I'm baaack! While the NYC trip itself was excellent, the trip home was hell. It ordinarily takes us about 6 hours in regular traffic...but we left Queens at 11:15 AM this morning and only got home a half hour ago. We were on the road for about NINE hours. If I hadn't brought a book and A LOT of CDs, I think I would have gone crazy.
I LOVED both shows. Let's start with Wonderful Town. I haven't seen Wicked yet, but I can say without blinking that Donna Murphy has a damn good shot at the Best Actress Tony. She was sooo funny, and was the perfect Ruth Sherwood...acerbic and sassy yet tender. I think she's one of the most versatile actresses working in musical theatre today. I also loved Jennifer Westfeldt's Eileen, and was very pleasantly surprised at her gorgeous lyric soprano. Gregg Edelman was his wonderful leading man self as Bob Baker, although I have to confess that I DID imagine the WSMA in the role a few times throughout the evening. The supporting cast, including Nancy Anderson and Stanley Wayne Mathis, was great too.
I didn't really care too much that the set was really basic...who needs a lot of visual overkill when you have one of the most sophisticated and delightful scores ever? The choreography was great...."Conga," "My Darlin' Eileen," and "Wrong Note Rag" just about stopped the show. I sooo hope this show runs...it did have a pretty full house and got a standing O! Standing O's are too easily given these days, but the show really deserved it. And as I write this, I'm wearing my new Wonderful Town t-shirt!
Hmmm....on to Nine. I thought it was great, but I wasn't able to completely lose myself in it. It isn't the fault of the show of course, and the score is one of my very favorites. But in its current state, Nine does NOT have a strong Guido at all, and this is like a vacuum in the middle of a beautiful garden, as clumsy a metaphor as that is.
I want to give John Stamos credit for trying, but I'm sorry...he just sucked. I know within a minute of "Guido's Song" that this was NOT going to be a good performance, and it turns out I was right. His voice is decent, and of course he's gorgeous, but that just isn't enough. He doesn't have the charm or charisma of Guido Contini, and certainly not the inner torment. His acting was inconsistent, even though he was okay during "Only With You." Young Guido was adorable and completely upstaged him...and I think Stamos is smart enough to have realized it. After the curtain calls, when Rebecca Luker began to ask the audience for money for BC/EFA, he joked about how he had told himself he would never work with children again!
The women were all amazing of course. Mary Stuart Masterson not only has a beautiful voice but just acted every moment of every song, and was just the emotional center of the show. Eartha Kitt as Liliane La Fleur owned the stage, and it was truly a pleasure to see such a legend perform who is still in her prime, I think. Sara Gettelfinger is like Raquel Welch with talent....her voice is sooo good, and she was just terrifically sexy...I don't know HOW she got that high note so perfect at the end of "Vatican" where she rises back into the flies. And our very own Rebecca Luker just shone as Claudia....I always knew she had a gorgeous voice, but I didn't realize before that she was such strong actress. Unusual Way was heart-wrenching.
I actually liked the simplicity of the set...the table and the staircase worked for me, as did the spa in the second act with the amazing Botticelli backdrop. Nine was great, but it would have been incredible with a better Guido. Kevin Kline, anyone?
Jay--there was a biopic of Alma Mahler that came out a year or two ago called Bride of the Wind...Sarah Wynter played her, and Jonathan Price was Mahler. I find her a fascinating woman too, as both artist and muse.
Emily--Don't know of any good hotels in Manhattan (we stayed at the Adria in Bayside, Queens) but when you (and Andrea--keep working on her) DO come in, we must get together. That is, if you're not in Central Park with Craig!
Love all the sheet music!!
