It’s hard to think of anything more “Midwestern” than “The
Wizard of Oz.” Chicagoans have an affinity for the work and rightfully so. L.
Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz while living here. The original 1902 stage production made its debut on
a Chicago stage. We even have a park named Oz which features sculptures from
the book series.
So, what to say about the latest revamp of the
film-turned-stage musical “The Wizard of Oz” –a production in which the lone
American in the cast is the dog playing Toto and Canadian accents are as thick
as the air in a Kansas during the dust bowl? A show that features five mostly forgettable
new songs written by a pair of Englishmen (music by Andrew Lloyd Weber and
lyrics by Tim Rice) that fails to emulate the music stylings of the great Harold
Arlen who wrote the film’s iconic score or the tone of E.Y. Harburg’s inspiring
lyrics to the extent the new material sticks out like a pair of ruby red
slippers on a sepia-toned Kansas farm?
Dorothy, you’re right. You’re not in Kansas. You’re in
Toronto after a layover in London’s West End.
That’s not to say they don’t have farms in Canada (or, for
that matter, England). And yes, there is something universal that many journeys
end with the realization that everything you are looking for can be found at
home. I’m certainly not a flag waving American. My dad’s family hails from the
Great White North.
The production which opened on Thursday at the Cadillac
Palace Theater felt to me more like a traditional English Panto than it did
with live theater. There was far too much slapstick, buffoonery and sexual innuendo.
The show’s Dorothy, Danielle Wade, is likeable enough. Her
portrayal is unique enough that you don’t feel she is every impersonating the
film’s original star, Judy Garland. She belts the heck out of “Somewhere Over
the Rainbow” and her longing for something beyond the world she knows feels
earnest.
It’s perhaps no surprise that
she feels very at home in the role, seeing as she won the lead after appearing
on the CBC reality show “Over the Rainbow” that had Canadian gals competing for
the role in an “American Idol” style show.
The witches (Robin Evan Willis as Glinda and Jacqueleyn Piro
Donovan as the Wicked Witch of the West) are painted with too broad a comedic
stroke. Gone are the nuturing, motherly Glinda and the frightening Wicked Witch
from the film.
Gone too is the noble Scarecrow. Poor Jamie McKnight has to
play the strawman as an imbecile who can’t even remember why he has embarked on
a quest to see the Wizard.
Worst of the night is
Lee MacDougall’s swishy lion that would make the likes of Paul Lynde look butch. A joke
about the lion being “a friend of Dorothy” –a dated euphemism for “gay” that
references either Judy Garland’s character or, as some scholars have argued,the
late humorist Dorothy Parker—fell flat on Thursday night. The portrayal is neither witty nor camp. What were they thinking?
Simply put, the brains, heart and courage seem to be missing from this tale
from America’s heartland and not even the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (a regal Jay Brazeau
as both the all-powerful Wizard and sideshow huckster Professor Marvel) can
seem to fix it.
“The Wizard of Oz” runs through May 11 at the Cadillac
Palace Theater, 151 W. Randolph. Tickets $18-$105. 800.775-2000 or
www.broadwayinchicago.com.
A lot has happened since “Avenue Q” defied the odds to beat
out a certain heavily-favored, green skinned witch for the Tony award for best
musical 10 years ago. Technology and social media sites have come and gone
(compact disks have yielded to mp3 players; MySpace and Ask Jeeves are about as
relevant as an AOL email account these days). Stock markets have crashed,
rebounded, crashed again and rebounded.
With his Oscar earlier this year for “Frozen,” “Avenue Q”
co-composer Robert Lopez even claimed his EGOT crown (so named as Mr. Lopez has
successfully won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony). It might “suck to be
you” as a certain lyric from “Avenue Q” goes, but it certainly does not suck to
be Mr. Lopez at this moment in time.
Is the puppet nudity and adult humor of this homage to
“Sesame Street” still culturally relevant? You bet your felt covered butt it
is!
