cavo's corner

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Eight…

     Silence! The Musical will go down as one of, if not the, funniest shows that I have ever seen. It’s smart, fact-paced and, above all else, vastly inappropriate. (Which automatically puts it at the top of my list). I mean, what other musical can you find a songs entitled: “Put the Fucking Lotion in the Basket,” or, my personal favorite, “If I Could Smell Her Cunt?!” Not even The Book of Mormon goes that far!

     As the name would suggest, paradoxically hilarious in it’s own right, the musical parody is based on the 1991 cult classic The Silence of the Lambs. I must admit, having never seen the motion picture, I was a bit apprehensive going into the show. But any reservations that I may have had not being familiar with the plot were quickly alaid as I found myself laughing just as loud as the next schmo.

     Feeling a little loose to begin with, (my friends and I appropriately had several glasses of Chianti prior to the 10:30 curtain) there was not a moment during the show that I was not uncontrollably laughing. I mean, really laughing. Stomach hurting, tears streaming down my face laughing. Buffalo Bill shows us his man-gina for crying out loud!

     Although the cast as a whole is incredible, the stand-out for me was Lucia Spina, who is not only a member of the choir of singing lambs, but plays both Buffalo Bill-victim (Katherine is her name) and her senator mother who’s impassioned  plea to the serial killer brings down the house! David Garrison, of Married With Children fame, is a new addition to the cast. His portrayal of “Hannibal the Cannibal” is creepily comical, especially as he breaks into song while fantasizing about Clarice’s… well… see you next Tuesday.

     Definitely not a show I would take my mother to, I would recommend it to anyone who is in need of a good laugh. Silence! The Musical is currently playing at Performance Space 122 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, located at 9th Street and 2nd Avenue. Do yourself a favor and see the show before tickets are devoured! 

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Seven…

     Not too long ago, @TGH3RD and I spent a perfect Autumn Saturday doing perfect New Yorkie things. We rode the Roosevelt Island Tram, we went to the MoMA to take in the de Kooning exhibit, we wandered upon a street fair on 52nd street and enjoyed some sausage and peppers, we had drinks at the top of the Gansevoort Hotel, and we enjoyed a top-notch dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Primehouse. But along the way, we had time to see this very cute and endearing show, Say Goodnight Gracie.

    The one man show, starring Joel Rooks and currently playing Off-Broadway at the St. Luke’s Theatre on 46th Street, tells the story of legendary comedian George Burns and the life-long-love-affair with Gracie Allen.  George Burns passed away in 1996 at the tender age of 100. So, as you could imagine, most of the audience was made up of geriatrics… with the exception of @TGH3RD and myself. I have to admit, I was not too familiar with Burns’ story prior to seeing the play, but he lived an amazing life.

    Living for as long as he did, you could imagine the life experiences Burns’ picked-up along his journey. From humble beginnings in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, he rose to fame during the height of vaudeville (which I had to Google after the show because I had absolutely NO idea what it is) before breaking into radio where he and Gracie had a place on Guy Lombardo’s radio show. The duo would eventually have their own radio show which would evolve into their hit television show, aptly called, The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show.

    Rooks sews together each phase of Burns’ life into a beautiful, live tapestry. He engages the audience in such a way that you actually feel as if you’re watching Burns spill his heart out. Say Goodnight Gracie was originally produced for Broadway in 2002 for which it earned a TONY nomination for Best Play (it would lose to The Goat, Or Who is Sylvia?). Frank Gorshin — AKA the Riddler from the 1960’s Batman television series — who originated the role of Burns also picked up a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor.

    This production is quite endearing and blissfully transports you back to a simpler time and era. It’s a great little show!

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Six…

     I have to say, Voca People is one of the most interesting and fun shows that I’ve seen. The premise is a little juvenile — a crew of aliens from the planet Voca crash land on Earth and must find enough musical fuel to make the journey home.  However, the 90 minute journey through the history of Earth’s music that the Voca People take you on is certainly amazing! 

     With no help from instruments, every song they sing, from Beethoven to Britney Spears, is done so completely a capella and with a little help from “Scratcher” and “Beat-On,” the beat-boxers of the group. There is a TON of audience interaction, which isn’t something that I usually go for. But, when you have a lily-white alien dragging you on stage, resistance is futile. 

