THE 2014 HOT OR NOT FINALS BALLOT 1: LEADING ACTOR, LEADING ACTRESS AND FEMALE SWING

Ten days from today is the cut-off for productions that want to be considered for the 2014 Tonys, and awards season will begin.  But, since all of the new musical productions have either opened or started previews, all of the nominees for THE 2013 - 2014 HOTTEST MUSICAL CAST awards have already been determined by you!

With sixteen productions under consideration, there were a lot of nominees - well over 100, in fact.  So, this year, there will be a total of three voting ballots to select the winners.

The first ballot will have you voting for the hottest leading actor, leading actress and female understudy/swing.  Below are the head shots for the finalists in those three categories, followed by that first ballot.  You will need to use the scroll bar on the right of the ballot box to get through the list. Be sure to click "DONE" at the end to make your vote count!  THIS POLL WILL CLOSE AT 8AM ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16TH! (Look for the second ballot at 9AM on Wednesday, too!)

REMEMBER: THE BALLOT APPEARS AFTER THE HEAD SHOTS!

HOT OR NOT: LEADING ACTOR (There will be ONE winner!)
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS Hedwig and the Angry Inch	ADAM JACOBS Aladdin	RAMIN KARIMLOO Les Miserables
ANDY KARL Rocky	ZACHARY LEVI First Date	JEFFERSON MAYS A Gentleman's Guide...
STEVEN PASQUALE Bridges of Madison County	BRYCE PINKHAM A Gentleman's Guide...	BOBBY STEGGERT Big Fish

HOT OR NOT: LEADING ACTRESS (There will be ONE winner!)
KATE BALDWIN Big Fish	MARY BRIDGET DAVIES A Night with Janis Joplin	IDINA MENZEL If/Then
JESSIE MUELLER Beautiful	KELLI O’HARA Bridges of Madison County	COURTNEY REED Aladdin
KRYSTA RODRIGUEZ First Date	MARGO SEIBERT Rocky	MICHELLE WILLIAMS Cabaret

HOT OR NOT: FEMALE UNDERSTUDY/SWING (There will be ONE winner!)
CATHRYN BASILE Les Miserables	PAMELA BOB A Gentleman’s Guide…	HAVEN BURTON Violet
ALISON CUSANO A Night with Janis Joplin	JANET KRUPIN If/Then	SYNTHIA LINK Bullets Over Broadway
VICKI NOON First Date	KELLY PAREDES Cabaret	JENNIFER RIAS Aladdin
SAMANTHA SHAFER Rocky	SARA SHEPARD Beautiful	ALLYSA SHORTE After Midnight
JESSICA VOSK Bridges of Madison County	ASHLEY YEATER Big Fish	HOT OR NOT 2014

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Jeff

5.149

REVIEW: Bullets Over Broadway

Review of the Saturday, April 5th matinee preview performance at the St. James Theatre in New York City.  Starring Zach Braff, Marin Mazzie, Brooks Ashmanskas, Nick Cordero, Vincent Pastore, Betsy Wolfe, Lenny Wolpe, Heléne Yorke and Karen Ziemba.  Book by Woody Allen.  Direction and Choreography by Susan Stroman.  2 hours 45 minutes, including one intermission.

Grade: C-

Only time will tell for sure how history will treat the last new musical of the season .  Will it be greeted with the critical orgasm Susan Stroman's The Producers got, only to be seriously tempered by the realization that, by and large, it was the original cast that really made that otherwise pedestrian show work?  Or will critics (and audiences) recognize that Bullets Over Broadway is really a slick retread of that other show (and many others) that isn't as funny, clever or thrilling as it thinks it is?  When all is said and done, what will this mostly boring Woody Allen musical be remembered for?  Will it be the hot dog song and dance number?  Or maybe it'll be the most ridiculous, inane finale ever conceived for the stage?  Or will it be the already infamous "Irving Berlin" joke?  My guess is probably the joke, but it hasn't even been a week since I've seen it, and I can't wait to finally forget the whole thing.

The Company

First things first: I've never seen the film upon which this show is based.  I've only seen one Woody Allen film, Everyone Says I Love You, which I didn't really love or hate.  And I have not been keeping up with the various scandals that plague the man's life.  So I really went into this thing cold.

There are three things that are above average about Bullets (otherwise, I'd have given it a much lower grade).  The scenery, designed by Santo Loquasto, is stunning.  Always nice to look at, and full of fun surprises, it manages to be old-fashioned - in the very best sense of the word - and still period-appropriate, and interestingly enough, also kind of modern.  Similarly, William Ivey Long's lavish, painstakingly detailed and very plentiful costumes are a sight to behold.  I would be disappointed if they weren't both at least Tony nominees.  And last but not least, actor Nick Cordero (himself a likely Tony nominee) who, as gangster-hit-man Cheech, rises above the banality of his role to deliver a character that we can fear a little, and love a lot.  He's the very definition of "triple-threat": a fine comedic actor, a great character singer, and one heck of a hoofer.  And since he has to play most of his scenes against a one-note loudmouth, it's all even more remarkable.

