Thursday, December 16
8pm performance
This show really confused me. It’s close to being good and it’s almost always entertaining, but it’s hampered by a central character who isn’t as interesting as the secondary characters surrounding her. It’s not Sheri Rene’s fault, either. Her material is just, well, uninspired. Her character, Pepa, gets straddles with one bland ballad after another. I mean, it’s her story, yet the writers give the big, 11 o’clock number to Patti LuPone. Yes, I know, it’s Patti LuPone and God forbid she doesn’t get the “big numbah,” but it really just throws the whole show off balance. It’s like giving “Rose’s Turn” to Louise.
The act one finale is a big ole mess. Until then the show is more or less naturalistic. Then for no apparent reason it turns into Cirque de Soleil for dummies. And the accompanying song is like an itch inside your skull that you can’t scratch. I was actually enjoying myself through most of the act, but that finale annoyed me so much that I actually felt angry when the lights came up for intermission.
The show also suffers from multiple personal disorder, i.e. inconsistent tone. The opening number sets us up for a big, splashy musical comedy and a few scenes later it gets super serious with the burning bed scene. The next moment we’re in a (not very well executed) farce with zany Laura Benanti and LuPone running around slamming doors and drugging police with Valium.
Benanti looks gorgeous and is surprisingly funny, with her flouncy walk and ditsy demeanor. Of course, Sheri Rene’s less-than-fiery Latin fades even further into the background next to Benanti’s wide-eyed sex kitten.
Methinks some over-sized star wattage blinded the writers’ focus. Certainly Lucia’s first act song and scene with Paulina would have been tightened up, even cut, if not for LuPone’s star stature. Same goes with Stokes’ (whose understudy was on) boring microphone song which definitely should have been cut by at least a verse or so. I’m not saying these troupers don’t deserve to be upstage center, but poor Sheri Rene’s character has been relegated to spectator status in her own story.
With some judicious editing, a more streamlined story, more consistent tone and the deletion of a song or two, I think there’s potential for a great show. As it stands, it’s perfectly average.
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