    VH1 says it’s like “Blue Man Group meets Glee,” and I think that assertion is pretty spot on. Definitely not a show that I would pick to see, I’m happy that I had the chance to experience the Voca People. It was a lighthearted diversion and I would advise anyone with young children to see the show.

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Five…

First off, please let me apologize for my delinquency in not writing about this sooner. It’s been over two months since @TGH3RD and I saw Catch Me if You Can, the musical. This summer has been a particularly lazy one for me when it comes to this blog. I simply haven’t found the time to pay it adequate attention, what with work, buying a home and my lengthy calendar of seemingly unending social engagements. In any event, I digress… it could be worse. 

Based on the movie, which was based on the novel, which was based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., the lastest addition to the franchise: Catch Me if You Can, the musical was the first original musical (other than a Juke Box Musical, or a musical based on pop music) that I have seen in a long time. It chronicles the (mis)adventures of one of America’s most notorious con-artists during one of my favorite periods, the 1960s.  

I had always wanted to see the movie version of Catch Me if You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, although I’m terrible at getting to the movies. @TGH3RD rented it for me the week prior to seeing the musical, and thank goodness he did. I would have been lost! I can see those who are not familiar with the story becoming easily confused, as key plot elements are glazed over. But, after all, it was a musical.

The set was very cool — I mean, there was a plane on stage! The lighting design and the costumes were also phenomenally executed. The only thing that didn’t really stand out for me was the music. There were a few show-stoppers, and the signature song, “Live in Living Color,” was very good — it had classic musical elements — but everything else was unfortunately forgettable. 

This production received four nominations at for the 2011 Tony Awards. The award for “Best Perfomrance by a Leading Actor in a Musical” was awarded to Norbert Leo Butz for his portrayal of Detective Carl Hanratty. He also won a 2011 Drama Desk Award  for the role. 

Real theater aficionados like @AleksandrJohn didn’t like the show at all. He thought it was too “fluffy.” But that’s what theatre is all about in my book — a diversion! I thought it was a cute show, and I’m sure it will have a healthy run. 

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Four…

When one of my vendors offered me tickets to see Baby It’s You, I said “sure, why not?!” So, last Friday, @TGH3RD and I had a great Lenten dinner at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station before we headed off to the show.

The show, which is in previews until it opens on April 27th, follows the story of Florence Greenberg, the first woman to head a record label and the rise to fame of the girl group The Shirelles. Atypical for a Jukebox-Musical, “Baby It’s You” actually had a plot. Even more, the plot actually touched upon some very real issues like: women in the workplace and interracial relationships. 

We were definitely the youngest in the audience, but by the end of the show, everyone was on their feet singing and dancing. It was a very fun show!

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Three…

There is a reason that The Phantom of the Opera has been running on Broadway since 1988 — that reason being, the show is absolutely phenomenal. When I was little, my parents went to see the show. They bought the original soundtrack and it lived in our car for years to come. I knew ever word to every song of the wonderful score by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. But for whatever reason, I never had the motivation to go and see the how myself. Then finally, I did. 

A vendor that I work with offered me tickets to see the show on a very special day, that day being my 25th birthday. On the eighth day of the ninth month in the year of our Lord, two thousand and ten, some of my favorite people on this planet celebrated my day of birth with dinner and drinks at the iconic 21 Club. From there, we went to see the show.

Originally starring Sarah Brightman, the plot almost mirrored the real-life love story of Webber and Brightman… let’s face it, he’s nothing special to look at. Webber and Brightman were married for six years before divorcing. Musical genius cultivating the abilities of a natural talent? Seems familiar.  

Anyway, the musical tells the tragic story of a love triangle. Christine Daaé, the heroin, is torn between her musical tutor, the repugnant Phantom, and her childhood love, the handsome Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. As most love triangles do, this one ends in a showdown… with ambiguous results. Christine and Raoul end up together, but the Phantom vanishes into thin air (literally).

One of the best musicals that I’ve seen, Phantom has it all — wonderful music, colorful sets, exquisite costumes and a story that isn’t strung together with nonsensical dialogue. It is of no wonder that a sequel, Love Never Dies, is currently running on the West End, and scheduled for Broadway in 2011.  

