I don't think Sweet Charity ever really worked. In the original, the show was riding on the extraordinary pedigree of its director, writers, and star. But she was a little too old to play it, the idea of a buncha "dance hall hostesses" was too euphemistic to make sense, and the cartoon-y Brechtian supertitles were contrived and distancing. I don't think "Hello Dolly!" is a great, life-changing show, but it has uplifting moments. I haven't seen Channing (who probably took it somewhere amazing) or Midler, just Murphy, Ginger Rogers, and Pearl Bailey.
I only saw "Mame" in a community theatre, but it had me laughing and crying for the relationship of Patrick and his aunt.
Chacun a son gout.
And then there are the great crowd-pleasers (eg., La Mancha, Wicked, Cats), which critics don't especially like.
Chacun a son gout. |
