The End of "How I Met Your Mother", or How To Make A Loyal Fan Angry: F That Noiseby Randi / April 1, 2014
Jukebox musicals have filled Broadway houses for the past decade or so, for better (“Jersey Boys”) or worse (“Mamma Mia!”) and in between (“Motown: The Musical”). (Also, if we are counting the West End, the so-bad-it’s-almost-good-nope-wait-it’s-the-worst-thing-mine-eyes-have-ever-seen Spice Girls musical “Viva Forever”). Apparently the way to make easy money, producers take a famous catalog of popular music and either force a story around it (“Mamma Mia” and the Spice Girls shittastrophe) or you take your cue from the Tony-winning “Jersey Boys” and tell the story of the music, of how it was written and how its writers lived what they sang about. Thankfully, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”, does indeed follow this latter, superior format, and it is absolutely beautiful.
Despite not having much drama save (some serious and heartbreaking) marital woes, “Beautiful” never drops its interesting narrative thread. The impressive book (impressive because it is still a jukebox musical) keeps you hooked, the songs keep you extremely happy, and Jessie Mueller as Carole King keeps you captivated. In Mueller’s presence, you witness Broadway history as she reinforces her status as the next big musical star. Manipulating her insane voice to evoke King without being an imitation, Mueller makes you love her. You never want to stop listening to her. With the show being entirely the famous songs written by King (and her ex-husband Gerry Goffin, as well as Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, all the main characters of the show), you’d assume you don’t need the cast recording. But you’d be wrong. I couldn’t wait to buy the recording as soon as the curtain fell because the interpretations of these beloved songs are that good. It’s pure magic on that stage.
The friendly rivalry between King and her husband-and-writing-partner-for-most-of-the-show Gerry Goffin, and Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, provided an enjoyable way to structure the show. I loved that the performances of the songs came about because they were writing them. It was never “Let’s break out into song here to express our feelings” it was “Listen I just wrote this song want to hear it?” The realism is a good way to win over musical theater haters, not that I care about such weirdos.
The friendly rivalry between King and her husband-and-writing-partner-for-most-of-the-show Gerry Goffin, and Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, provided an enjoyable way to structure the show. I loved that the performances of the songs came about because they were writing them. It was never “Let’s break out into song here to express our feelings” it was “Listen I just wrote this song want to hear it?” The realism is a good way to win over musical theater haters, not that I care about such weirdos.
Jarrod Spector and chorus member
Aside from Mueller, a standout actor is Anika Larsen as Weil. She’s always so darn pleasant, and is effervescent here. I think she is one of the most pleasant people to watch onstage. As her partner Mann, Jarrod Spector, a Philly native who is as nice as he is adorable (see pic at right), was as lovable as he was neurotic. I’m glad he found a great post-“Jersey Boys” role so he wouldn’t be pigeonholed. Jake Epstein as Gerry is very charming, as charming as one can be while portraying a pretty sad story. The catharsis felt when Carole finally leaves him is so strong, like it’s happening to you. That’s how immersed you get in this show, and also how proud you are of fake Carole for finally acting with sufficient gumption.
Mueller really is just perfect, as perfect as anyone besides the real-life figure could be in a role. She is heartbreaking and relatable, and it’s a special performance to witness. What she is doing with her voice, an homage more than an imitation of king, is so impressive. I asked her if it was hard and more importantly if it hurt, because doing a different voice for that many hours a week can’t be healthy. But she seemed fine and I’m sure is being coached well. She is the newest star of this generation and I am thrilled for her. She breaks your heart and then together you’re healed through the powerful music.
Even if you are a King fan, you will be surprised by just how prolific a songwriter she was before she started singing her own tales. Not only did she write “One Fine Day”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “Some Kind Of Wonderful”, “Up On The Roof”, “Take Good Care of My Baby”, but she also freaking wrote “The Loco-Motion”! Can you even believe that? And then of course you get a smattering of King’s more personal work that she sang herself: “Natural Woman”, “Too Late”, “I Feel the Earth Move”, “Beautiful”, &c. Damn she is brilliant. I can’t wait to see this show again.
So, because of the very familiar music, and because so many adults grew up with this music, “Beautiful” is the kind of show that brings hundreds of middle-aged ladies out for ‘girls night’. If you can stand these perhaps slightly tipsy women pretty much announcing “OH I LOVE THIS SONG!” and “OH THIS IS SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL!’ when they hear the beginnings of each piece, then you’ll be fine. If, like me, the mere thought of this lack of decorum makes your blood run cold as if you were watching a Spice Girls musical, you should probably have a drink first. But you should absolutely still see the show. Here’s a sneak to enjoy while Telecharge.com loads.
