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The latest big, bright Broadway musical version of a great date flick is a
fun, energetic great date show. It starts strong with the obligatory
up-tempo opener ("Omigod You Guys" - don't you just love it?) and keeps it
up as one blast of pink Cotton Candy through four more songs until, finally,
Michael Rupert comes to the rescue with "Blood In The Water," providing the
first tart touch of variety of the evening. Much of the time, the show's
sound is as shrill as a Valley Girl's squeal, but the highly crafted
combination of colorful design, fast moving script, high volume songs and
high energy performances rarely gives the audience time to ponder anything
heavier than a (pink) helium balloon. To be as good as it can be, however,
the show requires a performance in the lead role of the blonde who takes on
all challenges with addictive self confidence that knocks your socks off.
The performance it gets from Laura Bell Bundy is just as high energy as the
rest of the show, but not quite head and shoulders above everything else.
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Storyline: Ellie Woods, a California college student majoring in fashion
merchandising is dumped by her hunk of a collegiate boyfriend because he has
political ambitions and needs "a Jackie, not someone tacky" ... to which she
replies, "We're not talking trailer trash here, I'm from Malibu - Richard
Simmons is our neighbor!" He's off to Harvard Law School, so she applies to
Harvard as well. Overcoming all obstacles with the complete confidence of
one who can't conceive of failure, she gains admission, gets to the head of
the class, and lands the plumb clerkship. In the process, however, she
learns there is something better than the guy who dumped her in the first
place, and finds true love with another, more decent man.
Jerry Mitchell, whose energetic, focused and witty
choreography has been a feature of a number of Broadway hits over the past
decade, makes the jump to full fledged director/choreographer with this fun
show. He's the man behind the great basketball dance in The Full Monty,
the lovely release of "Suppertime" in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
and the touching romantic duet between Edna and Wilbur in
Hairspray. This time he's responsible for
the whole package, and he does a fine job on a project that he has directed
within an inch of its life. There can't be more than a thirty seconds
without a sound cue, light change or set movement in the entire piece. David
Rockwell's consistently colorful, witty and superbly serviceable sets help a
great deal, as do some (but not all) of Gregg Barnes' costumes. The show's
constant blast of energy takes the combined skills of crew, cast and
musicians working at full speed for the entire evening with
stop-watch-driven coordination.
Bundy is an appealing Ellie Woods, and she sings and
dances with flair, just as she did when she originated the role of Amber Von
Tussle, that other blond who couldn't conceive of anything short of
popularity and success in Hairspray. In that show, however, she was a
supporting character. It was the Tony Award-winning performance of Marissa Jaret Winokur that carried that show over the top to mega-hit status, just
as it was also the Tony Award-winning performance of Sutton Foster that carried
Thoroughly Modern Millie to that level. Bundy is most likely going to be
nominated for the Tony and she richly deserves that, but she's not likely to
win and she doesn't quite lift this show that far. Christian Borle does a
fine job as the good guy she finds when she gets to Harvard on the heels of
the heel who dumped her who is played nicely by Richard H. Blake.
The score relies more on tempo and
rhythmic patterns than on melody, and the lyrics are peppered with cute
one-liners. The script follows the movie's formula quite closely with a few
additions to turn 96 minutes into 120 (plus intermission.) Some of those
additions or changes work very well. For example, Ellie's application to
Harvard is accompanied not just by a head shot but by a full out cheerleader
routine performed by her friends who all make the trek to Massachusetts to
leap and strut and Ellie's sorority sisters become, naturally, a "Greek
Chorus." Some additions don't add a great deal. A stiff-armed Riverdance
take off beefs up the role of the hair dresser, probably because it is
played by Orfeh who reminds you so much of Orfeh in Saturday Night Fever
or Orfeh in Footloose. The script gets a bit mean spirited in its
digression into a homophobic plot point with the repeated refrain "Is he
gay, or just European?" The best addition is the tremendous Act II opener
that Mitchell choreographs with all the flash of his best work, a work out
video number called "Whipped Into Shape" led by Nikki Snelson in her
Broadway moment of glory.
Music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin.
Book by Heather Hach based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the motion
picture screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. Directed
and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Music direction by James Sampliner.
Orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke. Animals trained by William Berloni.
Design: David Rockwell (sets) Gregg Barnes (costumes) David Brian Brown
(hair) Ken Posner and Paul Miller (lights) Acme Sound Partners (sound).
Principal cast: Annaleigh Ashford, Richard H. Blake, Laura Bell Bundy,
Christian Borle, Leslie Kritzer, DeQuina Moore, Orfeh, Michael Rupert, Kate
Shindle, Nikki Snelson.
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