Vegan Guide to Michelin Restaurants: Lyle's, London UKby Randi / August 1, 2016
I have not allowed myself to have such high hopes for an original London production in a long ass time. Why did I make the exception for “Groundhog Day”, the new musical based on the iconic Bill Murray film? Because it a) stars Andy Karl, one of my faves from Broadway, and b) was written by Tim Minchin, who wrote the last London musical that met or exceeded my expectations, “Matilda”. It’s also at the Old Vic, which is renowned in its renown. While “Groundhog Day” didn’t bowl me over, it was a solidly good show and a fun time. Also, it’s really nice to see something different and original (though not “original” if you catch my drift) on the West End. (Does Old Vic count as West End? I still don’t understand the demarcations of what’s London’s Broadway/off Broadway. I mean I traveled west for it.)
“Groundhog Day” tells the really tragic, depressing, horrifying tale (but comedy) about Phil Connors, a suave, egotistical (in the show) Pennsylvania weatherman (yebop!) covering that beloved Pennsylvania traditional holiday, Groundhog Day. But instead of getting to leave the tiny village of Punxsutawney, PA after the little beaver-squirrel looking animal sees his shadow (or not) and predicts an early spring (or 6 more weeks of winter), Phil instead wakes up every. single. day. in the same place, in the same rented room in Punxsutawney, and it’s still Groundhog Day. He is doomed to live the same exact day over and over, no matter what he does. It’s pretty frightening and anxiety-ridden and can you even imagine. If you don’t know the story of “Groundhog Day”, you really should go watch the movie, because it is a fantastic movie. Just consider how original and provocative and wrenching that storyline is, and then try to tell me that it’s just some Bill Murray comedy and not one of the best screenplay ideas like ever. Then consider how ‘experts’ online (all of us, really) with lots of time on their hands and math in their brains figured out that, for Phil to have learned all the skills he learned (like become an incredible pianist), read all the books he read, memorize all the information he learned, &c, he would have been stuck in the loop for more than 100 years. A HUNDRED GODDAMN YEARS, waking up in Punxsutawney and knowing everything that was going to happen. You would die. Phil, as you know, tries to kill himself a whole bunch of times (and ways) but it doesn’t stick. Nothing sticks. He keeps waking up as if nothing happened. God that is absolutely hell. This movie is about hell.
REAL TALK PSA: When the actual real talk about Groundhog Day (the holiday) and all the accompanying traditions began, the audience laughed. Not at jokes, just at the exposition of establishing the setting: that we’re in Punxsutawney (do you realize how hard it is not to keep typing Pennsatucky?), that old men dressed in period costumes wait to see if a groundhog sees its shadow, that the area where this all goes down is called ‘Gobbler’s Knob’, these kinds of things that are ACTUAL FACTS. The audience cackled at these. Then we realized, holy shit, British people do not have ANY CLUE that this is all 100% accurate. Holy shit. They think this holiday and all these WACKY ASS traditions were made up as part of a comedy movie to get some cheap laughs. Oh especially Gobbler’s Knob – these bros sitting near us could not get over Gobbler’s Knob, because knob is slang for their (raisin-sized I bet DO YOU EVEN LIFT BRO) manparts. I mean, why would people outside of the USA know of this tiny cultural phenomenon in this tiny ass village in Pennsylvania about an animal that is sort of a beaver sort of a squirrel seeing its shadow TO PREDICT THE WEATHER? If something like this happened in England (I’m sure there are equivalents) hell if I’d know anything about it, and I live here now.
This was all confirmed last weekend at a wedding. We were seated across from a very nice couple (letsbefriends!) who had seen the evening show the same day we saw the matinee of “Groundhog Day”! How f-ing random is that! I like to think that the grooms hacked the computers of all the guests to see who had calendar appointments that reflected similar tastes and/or plans and then made the seating charts accordingly. Okay no I don’t like to think that at all but seriously how did they know? So this couple consisted of one Aussie and one Brit, and in talking about the play, we asked them if they thought Groundhog Day was a made up thing. They were ASTOUNDED that it was real. OF COURSE WE THOUGHT IT WAS MADE UP, they positively shouted in disbelief. Are you KIDDING ME?? HOW CAN THAT BE REAL? It went on. They were flabbergasted and hysterical about it. The programmes for this show really by all means need to have a piece inside about how this is a real holiday. They have all other kinds of crap in those programmes that we have to PAY for AND have to spell with extra m’s and e’s so the very least they could do is educate their audiences about small-town USA.
Okay let’s maybe talk about the actual show a bit because you know what, it was good! It was not fantastic; I wanted it to be fantastic. I want everything to be fantastic. But you know what, not everything can be fantastic. I saw so much fantastic stuff in the past year so the bar was really insanely high for the world premiere of a new show. I strongly believe that, after the run in London, its eminent move to Broadway will be for a much tighter, more exciting, more edited show. That’s what pre-Broadway runs are for, to make necessary changes and see what audiences respond to and what needs work. I mean, unless they don’t change anything because audiences are jumping to their feet every show, so we’ll see. I hope they make some changes.
Actually, honestly, I don’t know what they could change on the small scale, because the only really disappointing thing was the score! The acting was wonderful (we’ll get to that), the book was really f-ing hilarious at times, the set was fine (more on that later), the NUMEROUS shout-outs to Penn State were great (so many ensemblists in PSU gear!!!), so really, the score is what needs work. And the score is usually the last thing to undergo huge overhaul, because, well, it’s the cornerstone of a musical. But the score is what was I would want worked on here out of the whole of the show. Well, the music was; the lyrics were clever, as you’d expect of Tim Minchin (who I must admit I know primarily because of the genius that is “Matilda”). Yet we know he also writes beautiful and provocative music. If I heard the music without knowing who wrote it, Minchin would be the very last composer I would guess. It felt very blah. I remember not one part of one song. And that is usually the test for whether a score will catch on in popularity – whether audience members walk out at the end of the show humming any bits to themselves. It shows something hit them and stuck. But guys, I didn’t remember how songs went immediately after the songs themselves ended. Like 2 seconds later, not the usual gauge of ‘after the show ends’. That’s crazy. It just felt uninspired and more like ‘generic musical’ than the challenging genre-bending stuff a creative show like this needs. Husband and the wedding couple, however, disagreed, and they all thought the score was fine. But I am right.
