Tony Yazbeck in solo dance segment from "Follies."
In my youth, I recall going with my parents to the Jewish Y
in New Jersey to an annual entertainment called “Bits of Hits.” A wonderfully
talented company of non-professionals would perform mostly well-known songs and
even some dances from both past and current hit shows on Broadway. There was
some scenery and a few props and an impressive orchestra in the pit that was
also comprised of local musicians.
The well-directed show was fast, often funny and always a
joyful valentine to the Broadway shows that so many of us either had seen or
heard about. There was no narrative thread only a program that would tell us
the name of the song and the show it was from. I’m not even sure if individual
performers were credited except as part a general cast listing. Oh, it was a
joy from start to finish.
So why am I referring to those fondly remembered shows when I’m
supposed to be reviewing a real Broadway show “Prince of Broadway,” a revue
that has something like a narrative thread but is really mostly threadbare.
That is when it comes to telling us anything interesting about the remarkably
talented producer-director Harold “Hal” Prince who is justly lauded and famed
for guiding the works of Stephen Sondheim, Adler & Ross, Bock &
Harnick, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kander & Ebb and others to success.
Seven decades of either producing and/or directing shows is an
achievement worthy of an homage. But unlike recreating danced highlights from
the canon of a choreographer as was the case in 1989 with “Jerome Robbins’
Broadway,” and numbers that were able to stand alone and apart from their show’s
plots, the musical numbers as presented in “Prince...” actually manage to do
something very strange and often unsettling. In almost every instance, they do
not reflect the brilliance of their source. Not helping was the very thin sound
of the orchestra, almost always failing to reflect the brilliance of the original
scores.
The result here is that of a budget-constrained TV special
on PBS, or more disheartening an evening in the casino in a borscht-belt hotel.
This is not to say that the cast of nine very talented performers, who takes quick
turns portraying Prince between segments written in a not very interesting way
by David Thompson, are not putting their respective talents into every number,
although the results range from the amiable to the on one occasion lamentable.
While each performer can be applauded for making commendable
contributions to this revue, not one makes a case for why we don’t need to need
to look back to the original show and its stars. Can we really try to forget that
Prince created a special magic in shows such as “She Loves Me,” “Follies,” “A
Little Night Music,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cabaret,” “Company.” “West Side
Story,” “Sweeney Todd,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and that magic was in part
due to his guidance and the unforgettable stars that brought his shows to life.
I’m choosing not to list all the immortals that will come to
mind as you watch this revue in which various numbers from 17 musicals will likely baffle those not
in the know and, at their best, bemuse those in the know. As directed by Prince
with co-direction by choreographer Susan
Stroman, the revue is paced well. That is except for the over-long, over intense
newly conceived danced solo by an otherwise superb Tony Yazbeck in “The Right Girl” from “Follies.”
Some lovely singing is done by Tony Yazbeck and Kale Ann
Voorhees from “West Side Story” and Brandon Abramowitz and Bryonha Marie Parham
from “She Loves Me.” The “Follies” medley is almost a joke as is Chuck Cooper’s
“If I Were a Rich Man” from “Fiddler....” Not surprised however to see Karen
Ziemba take possession of Fraulein Schneider in “So What” from “Cabaret,” but the
rest of the cabaret cavorting was cheesy if not, as in the case of “If You Could
See Her” offensively out-of-context.
Not a word from Janet Dacal’s “Evita” was understandable while
we relish every syllable when Ziemba makes “The Worst Pies in London” from “Sweeney
Todd.” The show ends with a candle-lighted segment from “The Phantom of the
Opera” giving Michael Xavier a chance to some octave leaping behind a mask. But
Beowulf Boritt’s modest scenic designs and William Ivey Long’s beautiful costumes
can’t mask a showcase that has little depth or definition, aspects that were supremely evident
in every show that Prince ever directed.
From 8/03/17; opening 8/24/17;closing 10/23/17.
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