Review of The Lion King on Broadway

Greetings!

I might be one of the only people on the planet that has not seen The Lion King movie. I have seen The Lion King Jr. musical a bunch of times, as my son acted in it this past summer, so at least I am familiar with some of the material. Well, I finally got the see the full stage musical this past weekend at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, and I walked away very impressed.

The Lion King musical is based on the 1994 film, which is one of the most successful in history with almost a billion dollars in box office sales. The movie featured five songs written by Tim Rice and Elton John, “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” “Be Prepared,” Hakuna Matata,” and “Can you Feel the Love Tonight;” all of these carried over to the stage version. You probably know the story, but if not it is a typical hero’s journey of a young lion, Simba, who takes out on his own after the untimely death of his father, later to return and take his rightful place in the world. Fairly predictable, yet satisfying!

The musical version of The Lion King debuted in 1997, with a bunch more songs and a few twists to the original plot (or so I have been told, never having actually seen the movie). And it has never closed down – that is an 18-year run on Broadway, making it the third longest running show ever, and it has won 70 major theatre awards. There is also a touring version, and all told over 80 million people have seen this show. Wow!

Since 2006, The Lion King has been playing at the 1600-seat Minskoff Theatre at 1515 Broadway in Manhattan. It is a nice theatre with good acoustics and line of sight, though the first few rows are pretty far below stage level, so the folks in the “good” seats will miss parts of the action.

The production was really quite amazing, in every respect.

The cast was wonderful, which is not surprising as the biggest and best singers and dancers flock to New York with dream of being on Broadway, and this show got the cream of the crop. Young Simba (Jahi Diallo Winston) and Young Nala (K’Lynn Jackman) had amazing stage presence and really delivered the goods. Note that these roles are played by two sets of actors so they doe not have to play every show – that would be a lot to ask of a kid. Two of the side characters, Rafiki (Tshidi Manye) and Zazu (Jeffrey Kuhn) actually overshadowed the other leads were their outstanding performances. And lastly, Scar (Patrick R. Brown) was simply amazing. He reminded me a bit of Professor Snape, at times!

But the costumes, masks and puppetry stole the show for me. These elements combined together to provide realistic animal characteristics and movements. Major props go out to Julie Taymor and Michael Curry for their work in making this magic happen.

The sets were also first-rate, with elements re-used creatively, and innovations used to show a flowing river and the famous rescue of Simba by Mufasa. The lighting was perfect, and there were no distractions from the crew.

The sound is the only area where I have any recommendations for improvement. Generally the volume was good, but adult Nala was hard to hear when she was singing. Also, there was a lot of reverb dialed into the mix for the solo singing parts, which is unusual for a musical, and distracting at times. It is a stage show, after all, not a record album and just because you have a tool does not mean you should be using it.

I wholeheartedly recommend seeing the Lion King on Broadway if you are ever in the tri-state area. If you like musical theatre, it really delivers the whole package and this production comes in a close second place to my favorite show ever, Wicked. Trust me!

Mahalo!

Review of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall

Aloha!

I have been to New York City many times, and each time I am there I manage to catch at least one show. Though I have walked by the Radio City Music Hall before, I have never attended a show there nor seen the world famous Rockettes. Well, that changed last weekend as I attended one of the first few shows of this year’s Radio City Christmas Spectacular!

This show has been going on since 1933, and the Radio City Music Hall is an amazing place to see it (there is also a touring version of the show). Located in Rockefeller Plaza, the theatre was built in 1933 and it is huge! It holds around 6,000 guests and has one of the biggest pipe organs ever made.

Well, they put that pipe organ to work, and a few minutes before the 8:00 PM start time, two of the consoles slid out of the wall and the organists played a few holiday tunes to warm the crowd up. After that, there was just one crazy thing after another, and the show truly lived up to its “spectacular” name.

What defines the holidays for you?