Even with a lackluster score, the show was highly enjoyable. Why? Andy Karl. Le sigh. Andy Karl is a fantastic stalwart on Broadway, having starred in “Legally Blonde” (not as Elle) like DECADES ago it feels like, and then went on to star in “Rocky” (which was panned but I liked!), “Unfinished Dickens”…that’s not it…um…OH “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”, “On the Twentieth Century” with Kristin Chenoweth which he was AMAZ in and wore the nicest suit my husband really liked it (he has good taste), and now finally is starring on the West End (I’m just gonna go for it). His impeccable comic delivery lifts every inch of this show higher and higher and turns some whatever lines into things that made us cackle hysterically. Not joking, hysterically. The book and lyrics really had some hilarious parts, and his timing made everything even better. In one of the early songs, before he realizes he’s actually stuck in a time loop and is still acting very cocky, he sings blah blah I’m leaving, “suck my balls I’m outta here”. Ridiculous in a musical! And hilarious when delivered, because he is magicked. Something I laughed at way too hard was in this flashback sort-of number, a duet with an old flame. As they reminisced about their fling, with Phil remembering one thing and then the woman repeating the line, one time she didn’t repeat so much as paraphrase and I couldn’t stop laughing: Phil sang something about their picnic “And we ate half a pound of pate” and the woman responded, “We ate way too much pate”. It was so stupid but something about their delivery made us laugh so hard. The funniest ensemble scene (because everything Andy did in the early stages of Act I was top notch hilarity) came as a montage of doctor visits. As Phil begins freaking out about his circumstances, he goes to see every doctor imaginable to see if there’s a medical explanation for his predicament. One is a Scientologist who tells him to read Dianetics; one is this great red-head-dreaded nerd; and the best ‘doctor’ tells him he feels like he’s reliving the same day over and over because, you guessed it, he’s allergic to gluten. It was so funny!
One thing I don’t understand is how this show cost so much. It’s rumored to have cost $16.5 million, which isn’t out of the ordinary for a Broadway musical nowadays, but I am pretty sure is unusual for the West End and the Old Vic. I expected that money to be put to good use, but I would not have guessed from the set that it was so expensive. The sets were good and very appropriate, but nothing stood out as being anything more than standard set design. The opening used projections (on the curtain), the best use of projections I’ve yet seen (because it was supposed to be television), but I doubt that was that expensive. Seriously, I don’t get it! Was Minchin expensive? I kinda hope Karl is making bank but I doubt it. Just flabbergasting. I also really am curious why previously attached producer Scott Rudin (god he has a hand in EVERYTHING) walked.
The coolest thing design-wise, however, maybe was worth all the money, although it was really just stage magic and not things that cost lots of money. When Phil starts spiraling into a depression, he tries to kill himself. I mean, he succeeds, but then he just immediately wakes up starting the day over. He kills himself again and again and again, tries every way imaginable, but keeps waking up. It’s really incredibly morbid. But, this production makes this whole section of the story absolutely mind-blowing because we see Phil die in some way, but then an instant later Andy Karl sits up in the bed at 6:00am. It first became noticeable that this was some incredible stage work going on when Phil takes the head from a guy wearing the groundhog costume, puts it on, and then steps in front of a truck. Honk, crash, 2 seconds pass and Andy Karl sits up in the bed on the opposite side of the stage. People started applauding. I kept trying to follow Andy himself to see what was happening but it was seriously magic. Lots of doubles and trapdoors, I’m sure, but also magic. This was definitely the most impressive part of the physical production. I really want to know how they were doing this!
The only parts I thought were actually bad can be easily fixed. Well, maybe not easily, but they are fixable. First of all, I’ve talked in the past about how important rousing Act II openers are, because you need to get the audience re-engaged after checking out for 20 minutes. It’s really important to quickly gain some of the momentum back that was lost at intermission. Well. I hate to say it but I think Groundhog Day’s Act II opener was the worst one yet. It was performed really well, and done nicely, but seriously, WHAT THE F. The girl playing Nancy, the ‘hot’ chick that Phil picks up early on, sings the song, alone, about how she grew up thinking about Barbies and beauty standards and is doomed to just be seen as the hot one all her life when there is more to her. Now, of course, that’s a sentiment I will not condemn, and she sings well, but the entire song I was staring wide-eyed asking WHY?? This is a character who had maybe 1 line in Act I and has maybe 1 more line in Act II, so why on EARTH does she have a whole song to herself? We barely knew anything by this point about Rita, the female lead (Carlyss Peer, who is good but in an underwritten role so doesn’t shine really until the end), but this tiny ensemble character begins Act II? DOES NOT COMPUTE. Give Andy another song ffs! Or Rita! Or, really, do what I thought was happening before Nancy moved on to Verse #2 – make it a song where every ensemble member sings one verse about who they are, the people Phil never gets to know about. That would be interesting at least, to give every single townsperson the chance to say one little thing that Phil will never learn no matter how long he interacts with them. But a whole song for Nancy? PUH-LEASE. It made me really mad.
Luckily, something else happened soon after that made me even madder!!! This wasn’t the fault of the show at all, but of the audience. Ned Ryerson, that great old classmate who recognizes Phil but also annoys Phil so much that sometimes Phil punches him, was just as good here as he is in the movie. However, later on, when Phil starts trying to be a decent person, Ned shows him pictures of his family, and Phil says, “Whoa, is that your wife? She’s hot.” And Ned replies, “She was.” And the lad-filled/ignorant audience CACKLED hysterically because they thought Ned was saying that his wife is no longer hot. But no you drunk pale-ass simpletons, he was saying that SHE’S DEAD. We were horrified for the cast and for humanity that so many audience members just assumed bro-humor. It was really atrocious. I think perhaps this can be fixed if they change the word ‘hot’ to ‘beautiful’ maybe? Or something softer? Because lads hear the word ‘hot’ and it primes their brain into lad-humor mode, so maybe that would work. I don’t know, it’s not the show’s fault but they do need to address that this sort of misunderstanding should not be allowed to keep happening. Oh humanity is so scary sometimes.