Now here's where things get a little more complicated.  You see, there really isn't anything wrong with much of the rest of the show (save for a few things - see below), but there is an awful lot of mediocrity.  In this case, the sum isn't as good as the parts.  As I alluded to earlier, Ms. Stroman has come up with a slickly directed piece that looks great as you are watching it.  But then, as your mind goes over what you've seen you realize that Bullets is a sub-par re-hash/mash up of the superior 42nd Street and Guys and Dolls and the only slightly better The Producers.  The problem with it being so much like the latter is that Ms. Stroman was responsible for both - in the very same theatre - and this show has much less going for it.  For all of her slick staging and her plentiful choreography none of it is terribly original.  Where is all of the jaw-dropping creativity of her best "old-fashioned" show, Crazy for You? And where she isn't doing Stroman-light, she's getting her moves from 42nd Street ("Shuffle Off to Buffalo" comes to mind) and Guys and Dolls ("Luck Be a Lady" comes to mind).  Of course, as truly embarrassing as it is, "The Hot Dog Song" does have one thing going for it.  I often complain that shows and directors either hold back or are afraid to "go there."  But I'll give credit where it is due: "The Hot Dog Song" goes for broke.  The sock garters are almost too much, but who can resist a huge wiener? (See what I did Stroman did there?)

As far as the performances go, like I said, no one does anything really wrong, they just don't really do much that is original.  Lenny Wolpe is the slightly nervous, pragmatic yes-man-Broadway producer.  Vincent Pastore is the gruff gangster (and he does his very best comic version of his Sopranos shtick).  I can't imagine why - other than she needed the job to keep her AEA insurance - Tony-winner Karen Ziemba would even take on the thankless role of ditsy Broadway second banana.  I'll give her credit for handling her dog duties (Trixie) with aplomb. Brooks Ashmanskas does a better than decent job with the typical hoity-toity actor who isn't as good as he thinks he is, and Ashmanskas gets a few bonus points for being a human sight gag, and extra credit for going through with it, even though the joke gets less funny as the night wears on. Betsy Wolfe is close to terrific - she nails her big solo - but never really gets to do much with a poorly written role.

Braff and Mazzie

As for the leads, Zach Braff does a nice job for his Broadway debut.  But he also isn't doing much more than a pale imitation of Matthew Broderick playing at being neurotic.  He even sounds like Broderick.  Still, he holds his own, and I'll even go so far as to say that I hope he stays with the whole "Broadway thing."  And Marin Mazzie, whom I adore generally, is larger than life as Helen St. Claire.  She is commanding, very funny and in fine voice.  I've come to expect as much from this diva.  But, like so much of the show around her, I always felt like I'd seen it all before.  She looks like a young Carol Burnett doing a Sunset Boulevard send up.  (Actually, when they get around to reviving Sunset Boulevard (the musical, not the send up) I vote for Ms. Mazzie as Norma, Mr. Cordero as Joe, Ms. Wolfe as Betty and Mr. Braff as Artie.  See what I mean about seeing it all before in Bullets?)  But in the spirit of giving maximum credit where it is due, Ms. Mazzie gives it her all when she delivers that nasty infamous Irving Berlin joke.  And she almost pulls it off.  But I've seen her enough to know that a little bit of the feigned discomfort Helen gives off during the audience's stunned-silence-slash-uneasy-laughter is also some real Marin Mazzie discomfort.  She's professional enough to do her job and classy enough to know it's not nice.

Pastore and Yorke

Which brings me to the two worst things about this show:  Woody Allen's book and the performance of Heléne Yorke.  Ms. Yorke has the dumb broad thing down, and the crowd laps her up like cream.  But of all the things we've seen before, she does the very least she can to make it more than it is.  Her nasally Brooklyn floozy accent is funny - for the first few lines, anyway.  And then it sets in that there will be no variation on this well-worn theme (Vivian Blaine/Faith Prince did it better in Guys and Dolls, and Rachel York took it to a new level in Victor/Victoria). Ms. Yorke has no more tricks up her sleeve.  I mean we get it, already - the character is dumb and crass, pandering to the lowest common denominator.