Mueller really is just perfect, as perfect as anyone besides the real-life figure could be in a role. She is heartbreaking and relatable, and it’s a special performance to witness. What she is doing with her voice, an homage more than an imitation of king, is so impressive. I asked her if it was hard and more importantly if it hurt, because doing a different voice for that many hours a week can’t be healthy. But she seemed fine and I’m sure is being coached well. She is the newest star of this generation and I am thrilled for her. She breaks your heart and then together you’re healed through the powerful music.
Even if you are a King fan, you will be surprised by just how prolific a songwriter she was before she started singing her own tales. Not only did she write “One Fine Day”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “Some Kind Of Wonderful”, “Up On The Roof”, “Take Good Care of My Baby”, but she also freaking wrote “The Loco-Motion”! Can you even believe that? And then of course you get a smattering of King’s more personal work that she sang herself: “Natural Woman”, “Too Late”, “I Feel the Earth Move”, “Beautiful”, &c. Damn she is brilliant. I can’t wait to see this show again.
So, because of the very familiar music, and because so many adults grew up with this music, “Beautiful” is the kind of show that brings hundreds of middle-aged ladies out for ‘girls night’. If you can stand these perhaps slightly tipsy women pretty much announcing “OH I LOVE THIS SONG!” and “OH THIS IS SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL!’ when they hear the beginnings of each piece, then you’ll be fine. If, like me, the mere thought of this lack of decorum makes your blood run cold as if you were watching a Spice Girls musical, you should probably have a drink first. But you should absolutely still see the show. Here’s a sneak to enjoy while Telecharge.com loads.
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“Best of Enemies” at the Young Vic Uneven but Entertaining
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is the play ‘Best of Enemies’ that I recently saw via livestream thanks to the Young Vic’s incredible decision to make all their shit available while you sit on your couch, which I love.
In 1968, American politics seemed volatile and people were fighting publicly and openly in a way that made everyone think ‘oh mg we are never going to be able to agree so we will never be able to get along or live in harmony and everything should be dictated by hate and I hate you’ and that only lasted a few years and everything is different now. I joke! See name of website! “Best of Enemies”, the new play by James Graham based on the documentary based on the famous TV segments, is the story of how television shifted to profit off of this opposition politics by pitting two well-known yellers against each other: William F. Buckley Jr. (would be a trumper today?) and Gore Vidal (would be getting into trouble on Twitter today?).
Buckley was a shlamiel conservative who founded the National Review and was super big on ‘Christian values’ in the American political sense and not the actual Christian sense; Vidal was the intellectual and author known for his wit and being in the same social circle as Andy Warhol and stuff I guess. During the 1968 primaries, ABC, then trailing in the ratings, had the great/fateful idea to pit these two figures against each other in a string of live debates where they could be like ‘no I’m right and you’re wrong’ ‘no I’M right and you’re wrong and here’s why’ ‘here’s your old man!’ kind of stuff.
Discussion of these debates have lasted all these years because 1) it changed how TV networks reported on politics and 2) Buckley called Vidal a queer and threatened to punch his face apart, on live TV. The play covers both of these aspects, though I would have loved more on the former, which I found fascinating. As Buckley, David Harewood (from Homeland) is strong and as unlikeable as he should be, and I appreciated the colorblind casting for someone known for being on the wrong side of civil rights issues so often (and sometimes he admitted as such, which is rare for his ilk today). Charles Edwards’ Gore Vidal hit that perfect note of ‘I know this guy’s right and I mostly totally agree with him but man is he pompous’, which is spot on. Both were infuriating to watch at times, making me want to yell at my TV, which is exactly what ABC was originally going for so they captured that well.
The scenes of their actual debates were among the most compelling, as the drama was fully harnessed then. The extensive look into both of their personal lives was well intentioned and seems necessary in concept for fleshing out the drama, but in practice it contributed to the parts that dragged. What stood out for me in this play was actually, as I mentioned, the interesting behind-the-scenes talks at ABC about how they could boost their ratings, and the old-school journalists who gasped and clutched their pearls at the idea of having such opinionsss presented front-and-center instead of cold hard facts. Would watch a whole 10-part documentary on that shit.