Thank goodness those are the only real standouts for badness. The show as a whole is a wonderful effort, really enjoyable and with the potential to be really great. It does need some editing to move to Broadway, and just to be the best it can be, so I hope its producers aren’t babies about making those changes. I would really like more development for Rita, who I understand can’t really be a fully fleshed out character until Phil starts trying to see others as full-fledged people, which happens towards the end of the show, but still, give her something better than the songs she has about how she is a woman. Let’s just say you can tell men wrote this.
Question: Why didn’t Phil ever try to leave the town before the storm hit, like as soon as he woke up? I wonder what would have happened. Is it just because he couldn’t get anyone to drive him? Because I’m sure he stole a car or two during his 130 years stuck in this loop. Also, how did he not lose his mind? I would have in 5. At the end, when he realizes SPOILER that it’s actually a new day, he stares at Rita so long in silence that was incredibly powerful and actually made me cry. But hot damn, if this were realistic, he would have been absolutely driven clinically insane by now.
Anyway, see it if you can because Andy Karl is amazing, it’s a new musical that is really quite good and well done, and then hopefully when we see it in a year or so it will be even better. Also Andy better be nominated for an Olivier.
AUDIENCE
Ugh. See above. At least no phones rang or lit up in my field of vision, but lad-duos were talking to each other THE ENTIRE TIME. Like these guys who don’t go to the theatre often were so excited to see the play of the movie they like, but they didn’t bother behaving properly. I almost punched heads.
STAGE DOOR
Andy came out really quickly after a matinee! I was so happy! He was so nice! I didn’t wait for anyone else but bumped into some chorus members on the street and they were very nice and appreciate when I said heyyyyyyy.
REAL TALK PSA: When the actual real talk about Groundhog Day (the holiday) and all the accompanying traditions began, the audience laughed. Not at jokes, just at the exposition of establishing the setting: that we’re in Punxsutawney (do you realize how hard it is not to keep typing Pennsatucky?), that old men dressed in period costumes wait to see if a groundhog sees its shadow, that the area where this all goes down is called ‘Gobbler’s Knob’, these kinds of things that are ACTUAL FACTS. The audience cackled at these. Then we realized, holy shit, British people do not have ANY CLUE that this is all 100% accurate. Holy shit. They think this holiday and all these WACKY ASS traditions were made up as part of a comedy movie to get some cheap laughs. Oh especially Gobbler’s Knob – these bros sitting near us could not get over Gobbler’s Knob, because knob is slang for their (raisin-sized I bet DO YOU EVEN LIFT BRO) manparts. I mean, why would people outside of the USA know of this tiny cultural phenomenon in this tiny ass village in Pennsylvania about an animal that is sort of a beaver sort of a squirrel seeing its shadow TO PREDICT THE WEATHER? If something like this happened in England (I’m sure there are equivalents) hell if I’d know anything about it, and I live here now.
This was all confirmed last weekend at a wedding. We were seated across from a very nice couple (letsbefriends!) who had seen the evening show the same day we saw the matinee of “Groundhog Day”! How f-ing random is that! I like to think that the grooms hacked the computers of all the guests to see who had calendar appointments that reflected similar tastes and/or plans and then made the seating charts accordingly. Okay no I don’t like to think that at all but seriously how did they know? So this couple consisted of one Aussie and one Brit, and in talking about the play, we asked them if they thought Groundhog Day was a made up thing. They were ASTOUNDED that it was real. OF COURSE WE THOUGHT IT WAS MADE UP, they positively shouted in disbelief. Are you KIDDING ME?? HOW CAN THAT BE REAL? It went on. They were flabbergasted and hysterical about it. The programmes for this show really by all means need to have a piece inside about how this is a real holiday. They have all other kinds of crap in those programmes that we have to PAY for AND have to spell with extra m’s and e’s so the very least they could do is educate their audiences about small-town USA.
Okay let’s maybe talk about the actual show a bit because you know what, it was good! It was not fantastic; I wanted it to be fantastic. I want everything to be fantastic. But you know what, not everything can be fantastic. I saw so much fantastic stuff in the past year so the bar was really insanely high for the world premiere of a new show. I strongly believe that, after the run in London, its eminent move to Broadway will be for a much tighter, more exciting, more edited show. That’s what pre-Broadway runs are for, to make necessary changes and see what audiences respond to and what needs work. I mean, unless they don’t change anything because audiences are jumping to their feet every show, so we’ll see. I hope they make some changes.
Actually, honestly, I don’t know what they could change on the small scale, because the only really disappointing thing was the score! The acting was wonderful (we’ll get to that), the book was really f-ing hilarious at times, the set was fine (more on that later), the NUMEROUS shout-outs to Penn State were great (so many ensemblists in PSU gear!!!), so really, the score is what needs work. And the score is usually the last thing to undergo huge overhaul, because, well, it’s the cornerstone of a musical. But the score is what was I would want worked on here out of the whole of the show. Well, the music was; the lyrics were clever, as you’d expect of Tim Minchin (who I must admit I know primarily because of the genius that is “Matilda”). Yet we know he also writes beautiful and provocative music. If I heard the music without knowing who wrote it, Minchin would be the very last composer I would guess. It felt very blah. I remember not one part of one song. And that is usually the test for whether a score will catch on in popularity – whether audience members walk out at the end of the show humming any bits to themselves. It shows something hit them and stuck. But guys, I didn’t remember how songs went immediately after the songs themselves ended. Like 2 seconds later, not the usual gauge of ‘after the show ends’. That’s crazy. It just felt uninspired and more like ‘generic musical’ than the challenging genre-bending stuff a creative show like this needs. Husband and the wedding couple, however, disagreed, and they all thought the score was fine. But I am right.