You can thank our anemic economy.While “Sesame Street” gently prepared several
generations of preschoolers to navigate the playground, Mercury Theater’s
home-grown, Equityproduction of “Avenue
Q,” remains current as it tackles the difficulties of job hunting, unemployment
and the dating pool for twenty, thirty and forty-somethings.
The emotional heart of the show (book by Jeff Whitty and
music and lyrics by Lopez and Jeff Marx) has always been with Kate Monster, who
dreams of both the perfect boyfriend and opening a “Monster-sorri” school .
Under the direction of L. Walter Stearns, Mercury’s production still thankfully
wears its sweet heart on its sleeve. Much like “Sesame Street,” Stearns has
succeeded in mounting a Brodway-caliber production that manages to feel
somewhat irreverent and good-natured at the same time.
Leah Morrow as Kate Monster. Photo by Brett Bener.
The original puppets by Russ Walko bear an uncanny
resemblance to most of their actor counterparts and you’ll be hard-pressed to
tell puppet from puppeteer.
As Kate Monster, Leah Morrow is appropriately sweet and
vulnerable. You can almost feel her furry heart break as she sings about the
fine line between being lovers and friends.
Jackson Evans as Princeton. Photo by Brett Bener.
As Princeton, Jackson Evans is charming as he stumbles in
both love and finding his life’s purpose.
Adam Fane finds some great comedic moments as the
highly-strung, closeted Republican Rod. Daniel Smeriglio is the perfect foil to
Rod as Rod’s roommate (and unrequited love) Nicky. Smeriglio, along with Stephanie Herman, has some fine comedic moments as The Bad Idea Bears.
As Christmas Eve, the Japanese therapist with no “cry-ents,”
Christine Bunuan deserves a Jeff. Her Christmas Eve is easily my favorite (and
I’ve seen both the Original Broadway cast, the replacement cast and the touring
company productions of the show). Her rendition of “The More you Ruv Someone”
is side-splitting and worth the price of your ticket alone.
Thom Van Ermen draws some of the other biggest laughs of the
night as Trekkie Monster. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise; if there is one thing about the show
that is still current, it’s that the Internet is still for porn.
“Avenue Q” is a must-see for teens and adults.
Mercury Theater's production of "Avenue Q" runs
through June 29 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport. Tickets $20-$59. www.mercurytheaterchicago.com
or 773.325.1700
For "Who" fans this Christmas, Santa, crackers, figgy pudding and the lot will be taking a backseat as
"Doctor Who" takes over Christmas. BBC America is planning a full day of programming to honro of actor Matt Smith, who has been playing the 11th incarnation of the title character for four years and departs with this year's Christmas special.
On tap Dec. 25th is the television premiere of the six-minute
Doctor Who prequel, "The Night of The Doctor" at 5:00 p.m. followed by an encore of the 50th anniversary special,
"The Day of the Doctor." A world premiere retrospective special,
"Farewell to Matt Smith" airs at 7 p.m., followed by the premiere of Smith's last outing (for now --Time Lords always seem to have a way of coming back via cameos with "Doctor Who") of the iconic time traveler in
"The Time of the Doctor" at 8 p.m.
BBC America caught up with Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat, Smith and Jenna Coleman (who plays the Doctor's current time traveling companion Clara) to chat about Smith's impending departure and shared this interview:
Can you set the scene for this Christmas episode?
STEVEN MOFFAT: It’s his final battle and he’s been fighting it for a
while.The Doctor is facing the joint
challenge of a mysterious event in space that has summoned lots of aliens to
one place and helping Clara cook Christmas dinner.There are also elements from every series of
Matt’s Doctor, which will come to a head in this special. Things that we’ve laid
down for years are going to be paid off.
How was the read-through?
MOFFAT: It was emotional.I
think possibly the beginning of the end is more emotional than the actual end.
It was the same with The Angels Take Manhattan, when Karen and Arthur
left.The read-throughs are the moments
that tend to get people because obviously the shoot dissolves into what we hope
will be a tremendously exciting wrap party.
Did you know what you wanted Matt’s last words to be?
