With an introduction like that - what's left but just the entire ensemble. I have been saying since intermission of the show that this is perhaps the hardest working, singing, dancing, and entertaining ensemble that is currently running on Broadway. It's seriously THAT good.
On the Twentieth Century is actually a musical by Comden & Green with music by Cy Coleman which is an adaptation of a play, Twentieth Century by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur based on the unproduced play Napoleon of Broadway by Charles B. Millholland, inspired by his experience working for the eccentric Broadway impresario David Belasco. Well that's a mouthful!
It's a good old-fashioned Broadway musical. That alone doesn't guarantee success. This production, however, goes every extra mile to ensure the delivery is crisp, bold, smart, and rhythmic. From the invisible orchestra to the tap dancing Porters (Rick Faugno, Richard Riaz Yoder, Drew King, and Phillip Attmore), to the show-within-a-show type story, this show has razzle, dazzle, sequins, slapstick comedy, Mary Louise Wilson (Letitia Peabody Primrose) and the audaciously sexy Andy Karl (Bruce Granit).
I never doubted for a moment that Roundabout's sets (David Rockwell) and lighting (David Holder) would be magnificent. They were. Costumes were simply lavish perfection (William Ivy Long).
From the moment the perfectly costumed and supremely gorgeous porters tap danced onto the stage until the very end when, all in white, the cast returns to the stage not a minute was ill-spent. Every single minute was filled with a laugh, a song, or a dance. Every single minute.
Get your ticket to board On the Twentieth Century today. It leaves from Chicago to New York 8 shows each week.
