| re: ONLY GOLD - NY Times mostly negative review | |
| Posted by: Seth Christenfeld (tabula-rasa@verizon.net) 12:40 am EST 11/09/22 | |
| In reply to: ONLY GOLD - NY Times mostly negative review - theaterisok 04:01 pm EST 11/08/22 | |
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| It's an interesting mess--I saw it on Saturday afternoon. The choreography is thrilling and thrillingly performed, including by the non-dancers in the company--Blankenbuehler has the skill to make non-dancers look like they're moving as fluidly and as effectively as the dancers do (something that few choreographers are able to do--the best at it, IMO, is Doug Varone). Right now the show is in a bit of a no-man's-land--it's too much a musical to be a straightforward stage ballet a la Movin' Out, but the narration-heavy structure doesn't really lend itself to being an actual dance musical, either. I think there's enough plot (just enough) to work a real, satisfying musical out of, if everyone involved wants to. Let the characters other than the king and the pianist sing more! Give them stuff to sing! Kate Nash herself sings the bulk of the score as an unnamed narrator with no connection to the action; Terrence Mann and Hannah Cruz have several songs each, as the main singers in the company, but the other principals are at least capable singers, with the apparent exception of Karine Plantadit (Ryan Van Den Boom gets a song to himself; Ryan Steele sings a little, charmingly; Gaby Diaz sings a bit and has a pleasant, if limited voice; Tyler Hanes can, but doesn't). I like Kate Nash as a pop singer-songwriter, but much of what's being sung has little to do with what's happening on stage; on the other hand, "Split," the song she's written for the King in the 11:00 spot, is so staggeringly good that I have faith she probably could write a good musical theatre score. (of course, is it actually that good a song, or does it seem like it's better than it is because Terrence Mann is so damn good?) I think the show's eminently fixable and certainly improvable, and I liked it enough that I wish it were better. (also: for the love of god, change the princess' name from "Tooba" to anything else.) Seth, who'd also like to commend the band |
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| Previous: | ONLY GOLD - NY Times mostly negative review - theaterisok 04:01 pm EST 11/08/22 |
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