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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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Likeable Shrek at 5th Ave, needs work |
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| Likeable Shrek at 5th Ave, needs work | ||
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by Milton W. Hamlin -
SGN A&E Writer Shrek - The Musical 5th Avenue Theatre Through September 21 In recent years, Seattle has hosted a number of Broadway-bound musicals at the Paramount in its Broadway Across America series, or at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Some, like Hairspray and last year's Young Frankenstein, have lasted on the Great White Way. Others, like The Wedding Singer, had short runs but were still feathers in the theatrical cap of the Emerald City. Others, like last year's Randy Quaid headlining fiasco, Lone Star Love, never made it. Broadway's eyes are on Seattle again with the sole out-of-town tryout of the new Shrek - The Musical, the first Broadway show from the new DreamWorks Theatricals. Disney has had great success adapting its library of animated feature-length cartoon and other film classics into family musicals; The Lion King, Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid continue on Broadway, and the long-running Beauty and the Beast and Aida - and even the disappointing Tarzan - brought in huge audiences and big, big bucks. DreamWorks Theatricals hopes to replicate Disney's success with the new Shrek - The Musical, which has been playing its out-of-town tryout at the 5th Avenue Theatre since August 14. Traditionally, Broadway-bound shows play a lengthy "preview" before the official opening night for the local press corps and a host of VIPs. Shrek continues its regular run just through next weekend, closing Sunday, September 21. The 5th Avenue Theatre seated its huge - and loyal - subscription audience early in the first weeks of previews (but, as is traditional policy at the 5th, invited subscribers back at a huge discount for a second or third visit). Rumors have been flying all over town. "The show's a hit!" proclaimed a waiter at the Olympic Hotel. "The show's a disaster, I heard," said the shoeshine man in a downtown department store. "They are really working on it," an usher "confided." By tradition, the press corps is not allowed to see the show before its official opening. Certainly, reviewers cannot see the show and write about it. So, Bits&Bytes saw the show the first weekend and did not write about it. A "high-powered" New York director flew in last week to "fix" the show. "The first 30 minutes is gone," a pit musician told friends, who then told this writer. "New songs every night," a costumer confided in the steam room at our gym. When the show opened Wednesday night, the glitz and glitter of a Broadway opening was there. Mayor Greg Nichols sat across the aisle from Bits&Bytes and his guest. Norm Rice was there. New York VIPs - notable for the dark business suits and Shrek buttons - were all over the place. Wonderful touches highlighted the evening; a green carpet, symbolizing Shrek's swamps of home, led the near-capacity crowd into the theater. The verdict? Well, it is a beautifully designed, high-energy show, highlighted by strong performances from the leads and the full cast. Prediction: It will be a huge hit for family audiences in New York after major work. DreamWorks has deep, deep pockets and can keep working on the show with all the resources possible. Young Frankenstein acknowledged a production budget of $17 million to open the show - "insiders" think it cost more than $20 million to get it to Broadway. Shrek is officially budged at about $11 million, but "insiders" say that it's coming closer to $20 million before the show leaves Seattle. In reality, who knows? Highlights: An enchanting performance from Tony Award-winning Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona. Bits&Bytes was seated in row F for the opening, and Foster was wonderfully animated, always in character. As she was last year in Young Frankenstein in its pre-Broadway Seattle stay, she's the best thing in the show. Her lovely ballad late in Act Two, "More To The Story," is a musical moment that should stay in the show. (Seeing the show from the back of the cavernous theater at the preview the first weekend, Foster's subtle shadings were not as apparent.) Brian d'Arcy James, a Broadway veteran with a Tony nomination on his resume, gives a solid, often charming performance as the title character. Alas, he is trapped inside the styrofoam head and padded body suit that replicates the cartoon figure now "live on stage." Christopher Sieber walks away with his every scene as the "heighth-challenged" Lord Farquaad - his "The Ballad of Farquaad" (beginning with "Father was a little man....") is a comic highlight of the score. Alas, the setting - the royal bubble bath - distracts from the clever lyrics ("father was a miner and often very grumpy and so were his six little brothers") that slowly reveal the family genealogy. The Busby Berkeley tap dancing rodent number is a highlight for the company, even if the staging is out-and-out lifted from Tommy Tune's clever direction of The Will Rogers Follies many seasons back. "Things Are Looking Up In Duloc" is another outstanding production number. The show's recurring theme, "It's a Big Bright Beautiful World" is catchy, but, to be honest, sounds like a dozen Disney numbers. Another showstopper is the production number with the Three Blind Mice. Chester Gregory is fine as the Donkey, but simply needs more to do. The audience, with strong memories of the film, wants Donkey to be funny, not just there. Another song in Act One would help. Kecia Lewis-Evans stops the show as the Dragon, but one has to wonder why her costume seems to recreate Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid. But, then, that's why the show previews in New York for five weeks before its December 14 opening. Not-so-highlights: The show has an awful lot of questionable bathroom humor. Two "fart jokes" occur within the first 10 minutes, delighting the children in the audience but betraying the tone of much of the show. A wonderful number in Act Two, "Freak Flag," finds Fiona and Shrek trading farts and belches in a modern-day version of Annie Get Your Gun's "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)." There's lots to like, and a little to love, about Shrek - The Musical. Time will tell how New York reacts to a $20 million family show with main floor tickets selling for $125 each. Tickets and reservations are available at (206) 625-1900 or toll-free at 888-5th-4TIX. Tickets purchased in person at the 5th's box office have no added service fees. |
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