An Inspired Production of The Last Five Years at Southwark Playhouseby Randi / March 5, 2020A tad too late in the game for reminding English people that they actually approve of (the idea of) some refugees, The Prince of Egypt has arrived in London, packing ‘em in at the Dominion Theatre and taking no prisoners (except the Hebrews). Based on the 1998 DreamWorks movie of the same name, The Prince of Egypt tells the story you know from your babble, of a little Hebrew bebbeh whose mother put him in a basket and sent him down the river instead of keeping him to suffer the slavery and genocide of their people. That baby was discovered by the Queen of Egypt, who adopted him, named him Moses (surprise!), and raised him as her own, until he realized his heritage and decided, with the help of god, to save his people. It’s a fantastic story, and really a phenomenal idea for a musical. So why is this show so lackluster?
Honestly, it feels amateur. It feels like an early draft in terms of book (at least some of that dialogue, yeesh) and, much more so, score, which is a strange feeling to get about material that has existed in large part for more than 20 years. I hate to speak ill of my boy little Stevie Schwartz, composer of some of my favorite scores (like Pippin and Wicked (don’t even try to pretend you don’t also love the Wicked score, no one’s buying your bullshirt)), but aside from the Oscar-winning “When You Believe”, there are few musical numbers that don’t feel pedestrian, despite so many golden opportunities for great songs. And the layout, my god: in Act II, there was a 40-minute span where every. single. song. sounded the same, with the same melody, same key, same time signature. It’s like Musical Theatre 101 to not have songs that sound the same or achieve the same goal in a row, so to have like, 7 of them almost made me scream. It’s a shame that a production this huge and this destined for a long run has such a bland score.
The visuals of this production, however, are fire. I mean that literally – there’s a good amount of pyrotechnics used. This production is dripping with evidence of endless financial backing, and it’s quite a visual treat. The staging, the special effects, that stage lifting up to ‘drown’ the Egyptians (the best part!), it’s all great. Not in an artistic way, mind you, not in a ‘wow this is sophisticated storytelling’ way, but in a ‘wow this spectacle is fun to watch’ way.
That extends to the cast as well. Luke Brady is a strong Moses, tasked with the enormous burden of carrying the show and doing a commendable job. His brother-turned-enemy, Ramses, is played by a solid Liam Tamne who gave me strong Papi from Pose vibes while offering a very very different Ramses from what we’ve seen before from performers like Yul Brynner, much more obviously insecure and uncertain. Christine Allado’s Tzipporah, like most of the women in this male-centric show, was sung well but felt poorly written. Her first big song is a sexy dance in a cage and she’s like ‘when I dance I dance for me’ which could have given Miss Saigon early-first-act vibes but instead reminded me of the Crazy Ex Girlfriend song “Put Yourself First” where the girls satirically sing “make yourself sexy/just for yourself” and I was like, oof. Her character continued to enrage me when she complained about the possibility of having to live in the palace in order to SAVE AN ENTIRE RACE like holy what girl get over yourself oh it’s so sad you have to live like a princess in order to SAVE PEOPLE FROM SLAVERY my absolute goodness. Ramses’s wife Nefertari (which every time I heard it was like like “It’s NeferTITI oh wait no it’s not”) (played by Tanisha Spring) is similarly underwritten as a haughty bench, except she gets to show a softer side (really any side) with a moving song in Act II that was, unfortunately, too similar to the ones before and after it. I did like Alexia Khadime’s Miriam, possibly because she is only really in it to act like Jasmine in the marketplace pretending to be crazy (except not pretending) and then singing the best song, so, lucky her.
The ensemble is probably the hardest working in London right now, with endless difficult choreography demanded of them. I’m not sure if Sean Cheesman’s (stay fresh, cheese bags) nonstop, energetic, primal choreography is always necessary, but it’s always interesting to watch and feels raw and visceral in a unique way (I almost yelled in pain just watching some of the more intense moves). The talented ensemble may be the most diverse in London too, which is great.
