Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

Review - The Book of Mormon on Broadway

Is The Book of Mormon the funniest musical ever? Well, I've only been attending musicals for the past 33 years, so I can only speak from that experience. But I will say it's one of the most uproariously enjoyable shows I've ever seen, and certainly the most fun I've had in the theater since The Drowsy Chaperone.

Is The Book of Mormon better than Spamalot? No contest. Spamalot had its share of belly laughs, but it was rather lacking in the music and lyric departments.

Is The Book of Mormon better than The Producers? I genuinely think so. The Producers was fun, but somehow I got the feeling that other people were enjoying it a lot more than I was.

So, comparisons and superlatives aside, what makes The Book of Mormon so good? Well, you gotta start with the "South Park" pedigree. Few people in modern times could match Trey Parker and Matt Stone in both comedic and pop-cultural impact. But then you add in Robert Lopez, one of the award-winning creators of Avenue Q, a show that only seems to get better with age and repeat viewings. (Parker, Stone, and Lopez share the credit here for the book, lyrics, and music to The Book of Mormon.) And then, on top of that, you have co-director (with Parker) and choreographer Casey Nicholaw, himself no slouch when it comes to both comedy and lively staging. (See Spamalot and The Drowsy Chaperone above.)

Bringing in Lopez and Nicholaw may be the smartest thing Parker and Stone ever did. The duo have always had a raw sense of comedic bravado and a preternatural ability to shock, but their forays into musical theater have been spotty from a strictly qualitative perspective. Their first joint effort, Cannibal! The Musical, is a sporadically amusing curiosity at best. Their feature-length film "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" is sheer comedic genius, but the songs themselves are unsophisticated, albeit hysterical. The Book of Mormon gives us the best of both worlds: the manic, untamed "South Park" sensibility married to the melodic, lyrical, and theatrical polish of Lopez and Nicholaw.

It would be a shame to tip you off to any of the comedic set-pieces from the show, but I will say that Parker, Stone, and Lopez have a grand old time poking affectionate fun at everything from Disney to Rodgers and Hammerstein, and making barbed, topical references as diverse as repressed homosexuals, African warlords, HIV/AIDS, and female circumcision.

How does all that fit together into a cohesive show? Well, somehow the creators make it all work, and handily so. They are ably abetted by a top-notch cast of Broadway no-names, many of whom are unlikely to remain anonymous for long. Chief among these crack performers are Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad as a mismatched pair of Mormon missionaries who set out for Africa to spread the (arguably) good word.

Is The Book of Mormon offensive? Hell, yes, and thank the Angel Moroni for that. This may just be the most verbally profane musical ever to tread the Broadway boards. Make no mistake: the language in this show is beyond obscene. And I can't imagine that the folks at the Church of Latter Day Saints will be all that flattered at the way their religion is portrayed here. But, beyond the LDS skewering, the show is actually fairly respectful to people of faith. Much in the same way that the "South Park" movie had some surprisingly moral underpinnings, so too does The Book of Mormon have its own subversively wholesome message, for anyone broad-minded enough to listen.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Must Be Stopped

 
I've never been one to reflexively bash Andrew Lloyd Webber. Some of his shows I genuinely like, particularly Evita, while other shows I find flawed but enjoyable, for instance Sunset Boulevard. I usually even find something worth liking in each of his mega-hits. Cats has some great instrumental passages, especially "The Jellicle Ball." And the "Prima Donna" sequence in The Phantom of the Opera, though bloated, for some reason invariably makes me smile. 

So, I certainly don't consider myself a knee-jerk Lloyd Webber hater. But the more I hear about his current projects, the more I get the impression that ALW's late career is turning into an expanse of easy repetition.

First, there's the upcoming sequel to Phantom, with the rather uninspired title Love Never Dies. I'm not one to assume that any particular show will be an automatic disaster. It all depends on the execution. And just because no musical has ever had a successful sequel, doesn't mean that it could never happen. No, the reason I was disappointed with Love Never Dies is that ALW chose to pursue a Phantom sequel over a far more interesting project.