MOFFAT: I didn’t think I would go that way, but a couple of months
before I wrote it I did say to Mark (Gatiss) that I thought I knew what his
last moment would be, and indeed his last line.But if it didn’t fit the scene I wouldn’t crowbar it in.I’ve had the vague storyline in place for a
long while.
What episodes or scenes do you think will define Matt’s time
as the Doctor?
MOFFAT: I think ‘The Eleventh Hour’ was such an extraordinary
debut.Everybody for a year of poor Matt
Smith’s life had been saying, ‘total mistake. He’s far too young.’ Then he came
in and he was brilliant.‘Vincent and
The Doctor’ was also such a lovely episode and I was thrilled Richard Curtis
was able to write for the show.There’s
the physical comedy that Matt has brought and of course fish fingers and
custard. I think his relationship with his own TARDIS in The Doctor’s Wife was
gorgeous.
What do you think distinguishes Matt from the other Doctors?
MOFFAT: I think he does old Doctor better than anybody else. It’s
not an accident. It’s something he very, very consciously thought about.
Because he was the youngest Doctor, Matt said, ‘he’s only got young skin.
Nothing else is young.’ I think Matt makes you think very believably that he is
this ancient being.
The Christmas special will introduce the next Doctor, played
by Peter Capaldi.What was it about
Peter that you thought was right for the role?
MOFFAT: He’s one of the best actors in the country and is very
beloved.I was at the BAFTAs shortly
before we were contemplating Peter and heard the cheer he got from the
audience.Nobody has a bad thing to say
about him and that’s not a minor issue when it comes to casting a Doctor.
They’ve got to be lovely. And he’s a huge fan of Doctor Who. So we asked and he
was incredibly excited to come and audition. We didn’t tell him that he was the
only person auditioning because that would be oddly pressuring.
Did you deliberately aim to cast an older Doctor?
MOFFAT: It wasn’t the reason I cast Peter but I do think if we’d
cast another Doctor as young as Matt - because Matt’s been so good at being The
Young Doctor - I’m not sure what another one would have done. They’d have to
have either been deliberately different or just repeat him.
Can you first tell us a little bit about the Christmas
special?
MATT SMITH: The Christmas special for me is a bitter sweet episode
because I’m leaving, but Steven has written a brilliant, adventurous, funny
episode and I’m really thrilled with it.It feels wonderfully Christmassy.
What did you want from your last episode?
SMITH: I think it’s good for the Doctor to go out with a bang, a
crash and a wallop. I’m pleased it’s really funny and mad.When I got to the last 20 pages and it was
quite a hard read for me, but I hope it’s going to be a belter.
We’ve got a great director in Jamie Payne and some really
lovely double hand stuff with me and Jenna.Steven’s managed to tie in plot points and narratives that have been
threaded through over years and I think that’s ingenious.
Emotionally, how did it feel to be doing your final performance?
SMITH: It felt very emotional to be doing my final episode. My
mother is mortified, honestly she was at the front of the campaign for me to
stay and wasn’t happy when I said I was going to leave. But, when you’ve got to
go, you’ve got to go. Of course, it’s very sad for me in many ways because
everything is the last time. It’s the last read through, the last time I put on
the bow tie and the last scene in the TARDIS. But the show is about change and
I had lunch with Peter Capaldi shortly after the announcement and I think he’s
just going to be incredible.He has the
most brilliant ideas.As a fan, I’m
genuinely excited to see what he’s going to do because I think he’s going to do
something extraordinary.
So you’re still going to be a fan?
SMITH: Yeah, absolutely, I’ll be a fan.I’m very grateful to Steven Moffat and that
whole team up in Wales for the past four years and you know I want the show to
go from strength to strength, which it will. It might take me a couple of weeks
to get my head around it. I think it was the same for David and I think it was
the same for Karen, when she watched Jenna come in. I don’t think it’s easy,
but it’s not my show, it’s the fans show,
so I’ll be a fan and then it will be my show.