Even with a lackluster score, the show was highly enjoyable. Why? Andy Karl. Le sigh. Andy Karl is a fantastic stalwart on Broadway, having starred in “Legally Blonde” (not as Elle) like DECADES ago it feels like, and then went on to star in “Rocky” (which was panned but I liked!), “Unfinished Dickens”…that’s not it…um…OH “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”, “On the Twentieth Century” with Kristin Chenoweth which he was AMAZ in and wore the nicest suit my husband really liked it (he has good taste), and now finally is starring on the West End (I’m just gonna go for it). His impeccable comic delivery lifts every inch of this show higher and higher and turns some whatever lines into things that made us cackle hysterically. Not joking, hysterically. The book and lyrics really had some hilarious parts, and his timing made everything even better. In one of the early songs, before he realizes he’s actually stuck in a time loop and is still acting very cocky, he sings blah blah I’m leaving, “suck my balls I’m outta here”. Ridiculous in a musical! And hilarious when delivered, because he is magicked. Something I laughed at way too hard was in this flashback sort-of number, a duet with an old flame. As they reminisced about their fling, with Phil remembering one thing and then the woman repeating the line, one time she didn’t repeat so much as paraphrase and I couldn’t stop laughing: Phil sang something about their picnic “And we ate half a pound of pate” and the woman responded, “We ate way too much pate”. It was so stupid but something about their delivery made us laugh so hard. The funniest ensemble scene (because everything Andy did in the early stages of Act I was top notch hilarity) came as a montage of doctor visits. As Phil begins freaking out about his circumstances, he goes to see every doctor imaginable to see if there’s a medical explanation for his predicament. One is a Scientologist who tells him to read Dianetics; one is this great red-head-dreaded nerd; and the best ‘doctor’ tells him he feels like he’s reliving the same day over and over because, you guessed it, he’s allergic to gluten. It was so funny!
One thing I don’t understand is how this show cost so much. It’s rumored to have cost $16.5 million, which isn’t out of the ordinary for a Broadway musical nowadays, but I am pretty sure is unusual for the West End and the Old Vic. I expected that money to be put to good use, but I would not have guessed from the set that it was so expensive. The sets were good and very appropriate, but nothing stood out as being anything more than standard set design. The opening used projections (on the curtain), the best use of projections I’ve yet seen (because it was supposed to be television), but I doubt that was that expensive. Seriously, I don’t get it! Was Minchin expensive? I kinda hope Karl is making bank but I doubt it. Just flabbergasting. I also really am curious why previously attached producer Scott Rudin (god he has a hand in EVERYTHING) walked.
The coolest thing design-wise, however, maybe was worth all the money, although it was really just stage magic and not things that cost lots of money. When Phil starts spiraling into a depression, he tries to kill himself. I mean, he succeeds, but then he just immediately wakes up starting the day over. He kills himself again and again and again, tries every way imaginable, but keeps waking up. It’s really incredibly morbid. But, this production makes this whole section of the story absolutely mind-blowing because we see Phil die in some way, but then an instant later Andy Karl sits up in the bed at 6:00am. It first became noticeable that this was some incredible stage work going on when Phil takes the head from a guy wearing the groundhog costume, puts it on, and then steps in front of a truck. Honk, crash, 2 seconds pass and Andy Karl sits up in the bed on the opposite side of the stage. People started applauding. I kept trying to follow Andy himself to see what was happening but it was seriously magic. Lots of doubles and trapdoors, I’m sure, but also magic. This was definitely the most impressive part of the physical production. I really want to know how they were doing this!
The only parts I thought were actually bad can be easily fixed. Well, maybe not easily, but they are fixable. First of all, I’ve talked in the past about how important rousing Act II openers are, because you need to get the audience re-engaged after checking out for 20 minutes. It’s really important to quickly gain some of the momentum back that was lost at intermission. Well. I hate to say it but I think Groundhog Day’s Act II opener was the worst one yet. It was performed really well, and done nicely, but seriously, WHAT THE F. The girl playing Nancy, the ‘hot’ chick that Phil picks up early on, sings the song, alone, about how she grew up thinking about Barbies and beauty standards and is doomed to just be seen as the hot one all her life when there is more to her. Now, of course, that’s a sentiment I will not condemn, and she sings well, but the entire song I was staring wide-eyed asking WHY?? This is a character who had maybe 1 line in Act I and has maybe 1 more line in Act II, so why on EARTH does she have a whole song to herself? We barely knew anything by this point about Rita, the female lead (Carlyss Peer, who is good but in an underwritten role so doesn’t shine really until the end), but this tiny ensemble character begins Act II? DOES NOT COMPUTE. Give Andy another song ffs! Or Rita! Or, really, do what I thought was happening before Nancy moved on to Verse #2 – make it a song where every ensemble member sings one verse about who they are, the people Phil never gets to know about. That would be interesting at least, to give every single townsperson the chance to say one little thing that Phil will never learn no matter how long he interacts with them. But a whole song for Nancy? PUH-LEASE. It made me really mad.
Luckily, something else happened soon after that made me even madder!!! This wasn’t the fault of the show at all, but of the audience. Ned Ryerson, that great old classmate who recognizes Phil but also annoys Phil so much that sometimes Phil punches him, was just as good here as he is in the movie. However, later on, when Phil starts trying to be a decent person, Ned shows him pictures of his family, and Phil says, “Whoa, is that your wife? She’s hot.” And Ned replies, “She was.” And the lad-filled/ignorant audience CACKLED hysterically because they thought Ned was saying that his wife is no longer hot. But no you drunk pale-ass simpletons, he was saying that SHE’S DEAD. We were horrified for the cast and for humanity that so many audience members just assumed bro-humor. It was really atrocious. I think perhaps this can be fixed if they change the word ‘hot’ to ‘beautiful’ maybe? Or something softer? Because lads hear the word ‘hot’ and it primes their brain into lad-humor mode, so maybe that would work. I don’t know, it’s not the show’s fault but they do need to address that this sort of misunderstanding should not be allowed to keep happening. Oh humanity is so scary sometimes.