For years, Lloyd Webber was toying around with the idea of turning Mikhail Bulgakov's brilliantly surreal novel, The Master and Margarita, into a stage show. The book takes place in Moscow in the 1930s, and involves an earthly visitation by Satan, accompanied by a motley retinue of assistants, including an anthropomorphous cat named Behemoth. It's a richly bizarre and satisfying book, and would make a wonderful stage show, in the right imaginative hands. But ALW gave up on the project, saying the book was too dense. "I've decided it's un-doable," he told the press in 2007. "It's just too difficult for an audience to contemplate. It's a very complicated novel."

No, Andrew. It's not un-doable. It's just that you couldn't find a way to do it. There's a difference. And don't blame the audience for your professional failings.

To a certain extent, it's understandable that ALW would want to play it safe. He hasn't had a true hit in over 20 years. Most of his shows since Phantom have been disasters (Whistle Down the Wind, The Woman in White) or disappointments (Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard). He's certainly not hurting for money. The substantial and steady income from Phantom and Cats notwithstanding, he's produced a successful-but-attenuated series of British reality-TV shows to cast a variety of London revivals, including The Sound of Music, Oliver, and his own Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. More easy, lazy repetition.

But the thing that really put me over the edge was the recent announcement that ALW would be penning six new songs for a forthcoming London stage version of The Wizard of Oz, although the classic Harold Arlen/E.Y. "Yip" Harburg songs will reportedly remain. (Have you no shame, Sir. Andrew? At long last, have you no shame?) The show will be cast via reality show (natch) and will likely hit the stage sometime in the 2010-2011 season.

So ALW is taking a well-loved and proven property, supplementing the score with six songs that no matter how good they are will pale in comparison to the originals, and casting the show with the already beaten-to-death reality-casting format, efforts that are lazy, sacrilegious, and lazy, in that order. Let's just say that Love Never Dies had better be spectacular. And I'm not talking chandeliers here.

Ain't Misbehavin' at Boston's Strand

Last night, I caught a performance of the 30th anniversary tour of Ain't Misbehavin'. I've always been a big fan of the show, and fortunately have a video of the TV broadcast of the original Ain't Misbehavin' cast performing it. Although the current cast members don't fully live up to their original counterparts (how could they?), they nonetheless do a bang-up job of evincing the joy and vitality of the piece.

The Boston stop of the national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' is part of a joint effort by the City of Boston and the Citi Performing Arts Center to renovate and revitalize the Strand Theater, an underutilized gem located in Dorchester, a neighborhood with a significant African American population.

The show is part of a larger program of African American-related events called SpectrumBoston.org, which also features the upcoming Boston premiere of The Color Purple. (The Color Purple, however, will not play the Strand, but rather the cavernous Wang Theater.) It was great to see so many African Americans in attendance at Ain't Misbehavin', and having a grand old time, at that. I would love to see more such efforts in Boston to bring professional theater outside of the narrow confines of the theater district and the South End.

Of course, many of the attendees had come to see "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard, in the Ken Page role. Studdard is certainly no Ken Page, but he's strong vocally and has a playful presence. Most of the comedy in the role, however, was lost to Studdard's poor diction and obvious lack of stage experience. Studdard wasn't alone in this regard. The one major issue I had with this production was that, while the lyrics were, for the most part, intelligible, most of creator Richard Maltby's priceless asides were lost to indistinct delivery. 

The tour also features two additional Idol alumni, the talented Trenyce Cobbins in the Charlaine Woodard role, and Frenchie Davis in the role originated by the late great Nell Carter. Davis was out for the performance I saw, but we instead got to see the terrific Teresa Stanley. The cast also features the dynamic Arthur W. Marks and the adorable Patrice Covington in the Andre de Shields and Armelia McQueen roles, respectively.

