#groundhog day
Deep in the Pennsylvania forest, an unsuspecting Punxsutawney Phil looks for his shadow.
I don’t review often but in a season so packed with really, truly original musicals (I’m counting this, based on a non-musical film amongst their number), how could I not? There be spoilers here.
Groundhog Day starts strong and peters out a bit but Andy Karl is every bit as dazzling as you’ve heard. The opening number is really classic, and right away introduces us to the wonderful cinematic way the show and that turntable will work. In general, the driving score is strong with a modern feel that doesn’t sound like anything else on Broadway at the moment. Minchin chooses unusual moments to musicalise and some seem out of left field but they all fit together in the kooky puzzle of a plot that flies forward in time in leaps and starts and lurches (for obvious reasons) and the whole thing is suitably chaotic. The orchestrations are lush although they are sometimes lost in moments of muddy sound design that left me struggling to make out lyrics whenever there was more than one person singing.
I welcome the return of Tim Minchin with his biting lyrics to Broadway. Not constrained with the label of ‘family show’ this time around, he really lets fly, and the lyrics and an equally nasty, hilarious book by Danny Rubin got me laughing except for a recurring fat joke that got even less funny as the 'days’ wore on.
Andy Karl runs the show more than ably with the energy of a precocious, bratty child and make no doubt, this is a star turn. In the film Bill Murray gives us an obviously odious city slicker, Andy Karl’s winning good looks and ability to switch the charm on and off give us a Phil Connors who is difficult to suss out. Barrett Doss’ Rita is slow to be introduced but she quickly becomes the charming heart of this manic show. Their chemistry together is sweet as pie and the choice to make the ending a quiet moment between them is perfection. Some of the side characters (looking at you, Larry!) don’t get enough to do but I appreciate the difficulty in spreading a plot like this out.
Some of the staging got rounds of applause from the audience but it runs out of steam after the car chase scene, and the choreography never really takes off in a way that would really make use of the repetitive themes of the show.
In a crowded season, Groundhog Day is a solid show that would be leading the pack in many a season but is maybe a bit too good and a bit too safe for this one. I will say this though: the show has a nice diverse cast for a show that is ostensibly about a basic white guy visiting a small Pennsylvania town. Other shows this season especially should take note (listen up, Bandstand!), this is the minimum we’re expecting now.
if i was stuck in a timeloop i probably wouldn’t notice for a WHILE honestly. like i’m just not that observant and i really don’t think it would be that bad.
“but you’d wake up to the same song playing every day until it drives you insane!” i already do that. i’ve been listening to the same playlist every day for over 6 months now and i haven’t even started to get sick of it.
“but you’d be experiencing the exact same day over and over again in the exact same order!” i love routine and i have anxiety. being able to predict every moment of my day as it happens would be ideal.
“surely you’d notice the date being the same every single loop though?” you overestimate how much i pay attention to my surroundings. if you asked me the date and time right now i couldn’t even tell you which month it is. i barely remember which year we’re in, man.
DID YOU KNOW:
Before groundhogs day was Imbolc. And in this old, Celtic-Pagan, tradition there was no groundhog to tell you when spring would arrive.
Instead…they claimed if the weather was poor (dark, cloudy, snowy, rainy) then spring would arrive soon. However, if the weather was nice (warm, sunny, beautiful) you were stuck with the winter.
….I don’t know about you, but I like Celtic Groundhogless Day better…
Happy Imbolc!
Miner’s daughter with pet groundhog, 9/13/1946. Harlan County, KY. NARA ID 541297.
Happy #Groundhog Day?
By Miriam Kleiman, who’s not excited about6+ weeks of winter.
Given the pandemic, everydayfeels like “Groundhog Day.” Challenge for NARA trivia fans: what’s the connection between the National Archives and Groundhog Day star Bill Murray?
NARA & Bill Murray: 1 degree of separation!
Murray stars in George Clooney’s film The Monuments Men,based on the best-selling book by Robert Edsel that includes many of our records about the scholars and historians who donned Army uniforms to serve the Allies by rescuing, identifying, and trying to return precious artworks looted by Adolf Hitler.
