Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I like Laura Benanti’s patter number and Patti LuPone’s torch song. So did the critics.
As for the rest, well…  you’re better off watching the film.

The Baker's Wife

Patti LuPone got a signature song, Meadowlark, from The Baker's Wife despite producer David Merrick's attempts to cut it. That's about all she got as the show closed on the road. Stein's book spends more time with the Baker than his wife and he's a dull protagonist. We've been left with a pleasant, abridged cast album, and the occasional regional production.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

When Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook produced a sexy, pop-culture-y Joseph several critics were horrified. The Chicago Tribune claimed it was "shorn of all heart and emotion." 'But wait,' said I, 'isn't Joseph already a sexy, pop-culture-y show shorn of all heart and emotion?' It certainly has been in the three professional productions and Webber produced TV film I've seen.

Joseph is a weird show. A fairly grim story from the Book of Genesis retold as a sexy panto and performed by schools. As Bible musicals go it's closer in tone to the silly Godspell than Webber's angsty Jesus Christ Superstar. But who knows? Maybe some day I'll see a production that changes my mind.

Thoughts on Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar has always straddled a line between sincerity and camp. Last night's NBC production leaned toward earnest. That was the right move for a family audience but did make things a little dull. The rock stars lacked acting chops and the Broadway babies lacked the money notes. The show has always been a sound engineers nightmare and the screaming audience didn't help.

Still it reminded me how smart the writing is and why some audiences are offended. It's not the goofy 70's slang as much as the fact that it's told from a secular perspective. The principals see Jesus as "just a man" or a political "puppet." For me this raises the stakes over a traditional passion play or a syrupy piece like Godspell. 

The structure is interesting. Judas carries the show. Mary gets the heart. The Pharisees get the exposition. Jesus is unknowable to all around him. Herod and Pilate get the opportunity to steal the show. Alice Cooper won some fans last night by showing up but I was underwhelmed by his deadpan rendition of Herod's song. It was more fun to see Ben Daniels make a meal of Pilate's trial scene.

Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote this when he was 22. What have I done with my life? (Sob)

Easter Parade

"Someday, we’re going to write a treatise on the crazy hats women wear in musicals. We propose that because there was so much sexual repression in these films, the outrageous hats are supposed to represent vaginas on top of their heads. It’s why so many of the men had walking sticks too.
Think about it." ~ Tom and Lorenzo

This one's not about the plot. It's about the showcase numbers. Here are some highlights:

Steppin' Out with My Baby - Fred Astaire and chorus
Shakin' The Blues Away - Ann Miller
A Couple of Swells - Fred Astaire and Judy Garland