Kimberly Rau

The actors are the best part about this show. Rob McClure reprises his Broadway role as Daniel, and plays the character very well. It’s not his fault the show stinks. Some of the best moments in the show (and there are some good moments) are when McClure really lets Daniel’s character run wild, particularly when he’s messing around at his job at the television studio. And it’s not Maggie Lakis’ fault that her lovely voice is lost on the few solos that Miranda gets. The kids (Giselle Gutierrez as Lydia, Axel Bernard Rimmele as Chris and Emerson Mae Chan as Natalie) are great. The brothers (Aaron Kaburik as Frank and Nik Alexander as husband Andre) are hilarious and play off each other’s energies beautifully. But the show falls flat and tries too hard to be something it never was, and the best actors in the world can’t save that. (Neither can watching Oscar Wilde doing disco splits, a particularly surreal moment during the montage where Frank and Andre are trying to figure out what Daniel’s “look” will be as a woman.)

And since it’s Fanny’s show, the person who plays her has to be just as incredible as the character. This tour’s struck gold with the incomparable Katerina McCrimmon. Her voice is one of the best I’ve heard in 10 years of reviewing theater, and she has enough talent and chutzpah for at least three actors.