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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2004)
36 just out • august 20.2004 THEATER ................ ▼................ • nZt< "Jtwim* llIcupii/'tijiut , 9nlurnatumat f ^ayeant 2OO4/2OO*> "La Femme For All Seasons" .7, himm* Broadway schmoadway Gay puppets save New York Sunday Sept 5, 2004 Itjayni/icju* .ÿnternàtiotiuï2003/2004 season 1 )nor 7pm Pageant 8ptn from complete disaster IfàtUûmu yc* to dit 2OO4/2OOÇ by J on LA FEMME MAGNIFIQUE INTERNATIONAL K retzu pageant A pageant to choose the most glamorous female impersonator in the world For additional informations & ticket« cat 503-222'5338 or email DarcelleXV@aol.com Tickets $30 1 Tables of 10 $275 Double Tree Inn at jantren Beach 909 North Havden Island, Portland, OK 383-2111 A closeted Republican puppet argues with his roommate in the Broadway smash Avenue Q heater, and Broadway in particular, is often referred to as The Fabulous Invalid. Well, if the 2004 New York City season is anything to go by, the invalid is on life support and hanging on by a thread. On my recent annual pilgrimage I found the only new musical worth traveling cross country to see is the delightful Avenue Q, which deserved every bit of recognition it got at this year’s Tony Awards (Best Musical, Best Score, Best Btxtk). Don’t let the faux-Muppets put you off—this fur and felt thirtysomething is funny, touching and outrageous fun. Any show that includes gay pup pets, full puppet nudity and catchy Broadway showstoppers about racism, schadenfreude and Gary Coleman is tops with me. Equally original is the spec tacle of Hugh Jackman single handedly making The Boy from Oz into a smash hit. This musi cal biography of gay cabaret icon Peter Allen is a hopeless muddle—all of Alien’s songs are clumsily shoehorned into an often ridiculous hxik that reduces a sub-interesting life into a series of “And then I wrote/And then I fucked” clichés. Still, there are compensa tions: Isabel Keating’s weird channeling of Judy Garland, Stephanie J. Block’s impersonation of Lucie Amaz playing Liza Min nelli. Then there is Mr. Jackman. I am con vinced that the dull and wooden actor that turns up on screen is the real deal’s talentless twin brother. On stage Jackman comes to life with megawatt charisma. You have never seen someone work an audience like he does—and without a shred of effort. This year’s Emperor’s New Clothes Award most deservedly goes to the hideous Wicked. This green elephant of a show takes Gregory Maguire’s intriguing novel (a satiric prequel to The Wizard Of Oz subtitled The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) and turns it into a lumbering, noisy tank of a musical. Winnie Holzman’s script has the graceful wit of a two-ton truck, and the less said about Stephen Schwartz’s relentlessly T dull score (which would be subpar even for a sub par composer like Schwartz) the better. Granted, 1 did not see the renowned, Tony- winning Idina Menzel (of the freakishly high voice) but her understudy, who seemed to be doing a fine Menzel imitation. Somehow I don’t think it would have made much difference who was wearing the green makeup—this show stinks. The only other new musical of note is Caro' line, or Change, one of those shows that carries its pedigree (btxtk and lyrics by Tony Kushner, music by Jeanine Tesori, direction by George C. Wolfe) like a shield before it. Caroline is a show one des perately wants to love. It is intelligent, stKially responsible, passionately performed. And yet...if only it wasn’t so in love with its own importance. There’s no getting round the fact it is opaque in its passions, often pompous in its socialism and, finally, a bit of a bore. Kushner’s libretto is meant to be a subtle parable about race relations and societal ten sions in 1963 Louisiana, but its poetry is leaden, its impact vague and its metaphors deep on the surface. Tesori s music is forever striving for guts and glory but settles for volume, and Wolfe’s direction never soars. The cast, however, throws itself into the work with great dedication; Tonya Pinkins’ Caroline is undeniably a powerhouse perform ance. Still, you come out feeling like you have to go home and write a btxik report. The truly txld musical work on Broadway this season comes in the form of its three hit revivals. Leonard Bernstein and Comden & Green’s 1950s romp Wonderful Town is a quirky souffle blessed with a fabulous score. Kathleen Mar shall’s revival, though, flattens the show into a limp sitcom. It’s easy to dismiss the vanilla sup porting cast, but it is impossible to miss Donna Murphy’s diva turn in the leading role, for which she has garnered rhapstxlic critical attention. But after a while all her cute, squinty-eyed grandstanding and vocai/facial mugging just made me want to shcxit her. I am convinced that the dull and wooden Hugh Jackman that turns up on screen Is the real deal’s talentless twin brother
