Thursday, October 14
8:00pm performance
Talk about pushing buttons. The minstrel show concept of Kander & Ebb’s newest and last (RIP Fred Ebb) Broadway musical is political, offensive and unapologetic. What up, Broadway? Two political-satirical musicals in the same season (see BBAJ)? Am I in some alternate universe where Broadway’s Disneyfication never happened? Thank God we finally get entertainment that actually has a viewpoint and ain’t afraid to throw it in your face. Booyah!
Yes, the finale in blackface left the audience wide-eyed and gaping-mouthed (I bet the cast enjoys staring out at that sea of shocked, frozen, mainly white faces every night). This may well be Susan Stroman’s best work since Contact. I usually find her shows over-choreographed and low in character development. Here, she actually allows the actors to stand and just sing, letting the material speak for itself. Of course, she does throw in her signature “prop” dance, this time a chilling and scary electric chair tap dance. Girlfriend definitely has a freaky side.The score is of the traditional ilk, and there are a couple of gorgeous ballads likely to become musical theatre standards. Sadly, this means we’ll probably end up hearing them ad nauseam at auditions next year. Too much of a good thing is sometimes a bad thing.
The cast is uniformly excellent, and it was nice to see a former NYGASP-er, Derrick Coby, in his Broadway debut. Looking for some good old racist fun? Check out the Boys.
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