In Defense of Kong and Offense at Prom. Moulin Rouge on Broadway. John Kander and Lin-Manuel Miranda team up. #Stageworthy news of the week.
November 20, 2018 Leave a comment
This week in New York theater, I seem to have zigged while others zagged, even when it comes to zazz.
To explain:
1. I don’t completely understand the high level of snark about “King Kong.” ( “Ugh,” Jesse Green in the New York Times in a joint review with Ben Brantley, who wrote ““aaaaaaaaargh.”) Yes, as I think I make clear in my review below, I get that this is not a musical for the ages. But who would expect that from a show about a GIANT GORILLA? The original film was beloved because of its special effects.
2. I don’t completely share the outpouring of affection for “The Prom.” (Sara Holdren calls it “giddy, smart, big-hearted” in her review in New York.) Yes, “The Prom” has its pleasures, among them a fun number entitled “Zazz,” (pictured above), a word that one of the Broadway characters claims Bob Fosse used frequently. But the satire seems aimed not just at the self-regarding theater folk but at the “local yokels,” and the razzmatazz upstages, and thus risks trivializing, the homophobic incident, based on a true story, that is central to the plot. This is not the first time serious issues have been used in Broadway musicals to add some heft to a giddy entertainment, but I didn’t like it when they did that in “Kinky Boots,” “Hairspray,” “Mean Girls,” or “Summer” either.
Kander and Miranda?
The latest #Hamildrop: “Cheering For Me Now,” with lyrics and vocals by Lin-Manuel Miranda and music by John Kander, best known as the composer half of Kander and Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret.. Will this now be a new musical force, Kander and Miranda? It’s certainly mellifluous
Theater is often awesome, even when in need of repair, and this week is no different.
