Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – How are they holding up?: A review of Broadway’s long-running hit musicals (Part 3/3)

• By drediman
• October 20, 2017
• No Comments

In conclusion, here’s Part 3 of my assessment of Broadway’s long-running musical hits …

SCHOOL OF ROCK

Eric Peterson in “School of Rock” at the Winter Garden Theatre.

Revisited June 5

Of the 12 long-running musicals in this review, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is the only composer to have more than one show on the list (arguably, last season’s revival of Cats should also be on the list). After The Phantom of the Opera, Mr. Lloyd Webber also has the shamelessly enjoyable School of Rock, after the film starring Jack Black (as the fraudulent substitute teacher Dewey), playing the boards of the Winter Garden Theatre. When the admittedly cartoonish, two-dimensional show first opened, it starred the irrepressible Alex Brightman, who gave a megawatt performance in the role of Dewey that could have lit up the lights of Broadway all on its own. When I revisited the show early on this summer, the role was played by Eric Peterson, who admirably brought almost as much energy and charisma to Dewey as his predecessor. Additionally, the much-missed Jenn Gambatese now stars in the female lead role of Principal Rosalie Mullins, an improvement over the somewhat miscast Sierra Boggess. Oh, and those kids, nearly all of them recast, are as talented and irresistible as ever. Note that the role of Dewey is currently being shared by Justin Collette and alternate Conner John Gillooly.

SWEENEY TODD

Hugh Panaro and Carolee Carmello in “Sweeney Todd” at the Barrow Street Theater.

Revisited July 6 and September 16

It makes me so happy that a Stephen Sondheim musical has made it to this list of current long-running musicals, even if it is playing Off-Broadway. Indeed, since last spring, Bill Buckhurst’s intimate and immersive production of Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd has been packing them in at Greenwich Village’s Barrow Street Theatre. It’s smashing production, certainly one of the most atmospheric and altogether successful of the Sweeney Todd‘s I’ve seen over the years – and trust me, I’ve seen many of them. Environmentally set in a pie shop, the production impressively manages to be both stylish and innovative without sacrificing the plot’s vivid sense of time and place. When the show opened, Jeremy Secomb and Siobhán McCarthy played Sweeney and Mrs. Lovette, respectively (both holdovers from London, where the staging originated). They were excellent, with Mr. Secomb easily taking the award for the scariest demon barber I had ever encountered. Since then, I have seen Broadway veterans – and both former Broadway Phantoms – Norm Lewis and Hugh Panaro take on the title role (the latter currently plays Sweeney). Although neither were quite able to capture the menacing, terrifying quality of Mr. Secomb’s performance, both brought their own strengths. Norm brought out the role’s humanity, while Hugh highlighted Sweeney’s instability. Mrs. Lovett is now being played by Carolee Carmello, who plays role with so many subtle layers and a keen attention to detail, while making it all look like effortless, gleeful fun (oh, and she sings like a dream, which we all know). Indeed, Ms. Carolee’s is easily one of the most accomplished musical theater performances you’ll find in New York today.

WAITRESS

Betsy Wolfe in “Waitress” at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Revisited October 17

Waitress opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre two seasons ago, and I had dismissed it as an imperfect vehicle for the great Jesse Mueller. In hindsight, my initial impression of the musical, adapted from the 2007 film of the same name, was misjudged – I found the Sara Bareilles’s pop-rock score underwhelmingly pedestrian and the book trite. I also found Diane Paulus to have over-directed the show. Well, I had the opportunity to revisit the show just this week and left the theater unexpectedly impressed and moved by the material. What happened between then and now? Well, upon closer examination, Ms. Bareilles’s score is full of surprises and gorgeous flights of fancy. As a composer of theater music, I greatly admire her bravery to let the songs go where they just need to go dramatically, both musically and lyrically. I also now get what Ms. Paulus was going for with her dreamy, fluid direction – the theatrical equivalent of a sugar high. In lieu of Ms. Mueller, the New York production is currently led by Betsy Wolfe. It’s an altogether different interpretation. While less moving, Ms. Wolfe is spunkier and less vulnerable than Ms. Mueller was, and frankly, a bit more realistic in the role as a result. And she’s just as endearing.

WICKED

Jackie Burns in “Wicked” at the Gershwin Theatre.

Revisited August 11

Despite not winning the Tony Award for Best Musical, the behemoth that is Wicked took New York – and soon thereafter, the world – by storm when it opened at the cavernous Gershwin Theatre back in 2003, winning Idina Menzel a coveted Tony Award and cementing Kristin Chenoweth’s status as Broadway royalty. The musical, a faithful, albeit overstuffed, stage adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, is a full course meal; it crams in, not always successfully, an extremely eventful plot over the course of its meaty two-and-a-half-hours. Book issues aside, Stephen Schwartz’s anthemic and instantly recognizable score is significant in its own right, influencing a whole generation of musical theater writers and performers. No doubt, without Wicked there would be no Frozen. Since Ms. Menzel’s departure, quite a number of actresses have painted themselves green and donned the pointed hat and cape, some more effectively than others. Among them, Jackie Burns, now back at the Gershwin as Elphaba, ranks close to the top of the class. I don’t think I’ve seen a more thrillingly acted and sung Wicked Witch of the West (most actresses who have taken on the role tended to excel in one more than the other) since the show’s early days. Ms. Burns alone is reason enough to revisit this long-running hit. Her co-star, Amanda Jane Cooper, as with many of the past Glinda’s, does well to basically reproduce Ms. Chenoweth’s iconic original performance.