Promises, Promises

A long time in coming, the first Broadway revival of a 1960's classic.  A Neil Simon book, Burt Bacharah music and Hal David lyrics - how could you go wrong putting this one on?  Well, let me tell you - mis-cast the leads and don't update the book.

It's not like Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth are not capable, they certainly are.  It's not like Rob Ashford is not a talented director, he most certainly is.  The problem is that we've picked "stars" to lead the show instead of the right talent.  Mr. Hayes is a comedic genius - not necessarily a singer - (although i must admit he's got a pretty decent set of pipes).  Kristin Chenoweth could possibly be one of the brightest stars on Broadway, but the role of Fran Kublick - questionable.

The dancers, the sets and lighting are all fantastic.  And if there's one person who steals this show out from under everyone - it's Katie Finneran.  With no more than 20 minutes on stage the entire time, she walks off to a virtual standing ovation right in the middle of the show.  Go figure.

Because this show is such a good romp and a light hearted love story - it's certainly worth seeing and the cast is certainly talented even if mis-cast.  I suspect despite the mixed and luke warm reviews, this one will last a short while.

Mauritius

The 2007-2008 Season at the Manhattan Theater Club opened with a scam! Well, the show was about a scam anyway - a philatelist (stamp collector), a suspicious deal maker, a desperate woman, and two rare stamps from Mauritius.

The cast was led by last season's darling from Blackbird - Allison Pill. Also on stage was Katie Finneran (Noises Off and Pig Farm), Bobby Cannavale (Will's Boyfriend on Will and Grace), and Dylan Baker (I know him as one of the Law and Order "High priced attorneys - Sanford Rems).

My subscription is a preview subscription - so let's just assume the show will get tighter, sharper, and more comfortable with a little time. The actors all seem fully capable and the writing appears to be high quality. The comedy at times seemed a bit forced, but again, that will most likely mellow out with a few more weeks of performance.

The story, however, leaves me with a few questions that were never answered. There were a few "guns introduced in act one that were never used in act two". The biggest one was the mysterious story about why the family broke up. Abuse? Rape? Murder? Something else? We hear about it in act one, but never really find out the details - - and specifically - the plastic bag? Is there a spin off of Law and Order in the works or what?

I frequently found myself asking "why don't you just go somewhere else to sell the stamps?" For the length of the show - I would expect a deeper plot with a bit more character development. Although, that was partially offset by the quality of the acting and the general twists of the story.

A little mystery, some intrigue, and a murky past to all the characters hold your interest - And it will get you looking at the stamp on your next letter!

Pig Farm

If you like Saturday Night Live, you will love this show. It's basically the extended version of SNL. I personally don't like this type of show (at least not on stage), but I must say that the cast did a superb job at the crazy antics and slapstick humor! Dennis O'Hare stole more than a handful of scenes. Logan Marshall-Green was simply adorable as the boy from Juvie Hall.

Just a little taste of the humor - all the characters were all named with the letter "T" - Tim, Tom, Tina, and Teddy. It started with that and never looked back... If it's your thing - enjoy!

Noises Off