The other aspect of the play that stood out for me was how positively astounding Syrus Lowe’s performance as James Baldwin was. When he came out on stage and said his first maybe three words, husband and I said at the same time ‘oh that’s James Baldwin?’, that’s how uncanny his physical presence and manner of speaking was. LOVES IT. His role in the story was a nice way to ground it historically, as was the tiny Andy Warhol ‘cameo’ (so funny). Other historical figures, like Aretha Franklin, didn’t deliver, but that could be a problem of comparison, outshined as anyone would be by Lowe.
What worked well in this play was the interplay between the dramatization of the events and the real speeches or photos shown in projections, out-Ivo-ing Ivo yet again. It positioned this event well in its point in history and served as a reminder of how history is made at night repeats itself, as this could have largely been taken from TV today.
I could have done without the super loud scene changes and loud music. We know from Mrs. Buckley’s lime green dresses that it’s the ’60s; the music is extraneous.
Act II drags quite a bit compared to the first; watching political arguing in a world that is 99% political arguing is exhausting, y’all. It was heavily personal attacks instead of ever talking about real important issues, which I guess is all political commentary at its core, but it’s very frustrating nonetheless. The frustration is not helped by the epilogue-y part with the woman decades later pontificating on what it all ‘really meant’ without really saying anything. It felt tedious and bloated. And I could have done without the whole ‘imagine what they’d say to each other now!’ bit. Didn’t they hate each other? Weren’t they real people? Don’t put words in their mouth, especially when the words don’t measure up to the ones they were famous for. So the play would benefit from some tightening up, but it does have a lot of captivating moments.
Other bits:
The livestream didn’t have an interval countdown clock, which is very stupid.
My favorite part is when one audience member had her mask below her nose and I groaned and said ‘ughhh pick up your mask lady’ and then the next time she was onscreen her mask was on properly; it’s like she heard me.
May I remind the entire UK theatre world of my long-standing offer to give your American-accent-featuring plays a once-over during a rehearsal so that no one ends up shouting ‘conTROversy’ during actual performances.
Current Broadway Production of “Cabaret” A Must-See If You Are Human
Everyone knows the famous opening strings of this classic musical about debauchery and self-preservation during the start of World War Two: “Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome…im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret!” Sung by the Emcee, the ringleader of the seedy Kit Kat Klub in Berlin, these words welcome you into a crazy, thrilling, frightening place and convince you of amazing theatre to come.
In the off chance that you don’t know these words, then you should go see the Broadway revival of Kander & Ebb’s “Cabaret” right now because it is spectacular. See it anyway. If you are old, your Emcee is probably the lovely and amazing Joel Grey, who originated the role on Broadway and in the movie. But if you are not-old-to-medium, your Emcee is the incredible and forever young Alan Cumming, who originated the role in the London and Broadway revivals in the 1990s. He is back, playing the same role, in pretty much the same exact physical condition. He has the blood of tigers running through his veins. The Emcee does not stop moving and grooving, making sure everyone who visits his Klub is having a ball, mainly by showing off the Kit Kat girls.
In the off chance that you don’t know these words, then you should go see the Broadway revival of Kander & Ebb’s “Cabaret” right now because it is spectacular. See it anyway. If you are old, your Emcee is probably the lovely and amazing Joel Grey, who originated the role on Broadway and in the movie. But if you are not-old-to-medium, your Emcee is the incredible and forever young Alan Cumming, who originated the role in the London and Broadway revivals in the 1990s. He is back, playing the same role, in pretty much the same exact physical condition. He has the blood of tigers running through his veins. The Emcee does not stop moving and grooving, making sure everyone who visits his Klub is having a ball, mainly by showing off the Kit Kat girls.
The favorite of all the girls, at least at the moment, is Sally Bowles, fresh off the boat from England and looking for something good in her life. She finds this in the form of Cliff, a nice American boy who wants to help Sally get her life back on track. What a poor confused man.
Sally Bowles stands as one of the few classic, coveted, and career-defining roles for women. In your 20s and 30s, you dream of the chance to play Sally, and then in 20-30 years, when one of your illegitimate children from your Kit Kat Club patrons grows up to be a stripper, you dream of the chance to play her overbearing mother (Mama Rose). These are the two big Hamlets for women.