But to be fair, Ms. Yorke, and everyone else in it, can only do so much with the material they have to work with.  No, the music isn't to blame - most of the songs, save for the horrid finale, fit the show.  And between the added/changed lyrics by Glen Kelly, and the vast majority of them being unfamiliar to most of us, it may as well be a new score.  The blame lays almost solely at the feet of Mr. Allen, who has done nothing from what I can tell besides cram a bunch of cliches and stock characters from old movies and old TV variety shows into one story.  And all of it with a slimy layer of off color jokes that are less funny and even less titillating.  There is nothing tongue-in-cheek or even clever about about the multitude of dirty jokes; instead, they give off the whiff of skeezy, perverted humor.  I picture him writing this and giggling over each line like a young adolescent sneaking a peek at his dad's hidden Playboy.

A lot of the people I saw the show with seemed to really enjoy it.  But the after show chatter revealed very mixed reviews.  Maybe audiences will see Bullets Over Broadway for what I think it really is.  Like my father always says: a shiny turd is still a turd.

Photos by Paul Kolnik

Jeff
5.148

FACE of the FUTURE: Aladdin's Jonathan Schwartz

His kinda nerdy, but definitely cute looks caught my eye when I was watching Aladdin.  His charming, high energy performance as Aladdin's buddy Omar kept my attention.  As it turns out, I had seen Jonathan Schwartz before, twice!  Once was the first time I saw Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.  He was one of ill-fated "Geek Chorus," eventually cut.  To be honest, there was so much going on at that preview, I really don't remember hi, specifically.  And he was also on The Amazing Race, pretty much the only reality show I watch consistently.  But after Aladdin, I'm pretty sure I won't forget who he is.  And I have a feeling this triple-threat Princeton grad (!) is on his way to a very bright future!




J.S. on The Amazing Race (with teammate Connor)

His New York stage career so far!

As Matt in Off-Broadway's The Fantasticks

As Professor Cobwell, a part of Spider-Man: 

Turn Off the Dark's "Geek Chorus"

As Omar in Aladdin

(TOP: Curtain Call)

(BOTTOM: Opening Night with

Aladdin himself, Adam Jacobs!)

Jeff
4.147

REVIEW: Les Misérables

Review of the Sunday, April 6 matinee performance at the Imperial Theatre in New York City.  Starring Ramin Karimloo, Will Swensen, Caissie Levy, Nikki M. James, Samantha Hill, Andy Mientus, Kyle Scatliffe, Cliff Saunders and Keala Settle.  Musical staging by Michael Ashcroft and Geoffrey Garratt.  Direction by Laurence Connor and James Powell.  2 hours 50 minutes, including one intermission.

Grade: D

I fully realize that this review will probably miff more than a few of you.  I know all too well of the fervor you passionate Les Miz fans have for the show.  Believe me, I know.  You see, after having fallen asleep and pretty much loathing what I saw when I sat in the audience of the original production mere days after its official opening, I was teased, taunted and even lost a friend over Les Misérables.  In the intervening years, I saw the original version several times, warming up to it, and discovering some really great performers along the way.  But, I'll be honest; I will never love this show the way so many of you do.

So why subject myself to nearly three more hours of something I don't really like?  Well, this new revival is full of performers I admire (and I was very excited to see the world renowned Ramin Karimloo), and it is being given a new staging, so, I thought, that might be of interest, too.  In the end, there were a few things I did enjoy, and I'll go through those first.

There is exactly one compelling reason to see this revival: Caissie Levy (right).  And she's pretty much it.  She has a stunning, big-range voice, with an anguished lower register that climbs to the rafters with a powerful, crystal-clear belt.  Ms. Levy is the only actor in the cast that doesn't over do the melodrama, knowing just when to push the requisite buttons, and trusting in her material.  It is a knockout performance of strength and sorrow delivered with an urgent realness.  An amazing performance.

I also really appreciated the new design of the show by Matt Kinley, who very bravely eschewed all of the iconic scenery aside and came up with something new.  Very brave, and pretty successful.  I know people miss the turntable, and the collapsing barricade, but I liked the more earthbound and still theatrical design.  I particularly enjoyed the backgrounds based upon the paintings of Victor Hugo.  The whole thing has an artful look to it - nice to see some color.

And I loved the new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcslfe and Stephen Brooker, which have really punched up the score.  It helps, too, that we can actually hear the nuances of their efforts, thanks to the superlative sound design by Mick Potter.

In the "some good, some not so good" middle ground is the direction and staging by Laurence Connor and James Powell.  There are some nice touches here and there.  Things start off promisingly enough, with a vivid and gritty (and a lot like the movie) opening in the bowels of a ship, but soon enough, things get kind of boring.  Then there's the moment where little Cosette first appears, broom in hand, looking exactly like the original book cover.  (Maybe that tired argument over who is on the logo will finally be put to rest.)  Very clever, indeed.  And there's also the moment just after the number "Turning," where the ghosts of the fallen students appear and end up in line with previously placed candles, which they, in turn, blow out as they disappear into the shadows. (The lighting design by Paule Constable is mostly too dark, except for the too obvious white lights that usher the dead into Heaven. Oddly, Jean Valjean doesn't get a white light.)


