Curtains

[+ deej]

Musical theater queens, take note. There's a new musical in town. It's the last show from Kander & Ebb.

 

I went to see "Curtains" at LA's Ahmanson Theater yesterday and had a blast.

 

It's still in preview (and it shows) but it's an enjoyable romp through a murder mystery set in a pre-Broadway production. (Art immitating life since this production is, itself, a pre-Broadway production.)

 

David Hyde Pierce stars and fortunately the role calls more for a comedic actor than a singer. He's fantastic at the gags (both spoken and physical) and adequate in the musical numbers. And he properly portrays the "dance dummy" when needed while holding his own with the entire ensemble in the production numbers.

 

The book is hilarious and had the audience roaring through the whole show. The music is classic Kander & Ebb, mostly. (You can sorta tell which songs were added after Fred Ebb's death.)

 

It's in LA for a limited run. The "premiere" is Wednesday. They intend to take it to Broadway but it's A BIG PRODUCTION so they'll need one of the big venues, which are all booked for the forseeable future. It'll take a flop on Broadway for this production to move in.

 

If you have a chance to see it, don't hesitate. It's 2 1/2 hours of laughter and good music, which is never a bad thing.

[Funseeker 22]

I`m going to see it next weekend. Looking forward to it.

[+ deej]

I'm tempted to see it again, if only to see how it morphed from the previews. I know they added a scene the day before I saw it. And they definitely had "preview jitters" -- scenery malfunctions, wardrobe malfunctions, etc. -- one of the male leads wears a white stetson in a couple of numbers and it spent a fair amount of time bouncing around the stage looking for his head.

 

But it was still great fun.

 

Hmmm ... spending my birthday in SF with my favorite boy or seeing "Curtains" again. Decisions... decisions.... :7

[Funseeker 22]

Goldstarevents.com is offering 50% off tix for certain performances.

I saw "Drowsy Chaperone"using this service in LA,pre Broadway.

Free to join and they email weekly with current offerings incl concerts, baseball games, restuarants and even spa treatments.

Goldstar also offers events in SF,SDO,DC and Chicago so it`s a good site to join. I have no affiliation with the site so no blatant plug intended.

[+ deej]

Thanks! I signed up.

 

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at the Pantages for 25 bucks ain't bad! You may have just single-handedly put me on the freeway more than I want. :9

 

My only gripe with going down to the Music Center is GETTING THERE. It should be a 50-minute drive. I allowed 2 hours and barely made it. <sigh>

 

I love all the theater events available in LA, but getting there is a bitch! LOL

[J-Man]

I've been a very satisfied Gold Star Events customer for several years. Some weekends I've gone to three different shows with their half-price tickets. Another source for half price tix is http://www.lastagealliance.com/

[Funseeker 22]

Must agree with Deej that this show is great. Really funny and some great oneliners then pauses that had the audience in stitches.

David Hyde Pierce is fantastic and show has a very strong supporting cast.Loved Debra Monk and Edward Hibbert (Gil from the Frasier show).

Two Dicks Up ! :)

[+ deej]

Glad you enjoyed it too!

 

I just loved the whole self-effacing humor. It's basically a sendup of everything about making a musical. From the blowhard producer to the ingenue leading lady, it's all there.

 

And what broadway songwriters WOULDN'T want to write a scathing song about critics? ("What kind of man takes a job like this?") Or about the bitch of a leading lady they're not so sorry to lose? ("The woman is dead") ROFL

 

Kander & Ebb actually lived through something close to that last one with Gwen Verdon in "Chicago". The show was pretty much a flop, and Verdon announced she was leaving for health reasons. Suddenly their friend Liza Minnelli stepped in on short notice and with no publicity, and the show became a smash hit.

 

Art immitating life? Who knows?

[Guest Jocoluver]

I will be seeing it tonight.

 

Definitely hottest ticket in town -- really tough to get tickets!

[+ Lucky]

RE: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

 

No, not you! I am talking about the musical production coming to LA. It stars Norbert Leo Butz in one of the funniest stage performances I have ever seen. It's really worth seeing, especially if you can get that 50% discount.

[Lankypeters]

>>

>Kander & Ebb actually lived through something close to that

>last one with Gwen Verdon in "Chicago". The show was pretty

>much a flop, and Verdon announced she was leaving for health

>reasons. Suddenly their friend Liza Minnelli stepped in on

>short notice and with no publicity, and the show became a

>smash hit.

>

>Art immitating life? Who knows?

 

With all due respect, I'm not sure this is an entirely accurate account. CHICAGO received positive reviews but was blown off the map a few weeks after it opened by A CHORUS LINE and its ecstatic, rave notices. Still, CHICAGO box office was strong. In late August, Verdon needed emergency throat surgery. The story given was that she had inhaled confetti during one of the dance numbers and developed an irritation. The story behind that was that she had nodes on her throat removed.

 

Minelli came in for six weeks at the most, maybe less. Business was socko. Verdon returned and remained with the show for at least a year and again did good business. Others followed -- Lenore Nemetz, possibly Ann Reinking. The run lasted at least two years (check http://www.IBDB -- Internet Broadway Data Base). I'm uncertain whether it ultimately paid off or not.

 

 

Lankypeters:-)

[Lankypeters]

>>>

>>>

The run

>lasted at least two years (check http://www.IBDB -- Internet Broadway

>Data Base). I'm uncertain whether it ultimately paid off or

>not.

>

 

I did the homework I sugested. Show played 24 previews, 936 performances, running two years, two months. Minnelli subbed for five weeks. Nemetz and Reinking eventually followed Rivera and Verdon.

 

Hard to believe it didn't pay off running that long (a good run in those days) and I doubt it was all that expensive to keep on the boards.

