| HELLO, DOLLY! Last Night | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 03:18 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
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| So I went to catch the new cast of HELLO, DOLLY! last night, mainly because I've always been a big fan of Bernadette Peters, but also I had really enjoyed the show last fall with Bette Midler. I'd tried to go and see Donna Murphy do it, but I just could not ever work it out. As I'd read here, Peters is still warming up to the role and it felt that, for much of the first act, she'd been given the note "Do it faster!" There were scenes where it felt like she was just spitting out words as fast as she possibly could and it seemed like she was having trouble with her voice in some of the numbers. But, the best parts of her performance were the ones when she was able to just slow down and take her time telling the story. The first act can be a bit frenetic, but suddenly Peters is alone with the audience for "Before The Parade Passes By" and the performance gels right in front of our eyes. The second act was a totally different experience. From the moment she enters at the top of the staircase in Harmonia Gardens, she's at the top of her game and is not only the star, she's the whole universe. I never thought of that red dress and feathered headdress as sexy before. That number blew the roof off the theatre and worked even better than it had with Midler. The first time she sang "It's so nice to be back home, where I belong" at the bottom of the stairs, the audience erupted in applause and she had to pause until we stopped. I honestly was not expecting that performance based on what I'd seen over the first act. It was extraordinary. This was a true star claiming her turf. I cannot even find words to adequately describe it, so I'm going to move on. Peters kept up the momentum through the entire second act and I was in tears by the end. When she figures out exactly how to calibrate the first act prior to "Before the Parade Passes By," this is going to be one of the legendary replacement performances. By the way, the crowd went wild...WILD...at her entrance and it seemed that even she was surprised by how long she had to hold. It was just as big or bigger than the reaction that greeted Midler and she was going to stand there and bask in our love for as long as she had to and it was wonderful. That said, I do wish Peters had been given the leeway or the time to come up with her own schtick for scenes like the courtroom eating, rather than just aping Midler's bits. Peters did the "tired" bit in "Hello, Dolly!" in a much more organic way than Midler did and it worked beautifully, but, as far as I could tell, all the eating of dumplings, etc., seemed like she was doing business as directed and rehearsed. Oh, and Peters messed up lyrics in both "Before the Parade Passes By" and "So Long Dearie," but covered beautifully. It appeared as though she either jumped a verse or repeated a verse and, as soon as she realized it, she got right back on track. I don't think I've ever seen her make a mistake like that before. Victor Garber isn't the revelation that David Hyde Pierce was as Horace, but he's trying to offer up his own thing and not copy Pierce any more than necessary. Most of it works, but Pierce was so perfect and so surprising that I found myself missing some of his line readings and reactions. He has a really good rapport with Peters and I totally bought the journey he goes on. "Penny In My Pocket" was nicely done and Garber, as Pierce did before him, made a strong case for its inclusion. The other newcomers, Charlie Stemp and Molly Griggs, as Barnaby and Minnie were in top form and I preferred them to their predecessors. Stemp is a true leading man dancer and I hope that somebody is inspired to write a new show to showcase him. All the extra dance added in for him was delightful and felt of a piece with the character, rather than showboating. He and Griggs had a sweet chemistry together and I kind of wish that Stewart and Herman had given these characters more to do. Griggs was charming and fun and her performance seemed more grounded and real (as absurd a sentiment as that is in a show like this) than her predecessor's had been. During her monologue prior to the hat shop scene, Kate Baldwin entered to a round of thunderous applause and, without skipping a beat, Griggs paused in the middle of a thought and, when the ovation died out, she began thanking the audience as though it was for her. Even Baldwin had to laugh. It was just so utterly...charming. Griggs has to cope with the old trope of having another character come over and remove her glasses as though her blossoming romance somehow cures her vision issues. I was hoping for some kind of business of an impaired Minnie feeling around in vein for Barnaby until he retrieves the glasses and puts them back on her face, but that didn't happen. I was pleased to see the glasses return to Griggs' face for Act II though. I didn't remember this from the first viewing, but there were a lot of details I didn't notice the first time because I was so intent on Midler whenever she was on stage. Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin continue their peerless turns as Cornelius and Irene. The relationship between Cornelius and Barnaby has changed a bit with Stemp and the two feel more like contemporaries and equals, rather than romantic hero and sidekick. There was one hilarious moment in the courtroom scene when Cornelius first says that he's fallen in love. Within the general crowd hubbub here, Stemp's reaction might lead one to think that Barnaby thinks...for a moment...that Cornelius is talking about HIM, rather than Irene. It was very funny and passed so quickly that it might have gone unnoticed had Stemp not been such a presence. So this show is in top form and I'd love to return in a few months when Peters has ironed out the kinks. |
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