#theatre criticism

Maybe this season’s most overlooked show. Which is odd because it’s been two decades in the making.

Anastasia is not a perfect show. It’s not political enough (especially for this particular historical moment) and the stakes are a bit low and the direction is just serviceable but I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of my favourite new scores of the season with five fabulous performances at its centre.

I am an Ahrens and Flaherty fangirl, but I think it’s fair to say their mostly new score keeps pace with the classic ‘Journey to the Past’ and ‘Once Upon A December’ and they have chosen exactly the right moments to musicalise. 'Journey to the Past’ becomes the Act One closer which is the right place for it to not overshadow the rest of the show, and Christy Altomare nails it to the back wall of the intimate Broadhurst. Every solo she gets is a revelation; she plays an Anya who may be suffering from PTSD, quick to lash out, quick to panic, but always tender, always headstrong, a princess before even she realises it. The show wisely ages Anya up to a more sensible, world-weary, mid-twenties and the show benefits from a less naive Anya than the film.

Derek Klena is perfect prince material as Dmitry, his 'My Petersburg’ is driving and 'Everything to Win’ is such a wonderful choice, to focus on Dmitry’s mental state as the scene that the whole plot hinges on occurs offstage. John Bolton and Caroline O'Connor sparkle as the secondary couple and they wring every ounce of available comedy out of their fairly standard numbers. Bolton is especially tender is his relationship with Altomare’s Anya. The trio numbers, 'Learn to Do It’ and 'We’ll Go From There’ are some of the show’s most intoxicating moments. Mary Beth Peil is a beautifully dignified Dowager Empress until she isn’t, and the transformation is heartbreaking.

Now the missing link. The show’s new villain (mercifully replacing the film’s out of left field Rasputin) Gleb, played by a tortured Ramin Karimloo, has improved slightly since the Hartford run but not enough to bring up the overall quality of the show. Throughout, the stakes are too low, does anyone really ever think he’s going to kill Anya? The show suffers mightily from its unwillingness to confront Gleb’s politics in juxtaposition to that of the Dowager Empress’; a street urchin like Anya would almost certainly be slightly better off under a socialist system than the old imperial system and yet she never questions why someone like the Dowager should have so much while she has so little. The communists in the play are McCarthy-era cartoons, not fleshed out people who think their system is flawed but better. If we saw a Gleb who tried to win over Anya on that account and perhaps their having a more fleshed out flirtation, I think that could fix the show’s central problems.

The other main issue is the only serviceable direction and the sometimes ugly sets. There’s nothing innovative here, and with the Russian Great Comet dominating this season, it’s easy to see how lush without being naturalistic works wonderfully but this just ends up looking cheap. Maybe there is a classy way to do projections, I just don’t really think this is it. The staging does suffer from the static set. On the other hand, the costumes are worth the price of admission.

It must be noted that I’m always happy to see female-led musicals but the casting of this could have used some more diversity. It’s not as white as Bandstand, but that’s a very low bar. All in all, it’s worth seeing for a killer new Broadway score and some killer, unrewarded performances. I’m sure it’ll have a long life on Broadway, touring, and eventually in communities that I feel will be able to innovate on this almost-gem of a show.

In brief: this is this year’s Bright Star, the score we’ll still be listening to in six months, wondering what happened to it. I hope we also get an epic reunion concert, because this is going to be my cast recording of choice for a while. There’s not much to be said about this lovely little show because it is closing tomorrow, and I think that’s a shame, because this tight ensemble is really going for it and the show feels like nothing else that’s on at the moment. 

Phillipa Soo and Adam Chanler-Berat are vulnerable and believable as the oddballs at the center of the show and the moment they finally get together is worthy of the collective sigh it gets. The only moment that struck a sour chord for me was the way Amelie’s mother passed away.

I completed the Encores trifecta of Big River, The New Yorkers, and The Golden Apple last night and it was worth it. All three were imperfect, but deserve cast recordings.

It’s easy to see why The Golden Apple is a cult classic. You can see how it would sing in the right hands. These are maybe not the right hands.

Penelope gets the score’s best songs and they are admirably sung by Audra McDonald-sound alike Mikaela Bennett, making a splashy professional debut (last bow at the City Center while still a Juilliard undergrad is nothing to sneeze at). Ryan Silverman is serviceable as her husband, Ulysses, and their duets together soar. Ashley Brown, Alli Mauzey, and Carrie Compere run things ably as the town busybodies and then ‘monsters’ in Ulysses’ big city Odyssey in act two. Lindsay Mendez’s 'Lazy Afternoon’ is scintillating with lithe Barton Cowperhwaite as Paris, but I’m not sure she’s as brassy as the part requires.

Maybe the problem is Michael Berresse’s direction, because the show never quite gets a handle on the very episodic nature of the piece and never goes for full on camp when the show requires it; the even more silly The New Yorkers never felt this piecemeal. But it doesn’t stop it being fun. John Latouche’s lyrics are on a par with Cole Porter’s for cleverness, and Jerome Moross’ music is lusher than a Rodgers show. The Encores orchestra is in fabulous form, as always. Choreography by Joshua Bergasse is quality fifties ballet pastiche.

No matter its faults, when a once every twenty-five years show comes along, you’ve gotta see it. I came away thinking what a perfect show this would make for high schools, so many parts for talented woman. Educators should take a look at it.

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.