Have you been given anything by the fans as a leaving
present?
SMITH: I was doing a promo shoot for the 50th and these two girls
came on set.They had made me this book
which must have had 50 or 60 letters in, saying thank you for being Doctor
Who.Things like that are amazing. I’ve
said it before, the fans of this show are really spectacular and they’ve made
this an extraordinary journey for me and I’m very, very grateful.I don’t think there’s another set of fans
like it.
Can we expect some nods to past series with this Christmas
special? Are we referencing old specials?
SMITH: With Doctor Who you’re always looking back and forward at
the same time, because you tend to be jumping around.I don’t want to give too much away, but
obviously when you look at my tenure over the last four years, there are stories
and plot points and villains in there that are particular to my Doctor and I
think he’s got to face all that.
How did you find the read-through?Was it emotional?
JENNA COLEMAN: It was a very emotional read-through.Just going through the process of saying
goodbye was difficult.The script itself
is very emotional, but also joyous.But
saying those words and saying goodbye was never going to be easy.
Is there a sense from the start of the episode that we’re
moving towards a regeneration?
COLEMAN: It’s very much an adventure, but it goes off on a different
track.People watching will know that
it’s Matt’s last episode, but it doesn’t loom over from the start.
We were introduced to Clara as the impossible girl last
year.Are we going to find out more
about her family background?
COLEMAN: Absolutely.I think
there had to be a sense of mystery last year to make the plot work.What’s really interesting is that it does
feel like we’re starting again and we get to see her home life as well as her
life with the Doctor.
From a few pictures that have been released there are some
of you cooking Christmas dinner.Have
you ever done that in real life?
COLEMAN: My mum does the Christmas cooking.It couldn’t be any other way.
Are you looking forward to filming next year with Peter?
COLEMAN: It will be a different show next year.We have a bit of a gap before we start
filming the new series, so I have time to get my head around it all.Me and Peter will get together before
Christmas to start rehearsing and the scripts will start coming in.When I came in I think there was just a week
off in production where Arthur and Karen left, so that would have been a
strange shift. This episode is very much about Matt and the Eleventh Doctor and
Clara and the Eleventh Doctor and their last adventure together.I have no idea where we’re going next series!
Where will you be watching the special this year?Will you be at home?
COLEMAN: Yeah I think so.Last
year the whole family got a cottage together where mum still did the Christmas
cooking. We’ll definitely all be
together.
What was your reaction when you heard the next Doctor was
Peter Capaldi?
COLEMAN: It was kind of that moment ‘of course, makes sense’.It’s funny as I don’t think he was one of the
names that was originally being speculated about and it wasn’t until the week
before that his name came up.He’s going
to be so different to Matt and take the show in an interesting direction.
When were you told?
COLEMAN: Matt and I were told together during the Royal visit to
Roath Lock studios.We could tell
something was going on and we managed to pin the producers down and get it out
of them!
How hard was it to keep the secret?
COLEMAN: I think I’ve learned my lesson in that the best thing to do
is not to tell anybody and then you don’t have your own paranoia that you’ve
let something out.
What will you miss about working with Matt?
COLEMAN: Everything!When
you’re reading a scene with him he can turn anything on its head.He’s so inventive, clever and very
funny.There’s just so much that I’ll
miss about him.
From left: Liza is (Mark David Kaplan), Liza Always (Bethany Thomas) and Liza Was (Danielle Plisz) in About Face Theatre’s 2013-14 production of "WeThree Lizas" Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Cross posted from Broadwayworld.com
God bless us, everyone (with jazz hands).
Not to apply a post-structuralism lens to the proceedings, but
in a nutshell, About Face Theatre’s “We Three Lizas” applies Queer theory to
(among other things) A Christmas Carol,
The Gift of the Magi, holiday TV
variety shows and even the Weird Sisters from “Macbeth. The end result is a
most satisfying Dickensian musical romp that remains accessible to all.