Sally Bowles stands as one of the few classic, coveted, and career-defining roles for women. In your 20s and 30s, you dream of the chance to play Sally, and then in 20-30 years, when one of your illegitimate children from your Kit Kat Club patrons grows up to be a stripper, you dream of the chance to play her overbearing mother (Mama Rose). These are the two big Hamlets for women.
Michelle Williams – the blonde Oscar nominee, not the Destiny’s Child member – opened the current revival as Sally, in her Broadway debut. Her last performance was two days ago, and I feel sorry for you if you missed her. (Emma Stone takes over the role tonight. She is prob vomiting from nerves as we speak.) Michelle brought such vulnerability to the role that you could tell Sally was made of glass, with her façade of strength ready to shatter at any moment.
Michelle started the show a little harshly, with the dirty and hilarious song “Don’t Tell Mama”, but when that’s your introduction to the character, it’ll always be harsh and unnerving (especially because we’ve never seen Michelle like this before). It’s performed here with all the dancers/strippers in baby doll clothes and squeaky voices, so uber uncomfortable but that’s the point. We did this song as part of a cabaret (not Cabaret) in college and I had super fremdschamen for the girl singing it to the crowd of friends and family. The song is about how her other relatives are cool with where she’s working but begs you not to tell her mother. It’s a very efficient title.
After, in her first book scene, her Mayfair accent is crazy uncomfortable. It’s not pleasant to listen to like so many British accents, and it’s off-putting. But this choice makes sense for Sally. She is a jarring person and she is unstable. You see immediately that this girl is trying to find solid ground to stand on but is simultaneously frightened of staying still. Michelle evokes this inner push and pull with every word she says. You kind of hate her, you kind of feel bad for her, and most of all you just want her to take a deep breath.
But once she sings her best song, “Maybe This Time”, you realize what an incredible actress Michelle Williams really is. We are lucky she began her hopefully long career in live theatre with this show. As she prays and hopes through this heartbreaking song, you realize how badly she was snubbed for a Tony nomination.
But of course this is “Cabaret”, it’s World War Two Berlin; it’s not going to end well. Of course Sally never learns how to accept comfort or stability, or love. She throws away what we know she wants due to fear, maybe not of anything in particular but of everything. Yet you still feel relieved for Cliff, a wonderful Bill Heck. Sure you don’t want him to be heartbroken, but a) Sally is a freaking train wreck and b) you want him to hightail it the hell out of Berlin.
Also, Sally and Cliff do not have the most compelling relationship in the show. That honor belongs to Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider, played by the inimitable Danny Burstein and Linda Emond (both of whom should have won Tonys). Herr Schultz adorably woos the Fraulein with kindness and pineapples, and they adorably decide to marry and fill their older age with companionship. But, as one could see from space, Herr Schultz is a Jew, and the increasing strength and brutality of the Nazi party scares Schneider away, leaving Schultz broken-hearted but not broken in spirit. Even before we see his fruit shop vandalized, we know how things will end for him. And even though we want the two to be together, you can’t help feeling for Schneider as well, because there is no right decision for her in this situation.
Spoilers!! Seriously don’t read if you plan on seeing this show because I’m about to ruin the most effective piece of theatre.
The real emotional kicker, though, happens in the very last moment. The Emcee is doing his thing, wearing his trenchcoat and singing “Willkommen” just as in the beginning. His cheeky little striptease revealed his famous lederhosen + suspenders getup when he did this earlier. At the end, however, you get a shock. I actually gasped, as I forgot, or maybe never knew, this final moment of the show. For some reason, I expected the Emcee to be a Nazi, or at least to pretend to be, selling out to save himself and maybe his club. What I never expected ever to happen was in the final beats of “Willkommen” for the Emcee to pull off his trenchcoat to reveal the famous striped pajamas and gold star of Jews, of concentration camp victims. His arms go out, his body goes limp, and you see the silhouette of the backs of all the other characters upstage, and then blackout. This was the most riveting moment I have seen in theatre in a very long time, and this gut punch of an ending made the entire show an unbelievable emotional success. It also made me realize how important and necessary “Cabaret” is in the musical theatre canon. Current events especially across Europe are proving that old saying about learning history so we don’t repeat history to be scarily timely. And that’s the point of art, like “Cabaret”, to hold a mirror up to modern society and show you how much or how little progress it’s made.