If it is Santa Claus, you are going to be thrilled. The jolly stereotype played a big part in the show: he sang some songs, showed a god-awful 3D movie (glasses included), helped some kids find the true meaning of Christmas, made a few tame jokes about the smoking hotness of the Rockettes, and he somehow cloned himself into a mob of dancing fat guys.

If you think the holidays are about the virgin birth of Christ, there is a little something for you too. They put on a full-on processional across the desert with camels and donkeys, and the biggest manger scene ever. I’m sure it was pretty accurate to how things really happened.

How about the Nutcracker? They did an abridged version of that too, albeit with all of the characters being represented by giant teddy bears.

If it is Christmas music you like, they did not skimp on that either. There was a full orchestra, and groups of singers throughout. All of these nutty segments were accompanied by the Rockettes, who really do put on quite a show. Supposedly there have 1300 costumes backstage that these 36 amazingly non-diverse dancers go through each evening, and I believe it. That represents a lot of stitching and dry cleaning….

The music and dancing were perfect, and there was even an ice rink with a couple of skaters (not to mention giant snowflake orbs that floated around in the cavernous hall). The singing was amazingly perfect, which kind of makes me wonder if it was all pre-recorded. Hmm.

Anyway, after 90 minutes of this (right around the time I was praying for an intermission), the show was over. It was definitely cool to see once, though I would be hard-pressed to go again as I cannot imagine that it really changes that much each year. If you have not seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at least once, I recommend that you give it a shot. They will be playing dozens of shows through the end of the year, with the last one on January 3. Trust me!

Mahalo!

Review of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City

Hello!

If you love musical theatre, you have to see at least one show on Broadway before you die. No matter how good the local theatre company shows are that you have seen, nothing compares to how tight of a performance you will see in New York City. This is the place that actors, dancers and musicians aspire to perform, and when the roles are filled only the best are selected. Also, after a show had played for a few months (or years), there are no silly mistakes and the sound is completely dialed in. It makes for a complete audio and visual experience.

Whenever I travel to the Tri-State area, I always make a point to get into the city to see a show, and a few days ago I got to check out the legendary Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre on 51st Street in the Paramount Plaza building. This 1933-seat house is the biggest theatre on Broadway, and it is one of the newer ones, having opened in 1972. This means the seats are not as tiny, and it turned out to be a great place to see the show. The acoustics and lines of sight are excellent, which is to be expected if you are throwing down cash for one of the best shows in town.

Wicked (the Untold Story of the Witches of Oz) is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name. Grammy and Academy Award-winning lyricist and composer Stephen Schwartz found the book, and negotiated to have it made into a musical, as Universal owned the rights, and had planned to turn it into a film. Schwartz wrote the lyrics and music, and Emmy-Award winner Winnie Holzman wrote the book.

The original cast had Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the leads, and after tuning things up in San Francisco, the show opened at the Gershwin in 2003 and has been running ever since. That means over 4600 performances and close to $900 million at the box office. They planned to make the film version after the musical lost momentum, but they might need to rethink that. This show is a juggernaut!

The musical provides a different perspective of the more familiar Oz story, as this one comes from the point of view of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda the Good. It begins before Dorothy’s arrival, and continues on though bucket of water incident. There is a little bit of everything: a love story, sibling rivalry, the corruption of power, and a fall from grace. What more could you ask for?

I could not ask for anything more than I got that evening – the Broadway production of Wicked was the best stage show I have ever seen.

For starters, perfect actors were chosen for the leads. They did not have to rely on the age-old trick of getting a famous TV or movie actor to draw the crowds in, so they staffed the production with top-tier actors and dancers that can actually sing (sorry, Zach Braff). Caroline Bowman and Kara Lindsay earned the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, Kelli Barrett played Nessarose, Kathy Fitzgerald was Madame Morrible, Tom McGowan played the Wizard, and Matt Shingledecker took on the role of Fiyero.