Substantially re-worked and revamped from the intimate
Garage space at Steppenwolf last year, the show, with book and lyrics by Scott
Bradley (“Carpenters Halloween” and “Alien Queen”) and music.and additional
lyrics by Alan Schmuckler (“The Emperor’s New Clothes”), rightfully deserves to
be an annual holiday tradition.
Scott Duff is Conrad (nee Conrad Ticklebottom) and he hasn’t
just given up his last name to achieve success in the big city. He’s managed to
claw his way to the top by alienating everyone close to him. Once the maker of
a must-have product, he has refused to alter the look or design and has lost so
much market share, an unseen board of directors has dispatched a hatchet woman
(Sharriese Hamilton) to clean up the books and give him the boot from his own
company.
His clarion wake-up call comes to him in the form of three bearded
witches Danielle Plisz as Liza Was, Mark David Kaplan as Liza Is and Bethany
Thomas as Liza Always). The witches promise him three gifts if he drinks their
potion. The gifts end up being clarity to his Christmases past, present and
future. Incarnations of Liza act as the ghosts of Christmases.
Duff beings the proceedings sufficiently Grinch-like and as
the evening wears on slowly begins to show Conrad’s faults and vulnerabilities.
The character is very much broad strokes and caricature (much like your average
Scrooge is), but Duff injects enough humanity to his character that you end up
genuinely caring for him.
Dana Tretta is Reggie, Conrad’s much-put-upon right hand
whose talents go unnoticed by both her boss as well as her potential love
interest. Though petite, Tretta packs a boffo set of pipes that are
particularly well suited for “Donna Doesn’t Notice Me.”
Andrew Swan (“Steamworks: The Musical”) plays Young Conrad
opposite Conrad’s true love Beau (John Francisco). . Their duet “Please Handle
With Care” serves as both a recommendation to not rattle the packages, nor
break hearts. Swan and Francisco’s voices are evenly matched in this touching holiday
song that waxes nostalgically about those times when you may have been poor in
money, but not in spirit. The pair also displays some nimble footwork as
Fosse-style back-up dancers to Liza.
Patrick Andrews’ choreography offers up enough referential
movement that it borders on homage to both Ms. Minnelli and the many talented choreographers
who have found inspiration through her.
Of the three Lizas, Plisz (Liza Was) will probably be the
most memorable. She has the moves, mannerisms and –perhaps most importantly—a close
facsimile of Minnelli’s iconic red Halston turtleneck minidress. Plisz captures
all of Liza Was’ youthful exuberance in “I Can’t Believe I’m Me.”
Bradley’s Liza (or should that be Lizas) finds much in
common with “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Who wouldn’t argue that Ms. Minnelli’s
career has featured more ebbs and flows than the tide? Unlike Molly Brown, the
67 year-old daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli has certainly had
her share of more than just one Titanic-size disaster (“Arthur 2,” her perchant
for marrying gay men and don’t even get me started on her wardrobe choice of
spandex while performing the title song
in the 1940’s-set flop “New York, New York”). Through triumph and tragedy, Ms.
Minnelli has remained “Liza with a Z not Lisa with an S.” It’s that very ability
to persevere amidst career missteps, broken hips and broken marriages that has –in
part—made Ms. Minnelli a gay icon.
Ms. Minnelli is also a suitable icon for the holidays, too. Life
is hard. People suck. Holidays occasionally disappoint. You can be the butt of
the joke or make certain you are in on it. “We Three Lizas” would seem to urge
us not to take ourselves –or our holiday traditions too seriously. And when
things go wrong (and they most assuredly will), we should all take a cue from
Ms. Minnelli: recognize that a mistake is in a certain way its own gift; one
which we should put a glittery bow on and stick it under the tree.
“We Three Lizas” runs through Jan. 5 at Stage 773, 1225 W.
Belmont. Tickets, $45 ($20 students). Call 773.327.5252, www.aboutfacttheatre.com or www.stage773.com.