Overall, I was struck by the strength of the piece itself, which was created and directed by Richard Maltby at the top of his form. Surely, this is one of the most entertaining and effective revues in musical theater history, eschewing obligatory exposition in favor of a straightforward celebration of the music and artistry of Fats Waller.

Matlby is greatly aided by the superb work of orchestrator Luther Henderson and choreographer Arthur Faria whose collective efforts coalesce into a seamless evening of joy and good humor. Henderson's arrangement of "Black and Blue" is nothing less than stirring, and sent shivers through my body. In a show full of movement, the creators have chosen on this number the have the performers sit still and let Waller's heartbreaking song and Henderson's stunning vocal arrangement do the work.

For the most part, the performances in the current production are sharp, and the staging crisp. And, despite the presence of three "American Idol"-ers, the vocal histrionics were kept to a refreshing minimum. I was initially afraid that this production would be a slapdash effort to capitalize on waning celebrity, but was heartened by the genuine craft and care in evidence. Thankfully, the creators haven't changed the show to suit the talents of the stars, preferring instead to let the piece speak for itself. The show remains a lasting testament to the genius of Waller, as well as that of the creators.

In other news, the tour produced a recently released cast recording, which is currently available only at Amazon.com. The admittedly talented cast comes off considerably less well on the recording, or perhaps that simply my ingrained bias for the original Broadway cast recording talking. Amid the thousands of Broadway CDs that I own, Ain't Misbehavin' is undoubtedly in the top ten for me in terms of recordings that I actually listen to. Maybe even the top five. I find I go back to the CD whenever I need a jolt of joy, and it never fails me. If the national tour comes to your town, I highly recommend that you see it, but as for a permanent record of Waller's music and career, it's all about the OBC.

Rowan Atkinson to Star in London's Oliver

I love London, and have been waiting for a theatrical justification to return to that wondrous city. But much of the stuff that's been opening recently in the West End, at least in terms of musicals, has been utter crap. (e.g. Dirty Dancing, Desperately Seeking Susan, Lord of the Rings. Yeesh.) Well, now I'm thinking that I may want to plan a trip across the pond sometime early next year.

I had heard that Andrew Lloyd Webber was doing the reality-TV thing again to choose a Nancy for yet another London revival of Lionel Bart's Oliver!. The show is titled "I'd Do Anything," and follows on the heels of a number of successful ALW-sponsored reality-casting efforts, including "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria," in which audience members chose a Maria for the current London revival of The Sound of Music, as well as "Any Dream Will Do," which focused on choosing the title character for a revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I'm sort of struck by the show name "I'd Do Anything." It really seems to sum up reality TV in a nutshell, don't it? "Any Dream Will Do" doesn't have the same sense of desperation.

Despite my historical associations with the show Oliver!, news of the revival didn't pique my interest at first. I mean, it's not a very good show, although it has many terrific songs. But then I heard that British comedian Rowan Atkinson is scheduled to play Fagin.

I'm in.

I'm a huge fan of British comedy: Monty Python, Beyond the Fringe, Flanders and Swann, "Absolutely Fabulous," "Little Britain," "The League of Gentlemen," etc. And I'm a particular fan of the old "Blackadder" shows from the 80s. Rowan Atkinson is a masterful comic, and across the four seasons of the show he portrays a delightful series of conniving historical footnotes, from a toadying member of the court of Elizabeth I, to a Machiavellian butler for George IV when he was Prince Regent. As for Atkinson's Mr. Bean, well, not so much. But the combination of Oliver! and one of my favorite performers has me planning frequent flier miles and thinking of floors and couches I can crash on in the general London area.

The TV show is also of interest because of the presence of host Graham Norton and celebrity judge John Barrowman. Both are openly gay, and each is adorable in his own particular way. Norton also hosts "The Graham Norton Show" on BBC America, and is easily the funniest man currently on television. Barrowman has appeared in such West End shows as Anything Goes and Sunset Boulevard, and currently stars in "Doctor Who" spin-off "Torchwood," also on BBC America. And he's yummy.

Oliver! opens at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane in January 2009.