The 22-member chorus kept busy with costume changes, playing the flying monkeys, students, palace guards and the good-natured citizen of Oz. Their dance routines were spot-on, and nothing they did detracted from the overall show, helped in part by the flawless and innovative choreography of James Lynn Abbott.

Costumes for the cast were designed by Susan Hilferty, and they capered about amongst gorgeous natural and steampunk industrial sets by Eugene Lee. The elements on the stage were innovative in the way they were introduced to the scenes and also in the way the cast interacted with them. There were also some pretty cool animated objects, but I will not ruin the surprises for you in case you have not seen the show. The visuals were rounded out by some neat projections by Elaine J. McCarthy and lighting that was designed by Kenneth Posner.

Aurally, Tony Meola’s sound was perfect, as the actors voices sounded natural and were at the right volume, and the 23-member orchestra under the direction of by Bryan Perri, was mixed with the vocals so that there were no distractions and everything was balanced.

That word sums this show up: “balanced.” Nothing stood out or detracted from the story. Everything element and feature was high-quality, but I did not walk away saying “Wow, the sound was good!” or “Boy, the costumes were neat!” I left the theatre thinking about what a wonderful experience I had, and not realizing that 2 hours and 45 minutes had passed (with the 15 minute intermission).

For once I have nothing to complain about, and have only praise for a show, which never happens.

It is worth the time and effort to check out Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre if you ever make it to New York City. I know touring versions are available from time-to-time (it is actually playing in Los Angeles right now), but seeing this show will make for a magical evening. I promise!

Mahalo!

Review: Bullets over Broadway, the Musical at the St. James Theatre in New York City

Hello!

If you love musical theatre, you owe it to yourself to see at least one show on Broadway in your lifetime. No matter how good the shows are that you have seen, nothing compares to how tight of a performance you will see in New York City. This is the place that actors, dancers and musicians aspire to perform, and when roles are filled only the best are selected. Also, after a show had played for a few months, there are no silly mistakes and the sound is completely dialed in. It makes for a complete audio and visual experience.

Whenever I travel to the Tri-State area, I always make a point to get into the city to see a show, and last month I got to check out Woody Allen’s Bullets over Broadway, the Musical at the St. James Theatre on 44th Street next to Sardi’s. This 1700-seat house opened in 1927, and it is an interesting place to see a show. The seats are tiny, and legroom is tight, and if you are in the balcony there are oodles of steps to walk up, and no elevator in sight. Luckily our show was not sold out, so we could spread out a little in the balcony. It is a cool theatre, though, with great acoustics and pretty good lines of sight, not to mention $18 cocktails.

Bullets over Broadway is based on Woody Allan’s 1994 film of the same name. The film had an all-star cast and was well-received, with seven Academy Award nominations (and Dianne Wiest winning for Best Supporting Actress), and positive critical reviews. I don’t think it did so hot at the box office, but that was not enough to keep Allan from seeing how well Mel Brooks did with The Producers, and taking a shot at making it a Broadway musical.

The show opened at the St. James in April of this year, and the plot follows fairly closely to that of the movie. The show is set in the late 1920s in New York City, and it is the story of a playwriter (David) who gets his show financed by agreeing to hire a gangster’s girlfriend (Olive) to be one of the leads, even though she cannot act. The show is terrible, but the woman’s bodyguard (Cheech) makes suggestions to improve the play and ends up rewriting the whole thing. This story has everything: dancing girls, adultery, violence, betrayal, substance abuse and eating disorders. What more could you ask for?

Woody wrote the movie and adapted it for the stage musical, and the production is directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and produced by Julian Schlossberg and Letty Aronson. They took the easy route on the score, and used popular songs from the 1920s and 1930s. Musical Supervisor Glen Kelly adapted these songs and added some lyrics here and there. Meh.