But I’m not sure that huge diverse ensemble includes any Jews (and even if it did, the whole awkward dancing to chanting Hebrew felt strange). And that wouldn’t be the only problem with this show in terms of that representation. This is a show about Jews – not sure if you knew, but Moses, hoo boy, he’s big with us. And this is telling his entire story, from birth to the parting of the Red Sea, like, it’s foundational Judaism right here. But this production, aside from treating ‘Hebrew’ like it’s some exotic fictional designation (and never saying the word Jew), has sanitized the story so it never actually feels like it’s about religion. It really seems like this guy Moses is doing all of this on his own, with very few, too few, mentions of how god is working through him and how god is on the side of the Jews (chosen people helloooo). Also, his guilt about all the shit he’s wrought is sad but he never confronts god about what he’s making him do. Seriously if you didn’t know the story it’s very blink-and-you’ll-miss-when-they-mention-it’s-god’s-doing, when they mention that god wants to save the Jews. Which is weird. Maybe they wanted this to feel like a more universal refugee story, which is valid for today’s society, but there’s a way to do that without making it feel like Jewish erasure.
If you are a discerning theatregoer, you are better off forgetting about Charlton Heston’s crappiness for a bit and rewatching The Ten Commandments film and playing “When You Believe” at the opportune moment, like when I watch Legally Blonde and pause when she sees her name on the list of interns so I can sing “So Much Better” from the musical version. If, instead, you are an average London audience member who loves spectacle, you will love this.
INFORMATION
Act I ended after an hour and 20 minutes, and the show overall ended after 2 hours 45 minutes. Yes it is about 20 minutes too long.
I sat in the stalls, and I recommend sitting on the house left side aisles for easy access to the ladies rooms. There’s one up from the bar at the back on the left, and there’s one if you sit on the extreme left all the way down by the stage, so that’s a fun little secret few people knew about. This theatre is a g-d barn so I can’t say if the right side of the house was set up the same.
Like most things at the Dominion Theatre, the audience behaves like they’re at a rock concert (as most long-running recent productions have been rock concert-ish…or the traveling megachurch services, not even joking). Lots of phones, lots of talking and even at like, regular volume? I had to yell at an old man for nonstop loud talking and he didn’t stop so I had to sit back and stew and hope that corona gets him.
Maybe I’m just spoiled with well done theatres lately, but the Dominion is a mess right now, not really up to par with small hospitality things that every other West End and near-West End theatre does. Like, they have no water pitchers at the bars. If you want water you have to wait in the regular long bar line. What’s up with that nonsense! Also, only one of the stalls doors had a content warning sign (strobe lights, flashing, fire, &c) and I had to go searching for it. And there are no signs for the run time information so you have to find an usher to ask.
Also, programmes are £6. And they aren’t even giant souvenir-edition ones! Just for the regular small programme. PASS (over).
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Seeing “FRIEND: The One with Gunther” after losing Gunther
Those of you who know me, or who have been around here for a while, know that Friends is like water to me. And I drink more water than you think is healthy. I’ve needed Friends as a sort of lifeblood since I was a wee behbeh watching it on live TV. With everything you’ve ever said to me, I’ve immediately thought of the most applicable line from Friends in response and smiled to myself. Instead of my daily dose of viewing therapy (it’s not weird) one recent night, I went over to Wilton’s Music Hall (my fave London venue because I can pee at home and barely need shoes) to catch Brendan Murphy’s absolutely hysterical one-man show ‘Friend (The One With Gunther)’.
This 70-minute romp features Murphy in a sometimes-chaotic constantly energetic rehashing of all 10 seasons of the best show ever made from the perspective of the barista with hair brighter than the sun. It’s not so much an impression of Gunther that Murphy is giving in his portrayal, as he doesn’t waste time trying to act or sound like him, but more of an homage, a pledge of allegiance to appreciating what Gunther did as the only legitimate candidate for the oft-debated slot of ‘7th friend’. Gunther was in the most episodes after the main 6 cast members – 148 of the total 236 – and became a necessary part of the show, as familiar and constant as the couch in Central Perk. He’s usually a welcome sight to catch in the background, but when he comes more to the fore, he steals the show. His limited but potent lines reminded us that he was probably the best representation of our civilian selves on that screen, with his estimation and his annoyance with the main six.