Thank goodness those are the only real standouts for badness. The show as a whole is a wonderful effort, really enjoyable and with the potential to be really great. It does need some editing to move to Broadway, and just to be the best it can be, so I hope its producers aren’t babies about making those changes. I would really like more development for Rita, who I understand can’t really be a fully fleshed out character until Phil starts trying to see others as full-fledged people, which happens towards the end of the show, but still, give her something better than the songs she has about how she is a woman. Let’s just say you can tell men wrote this.
Question: Why didn’t Phil ever try to leave the town before the storm hit, like as soon as he woke up? I wonder what would have happened. Is it just because he couldn’t get anyone to drive him? Because I’m sure he stole a car or two during his 130 years stuck in this loop. Also, how did he not lose his mind? I would have in 5. At the end, when he realizes SPOILER that it’s actually a new day, he stares at Rita so long in silence that was incredibly powerful and actually made me cry. But hot damn, if this were realistic, he would have been absolutely driven clinically insane by now.
Anyway, see it if you can because Andy Karl is amazing, it’s a new musical that is really quite good and well done, and then hopefully when we see it in a year or so it will be even better. Also Andy better be nominated for an Olivier.
AUDIENCE
Ugh. See above. At least no phones rang or lit up in my field of vision, but lad-duos were talking to each other THE ENTIRE TIME. Like these guys who don’t go to the theatre often were so excited to see the play of the movie they like, but they didn’t bother behaving properly. I almost punched heads.
STAGE DOOR
Andy came out really quickly after a matinee! I was so happy! He was so nice! I didn’t wait for anyone else but bumped into some chorus members on the street and they were very nice and appreciate when I said heyyyyyyy.
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Tony Toni Tone: It’s the Day of the Tony Awards!
I took this! I once was there!
IT’S CHRISTMAS IN JUNE!!!! Christmas!!! Chrriiisssstmass! I mean the Tonys! Same same!
Obviously this is the most exciting time of year, not just for me but for all of us, with all the past season’s shows come (and, sadly, some gone) and ready to be feted (fetid? feta’d like the cheese (don’t eat cheese)?) with the most important awards in theatre. Well, second most, as my opinions are obviously the most important. And at the same time we have all the shows of next season tantalizing us with their news and announcements. Hooray for Theatre Chrimble Day!
This season has been dominated by “Hamilton”, as everyone in their right mind except for every single person I talk to in England knows (seriously no one knows it here and I’m like COME ON NOW I even made my gym listen to the album during a circuits class no I am not a trainer but I like to boss people around). But, unlike what CBS would have you believe in their attempts to advertise the awards, there’s much much more to this absolutely splendid season than “Hamilton”. Yes it’s probably the greatest show ever, but you know what? This season had so many other productions that also made it onto my greatest shows ever list. It was a standout year by any means, and it just happened to also be the year of “Hamilton”. I truly hope that it wins the awards it deserves to win, and while that is a lot of them, it is not all of them. I hope the voters don’t get swept away in Ham fever, as they did in the nomination process/as the whole world is overall, but I also hope they don’t get bogged down by any desire to incite a backlash or anything.
Okay, confession time: I can’t talk about the plays this season. I only saw a few…actually I saw one new one (“King Charles III”) and one revival (“Noises Off”). I really think that was all. Both were very special: KS3 was a future-historical tense play, lots of will have hads, about what might happen after Queen Elizabeth dies and Charles ascends the throne (get it he’ll be the third Charles). It was a fascinating look at the royal family and I loved how they made the semi-villain the person everyone would least expect. (Except me. I would totally expect her.) But it only brought a limited run over from London (confession, that’s where I saw it, but the same cast was brought over for Bway like a day later so it’s the same) and closed back in January, so the chances of it winning are low, despite how crazy Americans get over everything Britain farts out. As for “Noises Off”, it was one of the absolute funniest, most flawless productions I’ve ever seen. Telling the tale of a group of nutters trying to put on a play, the first act shows rehearsals (going pretty ridiculously badly), the second act shows the production from the audience’s point of view (going pretty wrong), and the third act shows the production going on another time from backstage (going absolutely bonkers). Getting all the bits from different perspectives and recognizing where things from earlier came into play later reminded me of “The Norman Conquests”, the greatest comedy plays I’ve ever ever ever seen. And the cast (Andrea Martin?! Megan Hilty?! Jeremy Shamos?! Rob McClure?! Tracee Chimo?! So many!) was amazing. Really. I would love for it to win Best Revival of a Play, but it will probably go to one of the very depressing dramas on hand. OH I also saw ‘A View from the Bridge’ because it transferred from London and we saw it here! Okay! I saw three!
But, despite living in London, I did make some time for the musicals. I would like to see everything that opens each season and some years I’ve done an incredible job with both musicals and plays but I mean I live in London so bite me. I’ve emboldened the picks below, either what I believe will win, what I want to win, or both, just read the text to get an idea. Let’s go!
Okay, confession time: I can’t talk about the plays this season. I only saw a few…actually I saw one new one (“King Charles III”) and one revival (“Noises Off”). I really think that was all. Both were very special: KS3 was a future-historical tense play, lots of will have hads, about what might happen after Queen Elizabeth dies and Charles ascends the throne (get it he’ll be the third Charles). It was a fascinating look at the royal family and I loved how they made the semi-villain the person everyone would least expect. (Except me. I would totally expect her.) But it only brought a limited run over from London (confession, that’s where I saw it, but the same cast was brought over for Bway like a day later so it’s the same) and closed back in January, so the chances of it winning are low, despite how crazy Americans get over everything Britain farts out. As for “Noises Off”, it was one of the absolute funniest, most flawless productions I’ve ever seen. Telling the tale of a group of nutters trying to put on a play, the first act shows rehearsals (going pretty ridiculously badly), the second act shows the production from the audience’s point of view (going pretty wrong), and the third act shows the production going on another time from backstage (going absolutely bonkers). Getting all the bits from different perspectives and recognizing where things from earlier came into play later reminded me of “The Norman Conquests”, the greatest comedy plays I’ve ever ever ever seen. And the cast (Andrea Martin?! Megan Hilty?! Jeremy Shamos?! Rob McClure?! Tracee Chimo?! So many!) was amazing. Really. I would love for it to win Best Revival of a Play, but it will probably go to one of the very depressing dramas on hand. OH I also saw ‘A View from the Bridge’ because it transferred from London and we saw it here! Okay! I saw three!