Almost everything is there for Bullets over Broadway, the Musical to be a hit. The Santo Loquasto sets are first rate, with a great rotation of elements that come up through the floor. William Ivey Lon’s costumes are gorgeous, and the lighting and sound are spot on. The audience can see and hear everything perfectly, unless they cannot see around the person in front of them, of course. They even had a dog and a Model A Ford that cruised around the stage!

There is a huge cast working on this show, including a 19-piece orchestra under the direction of Andy Einhorn, a 16 member ensemble, a 7 member chorus line and 22 credited cast members. God know how many crewmembers are behind the scenes.

They did not skimp on the cast, and they got Zach Braff to take the lead part of David Dhyne, and Vincent Pastore to play the gangster, Nick Valenti, and Nick Cordero to play Cheech. This is Braff’s Broadway debut and he did very well, with good acting skills and passable dancing and singing. Pastore’s acting was wooden and singing was terrible, but he was supposed to be a gangster, so he gets a pass. But Cordero’s portrayal of Cheech stole the show – he has stage presence galore and is on his way to bigger and better things. The female roles were more secondary, which is not surprising in a Woody Allan production, but all performed their parts flawlessly.

It was disappointing that they could not be bothered to write original music for a Broadway show, but that is the only criticism that I have. It is much faster-paced and more exciting than the movie, and I think the story translated well to the stage. It certainly is funny and entertaining, which is a nice outcome from an evening at the theatre!

I think it is worth your time to check it out Woody Allan’s Bullets over Broadway, The Musical if you are in the New York City area in the next month. It is supposed to close on August 24, and who knows what the future plans are for the show. It might be too big to take on tour....

Mahalo!

Review of Rock of Ages at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City

Hello!

There more than enough shows on Broadway at any given point in time, and most of them are not first run shows. These other shows are there to provide tourists with something to see every night of the week, and some of them are pretty awful. Fortunately, Rock of Ages does not fall into this category.

If you have seen the 2012 Tom Cruise movie version of this show, then you already know what it is all about. It is the story of Sherrie, a wanna-be actress who hits Hollywood’s Sunset Strip straight off the bus from Kansas, who meets Drew and gets dragged into the seedy underbelly of the 1980s Hollywood music scene. Drew is a flunky at The Bourbon Room, a fictional rock club that is having its own share of troubles with the city. All of this comes to a head when the clubs management gets the idea of trying to save the club by having Stacee Jaxx and his uber band, Arsenal, perform their farewell show at the club. There are plenty of clichés and a wafer thin plot that results in Drew getting his big shot at stardom by having his band open for Arsenal. Hilarity ensues.

Ok. Rock of Ages is not nearly as bad as the preceding paragraph makes it seem. This show is saved by the endless soundtrack of 1980s rock and the solid performances that are turned in by the performers. Of course, it will only make sense if you lived through and enjoyed the rock scene back then. If not, you better find another show to see.

Rock of Ages originally opened in Hollywood back in 2005, with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, and score by your favorite hair bands of the 80’s, including Journey, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Poison, Bon Jovi, Styx and many more. A jukebox musical, if you will. After various productions popped up around the US, it finally opened on Broadway in 2009 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, and then the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2011, where you can find it today.

The Helen Hayes Theatre is the smallest theatre on Broadway, with a tad under 600 seats. It opened in 1912, at the Little Theatre, and was named after Ms. Hayes after her namesake theatre was demolished in 1983 to build the Marriott. Rock of Ages is the most financially successful production ever to play there. Rumor has it that the theatre is up for sale -- real estate is expensive in Midtown Manhattan, you know.

The show features a live band on stage most of the time, and it is a corker. Henry Aronson is the musical director and mans the keyboards. Night Ranger and Trans Siberian guitarist Joel Hoekstra is also on hand, so he ought to know how to play “Sister Christian.” Blondie’s guitarist, Tommy Kessler is also on hand, and the rest of the group includes Winston Roye on bass and Jon Weber in the drum cage. This band kicks ass, and playing in it would be my dream gig. I’ll wait by the phone in case somebody gets sick…

The cast is also very good, though with two dozen songs there is very little acting to be done.

