show is that it's predictable, even if you don't remember the movie's plot, which was decidedly UNpredictable--hence its huge success.
Plot issues aside, I was the most disappointed in the music. With the exception of one tune currently being played to death on Sirius XM ("Fly, Fly Away," Kerry Butler's one "moment" in the whole show, in the form of the eleven-o'clock number), there wasn't one memorable tune. This, from the "Hairspray" guys? Better luck next time.
Bottom Line: It's pretty. It's highly entertaining, if not the least bit mentally challenging. The girls are hot. Aaron Tveit is my American Idol. Norbert Leo Butz is a genius. The orchestra is on stage (bonus points in my book). The book/score need work.
4. "The Book of Mormon."
This was our last and most highly anticipated show, what with all the Tony/critic/theatregoer buzz. I was speaking with another theatre patron at a different show who shared that when he tried to purchase tickets, the first full-price ticket isn't available until the end of July. The first discount (balcony) ticket isn't available until October. So it's safe to say this is the hottest ticket in town. For the record, I was having a difficult time admitting I was headed to see this show, in certain circles. But first, a story:
It was my birthday. We had taken a power nap at the hotel after a day of sight-seeing and touring Central Park. We got up, freshened up, and jaunted over to 46th St, between 8th and 9th Ave, for some dinner--with plenty of time to make our 8pm curtain at 48th and 7th. After much debate, we settled on sushi for dinner (hey, it was my birthday so I was giving myself license to be a bit naughty, pregnant and all). We ordered our food, enjoyed an appetizer, ate a piece or two each of our delicious rolls that had arrived in record time, at which point Brad pulled out the tickets--completely by chance. OUR SHOW WAS AT 7PM. IT WAS 6:59. I snagged the waitress, grabbed my ticket and RAN, since you know, I'm the pregnant chick who moves at a slight snail pace, complete with waddle. Brad took care of the bill, snapped up our sushi to-go, and sprinted after me. Luckily, we weren't the only patrons to arrive close to curtain, and I'm pretty sure they started almost 10 minutes late, so we didn't miss anything. (And yes, we DID enjoy some luke-warm sushi at our seats during intermission, since the Eugene O'Neill theatre is the smallest venue EVER and there was literally nowhere else to go. Also, bonus information if you're a woman sitting in the mezzanine: No matter what the ushers tell you, exit HOUSE LEFT for the bathroom, as the line curves up the staircase to the mezz anyway. Otherwise, you have to go down the right stairs, arm-wrestle your way through the main floor, only to follow the line back up the left stairs to the end of the line which no doubt formed while you were en route. You're welcome.)
Now for the hard part.
Plot summary, courtesy of Wikipedia: "'The Book of Mormon' [the musical] tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naive and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share their scriptures — which only one of them knows very well — but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are worried about famine, poverty, and AIDS."
Did I laugh? Yes. Was I riveted for every moment of the show? Yes. Were there some great numbers? YES YES YES. Content firmly aside, my absolute favorite number is the opening of the show, where we meet about a dozen young missionaries (and which features the show's two leading men, Josh Gad and the hunky-ish Andrew Rannells--both nominated) through the singing of an intricate song layered with complicated polyphony and intense harmonies--the last chord of the song was worth the price of admission. There is another number later in the show that also features The Elders in a hilarious tap routine (and if you've seen it, WHERE DID THOSE VESTS COME FROM?!). And those are just the white guys. The remainder of the cast is black, playing the parts of the Ugandans, and they are a collective force with which to be reckoned. Of every shape, size and age, they tear up the floor and add surprisingly authentic and amazingly well-sung African music to the score.
Does it have a positive message? Yes. But, let's be honest, no one is going to see this show because it has a positive message.
Was it thoroughly offensive? More than likely. I am neither Mormon nor Ugandan, but I can assume both groups would find plenty of material objectionable. (Also, the language is rough, and anyone who believes in any God of any kind will likely squirm through one particular song.)
The biggest problem for me, and the reason why I can't wholeheartedly recommend that everyone should see this show, is that there is a fine line between POKING fun at something, and MAKING fun of something. I'm addressing the Mormonism here. Again, since I'm not a Mormon and the bulk of my knowledge of the religion comes from friends and TV (ahem), I can't speak to whether or not the material is presented accurately. I do know that many stereotypes of that religion appear to be explored here, and it FEELS like poking fun (jokes about the ringing of doorbells, abstaining from caffeine, etc.); but I would imagine that a Mormon would feel that many aspects of the religion are exploited (the history of Joseph Smith, for example), and that's the part that gives me pause. I couldn't help wondering, if this were a musical that exploited the religious beliefs of Jews, would it be as well-received?
Was it my favorite show, regardless of the above information? Um, yeah. What can I say, I'm a sucker for fresh material, I guess.
Bottom Line: If you thought "Avenue Q" was hilarious and it didn't make you blush (and assuming you're not a Mormon), you'll probably love this show. If not, well, I'd skip it. Religious themes aside, it's still "rated R." BUT. This cast is quite possibly the hardest working cast on Broadway, and they deserve mad props for their success.
***
On our last day in NYC, we had a couple of hours to kill before heading to the airport (Newark, by the way--eat before you go), so we purchased tickets for one of those super-touristy double-decker bus tours. Little did we know that they are "hop on, hop off" tours, which we really didn't have enough time to take advantage of. Dang! So if you do it, plan to spend an entire day, using the bus as your transportation to various neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan. Example: take the bus through Greenwich Village, and hop off for some lunch. Get back on (a different bus) and head to So-Ho, hop off for shopping. Hop back on and tour the financial district on your way to the Statue of Liberty. It's a really cool way to get your bearings in the city, and see lots of different areas without worrying about navigating the subway. (Also, you didn't hear it here, but they rarely seem to check tickets, so I imagine you MIGHT be able to get away with using yours for more than one day.) Highlight: I now know where Stephen Sondheim lives. Check.