But, despite living in London, I did make some time for the musicals. I would like to see everything that opens each season and some years I’ve done an incredible job with both musicals and plays but I mean I live in London so bite me. I’ve emboldened the picks below, either what I believe will win, what I want to win, or both, just read the text to get an idea. Let’s go!
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BEST MUSICAL
Bright Star Hamilton School of Rock Shuffle Along Waitress Not really sure about this one just kidding adurr “Hamilton” is the greatest musical of all time so yeah it will win. If it wasn’t nominated, I think “Shuffle Along” is the clear second place, as I said in my last pre-Tony review. But I think it should be a much closer race for second than it is. “Waitress” and “Bright Star” have lovely unique scores (by famous people!) and lovely quiet stories, while “School of Rock” is a super fun ride that makes audiences happy. What a solid year! Though I don’t think any of the four really scream best musical of the year like, say, “Dear Evan Hanson” did for me (but it was off-Broadway (next year woot!)). Well it’s a good thing this is all a moo point because “Hamilton” knows what to do in the trench ingenuitive and fluent in French I mean… LEADING ACTOR MUSICAL
Alex Brightman, School of Rock Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof Zachary Levi, She Loves Me Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton God I know I say ‘any other year’ a lot and sometimes you’re just like ‘well no…there will be stronger stuff in any other year too…’ but for Danny Burstein it’s really true. He’s the Kelli O’Hara of male Broadway actors, having been nominated five or six times without a win. He is a workhorse and a darling and really who on earth would have ever thought that he WOULDN’T be winning for his turn as Tevye, the role he was born to play? But “Hamilton” really put the kibosh on a lot of those kinds of stories, so I’m sorry Danny, please keep doing lots of shows and maybe hopefully one day you’ll get yours. Zachary Levi was surprisingly fantastic in “She Loves Me”, stealing the show from his cast of Broadway stalwarts and stars with his endless charm and impeccable timing. But the year of “Hamilton” means the year of extraordinary male performances in “Hamilton”. Lin, the creator, really is great in the title role, and although at first I was upset he won the very prestigious Drama League award (only awarded to one acting performance across the board every season –men, women, featured, lead, doesn’t matter, just one gets it), but he really did deserve it: His performance defines this season, it’s the thing people will remember most, and that is kind of what that award does. But for the Tony, I don’t think Lin should beat Odom/yeah he’s good with the words cuz he wrote ‘em/but Leslie’s voice and acting overflowed him/and I hope tonight we’re all saying ‘Philly boy you damn showed ‘em’. He’s RG. FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me Jennifer Simard, Disaster! Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along This one is much harder than I ever thought it would be. After seeing “Hamilton” last year, way too long ago now and I am suffering withdrawal and why didn’t I buy all the tickets when nobody knew what it was yet I only got two what the hell is wrong with me, the one thing I remember thinking DURING “Satisfied” was “Renee is going to win a Tony”. Everyone seemed to think so. But the bad thing about a show opening so far away from the Tonys is that new things come in and people take over that spotlight and some voters forget how amazing older performances were. Danielle Brooks has gotten raves for her excellent job in Purps, as has Adrienne Warren pulling double duty. Somehow, Jennifer Simard’s truly hilarious turn as a gambling-addicted nun in the truly ridiculous Disaster! has gained traction lately with everyone wanting to see her perform on the telecast, and what was once a surprisingly cool nomination is now considered by some pundits to be a dark horse for the award. But that shit kinda cray. The real dark horse, or maybe frontrunner, is Jane Krakowski as Ilona in “She Loves Me”, or as I called her, the “Miss Rhode Island” of it, and if you get that, we should be friends. Her definitive take on the role has garnered her several of the lead-up/Golden Globe style awards. But my money’s still on Renee, not just because of Hamilton’s potential to sweep but because she was breathtaking and if I could vote, I would vote for her. And Daveed in every category. BEST BOOK
Steve Martin, Bright Star Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton Julian Fellowes, School of Rock George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along, Or the Rest of the Title I meannnn how cool is it that Steve Martin is nominated for two Tony Awards! I like him very much! Also am I the only person who whenever Julian Fellowes is mentioned goes “Hello I’m Julian Fellowes!” in Tracy Morgan’s voice? Um anyway, so book. Several pundits and people who think they are smart choose ‘Shuffle Along’ to win for book, just to spread the wealth around from “Hamilton” but also because some TRUE IDIOTS think that sung-through shows don’t have books. Listen people, if you are someone who thinks that, then you do not have ANY IDEA what the book is, and you do not deserve the right to call yourself a journalist or a theatre critic or really anyone who knows things, because you don’t. As for the former reason, to spread the wealth, it’s an equally bad reason because omg don’t give an award that Hamilton actually really deserves to the one with the worst book! Seriously, “Shuffle” had the potential to be an unbelievable show, but the book is a mess. THE BOOK IS ITS BIGGEST PROBLEM. So that critics want to award THAT aspect of it over other much more deserving parts gives me agita something fierce. I don’t want “Hamilton” to sweep, really (especially Lead Actress), but it should absolutely win the awards it deserves to win, and book is one of them. |
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
The Color Purple Fiddler on the Roof She Loves Me Spring Awakening Confession (again): I haven’t seen “Fiddler” yet. I love “Fiddler” though, hell I was in “Fiddler” (not on Broadway) (yet) (look so Jewish) (even more so in London because my hair is frizzier in this weather) (I’m getting away from myself) and I love Danny Burstein, so I have no qualms about including it in the mix when I say this is the best season I can remember (or read about) for musical revivals. The other three, the ones I saw, were absolutely flawless. Throughout and after “Color Purple”, “She Loves Me”, and “Spring Awakening” I thought to myself (in the very very few rare moments when I was aware that I was still a person and not part of the air in that theatre just floating in admiration) “Holy crap, this is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.” So what a competition! That’s why those three are all italicized above – I would be happy if any of them won. The reimagining of “Spring Awakening”, using deaf actors and sign language to add even more depth and genius to that beautiful