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| WHISTLE review from Houston | |
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The_Jackster 12:12 am UTC 09/19/07 |
| And...it's a pan. Why am I not surprised? Divided into "The Good, the Bad, and the Steinman," for those fans who look to peruse for what they want to know most. THE GOOD: - raves for Andrea Ross (Swallow), Eric Kunze (The Man), Matt Skrincosky (Amos), and Carole Denise Jones (Candy) - choral singing (adults and kids alike) is strong - Paul Farnsworth's sets and costumes are "serviceable" - Bill Kenwright's "staging of key action in the final scene is quite effective" and his direction "maintains a straight-faced sincerity throughout" THE BAD: - he considers its premise (kids think a guy is Jesus because he happens to use the Lord's name in vain when they ask who he is) virtually impossible to swallow, even with the setting moved to the Bible Belt - not an authentic portrayal of race relations (and other things) in 50s Louisiana - direct quote: "And this bit of having everyone constantly dropping the names of '50s icons like Elvis Presley and James Dean gets really tired fast. OK, it's the '50s, we get it!" - lambastes the shit out of Webber's score (in particular describing When Children Rule the World as sounding like "a Sesame Street reject" and describing No Matter What and The Tribe as "the two worst 'list songs' in stage history") - hates on the book for a static plot consisting mainly of The Man hiding in the barn and the kids helping - another direct quote: "The authors pour on maudlin sentiment and religiosity like molasses." - finds the show's unintentional humor the most entertaining aspect (i.e. when the Man apologizes to Swallow with "I'm too tired to work miracles now - but maybe later" and Swallow's reaction to Amos' secret, the reviewer exhorting the character to be prepared to accept what she gets when she asks) THE STEINMAN: - most important to us, and most frequently heard from detractors of his work in general, he says of Steinman's lyrics that they are "unhelpful," "tend to generalize sentiments expressed in hackneyed phrases, rarely expressing anything pertinent or specific about the characters' emotional lives" (pointing out lyrics from A Kiss... and If Only to prove his point) REVIEWER'S VERDICT? "A disappointment." | |
| URL: | Whistle transplants fable of childlike faith from England to Louisiana |
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| Previous: | Thanx for that! - rockfenris2005 09:55 am UTC 09/19/07 |
| Next: | re: WHISTLE review from Houston - Bright_Eyes 12:38 am UTC 09/19/07 |
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