Elphaba (Alison Luff, left) and Glinda (nee Galinda,
played by Jenn Gambatese), share a friendly moment in "Wicked"
Photo by Joan Marucs
Cross-posted from Broadwayworld.com
It almost seems inconceivable that it has been more than 10 years
since I first caught "Wicked" in previews in New York. Since that time,
the show was named best musical by Time Magazine, recouped its initial
$14 million investment in 14 months and has broken numerous box-office
records around the world.
The original Chicago sit-down production (at
the time the first sit-down production of a major Broadway show that the
city had seen in years) ran for three-and-a-half years , played over
1,500 performances and grossed a gravity-defying $200 million in box
office here in Chicago alone.
This marks the sixth or seventh
time I have seen the show (I've reviewed it twice -including the
original Chicago sit-down production). The Oriental Theater (where the
show is again playing through Dec. 21) is practically a second home to
Elphaba and Glinda (also known respectively as the Wicked Witch of the
West and Glinda the Good).
Luff, defying gravity eight shows a week. Photo by Joan Marcus
The current production's Elphaba,
Alison Luff, appears less comfortable in the character's awkward teen
years, but comes into her own when she embraces the "wickedness" of her
character. I had particular trouble with Luff's choices during a scene
in a ballroom. In previous productions, Elphaba dances alone while the
rest of the dance hall stares and laughs. In prior productions, the
moves -while strange and certainly unique-have embodied a certain grace
and beauty. Luff plays the awkwardness a bit too broad, here. I suppose
it makes some sense (given this is the character's first dance party),
but we are never really afforded the opportunity to see the inner beauty
beneath the awkwardness.
Gambatese demonstrates Glinda's preferred mode of travel.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Jenn Gambatese's transformation from
bubble-head Galinda to bubble-flying witch Glinda feels a bit more real,
somehow. Vocally, she's the best Glinda I've had the pleasure of
hearing (Apologies to Ms. Luff, but Ana Gasteyer still holds the title
of my favorite Elphaba). One gets a full sense of the moral "weight" her character is carrying in "Thank Goodness," when Gambatese sings about the price of getting everything you want. In addition to knowing her way around the
musical's score and dramatic moments, Gambatese's also a great comedian, finding some interesting and unique moments to mine laughter.
Curt Hansen (Fiyero) can melt more than just two witches' hearts.
Photo by Joan Marcus
As Fiyero (the
shallow rogue who comes between the two witches) Curt Hansen's movements
at the end of the second act -without spoiling too much for those who
have never taken a trip down "Wicked's " yellow brick road-are more in
line with the character he is revealed to be. It's a nice twist and a
welcome sight to those who have seen the show more than a few times.
As
Elphaba's wheelchair-bound sister (and the future Wicked Witch of the
East) Jaime Rosenstein's second act transformation is also more in tune
with a collective memory of just who the Wicked Witch of the East is.
Never trust a smiling Wizard (John Davidson).
Photo by Joan Marcus
The
show's Wizard, John Davidson, is a bit more "used car salesman" that
corn-fed huckster for my tastes. And yet, when he sings of longing to be
a parent, it's with heartfelt sincerity that works particularly well.
Kim
Zimmer (Reva Shayne on "Guiding Light") does as much as she can with
the thankless role of Madam Morrible, given the character is the least
nuanced of any of the main characters and serves as the only true
villainous person in the show.
"Wicked" is starting to show its
age, at least in one regard. A comment late in the second act regarding a
"regime change," which caused a collective audience gasp 10 years ago
in the New York preview performance, doesn't hold the power it once did.
Though we are still paying for the Iraq war (and will be doing so for
several years), Americans have moved on -at least politically.
"Wicked"
still holds much magic, however. "For Good" -the duet between the two
witches, still speaks to that special bond of sisterhood, motherhood and
basically any other 'hood you can think of.
Additionally, pretty much
anyone should be able to identify with one of the show's central themes:
that we sometimes have to abandon our idols, lovers and friends in
order to reach our own potentials and soar.
Wicked" runs through
Dec. 21 at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph. Tickets $37 to $107.
Call (800) 775-2000. broadwayinchicago.com
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