show (god that scene with Krysta Rodriguez) (holy crap that ending scenery), in any other year would have be the clear winner, I think, but its limited run ended in January and that’s a really big hurdle to overcome. But also, it’s so f-ing competitive because of the other two shows: first, the beyond sublime giddy puppy of a show peeing all over your feet and running around in circles until you down and pet it “She Loves Me”, the musical version of “You’ve Got Mail” so, ya know, perfection. This is How to Perfectly do a Revival Method 1: stay true to its heart, exactingly traditional and true, but do it perfectly. The last one, “The Color Purple”, the one that rips your heart out and stuffs hot burning sand into the hole it left but then rebuilds your heart a little bigger than it was before (not in a congenital enlarged heart way but in a full of love way) and gently puts it back where it belongs and then gives you a big bear hug through tears, is How to Perfectly do a Revival Method 2: scale down what wasn’t necessary before and let the emotional center soar without excess baggage so that the beautiful story and score shines more than anyone previously thought possible. This year, I think “Purple” has the edge because Method 2 proved more exciting and spell-binding and life-changing for all viewers. It also had a secret weapon, an immigrant we know and love who’s unafraid to step in and show the world that she is a force that no one can dare reckon with (see below). But honestly, any of these would be deserving winners, which is an awesome, rare thing to be able to say about any category in any thing ever. LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me Carmen Cusack, Bright Star Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple Jessie Mueller, Waitress Phillipa Soo, Hamilton To give you an idea of how competitive this category was for nominations, Audra wasn’t even nominated even though she was fantastic and is always award-worthy even in crap like Ricki and the Flash which I couldn’t even finish on an airplane except for her scenes. Just such strong performances by talented women this year. But now that we’re actually talking about the award, I don’t think this is competitive at all. Sure, Laura Benanti (“in any other year!”) is beloved onstage and gives a phenomenal performance, heartfelt and sung superbly and hilarious too; and sure Phillipa is really lovely in the monster smash of a generation and lots of fangirls want her to win despite her role being a little below the standard of what I think this category requires; and sure Jessie Mueller is always dependably worthy and gives show-stopping performances that break your heart; and sure Carmen Cusack is giving a wonderful Broadway debut that has charmed everyone who has seen her. But, no. Nope. Cynthia Erivo is to right now what Audra McDonald was in the ‘90s (and also now and forever) – a game changer. Talent like this doesn’t come around often and performances like hers don’t soon leave your memory. She is unstoppable and if she doesn’t win, it’ll be like when Raul Esparza didn’t win for “Company” but approximately 41 billion times worse. I mean awards don’t matter and all and she is so talented that the Tony can’t really begin to recognize how amazing she is but still she deserves it. And I’m not just saying this because we are friends. (It counts if I baked for her and she ate it and we talked about it right. That’s all friendship is.) FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress Jonathan Groff, Hamilton Christopher Jackson, Hamilton DAVEED MY MANNNN. Daveed is so good in “Hamilton” it’s not really fair to other actors. Like in the world. He’s a rapper (and maybe the best one on earth omg listen to clipping. right now) and was a theatre major at Brown (where my friend knew him! Or her friend did! It’s hard to remember because my head exploded!), but wasn’t really known in the theatre world at all before his debut in “Ham” and now he’s just THE GREATEST MAN ALIVE well no not that but seriously everyone adores him and you can’t not adore him and he’s absolutely incredible in two very different roles and if he doesn’t come to London with it I will be quite sad. Give him all the Tonys. Gonna do my only ‘should have been nominated’ comment here. Okierete Onaodowan (also my friend because of baked goods in London) should have been nominated over one of the others, probably Jon Groff whom I absoluuutely adooore but was onstage for 3 minutes. He was hilarious and perfect, but Oak does some seriously impressive acting up there as the bigger than life Hercules Mulligan in the first act and then the taciturn, sickly, small professor of a politician James Madison in the second. He’s really incredible. |
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Bright Star, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (who i keep calling Little Edie)
Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda
School of Rock, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater
Waitress, Sara Bareilles
How cool is it that Sara Bareilles wrote a musical and it’s actually great?? How cool is it that Steve Martin wrote this charming show of mostly banjo music and it’s lovely?? How cool is it that Sir Andrew in the Hot Pants has a new show?? Pretty cool!
Hamilton.
Bright Star, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (who i keep calling Little Edie)
Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda
School of Rock, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater
Waitress, Sara Bareilles
How cool is it that Sara Bareilles wrote a musical and it’s actually great?? How cool is it that Steve Martin wrote this charming show of mostly banjo music and it’s lovely?? How cool is it that Sir Andrew in the Hot Pants has a new show?? Pretty cool!
Hamilton.
OTHERS THAT I CARE ABOUT IT’S JUST TWO REALLY:
Savion Glover must win choreography for “Shuffle Along”. It was not only the best part of that show, but it was the best choreography of the season. What he can do with tap dancing is beyond awards. I love that he makes tap dancing seem so necessary and fresh and somehow like the physical version of hip-hop music. It’s very cool. He’s doing for dance in theatre what Lin is doing for music.
Savion Glover must win choreography for “Shuffle Along”. It was not only the best part of that show, but it was the best choreography of the season. What he can do with tap dancing is beyond awards. I love that he makes tap dancing seem so necessary and fresh and somehow like the physical version of hip-hop music. It’s very cool. He’s doing for dance in theatre what Lin is doing for music.
The other thing I care about is Lighting and anything technical, which should absolutely go to American Psycho, which I didn’t see (so sad, so sad), but which I know from clips (legal) and people whose opinions I respect revolutionized the use of projections and computers to tell their story. I like that they pushed the boundaries in every single way, and at least they should be awarded in some way here. However, I think “She Loves Me” should win for Set Design, because that incredible toybox set so beautifully defined what splendor can come on Broadway stages.
