BULLETS OVER BROADWAY Reviews- Page 5

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:36pm

Terry Teachout at The Wall Street Journal is mixed to positive, though he's obviously wrong about Young Frankenstein being Stroman's last Broadway outing:

"Ms. Stroman hasn't rung the bell on Broadway since "Young Frankenstein," but she remains peerless when it comes to comic choreography, and "Bullets" overflows with clever dances, including a feature for Ms. Yorke set to a 1927 double-entendre ditty called "I Want a Hot Dog for My Roll" that's as naughty as you'd expect. Here and elsewhere, the gorgeously brassy Ms. Yorke steals the show from her better-known colleagues, but she has plenty of competition, above all from Ms. Mazzie, who has a marvelous time playing a decayed Prohibition-era grande dame whose tipple of choice is lighter fluid. Even Mr. Braff turns out to be a pretty decent song-and-dance man, though he lacks the frantic edge that John Cusack brought to the part on screen.

What about the score? Glen Kelly has written additional lyrics whose purpose is to integrate the musical sequences more smoothly into the plot, but the dramatic fit is never tight, and it doesn't help that so many of the songs, in particular "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" and "Up a Lazy River," are so very familiar in their own right. Because of this, the momentum falters whenever the actors start to sing, though Ms. Stroman usually manages to get things moving again in reasonably short order. As for the use of "Yes! We Have No Bananas" as a grand finale, it's blush-makingly lame—if not quite enough to sink the ship."

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303603904579492074059755520?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303603904579492074059755520.html

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:37pm

The fact that Brantley called the sets "shrunken" is weird to me. Was "The Producers" a bigger show?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:50pm

I still have Beautiful as my front-runner for Best New Musical.

[jkstheatrescene]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:00pm

If I were going to use a bullet pun, I'd call BULLETS a misfire...

Here's my review:

http://bit.ly/1naobGb

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:21pm

The anticipation of the winner of "Best Musical" is going to be SO exciting this year!

[Kad]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:26pm

Brantley's review is better than his one for If/Then. It actually critiques the show and doesn't aimlessly digress like he lost interest while writing it. I give it a B out of 5 stars out of 10.

[TheatreKid3]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:30pm

I'd say ALADDIN is a serious contender at this point as well.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:31pm

Was there a musical this season that received generally positive reviews from the critics?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:33pm

GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE and AFTER MIDNIGHT got the best reviews overall, it seems. And they both opened months ago.

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:34pm

I'd say that Gentleman's Guide definitely received positive notices across the board. And deserbedly so too!

Also, I think After Midnight did well too.
But, I'm certain on AGGTLATM.

Wicked beat me to it!
Same response though! :)

Updated On: 4/10/14 at 11:34 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:47pm

What is it about After Midnight that is so spectacular? Isn't it just a revue? What sets is apart from Smokey Joe's Cafe or any other revue? I am not trying to be snarky or rude. I am honestly curious since I don't know much about it.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:50pm

thanks for the replies, folks. I was curious if they liked ANYTHING,. The critics mean nothing to me, and all I can say is that at Bullets, my friend and I had the time of our lives. I think that's what counts, so I hope word of mouth overrides negative reviews, as sometimes does happen.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:55pm

I agree. I saw Bullets last night, had a delightful time, and some of the reviews I can see their point, others saw a completely different show than me.

I didn't read all the reviews, but all of the Farrow scandal didn't seem to make the cut in the ones I did read, so it is good to see people reviewing the actual show, and not the private life of the writer.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:56pm

Both GENTLEMEN'S GUIDE and AFTER MIDNIGHT received raves in the New York Times, but natch, from Charles Isherwood. I'm not sure if Brantley has commented on what he thought of either production...

I imagine he will if he has a preference since those are going to be the front runners for Best Musical.

Bwayfreak - what makes AFTER MIDNIGHT spectacular is the same thing that separates any great theatre piece- revue or not - from the also rans: a terrific concept, brilliant direction and choreography, superb production values and a fantastic set of performances. It's honestly the only musical this season that left my jaw hanging open again and again throughout the evening - it's incredibly well done.

