Well, maybe. I love Fiasco. But the Fiasco-ising of MWRA is not the main culprit here. The culprit is the book. No one has every wrestled it into shape. I saw the original. I saw the Donmar Warehouse. I saw the recent London revival. I saw a regional theatre production. I saw it in concert. I saw this production. The book sinks them all. As the book sinks CANDIDE, and sinks FOLLIES, and sinks SHE LOVES ME ... I could go on. (although the latter is really the problem of not spending the money to license the film, rather than the source of the film. Scene by scebe, the film tells thestory better, and would have made a better musical)
We ALL want to love MERRILY. Every time we see it we think there will be a revelation! And somewhere about the half hour mark our hearts sink, cuz the book just doesnt work, no matter how much they tinker. Great score lost in a mediocre book. The story of so many Broadway shows. |