That same "Turning" moment also signals the "some not so good" of the staging.  Instead of completely abandoning the previous staging, Connor and Powell try to have it both ways, having the ladies sing the song while walking in a circle until they reach their marks.  (There is an exhausting amount of running off and on stage throughout the entire performance.)  It seems they feel "Turning" only works when something is actually turning.  Particularly disappointing are the times when they pander to the whim of the fans.  It is most painful during "One Day More," where everyone marches pretty much in place in a "v" while some ensemble member waves the big red flag behind them.  To add insult to injury, there's a projection of a Paris street moving - much faster than they they are marching - in case we can't figure out that is what they are doing.  And there is the most heinous of all - the arms out stretched image of the dead Enjolras, hanging almost off a wagon, but still in everyone's favorite pose, sans barricade.  It is unnecessary, though not surprising, which leads me to the "totally not good" section of this review.

This have-your-new-cake-and-eat-the-old-one-too way of doing things undermines the whole enterprise.  All it really does is point out the shortcomings that the original, beloved staging managed to camouflage.  Every time a reminder from the past shows up, it is a reminder of what was.  And then there is the almost complete lack of trust in the material.  The story is melodramatic and manipulating as it is, but by playing everything over-the-top (when the moment is sad, it is REALLY sad; when it is violent, it is REALLY violent, etc.) it creates a one note sensation, which, in turn, really makes the fact that there are really only a half dozen or so different melodies even more obvious.  And in their need to make this a more modern theatrical experience, they have hired every actor in New York that can sing with a vibrato on each and every power note - there is a serious warble battle going on at the Imperial Theatre.  As it becomes more apparent (and annoying) that everyone just has to take liberties with the tempos and per-syllable notes, the production resembles more and more American Idol on Broadway night. And does everyone who is making a point have to stand center stage and belt out every single note?  Worst of all, the two big group numbers of the night fizzle out - "One Day More" lacked any flare at act one blackout, and the finale was similarly underwhelming.  And who knew that Les Miz was a musical comedy?  The Thenardiers are the comic relief, but both Marius and Jean Valjean worked some lines for broad, not subtle, laughs.  Really?

I feel I've already given this mess more time than it deserves, so I'll be brief in assessing the performers, Ms. Levy notwithstanding.  Cliff Saunders and Keala Settle (above, top) are so overplaying it, they are disgusting, then annoying and then just boring.  I actually blushed in embarrassment for Mr. Saunders when he "walked" into the wedding reception.  Sad.  Samantha Hill's Cosette is just plain dull, and made me realize just how little the character actually adds to the show.  Her child counterpart (Angeli Negron) is just as one note, and a cloyingly nasally one at that.  Kyle Scatliffe's Enjolras was equally uninspiring - I wouldn't have moved furniture for this guy, let alone risk my life for him.  And Gavroche, as played by Joshua Colley was annoying in that pesky mosquito kind of way.  (You could tell, even from the far reaches of the upper balcony, that the kid felt "really cool" giving Javert the finger!)  And, in the supporting cast, no one was more disappointing than Andy Mientus (above, bottom left), who I loved in Smash, and who had much more impact in a minuscule role in the off-Broadway revival of Carrie.  He sang OK, but I've heard better, and he acted OK, but I've seen better.  Marius was always the part I liked the best.  Not this time.  The less I say about terribly miscast Nikki M. James (above, bottom right) the better.  I don't want to be rude.

In the leading roles, Ramin Karimloo (above left)and Will Swenson (above right) are emblematic of the entire production - they have moments of brilliance, and a couple of hours of mediocrity.  Mr. Swenson comes out of the gate swinging.  He is mean, foreboding and has a surprisingly low, powerful voice.  It's a long way from that flip flop dress.  But his Javert loses steam as he offers very little in the way of variation.  100% menacing gets old fast.  His voice also lost steam - he yodeled the last notes of his death scene, which is too bad, too, since the staging of his suicide was interesting.  The buff and youthful Mr. Karimloo also starts out like gangbusters, ripped open shirt and all.  And his "Bring Him Home" was a highlight of the evening.  But the man trades charisma in for doldrums as Valjean ages, and the result is not a good one.  He fades into the scenery like an ensemble member.  I really don't see what all the fuss is about. (Clearly I am in the minority, as nearly everyone around me screamed and "whoo-hooed" throughout the performance for the entire cast.)

I think this production - despite a few good things - really makes the argument for waiting maybe another 25 years before it comes marching back to Broadway.  I can't think of another show less in need of being revived.  This is a Les Mizzzz for the ages.

Jeff
5.146