Bill
2004-07-11 19:44:39 UTC
A dear friend who lives in Pittsburgh sent me his review of the show:
<< Last night I saw the first professional production THE MUSIC MAN
which I have ever seen!=A0 I've seen it done by colleges and summer
stock house, but until last evening I had never seen a pro pro.
The reason I saw this production was the fact that Jeff Goldblum was
returning to his musical theater roots, not to mention his hometown for
this show.
The thought of the gigantic Goldblum, who as an actor on film has more
than his fair quota of tics, tackling the role of Harold Hill seemed to
be one of those "What were they thinking?" propositions, yet, Mr.
Goldblum was quite good.
Casting this had to have been a bitch and true to my immediate thoughts
when I had heard that Goldblum was cast, yes, indeed, it was a Land of
the Giants cast.=A0 Ed Begley, Jr. (one of my faves from ST. ELSEWHERE)
stands about an inch taller than me - we exchanged kinds words as he was
on his way into the theater, both of us hoping for a ST. ELSEWHERE
reunion special.
Mr. Begley was playing Mayor Shinn - far, far better than Victor Garber
- with a touch of his father's spirit against the divine Ileanna Douglas
as his wife.=A0 Ms. Douglas was a revelation, to be sure; taking the
role and running with it, yet always true to the script.
Jeff Goldblum's charming fiancee, Katherine Wreford,=A0 posesses a
lovely soprano voice, quite rangy, and shone through with true acting
ability from the first moment she hit the stage to the final curtain
call.=A0 Her fine handling of "My White Knight" and the tenderness of
"Will I Ever Tell You?" were major highlights of the production.=A0
Very, very funny with her confrontation with Charlie, too.
As for Mr. Goldblum, he was not as miscast as Matthew Broderick had
been, as well as being as far away from Robert Preston as one can be.=A0
Thank goodness he brought quite a bit of originality to Hill, a con man,
yes, but, one who thinks on his feet and on the fly.=A0 It was
delightful to watch his Hill develop his scheme and to grow as a
character.=A0 With only slight vocal problems, sustaining throughout
"Marian the Librarian" did not detract too much, since his charisma
shone through.=A0
All of the character development paid off in spades once "The Footbridge
Scene" came about. . .the kiss which ends "Till There was You" was a
kiss out of THE PRINCESS BRIDE, absolute perfection.
Presented by Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera and directed by Richard
Sabellico, the show's pacing was appropriately quick.
Goldblum has reined in his performance since the opening night review:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04190/343134.stm
There was no uncertainty in his Harold Hill last night.
The show will be playing through July 18th, and I might just take
another gander at it, but, for now, I am reticent.=A0 Oh, yes, I am
reticent. >>
..............
Drumm
<< Last night I saw the first professional production THE MUSIC MAN
which I have ever seen!=A0 I've seen it done by colleges and summer
stock house, but until last evening I had never seen a pro pro.
The reason I saw this production was the fact that Jeff Goldblum was
returning to his musical theater roots, not to mention his hometown for
this show.
The thought of the gigantic Goldblum, who as an actor on film has more
than his fair quota of tics, tackling the role of Harold Hill seemed to
be one of those "What were they thinking?" propositions, yet, Mr.
Goldblum was quite good.
Casting this had to have been a bitch and true to my immediate thoughts
when I had heard that Goldblum was cast, yes, indeed, it was a Land of
the Giants cast.=A0 Ed Begley, Jr. (one of my faves from ST. ELSEWHERE)
stands about an inch taller than me - we exchanged kinds words as he was
on his way into the theater, both of us hoping for a ST. ELSEWHERE
reunion special.
Mr. Begley was playing Mayor Shinn - far, far better than Victor Garber
- with a touch of his father's spirit against the divine Ileanna Douglas
as his wife.=A0 Ms. Douglas was a revelation, to be sure; taking the
role and running with it, yet always true to the script.
Jeff Goldblum's charming fiancee, Katherine Wreford,=A0 posesses a
lovely soprano voice, quite rangy, and shone through with true acting
ability from the first moment she hit the stage to the final curtain
call.=A0 Her fine handling of "My White Knight" and the tenderness of
"Will I Ever Tell You?" were major highlights of the production.=A0
Very, very funny with her confrontation with Charlie, too.
As for Mr. Goldblum, he was not as miscast as Matthew Broderick had
been, as well as being as far away from Robert Preston as one can be.=A0
Thank goodness he brought quite a bit of originality to Hill, a con man,
yes, but, one who thinks on his feet and on the fly.=A0 It was
delightful to watch his Hill develop his scheme and to grow as a
character.=A0 With only slight vocal problems, sustaining throughout
"Marian the Librarian" did not detract too much, since his charisma
shone through.=A0
All of the character development paid off in spades once "The Footbridge
Scene" came about. . .the kiss which ends "Till There was You" was a
kiss out of THE PRINCESS BRIDE, absolute perfection.
Presented by Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera and directed by Richard
Sabellico, the show's pacing was appropriately quick.
Goldblum has reined in his performance since the opening night review:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04190/343134.stm
There was no uncertainty in his Harold Hill last night.
The show will be playing through July 18th, and I might just take
another gander at it, but, for now, I am reticent.=A0 Oh, yes, I am
reticent. >>
..............
Drumm