We’ve seen three Broadway musicals in the past five nights: Tarzan, The Wedding Singer, and The Drowsy Chaperone. That’s the order in which we saw them, and it’s also the order in which I’d rank them from worst to best. Keep in mind that these shows are all in previews.
I hate to bad-mouth a show, especially when I sorta know someone who’s working on it (though not on the creative side). But Tarzan sucked. Plain and simple. It might even have been worse than last season’s Dracula, which, at the time, was one of the worst musicals I’d ever seen. But at least Dracula was visually interesting. Tarzan has a boring set consisting essentially of green streamers. It has incredibly ugly ape costumes. (How did Shuler Hensley get involved in this?) It has long stretches of dialogue with static staging. It has unmemorable songs. The plot is, literally, pure Disney, but Matt says the movie is much better (I haven’t seen it). To make matters worse, we were sitting near a group of teenagers who’d attempted to dress up. Some of the girls in their strapless dresses looked like they were on their way to the prom.
The Wedding Singer, based on the movie of the same name about a wedding singer in 1980’s New Jersey, is a really cute show with an appealing cast, a funny book and catchy songs. (Its big earworm, “It’s Your Wedding Day”, keeps getting stuck in my head.) It also takes advantage of the ongoing ’80s nostalgia. Given all that, and the built-in New Jersey audience, it should do very well.
I can’t say enough good things about The Drowsy Chaperone. It’s really a tribute to musical theater – a show for people who love musicals – and it’s hysterical but poignant. The premise is that we’re in the apartment of a lonely middle-aged man, known as Man in Chair, who’s going to share with us his cast recording of his favorite old musical from the 1920’s, The Drowsy Chaperone (which isn’t a real show, of course). As he begins to play the album, the old musical comes alive before our eyes. Man in Chair constantly interrupts The Drowsy Chaperone with his own commentary on the actors, the songs, and the recording. But this is more than a one-gimmick show; the 1920s musical itself has terrifically witty songs and visuals, and Sutton Foster has a showstopper of a number. The whole cast is impeccable. This deserves to win lots of Tonys.
Coming up are two plays: Festen and The History Boys. I think I’m going to need some new Playbill binders.
I saw “The Wedding Singer” during its tryout engagement here in Seattle, and I was disappointed. I found most of the 80s gags to be cheap jokes that distracted from the plot; It was like an extended episode of “I love the 80s” and I wanted to know more about the quirky love story. (Do they still do that unfortunate Pong gag during the entree act? That pointless moment of remember-this-funny-thing? seemed to sum up the main problem with the show.) Anyway, I look forward to seeing what it has evolved into once it opens in New York. Hopefuly a much stronger evening.
Yup, the Pong reference is still there, which makes no sense, since that’s from the 70s. I think my opinion of the show was also influenced by the fact that I’d just seen the awful Tarzan the night before and was relieved to see a show that was entertaining.
Regarding TARZAN, is anyone surprised that it sucks? (You are far from the only person to have this opinion…a friend of mine knows an actress in the show and was told by this person to stay away for awhile.) The movie that it’s based on was pretty subpar, vying with HERCULES, in my opinion, for the title of Worst Disney Cartoon Ever.
Since this production was announced, there has been absolutely ZERO buzz about the score, the book, or the cast. Even the publicity materials put out by the production focus on the sets. And people, even in this day and age, don’t really go to musicals for the sets.
Could Disney have its first Broadway flop on its hands? I havent even seen The Lion King, Beauty and The Beast or Aida. I will be sure to add Tarzan to the list.