I'll start by saying that I just don't think the Public Works is my cup of tea. I understand the impulse and spirit in which these productions are created, but they should be seen in community centers and schools across the city, not at the Delacorte.
HERCULES suffers in much the same way as many other Public Works shows - a hundred bodies onstage, with crowd control taking the place of artistic direction. The professional (Equity) performances are all over the place: Krysta Rodriguez, Roger Bart, and Jeff Hiller acquit themselves nicely, but everyone else is considerably weaker. The muses are fun enough, but don't have the individual personalities as in the film. The book is a nightmare - certainly some fun material, but the actual plotting is garbage.
The material from the film holds up as well as anything else in the Disney canon - the spirited orchestra drives the score, and each recognizable tune gets a well-deserved cheer. But in translating it to the stage, everyone has more or less phoned it in. I fail to see how critics can get past the noticeable flaws in the dramaturgy and performance, despite the well-intentioned community outreach. |
