(no subject)
Ok, I saw Damn Yankees last night.
It's such a weird show. I came to the show with almost no baggage. I've seen the movie once, and I found it diverting but not great, except in Gwen's scenes. And I never listen to the OCR (which I own), because I am not a fan of the score and it just seems like a poorly-recorded album to me.
But I have to say, I had a great time last night. It's funny, this has to be one of the worst-constructed shows ever to become a "classic" musical (I use classic in the sense that it's known, high schools do it, etc.) So many of the songs sound like trunk songs written to be hits shoved into the story (I feel like Pajama Game has a much better and more character-oriented score), and the leading lady is really peripheral to the action. It's just a really weird show, and even having such a good time in the theatre, I still don't love the show. If I never hear "Who's Got the Pain" again, that will be fine with me. But even songs that are pretty good, like "Two Lost Souls" and "Near To You" seem like they were written for radio play and not for those characters. "The Game" is a lot blander, musically and lyrically, than any of the comedy numbers in Pajama Game. And could "Heart" be plugged any more than it is? I know "Hey There" is reprised a few times in PG, but each of those reprises mean something, whereas "Heart" is sung because, hey, why not?
Sean Hayes is pretty brilliant as Applegate, I think. He definitely radiated star quality and presence last night, even outshining Jane Krakowski (whom I liked), and he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. I actually thought Krakowski's dancing was quite good, and I'm very happy they did the original Fosse choreography. I mean, she's not Gwen Verdon, but no one is. And she does have that right mixture of innocent sexuality and goofiness that Lola needs (and that Gwen had.) I thought she was very right for this role. I loved her "A Little Brains, A Little Talent," which I do think is one of the best songs in the score. Cheyenne started off strongly, hitting "Goodbye Old Girl" out of the park (so to speak), but did lack energy overall. He seemed to be playing negative choices too often, which is a trap that an actor in this role can fall into, I think. Randy Graff was terrific, as was PJ Benjamin - I actually cried a little when they reconciled at the end of the show. And I did think that Veanne Cox and Kathy Fitzgerald were hilarious. I even liked Megan Lawrence, whom I'm normally not a fan of at all.
So I really did like it and I would like to see it again, for those performances and because it's such an old-fashioned good time. But really, the show is so weird, and I don't think I'll ever like it the way I like Pajama Game.
It's such a weird show. I came to the show with almost no baggage. I've seen the movie once, and I found it diverting but not great, except in Gwen's scenes. And I never listen to the OCR (which I own), because I am not a fan of the score and it just seems like a poorly-recorded album to me.
But I have to say, I had a great time last night. It's funny, this has to be one of the worst-constructed shows ever to become a "classic" musical (I use classic in the sense that it's known, high schools do it, etc.) So many of the songs sound like trunk songs written to be hits shoved into the story (I feel like Pajama Game has a much better and more character-oriented score), and the leading lady is really peripheral to the action. It's just a really weird show, and even having such a good time in the theatre, I still don't love the show. If I never hear "Who's Got the Pain" again, that will be fine with me. But even songs that are pretty good, like "Two Lost Souls" and "Near To You" seem like they were written for radio play and not for those characters. "The Game" is a lot blander, musically and lyrically, than any of the comedy numbers in Pajama Game. And could "Heart" be plugged any more than it is? I know "Hey There" is reprised a few times in PG, but each of those reprises mean something, whereas "Heart" is sung because, hey, why not?
Sean Hayes is pretty brilliant as Applegate, I think. He definitely radiated star quality and presence last night, even outshining Jane Krakowski (whom I liked), and he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. I actually thought Krakowski's dancing was quite good, and I'm very happy they did the original Fosse choreography. I mean, she's not Gwen Verdon, but no one is. And she does have that right mixture of innocent sexuality and goofiness that Lola needs (and that Gwen had.) I thought she was very right for this role. I loved her "A Little Brains, A Little Talent," which I do think is one of the best songs in the score. Cheyenne started off strongly, hitting "Goodbye Old Girl" out of the park (so to speak), but did lack energy overall. He seemed to be playing negative choices too often, which is a trap that an actor in this role can fall into, I think. Randy Graff was terrific, as was PJ Benjamin - I actually cried a little when they reconciled at the end of the show. And I did think that Veanne Cox and Kathy Fitzgerald were hilarious. I even liked Megan Lawrence, whom I'm normally not a fan of at all.
So I really did like it and I would like to see it again, for those performances and because it's such an old-fashioned good time. But really, the show is so weird, and I don't think I'll ever like it the way I like Pajama Game.