Bill Murray and other ‘The Monuments Men’ cast members were invited to a movie screening at the White House and instructed where to stand for the meet-and-greet. But when President Obama walked into the room, Murray stayed put, saying 'they told me to stand here.’“ 2/18/2014. NARA ID 178330597.
President Reagan marks Punxsutawney Phil’s 100th, 3/5/1986. NARA ID 75854643.
Punxsutawney Phil Leads the "Great Resignation”! (circa 1909)
Weary of his prophecy duties, Punxsutawney Phil walks off the job. By cartoonist Clifford Berryman, Washington Evening Star, 2/2/1909. NARA ID 6010782.
See related:
- National Archives Goes UndergroundProloguestory by NARA Historian Jessie Kratz
- George Clooney and the National Archives: One degree of separation,Pieces of History
- Monuments Men Records at the National Archives, Text Message story by Dr. Greg Bradsher and Dr. Sylvia Naylor
- National Archives Remembers “Monuments Man” Harry Ettlinger,Pieces of History
“It was Harold who acted out and gave me the inspiration for the character of Clark Griswold. I was really copying Harold’s impression of Clark. He was a truly funny and highly intelligent man with great honesty and a great appreciation for the best kind of comedy.” –Chevy Chase
“Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my brilliant, gifted, funny friend, co-writer/performer and teacher Harold Ramis. May he now get the answers he was always seeking,” –Dan Aykroyd
“Harold Ramis and I together did the ‘National Lampoon Show’ off Broadway, ‘Meatballs,’ ‘Stripes,’ ‘Caddyshack,’ ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Groundhog Day.’ He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.” –Bill Murray
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Harold Ramis
November 21, 1944 - February 24, 2014
“I always thought he was a very talented writer who always had a very perceptive and intelligent point of view about the material. He managed to get the people to speak in a realistic way but still found something funny in their voices."
–Ivan Reitman on Harold Ramis in 1999
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And Rewind.
Last weekend I won the digital lottery for the new Broadway musical, Groundhog Day, and J and I went. He liked most of what he’d seen of the movie and I wanted him to see Andy Karl onstage since we’d watched him on Law & Order semi-recently. This is a transfer from London and they know how to make a pretty good musical, so my expectations were decent.
The music is catchy and the lyrics are feisty in a way that only Tim Minchin can be and I enjoyed the first 15 minutes. Then the day restarted and I suddenly, “Oh my god, is this the entire musical? How does it ever proceed forward from this one day? What have I gotten myself in to?!”
To be clear: I’ve never seen the movie before and I only knew vaguely what the premise was. This was my fault completely.
BUT. They do a fantastic job of rewinding the day each time and it doesn’t feel monotonous at all. The set worked perfectly (no first preview difficulties luckily) and it really keeps the show moving along. Without those turntables, the show would be 4 hours long. A couple of the songs get dark a darkly comedic way, and a couple of the songs could be completely cut (the first song of the second act, for starters).
Andy Karl plays this role perfectly. We feel his angst at his situation which eventually turns to morbid joy, which turns out to be hilarious. Barrett Doss, his costar, is lovely, too. I think Raymond Lee, as one of the town yokles at the bar, was the only other cast member to really stand out. He’s hilarious.
It was about 2 hours and 45 minutes long, which is long, but it never dragged. Like I said, they do a really good job at keeping the pace pretty consistent. We both walked out of the theatre having really enjoyed ourselves.
It was definitely not a wasted night at the theatre and I wouldn’t have been too sad to have been forced to relive it at least one more time.
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Pup-pared for six more weeks of winter!
i did this quickie in a day but recently performed a few revisions. isn’t bill just wonderful? acrylic on canvas.
02-02-2021 – Punxsutawney
@martasaur I celebrated Groundhog Day by watching Groundhog Day. Just a straight up good, classic movie. It was a really nice night
With our all-natural detergent recipe, there’s no need to do the dishes over and over again.
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I wasn’t expecting anything much from Bill Murray anymore, but yesterday he released a video parodying his own movie Groundhog Day
He titled it “Pandemic Day” and it’s just a shorter version of Groundhog Day with it being about COVID-19 instead.
Like seriously it’s uncannily similar in nearly everything about it, to the point where it just makes me ask “but why, why would you even make this?”
