'Gigi': Theater Review
7 / 10
...a lazy eye roll is about the most extreme reaction likely to be provoked by this pretty but charm-deficient revival of the Lerner and Loewe musical, which plants an all-American, too-contemporary Vanessa Hudgens in a wanly unatmospheric Belle Époque Paris...Thomas downplays the issue of Gigi being trained to continue the family tradition by becoming a high-class courtesan...However, by removing almost any doubt that Gigi's fate ultimately will rest in her own hands, Thomas dulls what's most distinctive about the story, turning it into a conventional romance between a bland couple of compatible age range, interrupted by an awkward contractual negotiation...the show soars only intermittently toward the end, notably when Cott (a mini-Hugh Jackman) sings a gorgeous version of the stirring title song, and when Hudgens finally shifts beyond one-note youthful perkiness to display some romantic feeling. Both actors are perfectly sweet and vocally very capable...But the characters never come alive with even half the passion that Clark invests in 'Say a Prayer,' in which Mamita expresses her love and concern for her granddaughter.
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