Post by Talissa on Oct 29, 2004 10:19:59 GMT 11
I tried my best to see The Producers with an open mind, but what I saw far from thrilled me. In fact, it distressed me to think that, while Eureka is languishing a block away despite its flawless cast and close-to-home settng, this spectacle that is so wholly American is playing with both circles open and at least 75% capacity. I can't help but think of the media's reaction to each show. Can it be related to their relative successes? The Producers is pure Broadway; glitz, glamour, high kicks, millions of sequins and nearly as many cheap laughs. An enjoyable show, certainly, and, like Mamma Mia, easily approachable by the masses, but certainly not worthy of the lofty claims it makes.
The cast itself was mixed. Some impressed me, some disappointed me, and some lay in between. I'll get it over with and say that Reg Livermore as Max Bialystock was the greatest disappointment. It may be because of exhaustion after this long run, but his speech was often hard to understand, his singing voice sounded awfully strained, and his comic timing was off, some jokes managing to pass entirely unnoticed, and more than once making what may have been dramatic pauses cause more than one audience member to suspect forgotten lines. His best moment was when he dropped out of character in the middle of Betrayed.
Tom Burlinson's Leo Bloom on the other hand was spot on, extremely funny, and matched with a clear and strong singing voice, a quality often missing in comic actors. And his Fred and Ginger moments with Chloe Dallimore's Ulla were always enjoyable.
Special kudos go to Jeremy Powell, who was on as understudy Roger DeBris while Tony Sheldon is off with ear damage. He did a wonderful job and wore the building... I mean evening gown beautifully.
Also worth a mention are Grant Piro, who was a huge hit with the audience as Carmen Ghia, Bert Newton, who was a memorable Franz Liebkind, his pigeons, and Benjamin J McHugh, who did a sterling job as the lead tenor in Springtime for Hitler, absolutely glowing with charisma and a powerful voice.
I really am sorry if any of this sounded bitter. I tried not to let it. This is why I write less when I don't love a show as much.
Now, one thing that puzzled me was that I'm certain I remember from the casting stages of the show a fuss being made because they didn't have a black actor for a certain part. Now, they did find someone, yet I assume that part was still cut, because I didn't see anything that needed a black man. Does anyone know what happened here?
The cast itself was mixed. Some impressed me, some disappointed me, and some lay in between. I'll get it over with and say that Reg Livermore as Max Bialystock was the greatest disappointment. It may be because of exhaustion after this long run, but his speech was often hard to understand, his singing voice sounded awfully strained, and his comic timing was off, some jokes managing to pass entirely unnoticed, and more than once making what may have been dramatic pauses cause more than one audience member to suspect forgotten lines. His best moment was when he dropped out of character in the middle of Betrayed.
Tom Burlinson's Leo Bloom on the other hand was spot on, extremely funny, and matched with a clear and strong singing voice, a quality often missing in comic actors. And his Fred and Ginger moments with Chloe Dallimore's Ulla were always enjoyable.
Special kudos go to Jeremy Powell, who was on as understudy Roger DeBris while Tony Sheldon is off with ear damage. He did a wonderful job and wore the building... I mean evening gown beautifully.
Also worth a mention are Grant Piro, who was a huge hit with the audience as Carmen Ghia, Bert Newton, who was a memorable Franz Liebkind, his pigeons, and Benjamin J McHugh, who did a sterling job as the lead tenor in Springtime for Hitler, absolutely glowing with charisma and a powerful voice.
I really am sorry if any of this sounded bitter. I tried not to let it. This is why I write less when I don't love a show as much.
Now, one thing that puzzled me was that I'm certain I remember from the casting stages of the show a fuss being made because they didn't have a black actor for a certain part. Now, they did find someone, yet I assume that part was still cut, because I didn't see anything that needed a black man. Does anyone know what happened here?