Maury Yeston truly has a gift for composing beautiful melodies. Just listen to the scores of Nine, Titanic, Grand Hotel and (that other) Phantom. That said, the lyrics to his newest musical just plain suck. I believe a junior high student could write more meaningful and interesting lyrics than he has provided to his own soaring melodies. What happened? Seriously. The rhymes are on par with Dr. Seuss, except they’re supposedly coming out of the mouths of 1920’s European aristocrats.
I had such high hopes for this. Unfortunately, lyrics weren’t the only problem. The freakishly talented cast seems to be performing in two different productions (perhaps a directorial problem?). Half think they’re in a melodrama, the other half think they’re in a farce. You find yourself wondering if you’re supposed to be laughing at certain lines or if they’re meant to be ironic.
Though unlikely, with a complete book re-write a la Spider Man and with the hiring of a new lyricist, the piece could be salvageable. It’s an intrinsically theatrical story, but in its current state it's just a mish-mash of styles and tone.
Some other random thoughts:
- The second act trio for the girls is gorgeous. Too bad it’s stuck in a show that nobody will ever produce again.
- Death’s entrance is lame. He strolls to the stage through the house with an umbrella and in a raincoat like he’s in a community theatre production of Singin’ the Rain.
- All the leads are sopranos! Crazy, no?
- Speaking of sopranos, I was so looking forward to hearing Rebecca Luker but she was out.
- What’s up with Matt Cavenaugh’s voice? It’s so nasal.
- Did you know Death has an English accent? And why do both the European and the American characters have American accents but Death can have both an English and a Russion accent? Doesn't seem quite fair, does it?
Death Takes a Holiday
Laura Pels Theatre
June 24, 7:30pm performance
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