| Watched it over two nights, an act per. I couldn't detect a single standalone number, though someone will likely argue that some exist. It's a wash of recitatives and segues, a sung-through score without distinctive enough hooks as markers, too many moments upstaged by an aggressively intrusive chorus that always arrives with the same manic energy (which reminded me of Ghost's for some reason). It made me remember how shrewd and lean Prince's Evita staging was, allowing the set pieces to land. Of course Evita is a show with some of the most famous melodic lines written in the last 50 years. It begins with a hummable tune and builds on that earworm for two hours. Diana doesn't have a thematic motif we can hold onto, something to ground the show emotionally. Why do this story if the music doesn't create enhancements? It's hard to find a sequence heightened emotionally by the score, despite one of the best singing casts assembled. |