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Two…

I didn’t really know what to expect going into Chicago. Everyone that I know who has seen it had only good things to say. And, of course, if the show wasn’t good, it wouldn’t have won six Tony Awards in 1997. Nor would it be the longest running revival in Broadway history; fourteen years after the revival was launched, the production is still going strong!

The set and the costumes are very basic, everything black, intentionally done to draw the audience’s attention to the choreography and music. The legendary Bob Fosse choreographed the original production in 1975. The orchestra sits in the center of the stage; orchestra members often interacting with the actors. 

As the title would suggest, the narrative is set in Chicago, Illinois, during the Roaring Twenties. Prohibition, gangsters, flappers - the whole shabang! If I didn’t know all of this from reading the Playbill before the show started, it could have easily occurred today. The timelessness of the piece could be why it has lasted for so long. While the plot is very shallow, little dialogue strung together by song after song, it is still relevant.

While this isn’t a show that I had ever expressed any desire to see, (nor would I pay to see it — the tix I got were comped though work) I am happy that I saw it. From the time it opened with Bebe Neuwirth, the cast has boasted some very interesting names, ranging from Ashlee Simpson Wentz to John O’Hurley (Mr. Peterman from “Seinfeld”) who played Billy Flynn in the production that I saw.

Honestly, I enjoyed every minute: great music, fantastic dancing, and  —what no musical is complete without— a drag queen, there was definitely something for everyone! You know, all that jazz…

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-One…

Fist off, let me say that I think this is one of the most beautifully designed Playbills that I have ever seen. The artwork is simply suburb. Everyone knows the saying “you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover,” but if you were to judge South Pacific based on it’s Playbill cover, you wouldn’t be disappointed. This production, the 2008 revival, was outstanding! It should come as no surprise that it won seven Tony Awards in 2008! 

Ever since I heard that South Pacific was going to be revived, I wanted to see it. I had this preconceived notion that because it is such a classic show, it would be around for years and years; I wasn’t in any rush to see it because I thought it would always be there. Unfortunately, in the beginning of 2010, it was announced that the show would close come the end of August. That really put a fire under my ass.

You would think, knowing this information, that I would have purchased my tickets long in advance. Yeah… that’s not how I role. Instead, I wait until the week the show closes to buy tickets. Usually procrastination isn’t the best route to take, however, in this instant, it was an epic win. Kelli O’Hara, who played Nellie Forbusgh when the revival opened, returned to reprise her role for the final two weeks of the production.

So on the perfect Summer Saturday, @TGH3RD and I took a trip into the city to see this theatrical gem. Although technically on Broadway, the Vivian Beaumont Theatre is located in Lincoln Center, so it is set apart from all of the other Broadway theatres. It was a really nice change of pace not having to navigate throngs of tourists to get into the theatre.

Running a whopping two hours and 35 minutes, South Pacific was by far one of the longest shows that I’ve seen. But, in all honesty, there wasn’t a boring moment. Between the fantastic acting and lifelike sets, I was completely enthralled in the show. With music by the legendary duo, Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammerstein, we were treated to the likes of “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There is Nothing Like a Dame,” and “Bali Ha’i,” which are my personal favorites.

If you plan on being in New York between today (8/18) and this Sunday (8/22) be sure to see it! This production is phenomenal.

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Twenty-Nine…

Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps has got to be one of the funniest shows that I have ever seen. Usually when we think of Hitchcock’s work, we thing of spooky, unsettling thrillers, but not in this case. This show is funny, witty and packed with physical comedy. Originally opening on Broadway, and winning two Tony Awards during that run, just before the start of the third season, the production moved Off-Broadway to the New World Stages.

The show is a murder mystery which is centered around Richard Hannay. At the show’s open, Hannay contemplates his humdrum life before being quickly swept into the chaos which ensues. The show is fast-paced, but never moves too quickly that the audience is unsure of what is happening.

With an ensemble of just four, it is truly hilarious to see these incredibly talented actors take on all 140 roles. Cross-dressing, costume changes — they do everything to pull it off. I would definitely recommend this show to everyone. If you’re looking for a fun diversion, this is a show that shouldn’t be missed!