Updated On: 4/10/14 at 11:56 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:58pm

I think After Midnight is just flawlessly executed, as well as being short, so it just goes full throttle, keeps you engaged and delighted, just hits every note you'd want in such a revue perfectly, and then, as you still want more, it ends (which is a rare commodity these days). I think it earns a lot of its praise for being succinct, and leaving the audience wanting more, since that is what it sends out into the street, an audience it had in the palm of its hand who have nothing negative to say about it.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:07am

I think at this point, any of the shows from this season can win. Even Aladdin, If/Then, and this one.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:07am

Gentleman's Guide wasted NO time putting out an ad on BWW saying its the best-reviewed new musical, huh?

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:07am

I will say I thought Brantley offered pretty eloquent insight into the differences in comedic style between Brooks and Allen, and A) how those differences play when translated to live theater and B) why Brooks' work is innately more suited for a musical interpretation. A pretty interesting observation and something I didn't consider when I first heard "Bullets" was coming to Bway... something I was very excited about.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:12am

I thought Bullets was WAY funnier than The Producers. But I personally can't stand Mel Brooks humor and pretty much HATED The Producers.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:13am

With all respect, I really don't see how IF/THEN or ALADDIN could win Best Musical. Neither has reviews that are strong enough and the NYC professional theatre community (ie.Tony Voters) just doesn't have enough respect for Disney Theatricals at this point.

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:17am

Fair enough. Having not yet seen "Bullets" I can't compare. However, I do agree in theory that it's possible the bombastic nature of Brooks vs. the subtlety of Allen's humor might lend itself more effortlessly to a live musical interpretation. Not sure. Either way it's an interesting observation.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:26am

These reviews were interesting. Not a huge slaughter fest (there were some very positive reviews), but also not a slew of raves. Looks like this will continue to be the "season of possibilities" for winners. Nothing is for sure. It is important to remember that reviews do not always equate with wins/nominations... Matilda had countless raves last season (probably the best reviewed show last season, correct?), and it only walked home with 4 awards.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:46am

re: After Midnight, the part of it that I was really blown away by is just the fact that every minute of the show is so specifically tailored to each performer. It clearly shows off their strengths, and so everyone involved is at their best and doing really amazing work. The dancers are also truly spectacular.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 12:56am

I do think Brantley missed the mark on describing Allen's comedic style as though it is a singular thing. Whereas Brooks did bring a similar comic sensibility to different settings in his movies, Allen doesn't have as consistent a through line for his humor.

His early stuff is far more broad and silly, but then his Annie Hall/Manhattan period is just a perfect balance of comedy and social commentary, and his later work has delivered gems as varied as Midnight in Paris and Blue Jasmine, two movies that almost seem to be from different filmmakers shot back-to-back and both written and directed by him.

If anything, Allen developed a nebbish comedic persona that he used across a wide variety of themes and tones, whereas Brooks has a specific comedy style that he just pointed at different genres. That seems to be a subtle, but significant difference.

That said, Bullets is one of Woody's broader, farcical works, so it was one of the best vehicles for them to pick. But it's not quite going for Hitler musicals and dancing swastikas.

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 1:36am

Haterobics, I totally agree that Allen's comedy is far more varied in style than Brooks. I think what Brantley was pointing out (and what I agree with) was that even in Allen's most broad comedies (Sleeper, Love & Death, Bananas) he has a style that is more intimate than Brooks (who's films all have a presentational style... as if even on screen they are playing to the balcony). Allen's comedy works well on screen and he has a very specific cinematic writing style (overlapping dialogue, under the breath one liners, etc...) that might not as organically translate to a musical as Brooks' material. That said, after reading your post I do think there are some of Allen's early comedies that could be cool musicals (with original music please). Sleeper comes to mind. Dancing robot butlers!!