Despite its unbelievably depressing themes and ending, this revival proves “Cabaret” as one of the greatest musicals ever written. It continuously reels you in until you can’t break away. When Sally gets to the title number at the end, you really feel every note in your non-tiger blood and somehow still have hope for everyone amid all your fear. If you can see this important show before Alan Cumming (and Danny Burstein, amazing) leaves, you owe it to yourself to do so. I hope Emma Stone captures even half the character of Sally that Michelle Williams did. If she can, you’re in for a treat.
Michelle started the show a little harshly, with the dirty and hilarious song “Don’t Tell Mama”, but when that’s your introduction to the character, it’ll always be harsh and unnerving (especially because we’ve never seen Michelle like this before). It’s performed here with all the dancers/strippers in baby doll clothes and squeaky voices, so uber uncomfortable but that’s the point. We did this song as part of a cabaret (not Cabaret) in college and I had super fremdschamen for the girl singing it to the crowd of friends and family. The song is about how her other relatives are cool with where she’s working but begs you not to tell her mother. It’s a very efficient title.
After, in her first book scene, her Mayfair accent is crazy uncomfortable. It’s not pleasant to listen to like so many British accents, and it’s off-putting. But this choice makes sense for Sally. She is a jarring person and she is unstable. You see immediately that this girl is trying to find solid ground to stand on but is simultaneously frightened of staying still. Michelle evokes this inner push and pull with every word she says. You kind of hate her, you kind of feel bad for her, and most of all you just want her to take a deep breath.
But once she sings her best song, “Maybe This Time”, you realize what an incredible actress Michelle Williams really is. We are lucky she began her hopefully long career in live theatre with this show. As she prays and hopes through this heartbreaking song, you realize how badly she was snubbed for a Tony nomination.
But of course this is “Cabaret”, it’s World War Two Berlin; it’s not going to end well. Of course Sally never learns how to accept comfort or stability, or love. She throws away what we know she wants due to fear, maybe not of anything in particular but of everything. Yet you still feel relieved for Cliff, a wonderful Bill Heck. Sure you don’t want him to be heartbroken, but a) Sally is a freaking train wreck and b) you want him to hightail it the hell out of Berlin.
Also, Sally and Cliff do not have the most compelling relationship in the show. That honor belongs to Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider, played by the inimitable Danny Burstein and Linda Emond (both of whom should have won Tonys). Herr Schultz adorably woos the Fraulein with kindness and pineapples, and they adorably decide to marry and fill their older age with companionship. But, as one could see from space, Herr Schultz is a Jew, and the increasing strength and brutality of the Nazi party scares Schneider away, leaving Schultz broken-hearted but not broken in spirit. Even before we see his fruit shop vandalized, we know how things will end for him. And even though we want the two to be together, you can’t help feeling for Schneider as well, because there is no right decision for her in this situation.
Spoilers!! Seriously don’t read if you plan on seeing this show because I’m about to ruin the most effective piece of theatre.
The real emotional kicker, though, happens in the very last moment. The Emcee is doing his thing, wearing his trenchcoat and singing “Willkommen” just as in the beginning. His cheeky little striptease revealed his famous lederhosen + suspenders getup when he did this earlier. At the end, however, you get a shock. I actually gasped, as I forgot, or maybe never knew, this final moment of the show. For some reason, I expected the Emcee to be a Nazi, or at least to pretend to be, selling out to save himself and maybe his club. What I never expected ever to happen was in the final beats of “Willkommen” for the Emcee to pull off his trenchcoat to reveal the famous striped pajamas and gold star of Jews, of concentration camp victims. His arms go out, his body goes limp, and you see the silhouette of the backs of all the other characters upstage, and then blackout. This was the most riveting moment I have seen in theatre in a very long time, and this gut punch of an ending made the entire show an unbelievable emotional success. It also made me realize how important and necessary “Cabaret” is in the musical theatre canon. Current events especially across Europe are proving that old saying about learning history so we don’t repeat history to be scarily timely. And that’s the point of art, like “Cabaret”, to hold a mirror up to modern society and show you how much or how little progress it’s made.
Despite its unbelievably depressing themes and ending, this revival proves “Cabaret” as one of the greatest musicals ever written. It continuously reels you in until you can’t break away. When Sally gets to the title number at the end, you really feel every note in your non-tiger blood and somehow still have hope for everyone amid all your fear. If you can see this important show before Alan Cumming (and Danny Burstein, amazing) leaves, you owe it to yourself to do so. I hope Emma Stone captures even half the character of Sally that Michelle Williams did. If she can, you’re in for a treat.