Kate Rockwell takes the role of Sherrie, and she is gorgeous with the voice of an angel. Her wig for when she was playing the good girl was totally not in the 1980s style, but when she took on the stripper role, they did a much better job with her hair (I notice these things). Her soul mate, Drew, was played by Justin Matthew Sargent (yes, that is the way you spell it), and he did a passable job. His voice is strong, but was quite shrieky and it grated on my nerves by the end of the show. He made me wish Stacee Jaxx had gotten the girl in the end, to be honest.

My favorite performances were Joey Calveri’s portrayal of Stacee Jaxx, Adam Dannheisser as Dennis (the owner of the Bourbon Room), and Genson Blimline as Dennis’ assistant, Lonny. Glimline stole the show, and he was a real treat to see! The rest of the cast was certainly talented, and with the number of shows they perform, they certainly have had the opportunity to hone their roles.

The sets, sound and lighting were up to snuff for a Broadway production, and I the costumes were right in line with what I would expect for a 1980s hard rock-insipred musical. The day-glow lingerie was to die for.

There were a few downers for the show. The audience was mostly really old tourists, and they did not get into it at all. The freebie Coors Light LED cigarette lighters went unused by them, as ½ the people in my row were asleep, and the rest of them did not come back after the intermission. Also, 2 ½ hours is too long to sit in this cramped theatre, especially after downing a few 8-dollar beers and waiting in line for the tiny restrooms. I will try to find another place in The City to catch a show next time.

Anyway, if you can put these things aside (and if you are familiar with the music), you can have a really good time at Rock of Ages. It is playing at the Helen Hayes Theatre, which is located at 240 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

By the way, I see that the show is also playing at the Venetian in Las Vegas. This might be the hot ticket, and I will have to check it out the next time I am in town. Watch for my review later this year.

Mahalo!

Broadway L.A. 2012-2013 Season at the Pantages Theatre

Hello!

I was tickled pink when our Broadway L.A. 2012-2013 season ticket package showed up a few weeks ago, and thought maybe I should share what is going to be included in the upcoming season at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

The Pantages is located at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood California, and it has been a Southern California treasure since it opened in 1930. It started as a vaudeville theatre, but it has hosted all manner of shows, operated as a movie theatre, and was even the home of the Academy Award Ceremonies for 10 years. Rumor has it that when Howard Hughes owned the theatre he had his offices on the second floor. Creepy. Anyway, the theatre had a $10 million renovation in 2000, and it is still in marvelous condition.

The Pantages is home to the Broadway L.A. 2012-2013 season, and there are quite a few treats to be had. I am sure they will all be winners, as I had a blast at each of the shows I attended last year. The music, sets and acting were fabulous in each of them. This seasons’ line-up includes:

Book of Mormon, September 5 to November 25

Donny and Marie Christmas in Los Angeles, December 4 to December 23

Peter Pan, January 15 to January 27

Rain – A tribute to the Beatles, January 29 to February 3

Jekyll & Hyde the Musical, February 12 to March 3

Catch Me if You Can, March 12 to March 24

Beauty and the Beast, March 26 to April 7

West Side Story, April 9 to April 14

Priscilla the Musical Sensation, May 28 to June 16

Sister Act, July 9 to July 28

If you do not want to buy the whole season, There are five and seven show packages available, where you get Jekyll & Hyde, Priscilla and Sister Act, and you can fill in the rest of your package with your own choice of shows. It looks like Book of Mormon is no longer part of a package, but it can be added on separately. It really is the crown jewel of the season, so you have to get it.

If you want more tickets information, including show times and prices, check out their web site at http://www.broadwayla.org/season-packages/

And, of course, I will be writing reviews for each of the shows that I will be attending, so stay tuned to Rex and the Bass.

Mahalo!