I never thought I'd say this in a million years....but I disliked a Broadway musical.
Let's start with the surprisingly disappointing American in Paris.
First off... I realize it's set in post war Paris. But why make it so post war-y?
If I wanted to see scenery projected with a swastika on it , I would have stayed home and watched my DVD of the Producers, or watched the last 10 minutes of Sound of Music.
No reason for Nazis, ever, but especially in my broadway musical! Talk about a buzz kill.
Where was the tap dancing , manly gymnastic stylings of Mr. Gene Kelly? Why so much ballet?
Why was the Leslie Caron character revealed to be a....JEW! A Jew who had been hidden during the war by her now fiancée... who also has a secret. He is Gay. He was a gay man who always wanted to open his own nightclub, much to the disappointment of his cliched snotty parents. Wha??? Why???
The worst change was made with the Oscar Levant character. The jovial , probably high on uppers, comic relief sidekick . On stage he's taken on a darker persona... Change of name... Adam Goldberg.. Add to that a war injury that resulted in a tap dance career ending limp.
Is this really necessary? I think not. Songs were taken out while others were put in, all willy nilly.
I love Gershwin, believe me. But you don't take songs out of a Fred Astaire movie and plop them into a different show! It's just not right. Left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I needed to get rid of that taste... But the line at the bar was too long, so I just stood and stretched.in an effort to decompress my spine before getting back into my cramped seat. The second act HAD to be better! If I fell asleep during a Broadway musical, no matter how yawn worthy, I would hate myself.
I must admit, the second act was worth the earlier discomfort and disappointment. I loved the ballet scene in the movie version, and loved it as much on the stage. The dancers were simply amazing,
It would probably be more amazing if the view from my cheap seats didn't make every dance scene look like this famous overhead scene from the Olivia DeHavilland classic, Snake Pit.
PART II - On The Town: Coming up soon
First off... I realize it's set in post war Paris. But why make it so post war-y?
If I wanted to see scenery projected with a swastika on it , I would have stayed home and watched my DVD of the Producers, or watched the last 10 minutes of Sound of Music.
No reason for Nazis, ever, but especially in my broadway musical! Talk about a buzz kill.
The worst change was made with the Oscar Levant character. The jovial , probably high on uppers, comic relief sidekick . On stage he's taken on a darker persona... Change of name... Adam Goldberg.. Add to that a war injury that resulted in a tap dance career ending limp.
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| I have always been a ballet connoisseur. |
I love Gershwin, believe me. But you don't take songs out of a Fred Astaire movie and plop them into a different show! It's just not right. Left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I needed to get rid of that taste... But the line at the bar was too long, so I just stood and stretched.in an effort to decompress my spine before getting back into my cramped seat. The second act HAD to be better! If I fell asleep during a Broadway musical, no matter how yawn worthy, I would hate myself.
I must admit, the second act was worth the earlier discomfort and disappointment. I loved the ballet scene in the movie version, and loved it as much on the stage. The dancers were simply amazing,
It would probably be more amazing if the view from my cheap seats didn't make every dance scene look like this famous overhead scene from the Olivia DeHavilland classic, Snake Pit.
PART II - On The Town: Coming up soon
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