I saw the original APPLAUSE, with both Bacall and Baxter, and did see the Encores production. It never was a great show, and the Encores production showed that it doesn't hold up particularly well. To be fair, Ebersole was under the weather for the Encores run; so, given that it is so much a star vehicle, maybe it wasn't the best situation for appraising the show itself.
I agree with Delvino that the score is third tier Strouse. Interesting, though, that it is his second longest running musical, behind just ANNIE. He wrote far better scores for shows that didn't have long runs, especially SUPERMAN and RAGS. Of course, the success of the original APPLAUSE was largely attributable to the presence of Bacall, making her Broadway musical debut. |