In ‘Friend’, Murphy is a whirlwind of energy running around that stage. Gunther would never move so fast, but Murphy is instantly winning nonetheless. I started cracking up fast and furious right at the start when Murphy does a win-sided phincall and is telling his friend “yeah I’ll be about 70 minutes…yeah I expanded it a bit since the Fringe.” I was in hard on this comedy even though it had nothing to do with Friends yet. That sentiment continued as Murphy morphed into Gunther and told his early childhood tale: a clear paraphrase of Dr. Evil’s monologue in Austin Powers, you know the one, where he says his father claims he invented the question mark? I think husbo and I were the only ones who realized it was this excellent monologue, not because it’s niche but because we were the only non-drunks. These opening segments had me hooked and they were all clearly Murphy’s brand of comedy, not Gunther’s, which makes me want to see more from him on other subjects.
And then it moved on to the main subject, ‘Friends’ from Gunther’s perspective. Murphy told us the expected details – how he was in love with Rachel and how much he hated Ross, etc – as he attempted a rapid-fire run-through of every season and all the big plot points and what it was like for Gunther as opposed to Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe. As we went on, the show seemed to split into two aspects: the portrayal of Gunther sharing the deets as he lived them, vs a non-Gunther entity sharing a history of the show and its other minor players. The attempted run-through of all 10 seasons regardless of their import to Gunther’s story plus all the minor characters that Gunther never interacted with felt unnecessary and too divided from a core concept. And the non-Gunther-entity segments included a little too much audience work, like some trivia that felt too separated from a Gunther tribute.
However, these are just thoughts I’ve having thinking of it as a play and trying to consider its central thesis. But treated as a comedy show, who cares about a thesis if you are laughing your ass off the whole time. It doesn’t matter that the thread of what Gunther experienced is dropped at some point, and it doesn’t matter that Murphy’s tenuous enactment of our fave side character becomes more and more detached. It’s all really funny, most of all when he leans hard into his crush on Rachel and hatred of Ross and comes out the other end with the “Stan” segment, a work of complete and inspired genius. I was falling off my chair at this part – it’s so perfect.
This One With Gunther was more of a tribute to ‘Friends’ as a whole in the guise of being a tribute to this one fan favorite character rather than a legitimately full tribute to this character. However, it still felt like such a lovely treat to be able to experience so soon after the death of James Michael Tyler. My connection to Friends runs real deep (as it does for so many people even though I never could believe anyone else knew or loved it as much as I did until I saw this show and accepted that Murphy probably does) and so too does my assumed connection to all the characters after a lifetime of considering them like actual friends. Gunther is the first biggie that we’ve had to say goodbye to in real life and it’s a weird thing to grapple with, the death of someone you didn’t know who played someone you did know but who didn’t know you. It’s complicated to try to grieve for that person. What does it matter that it’s all a TV show?
I’m thus grateful to this show for giving me a timely outlet for thinking about Gunther a little more, and so glad that it turned out to be a hysterical original show and a great time. I’m only a little bit still full of hot rage fire at the audience, who was 90% messy sloppy drunks. They were so loud, literally shouting to each other, asking their friends at the other end of the row and behind them (jfc) if they wanted some of the wine they were passing around. They shouted to Murphy as though the show was a conversation, preempting his next lines (nb he was not asking for call and response). They were the kind of people that so badly wanted to prove that they knew all the inside jokes that they would ruin the joke for everyone else. People, you don’t have to prematurely scream ‘oh smelly cat!’ to show the rest of us that you are in on the joke. It’s ‘Friends’. EVERYONE IN THE WORLD is in on the joke. They were the kind of audience members that are blatant pathetic attention seekers, the ones who badly want everyone’s attention on them instead of the onstage talent and who you pity as a result but hate them for ruining your experience. It’s a testament to how much fun this show is that they didn’t completely ruin our time, though they were that bad that it was a close call. Brendan actually worked in jokes about the dozen-large group we were amidst, because he had to, they were that obviously disruptive. I’m mad that people like this who have no concern for anyone else around them in life get away with shit like this with no repercussions. They had a blast while we heard their loud chatter over what Brendan was saying a lot of time and suffered for it. When a few of them put their phones up and started filming, an usher halfheartedly waved to them to say no and then left. Great enforcement guys! They didn’t even see her. Anyway, this audience was full of pathetic pieces and that was a shame. Gunther would call these people azels, and then we serve them sneezers.
I’m “The Most Happy Fella” Because of Encores! at NY City Center
None of these three guys is the most happy. But they look regular happy.
