I'd like to add my voice to the raves for this underappreciated masterpiece. Everyone just trounced over it, more or less, despite the sheer brilliance in almost every performance (Toni Colette - Wow!), design, staging, and that score. Harsh upon first hearing, but upon repeated listening you discover the romance and beauty and melody. Know anyone else who suffered that fate?
Timing is everything. I always suspected the show did not open at the right time. Nobody wanted to sit through a show about hedonism and the price of that. Not sure when is the right time, but it sure would be wonderful if Encores did it justice soon so we could all get a second look.
I've since seen at least two smaller productions of this version and it really does demand scale. For what it's worth, I love much of the Lippa score, too, but I think it lacks the cohesive nature of Michael John's. Lippa's feels more like a vaudeville, where as Michael John's feels like a book musical. |
