Best of 2011 Countdown: #5

Yesterday I was naughty, now it’s time to go back to being nice.  Going forward I’ll be alternating between the Best and Worst lists, so that my number one choice for each will appear right before the New Year. :-)

 Best Shows of 2011

#5 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed...

Confession time: I have a major soft spot for How to Succeed as a show.  Ever since playing Bud Frump in college, I’ve had an immense appreciation for this expertly crafted, Pulitzer Prize-winning musical.  The story is so tightly structured that even at 3 hours, there’s very little fat on the show.  There is an excellent assortment of characters that all receive the perfect amount of stage time, and the score is ingenious in the way it complements the show’s tone while remaining melodic and inventive.  And the witty satire of 1960s corporate culture is spot on, yet cannily hidden beneath a layer of fun that makes the show supremely accessible and entertaining to everyone.  Add to this my crush on Daniel Radcliffe and I was predisposed to love this show.

However, How to Succeed shares a lot of similarities with Promises, Promises, including director Rob Marshall, who absolutely butchered the latter show back in 2010.  And these star-driven revivals can be very hit or miss (especially with Radcliffe being a complete unknown in the song and dance department), so I approached the show with a mixture of excitement and dread.  And I left 3 hours later grinning from ear to ear.

This is the show many recent revivals were trying to be.  It highlights all of the best aspects of traditional musical theatre while updating things just enough to appeal to a contemporary audience.  No unwieldy concepts or gritty real world approach or scaled-down production values here; just good old fashioned musical comedy, executed by a uniformly excellent cast.  In the lead role Radcliffe is surprisingly good, his natural charm going a long way to make up for any vocal shortcomings (which are minimal for the demands of the show).  His dancing is genuinely shocking in its quality, and it’s refreshing to see a big name star actually get down and dirty with the ensemble rather than have everyone dance around them while they remain stationary.  You can tell Radcliffe is giving 110% and pushing himself to improve, and it just makes his performance that much more impressive.

The show has many great numbers, including two genuine showstoppers.  “Brotherhood of Man” is every bit as good as you could hope, and Rob Marshall must have been particularly inspired the day he came up with his staging for “Grand Old Ivy” (one of the few major changes for this revival, and one of best additions to a preexisting show I’ve seen in years).  And the choreography – another area where I’ve taken issue with Marshall in the past – is fantastic.

Anything Goes ended up with all the critical love last spring, but I honestly feel like How to Succeed is the better show.  I actively want to see it again, whereas once was enough for Anything Goes (although I do love me some Sutton Foster).  Most importantly, this production makes a 50-year-old show feel brand new, as if it had never been done before.  That is the goal of all revivals, and in achieving it How to Succeed earns its place among the year’s best shows.

How was the Show? (Part 2)

Continuing a blog post from earlier this week (and my attempt to get at least mini-reviews of every Broadway show I've seen up on this blog), here are my completely biased and at times unsubstantiated opinions on some more currently running Broadway shows.

Godspell - I haven't gotten around to seeing this one yet, but it did not get the best reviews.  Most disappointing for me is the general consensus that the show is an almost juvenile, hyperactive take on the material, which just sounds so grating and obnoxious that it may keep me away from this revival alltogether.  I will say that my general opinion of Stephen Schwatz's work is that no matter what your opinion of the music, his shows tend to have problematic books that require a cast and director capable of disguising the flaws.  It sounds like this Godspell didn't have a cast quite up to the task.

How to Succeed - I really enjoyed this show, and I saw it during the second or third preview.  I can only imagine how much it's improved since then, and if you're looking for a good old-fashioned musical comedy, this is the show for you.  Daniel Radcliffe makes a surprisingly adept musical debut, and he is ably supported by the rest of the cast and what I would argue is one of the stronger Golden Age musical books and scores.  The look of the show is 60s-tastic in the best possible sense, and unlike the garbage Rob Ashford created for Promises, Promises, his choreography here is quite inspired.  The show is a tad long and I personally didn't care for the actor playing Bud Frump, but I would argue this production is every bit as good as last season's other musical revival, Anything Goes.

Jersey Boys - In one of the umpteen million iterations of Forbidden Broadway, there is a spoof of Jersey Boys in which the characters claim they have replaced scenes with dramatic monologues so that they have more time to sing classic songs with snappy choreography.  Which *perfectly* describes Jersey Boys, and is why I find it to be one of the most overrated shows of the past decade.  They tell you what is going on rather than showing you, which is both dramatically unfulfilling and vaguely insulting.  Plus, do you really want to fight your way through the crowds of New Jersey housewives just to find your seat?

Mamma Mia! - I can't speak to this show's quality, as I've never seen it and never will unless I happen across some free tickets.  At this point my objection is more philosophical than anything else, as Mamma Mia! started the entire jukebox musical craze which was an utter detriment to the musical theatre community.  After Mamma Mia!'s success, producers took jobs away from aspiring theatre composers by using pop hits with pre-established name recognition for their musicals.  Not only did this put good artists out of work, but it also led to the creation of a series of dramtically inert shows struggling to build a story around pop tunes that lacked dramatic intent and forward momentum, two requirements of any good theatre song.  Which I find unforgivable, and will in no way support.

Mary Poppins - Another tourist-centric show I haven't seen.  My friends who have been actually have nice things to say about it, so if you're looking for something to take your out-of-town relatives to, this could well be it.

Memphis - No, this show isn't a great piece of musical theatre writing.  But it is a thoroughly entertaining evening in the theatre that has a little bit of everything.  There's comedy, drama, lots of singing and dancing, and just enough of emotional depth that you don't feel like you're watching a piece of fluff.  I personally wish the show had focused more on how being in an interacial relationship negatively affected the white male, as that is something that hasn't been explored nearly as often as the well-worn oppressed-black-woman-in-the-South angle the show's second act favors.  But the cast is talented and the singing and dancing is generally stellar.  Definitely worth a look.

Other Desert Cities - I really want to see this show, and its actually at the top of my list of shows to go see in the next few weeks, so look for a full report soon!

Well, that's enough for today.  Check back soon for more mini-reviews, and feel free to challenge my opinions in the comments (but be warned, I bite).

-Jared W