Does Encores! ever disappoint? No, it really doesn’t. The program’s just-about-one-weekend-only productions (at NY City Center) of classic musicals are always as good as full throttle Broadway productions, and in some cases better. Its recent presentation of “The Most Happy Fella” was the latter type. While the show itself has issues, this production and this spectacular cast were undoubtedly the greatest ever of this musical. If the New York theatre crowd didn’t already know to run, money waving in hand, to the NYCC box office every time an Encores! production was announced, everyone knows now. The full, gorgeous production outshone most of what’s on the boards now, or has been lately, thanks to Casey Nicholaw’s (of “Book of Mormon” fame) efficient direction, good cuts for time, the perfectly cast leads, and most of all the lush, romantic Frank Loesser operatic score.
Yes, “Fella” is totally operatic, but no it is not an opera and don’t call it one or Laura Benanti will yell at you. It feels like one because a lot of the scenes are sung-through in recitatives that aren’t quite full songs on their own, like an opera. Yet it is pure classic musical theatre. But it does require singers (at least in the lead female role of Rosabella) somewhat of opera caliber, and that’s why the casting of Benanti as Rosabella, whose legit soprano voice we don’t get to hear enough in most of her roles, was the key that made this production work so well. Even with the flu – she had the flu baaad the entire run – she was perfection. You could not tell she was sick at all. (She is pretty much the definition of trooper. Also, during her first big song, “Somebody Somewhere”, someone up front sneeze-cough-died SO LOUD I could hear it in the balcony like it was in my ear, and Benanti was completely unfazed. (She told me afterwards that it was “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard”.)) It was crazy how perfect she was in this role of a San Francisco waitress, who finds at the end of the night that a customer left her a lovely pin as a tip, along with a letter written on his menu professing his love for her. Okay yeah, that’s how the show starts, and it sounds corny as hell, but it’s old-fashioned and just swell.
The customer is Tony, an Italian farmer in the Napa Valley, who has to deal with everyone always commenting on how this Italian is so foreign and exotic which is kind of awkward, but then again he still speaks broken English in a very heavy Italian accent so we’ll just let that go. Tony is the biggest-hearted man, but he’s also pretty damn old, which is why Rosabella at first is like ew gross old man get away from me. (She actually says this, sort of.) Well that’s how it is supposed to be, but Shuler Hensley (playing Tony, in his best performance poss ever) is like only ten years older than Benanti. So it just felt mean but whatever. Anyway so plot. Rosabella (this is just what Tony calls the beautiful waitress and what she ends up being called by everyone in Napa; we find out her real name at the end and it’s prettayy funny) writes to the address Tony left on the menu and sends a picture of herself. Tony receives the picture and shares it with his entire community in Napa, and they all perform the title song that has been stuck in my head for 2 weeks now. (Seriously I’m even singing to my dog “YOU’RE THE MOST CUTEST FELLAAAA”.) P.S., we learn that all the gals in Napa shop exclusively at Modcloth. So Tony is the most happy fella, over the moon that she actually responded to his love letter, but then he’s upset, rightly so, that she asks for his picture in return (he’s not the most handsome slightly overweight old man). But then! Cheyenne Jackson, the most gorgeous person to ever walk on this planet (this is not an exaggeration, it’s like even his Wikipedia entry) enters as Joey, Tony’s right-hand farmhand, and Tony’s all heyyyy Joeyyyyy lemme ahh take ahh peetch of ahh youuuuu! Then Cheyenne sings and everyone dies from happy. Including Rosabella, who gets Joey’s picture and is all “This guy’s HAWT I’m gonna go to Napa and marry him!” So, this show is not the most feminist piece of theatre.
Watch the below video to get a feeling for it all. And also to understand why Cheyenne and Laura are two of the best people ever. And everyone else.
