The Bridges of Madison County

Well, I'm an investor so I can't really review the show objectively.  But my decision to invest was made based mainly on the brilliant casting (Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale) and direction (Bartlett Sher) potential on top of a lush and lovely score by the indomitable Jason Robert Brown.  Instead,  I'll share with you what other people have said.

NEW YORK TIMES

Review

NY1

Review

NEW YORK POST

Review

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Review

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Review

TIME OUT NEW YORK

Review

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Review

WASHINGTON POST

Review

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Review

NORTHJERSEY.COM

Review

NEWSDAY

Review

Memphis

Mary Poppins

It's a good idea to go see what a whole lotta cash can buy! Let me start off first by saying that I don't like the idea of Disney on Broadway. It's commercial and popular. Just look at the lines outside the New Amsterdam Theater - mostly tourists who are more than willing to drop $110 a ticket (discount, what's that?) for the chance to see "the show" of the season. And let's not forget that they all buy their 3 year old kids a soda in a souviner cup and a bag of chips for $20 - both of which are shockingly allowed in the theater during the performance! I spent the first 30 minutes thinking something was wrong with the sound system. No, it was just all those moron parents letting their stupid kids eat the potato chips (crinkle, crinkle crinkle x 500) during the performance!

Well, back to my original thought - It's a good idea to see what a whole lotta cash can buy. Disney has it and this show flaunts it. The sets (and there are more than I've seen in a long time) are opulent. The fly space (the space above and around the visible stage) in the New Amsterdam seems to be one of the best in the industry - allowing for huge backdrops and sets to come and go effortlessly. There's a doll house cut-away and an upstairs bedroom that alternatively raise and lower along with a rooftop and a park. The actors float around the stage, climb the proscenium, walk upside down and fly out into the audience - all effortlessly and magically.

What else can money buy? Costumes (an endless colorful supply of them); Lights (all sorts of colors and sizes); Special effects (rain, flying birds, stars); and let's not forget the magical effect of Mary and Bert flying all over the place - floating like birds and sliding up the staircase.

Disney money can buy a lot of things that many productions can't afford, but I have to admit, I was transported to #17 Cherry Tree Lane. It does work. But let's not forget - a large cast, a terrific score and the dark interpretation of the P.L Travers stories are also part of the formula of success. Ashley Brown and Gaven Lee certainly do dazzle and delight. They, along with the rest of the cast, really do seem like they are having fun from curtain to curtain. I'd believe it if they told me they all worked for free (OK, well sort of).

So, while I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and revel fondly in the memories while perusing my Showbill (what's that all about?) back at home, it does worry me that all those people who saw it (and loved it too, I'm sure) will just expect the next show they see to be bigger and better. How disappointed they will be when they go see Spring Awakening or Grey Gardens and find out there's only one set per act and people don't fly.

What is all that money buying us in the long run?