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| Trish and Liz and blurry famous person outside the theatre. |
The show is slick, tight and well rehearsed - as should be expected from a production that's already run for several months in Toronto and San Diego. Unfortunately, it’s this almost robotic
precision that gives an emotionless sheen to the “greatest story every told.” But more on the show later, let's dish about the opening night festivities!
With an advertised 6:45 PM curtain (no doubt to make sure
the fashionably late arrivals would push the actual curtain time to a
reasonable 7:00 PM), we arrived just in time to catch the opening night crowd swarm
the theatre and to watch the paparazzi in action.
We caught Edie Falco, Megan Hilty (Smash) and Ben Vereen (Broadway’s
original Judas!) posing for the cameras in the photo cage.
I felt conspicuously under-dressed given all the suits and tuxes
dotting the sidewalk. Having just come
from work, I was sporting my usual office drone uniform of dress pants
and button down. The women’s fashion ran
the gamut from uber chic to hooker fabulous. Judging from the amount of sequined minis lighting
up the sidewalk, there must have a been a big sale at Forever 21. Please ladies, sequins only work on evening
gowns and circus performers. And drag
queens. I loves me a sequined drag
queen. Can I get an “Amen”?
Sorry, my alternate personality, Que’deesha, took over for a moment. Now where was I? Oh yes, the show. Well, like I said before, it is a well-oiled machine - efficient and clean but lacking true passion, a remarkable feat given the story builds to a hanging and crucifixion. The direction is oddly sterile with characters standing and staring meaningfully out into the house as they sing high notes.
Characters don’t relate much to each other either. Director Des McAnuff has made the choice of
often staging the main triumvirate of characters (Jesus, Judas and Mary) quite far
from each other, separated by length of the stage, on balconies or atop
ladders. Yes, he creates some pretty
pictures, but at the expense of creating real relationships on the stage.
And the choreography, yikes - derivative of the worst 90s music video clichés. Though well executed by the attractive ensemble, it all seems vulgar and tacky without the sexy sense of humor of my 90s guilty pleasure, Paula Abdul. Yes, Paula Abdul. I'm not kidding. I love her
choreography. This production's temple scene would
have benefited greatly from a little more “Cold-hearted Snake” and a little less “My
Prerogative.”
The cast is generally vocally wonderful. Unfortunately, Josh Young (Judas) was
suffering from obvious vocal distress. While
the bottom and mid-range of his voice sounded surprisingly rich and full, his upper register was shredded and seemed forced and often under pitch. I hope he recovers without damaging his voice permanently.
The set looks like an ugly airport terminal and doesn’t evoke any kind of setting, time or period. Thankfully, the gorgeous lighting design makes up for much of the sets shortcomings.
Costumes were mostly uninspired with the ensemble looking like
Mad Max rejects. Mary was always in flowy, yellow,
vaguely Middle Eastern garb, Jesus was in requisite white gown (except in the
finale) and Judas in cool shades of blue.
Way to hammer the audience over the head with the color symbolism.
The orchestra sounded fantastic, though on the loud
side. There was little in the way of
musical variation or shading. The sound
mixer seemed only to have two settings - loud and louder.
I’m actually a big fan of the score, but the relentless over
amplification created a kind of musical monotony that obliterated the more intimate
moments while homogenizing the bigger musical climaxes. All things considered, the score
still sounds remarkably fresh given its 70s sensibility. Here's hoping Lord Webber makes a return to his rock
roots for his next score rather than churning out yet another faux-peratic yawner.
The one truly thrilling moment of the evening is the crucifixion - beautiful and unexpected. Had McAnuff only filled the entire evening with such striking theatricality, I would have forgiven the stylized coldness of the rest of his staging. Oh, and did I mention Jesus' rip-away white suit? You'll just have to pony up the $130 to get a glimpse of that coups de théâtre.
Neil Simon Theatre
Thursday, March 22
6:45pm performance
On a side note, my review for Once should be coming out shortly. Stay tuned!
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