Here’s my last confession of the day: I can’t watch this shit live, I mean come on it’s starting at 1am my time. So please don’t text me your reactions to what happens. You CAN send emails and write comments because I won’t read those until after I watch. Enjoy! Don’t forget to leave out a plate of cookies and (nondairy) milk for the ghost of Ethel Merman!
The Autumn of Dave Malloy Continues with London’s Ghost Quartet
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is Ghost Quartet, playing at London’s new Boulevard Theatre until January 4.
About 10 seconds into our performance of Ghost Quartet, husbo and I smiled at each other giddily: It sounds like Dave. It is remarkable that a modern composer has so assuredly developed his own unique sound, that you immediately recognize as His (Dave’s not god’s) as soon as you hear it. There are maybe 4 working composers you can say that about. I am grateful for Dave Malloy’s weird and wacky and uncanny sound, what can I say.
As usual with his shows, Ghost Quartet is a challenging assortment of brilliant moments, beautiful music, and lovely abstract storytelling, plus some too-vague storytelling, songs that don’t fit, and moments that should have been cut. Going into a Malloy show, you know that the seeming lack of editing down to its best form is part of the package (common when one individual is writing the music, lyrics, and book (collaboration leads to tighter shows)) but that seems to be a key aspect: he forces you to reckon with what you might consider the fat. He mixes absolute gorgeousness with a lack of clarity, with ridiculous noise, sometimes boring bits, things that go on too long, &c. They sometimes feel like a dare, like he’s daring us to question what he decided to keep in order to understand the project more deeply. And sure I am again questioning what he decided to keep, but I almost kind of love the mixture of high and low, good and not so good.
Ghost Quartet in particular has an exceptionally vague ‘story’ being told through the song cycle sung by the four talented cast members, who announce the side and track number of this ‘album’ before each song. Okay so I just read the synopsis on Wikipedia and said ‘really? what?’ like 18 times. Like I said, the story is so unclear and is actually four interweaving stories told in chaotic order, which helps with the whole mystical tone but I did not get 90% of what the wiki says. It seems generally that there is a woman named Rose, who fell in love, but the guy chose her sister and Rose wanted to get revenge, and then Rose took a picture of her ghost, and then there was a young woman who bought a camera from a witchy lady who also had a sister named Rose who died and was this the camera that Rose used to take the ghost picture?? And then there was a family named Usher in the story (based on the Poe story apparently) and the woman lost her daughter, and then the daughter’s daughter too but I think that daughter was the one who became the starchild? and then the sister was also Rose’s lover in another incarnation and even though it seemed to take place a few 100 years ago someone got pushed on a train platform? When did trains start? ALSO at some point Rose meets The Bear, who wants to help her with her revenge maybe? So The Bear starts Rose (I think) off on a new scavenger hunt of four items to give the Into the Woods “the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, the slipper as pure as gold” list a run for its money: the bear requests 1) one pot of honey (naturally), 2) one piece of stardust (not suuure how to acquire that but okay) 3) one secret baptism (wat), and 4) a photo of a ghost (oh). It’s just the eensiest bit harder that Sondheim’s but you gotta hand it to the bear, that’s some f-ing list. (I remembered this because I loved its ridiculousness.) I actually cracked up at ‘one secret baptism’; I just wanted to shout ‘FUCK THAT IS SO DAVE. SO. DAVE.’
Oh and also there’s like a scene with Thelonius Monk, or maybe his ghost. Fork me I have no idea what was happening, but it doesn’t really matter what the details are, just that you feel the essence of it through the music, often haunting, sometimes fun, almost always interesting. And the cast of four definitely conveyed the desired eccentric, eerie, provoking essence beautifully. The two women, Carly Bawden and Maimuna Memon, carry the show with their incredible vocal talents and versatility, while the two men, Niccolo Curradi and Zubin Varla (the latter of whom is almost ready to join our list of Jenna Russell, Imelda Staunton, and Michael Ball for Actors Who Seem to be Cast in Everything (except he has actually been well cast whenever we’ve seen him)) provide strong support. All four have moments of brilliance and even hilarity, all while playing numerous instruments and ever-changing characters. They also hand out shaker eggs and serve several types of whiskey to most of the audience (though not to us; I don’t even drink and I was upset at not getting anything) and ask people to join them for the finale, which was cute but distracted from the power of it. The astonishingly gorgeous and moving a cappella quartet that I believe ends Side 3 should have been the finale.
So, whatever’s going on in this story is super confusing but that’s kind of the point; you shouldn’t have full clarity when talking about ghosts. It helped achieve the right vibe to be so nebulous, since the focus is and should be on what the music makes you feel. And they definitely succeed on that front.
INFORMATION
A pre-show informational email said the show was about 90 minutes with no interval but it was 100 minutes. Given that there were 4 ‘sides’ of the ‘album’ and not 2, this show really would have benefited from an interval. I realize it’s still short for an interval but it would really work here. Also it felt much longer, which is a disservice to the show. (ALSO – it should just be 3 sides. The audience expects there to be 2 sides, so much so that when they announced “Side 3, Track 1” there was a bit of a giggle. It totally flows with the whole Ghosty Weirdness to have 3 sides because that’s a little odd. The 4th side was so short anyway and like, too conventional since it completes the set. Don’t complete the set! Let it be weird!)
Sit in the front row if you want to be involved/get whiskey. Sit in our seats (B13 and B14) if you don’t want ANYTHING AT ALL. I’m not mad. (But I was hundo p that I had booked aisle seats, so I was shocked SHOCKED to find that our seats were smack dab in the center of a long row. Luckily, the ‘stalls’ in the round is only 3 rows, and there’s a big gap between B and C so I hopped over at the end to beat the rush to the bathroom because the toilets are FAR (downstairs and on the far side of the restaurant, which blows).
Aside from the toilet sitch, this new theatre is super lovely. I can’t wait to see more shows use this space in interesting ways. (Apparently the balcony section spins. INTO IT.)
