Archives for March 2018

“It is well known that in Ireland the husband or head of the house is always called ‘himself’; nor is it peculiar to the peasantry, but adopted, if partly in jest, by the gentry. A distinguished Dublin publicist, a landlord and leader among the more national aristocracy, always called me ‘himself’ when he was talking to my wife. It will be noted how a sort of shadow of that common meaning mingles with the more shining significance of its position in a sentence where it is also strictly logical, in the sense of theological. All literary style, especially national style, is made up of such coincidences; which are a spiritual sort of puns. That is why style is untranslatable; because it is possible to render the meaning, but not the double meaning.”

G.K. Chesterton, Irish Impressions

In today’s Wall Street Journal drama column, I review Escape to Margaritaville. Here’s an excerpt.

* * *

The jukebox musical, in which the back catalogue of a songwriter and/or pop star is repurposed as the score to a stage show, is one of Broadway’s staple items. Rarely are such shows any good, but some have been hits, and hope springs eternal in the cash-hungry hearts of theatrical producers and superannuated rockers. That’s why “Escape to Margaritaville,” whose score consists of 26 songs by Jimmy Buffett, has arrived on Broadway after preliminary runs in La Jolla, Chicago, Houston and New Orleans. Even though the 71-year-old Mr. Buffett is very old news—“Margaritaville,” his first and biggest hit single, was released four decades ago—a group of hard-nosed businessmen is betting that his amiable brand of what he calls “drunken Caribbean rock ’n’ roll” is still popular enough to rope in a slice of the tourists who couldn’t wangle tickets to “Hamilton.”

I wouldn’t care to bet against the folks who’ve sunk their own money into “Escape to Margaritaville.” On the other hand, I’m a critic, not a producer, and it’s my duty to report that they’re backing one of the most mediocre musicals ever to come to my attention….

“Escape to Margaritaville” is billed as being based on “the music and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett,” which means in practice that it’s about a guitar-strumming beach bum (Paul Alexander Nolan) who makes his living rocking for the horny clientele of a crummy island hotel somewhere in the Caribbean. To this tattered paradise come two women, one of whom (Lisa Howard) is about to get married to a jerk (Ian Michael Stewart) who won’t tie the knot unless she loses weight. The other (Alison Luff), her best friend, is a priggish, workaholic environmental scientist who hopes to stop her buddy from spending her life with Mr. Wrong by encouraging her to have a fling with the dopey bartender of the Margaritaville Hotel (Eric Petersen)….

This brings us to Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley, who write fourth-rate sitcoms (this is their first musical) and whose idea of a joke is embodied in the following one-liner: “You spend a ton of therapists and yoga when the cheapest and most common cure for stress is always a zipper away.” If you think that’s funny, stop reading—I’ve got a show for you!…

Mr. Nolan and Ms. Luff are pretty and forgettable. Ms. Howard is something else again. A sexy plus-size charmer with a warm, ripe voice, she came to my attention in “It Shoulda Been You,” a wretched 2015 musical in which she played the good-egg sister who couldn’t get a boyfriend. If the allegedly woke progressives in the entertainment industry really meant what they said about fat shaming, they’d be casting her in starring parts. Since they don’t, she’s relegated to tedious second-banana parts like this one…

* * *

Read the whole thing here.

The trailer for Escape to Margaritaville:

The latest episode of Three on the Aisle, the bimonthly podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for listening or downloading.

In this episode, Peter, Elisabeth, and I start things off by sharing our preliminary thoughts about the Broadway transfer of the National Theatre revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, which all three of us will be seeing in the next few days. After that, we’re joined by Chris Jones, the Chicago Tribune’s theater critic.

Says the Three on the Aisle web page:

The critics discuss the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, plus the new book about the making of the show, The World Only Spins Forward, by Dan Kois and Isaac Butler…

Then Chris shares his thoughts on Hamilton in Chicago and the non-NYC productions of the hit musical. Has its move across the country dampened the show’s popularity, or is it as hard to purchase a ticket as ever?

We wrap up the episode by talking about shows that we’ve seen in New York, London, and Chicago. Some of them we liked, others…well, listen and learn.

To listen, download the eighth episode, or subscribe to Three on the Aisle, go here.

In case you missed any of the first seven episodes, you’ll find them all here.

Howard Da Silva sings “Little Tin Box,” a number by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock from the score of Fiorello!. This performance, introduced by Tony Randall, was seen on Standing Room Only: Showstoppers, originally telecast by HBO on June 22, 1980. Da Silva performed the song in the show’s original 1959 Broadway production:

(This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)

“You should know that your only safe secrets are those you yourself have forgotten.”

Rex Stout, Death of a Doxy

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.

BROADWAY:
• The Band’s Visit (musical, PG-13, nearly all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Dear Evan Hansen (musical, PG-13, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Hamilton (musical, PG-13, Broadway transfer of off-Broadway production, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:
• Good for Otto (drama, PG-13/R, newly extended through April 15, reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK OFF BROADWAY:
• At Home at the Zoo (drama, PG-13/R, closes March 25, reviewed here)
• Hangmen (black comedy, PG-13/R, closes March 25, reviewed here)

“How do you say in French ‘the brotherhood of man’?

“There is no such thing in French.”

Rex Stout, Death of a Doxy

In today’s Wall Street Journal “Sightings” column, I discuss James Levine’s firing. Here’s an excerpt.

* * *

It was all true. That’s the conclusion of the Metropolitan Opera, which fired James Levine on Monday, issuing a statement declaring that an outside investigation in which more than 70 people were interviewed has uncovered “credible evidence” that he “engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct toward vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers, over whom Mr. Levine had authority.” The company also said that this conduct took place “both before and during” his tenure at the Met….

Now what? If the Met’s conclusions are correct, then firing Mr. Levine was self-evidently necessary. Call it good riddance to foul rubbish. But that alone will not be remotely sufficient to ensure the survival of the company that he has besmirched.

The Met appears to think otherwise. Its officers are behaving as if getting rid of its music director emeritus is the only step needed to clean house. In its statement, the company pointedly declared that “any claims or rumors that members of the Met’s management or its board of directors engaged in a cover-up of information relating to these issues are completely unsubstantiated.”

But it’s not good enough merely to issue a tight-lipped nothing-to-see-here-move-along statement in which you announce that you’ve investigated your star conductor, found him guilty as hell and given him the boot….

If the report of the investigation justifies firing Mr. Levine, then why is it not being released? The company claims that it must protect the privacy of those who spoke to its investigators. But this is one case where the interests of the institution as a whole trump those of any individual associated with it. By not explaining in detail why Mr. Levine is being fired, Peter Gelb is playing “trust me” with the public. The problem is that neither he nor his board have earned that trust…

* * *

Read the whole thing here.