The customer is Tony, an Italian farmer in the Napa Valley, who has to deal with everyone always commenting on how this Italian is so foreign and exotic which is kind of awkward, but then again he still speaks broken English in a very heavy Italian accent so we’ll just let that go. Tony is the biggest-hearted man, but he’s also pretty damn old, which is why Rosabella at first is like ew gross old man get away from me. (She actually says this, sort of.) Well that’s how it is supposed to be, but Shuler Hensley (playing Tony, in his best performance poss ever) is like only ten years older than Benanti. So it just felt mean but whatever. Anyway so plot. Rosabella (this is just what Tony calls the beautiful waitress and what she ends up being called by everyone in Napa; we find out her real name at the end and it’s prettayy funny) writes to the address Tony left on the menu and sends a picture of herself. Tony receives the picture and shares it with his entire community in Napa, and they all perform the title song that has been stuck in my head for 2 weeks now. (Seriously I’m even singing to my dog “YOU’RE THE MOST CUTEST FELLAAAA”.) P.S., we learn that all the gals in Napa shop exclusively at Modcloth. So Tony is the most happy fella, over the moon that she actually responded to his love letter, but then he’s upset, rightly so, that she asks for his picture in return (he’s not the most handsome slightly overweight old man). But then! Cheyenne Jackson, the most gorgeous person to ever walk on this planet (this is not an exaggeration, it’s like even his Wikipedia entry) enters as Joey, Tony’s right-hand farmhand, and Tony’s all heyyyy Joeyyyyy lemme ahh take ahh peetch of ahh youuuuu! Then Cheyenne sings and everyone dies from happy. Including Rosabella, who gets Joey’s picture and is all “This guy’s HAWT I’m gonna go to Napa and marry him!” So, this show is not the most feminist piece of theatre.
Watch the below video to get a feeling for it all. And also to understand why Cheyenne and Laura are two of the best people ever. And everyone else.
Rosabella and Tony get to know each other though and, despite Rosabella’s initial anger at being tricked (plus some other sheet that goes down), of course they fall for each other while singing absolutely glorious songs, with a full orchestra (such a rarity nowadays, and such a g-d treat). Meanwhile, Rosabella’s best friend Cleo (Heidi Blickenstaff, hilarious as always but dancier than normal) comes to keep an eye on everything (this is effectively a mail-order bride situation, so good on Cleo for being all um I’m gonna check this shit out…) and falls for a different farmy guy named Herman (Jay Armstrong Johnson, wonderful and FOR REAL channeling Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf…he even says “I love smiling smiling’s my favorite!!” Well he says style but in the same way). They realize they’re both from Dallas and they sing the second most fun song in the entire show, “Big D” (as in “Big D, little A double L-A-S!”). Blickenstaff also sings one of the most ridiculous songs in musical theatre, “Ooh! My Feet!” It is a ballsy way to open a show, with a supporting character rubbing her aching feet and literally wailing “Ooh, my feet, my poor poor feet” and singing about each one of the little piggies. The first time I heard this song I cried from laughing so hard. Blickenstaff’s was a little too well sung and not groany enough for me, but it was still funny.
Texans looove each other
The first most fun song in the show was “Abbondanza”, sung by like chefs getting ready for the wedding (which happened as soon as Rosabella arrived, like wtf give a girl a day or something) and I was crying during it. The three chefs repeat the names of items and then sing “Abbondanza” a lot and I don’t know why but it killed me. It was so well done for comedic effect. That was clearly the work of Nicholaw, because otherwise that song can be kind of dumb. But somehow they made “I frutti i frutti i frutti…la torta la torta la torta…Abbondanza! Abbondanza!” freaking hilarious.
Everything was so perfectly done, but in making the show only 2 acts (instead of the usual 3), some necessary story was cut. Like all of a sudden Rosabella actually does love her old man husband? We think she and Joey are totes into each other but then Joey is not really in the second act? I mean, the end reveal makes all of this make sense, but it could have been written better. However, every other aspect, from the lighting (except for one spotlight mistake) to the costumes to the cast to the direction, was wonderful. Unless a heavenly decree comes down and declares a Broadway run with the same cast (or at least a cast recording for chrissakes), the 5 days when “Fella” was on the Encores! stage will be remembered as one of the most magical times in recent New York theatre.
Everything was so perfectly done, but in making the show only 2 acts (instead of the usual 3), some necessary story was cut. Like all of a sudden Rosabella actually does love her old man husband? We think she and Joey are totes into each other but then Joey is not really in the second act? I mean, the end reveal makes all of this make sense, but it could have been written better. However, every other aspect, from the lighting (except for one spotlight mistake) to the costumes to the cast to the direction, was wonderful. Unless a heavenly decree comes down and declares a Broadway run with the same cast (or at least a cast recording for chrissakes), the 5 days when “Fella” was on the Encores! stage will be remembered as one of the most magical times in recent New York theatre.