 

 

All that is not to say Verdon wasn't difficult and demanding in tryouts, as she was known to be. Show had a rough break in from all accounts. Perhaps all that jazz led Kander and Ebb to dip their pens in venom as Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) says in LAURA.

 

 

Lankypeters

[+ deej]

All I know is what I heard in an interview with Kander & Ebb themselves. <shrug> They said the show was about to close when Minnelli stepped in for her (according to them) five-week run.

 

IAC, I'm glad it had a successful run. ;-)

 

Kander & Ebb fascinate and mystify me. It seems everyone in the US knows names like Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe, even Andrew Lloyd Weber and Sondheim, but not Kander & Ebb.

[Guest Jocoluver]

I saw "Curtains" last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is funny, cute, and very entertaining. Expensively produced and very well performed. It looked to me like it is Broadway ready. It is no "Cabaret" or "Chicago" but a very pleasant coda to the Kander & Ebb era. (not well known as R&H? but I went to see "Curtains" because it was K&E). I couldn't help but wonder what a Bob Fosse would have made of this!

 

Tough ticket, but worth the effort, playing through Sept. 10th in Los Angeles.

[+ Lucky]

RE: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

 

The LA Times agreed with me on this show, especially on Norbert:

 

 

It's easy to fall for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," with Norbert Leo Butz's turn a special treat.

 

 

Kathleen Foley, Special to The Times

 

 

'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' at the Pantages, Aug. 15-27

'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' in Orange County, Aug. 29 - Sept. 10

 

 

Jack O'Brien, the longtime artistic director of San Diego's Old Globe, has made quite a specialty out of recycling Hollywood films into big-budget stage musicals ("Hairspray," "The Full Monty").

 

Based on a 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is another O'Brien-helmed enterprise that, after premiering at the Globe in 2004, has gone on to a successful Broadway run. Now in the early stages of a national tour, "Scoundrels" returns to Southern California for a limited engagement. Those who haven't had the opportunity to see it yet would be well advised to beat a path to the Pantages Theatre box office. If there were a theatrical Richter scale measuring entertainment value, this show would register a tectonic 10.

 

The tale, which features a book by Jeffrey Lane and a score by David Yazbek, is set on the French Riviera, where suave con artist Lawrence Jameson (Tom Hewitt) finds rich pickings. Masquerading as a down-on-his-luck prince, Jameson seduces gullible American heiresses, divesting them of their cash along with their lingerie. Into this rarefied world wanders Freddy Benson (Norbert Leo Butz), a crude, lewd American scammer who wants in on Jameson's "game."

 

The two team up, but their collaboration quickly sours. To settle their creative differences, the scoundrels agree on a gentleman's wager. The first man to successfully con cutie-pie soap heiress Christine Colgate (Laura Marie Duncan) will rule the Riviera. The loser leaves town.

 

Of course, the big draw among this able cast is the prosaically named Butz, whose turn as the uncouth Freddy has earned him a bouquet of awards, including the Tony. Butz's much-ballyhooed performance doesn't disappoint (although one wishes he wouldn't break character to laugh at himself, a gambit that got obnoxious as far back as "The Carol Burnett Show.")

 

Anyone tired of packaged glitz will find Butz's anarchic turn a real tonic. Call Butz the anti-Broadway baby. Prancing with seemingly unstudied abandon, this human pretzel moves more like a rock star than a musical theater performer, stealing focus in almost every scene — even in a few where he shouldn't.

 

Himself a Tony nominee ("The Rocky Horror Show"), Hewitt must have found it a bit daunting to share the stage with his irrepressible costar. No worries here. With his mellifluous Brit accent and tailored linen suits, Hewitt's unflappable Jameson provides the perfect contrast to the slobby Freddy. An added plus — Hewitt happens to be dead sexy, the kind of guy who is absolutely believable as a master seducer. It's a crucial distinction and a welcome addition to the role.

 

Gregg Barnes' colorful costumes, Kenneth Posner's evocative lighting and David Rockwell's lavishly scenic sets provide a beautiful backdrop for O'Brien's smooth staging and a glittering cast.

 

Duncan is a vocal powerhouse who radiates sweet sincerity — and then some. Hollis Resnik shines as Jameson's wealthy conquest Muriel Eubanks, who later finds true love with corrupt police chief Andrew Thibault (appealing Drew McVety). And Jenifer Foote delights as a gun-loving Oklahoma oil heiress — a latter-day Ado Annie who won't brook the word "No" from anyone at all.

 

Ted Sperling's musical direction is nicely focused and full-bodied, as is the excellent sound design by Acme Sound Partners. Although there are few full-blown dance sequences, Jerry Mitchell's sprightly choreography is first rate. However, Yazbek's naughty-clever lyrics and lush music are the biggest delight of this show. Unpretentiously brainy, Yazbek, who also collaborated with O'Brien on "The Full Monty," brilliantly blends the sexy with the cerebral, a blessedly welcome gift in an era where crassness trumps content on a depressingly regular basis.

 

 

'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'

 

Where: Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

 

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays

 

Ends: Aug. 27

 

Price: $25-$80

 

Contact: (213) 365-3500

 

Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

[+ deej]

Variety more or less agrees with us.

 

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117931277?categoryid=33&cs=1

[Guest Jocoluver]

RE: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

 

I agree with Lucky and the LA Times. I saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" yesterday. I wasn't going to see it until I read that rave in LAT. I thought "Curtains" was funny and entertaining. DRS and especially Butz are beyond funny - hilarious. The whole cast is good. Like reviews say, they better be good to stay on the stage with Butz!

 

Absolutely not to be missed with Butz' unforgettable performance. He's so funny-cute I wanted to bring him home with me.

 

It's at Pantages for another week and then moves to Orange County. I know I will have to rush to see it again while in the So. Cal. area.