Review: ‘Monsoon Wedding’ Is a Hit Film, but Not a Great Musical
5 / 10
The families mingle and bustle, but-without camera close-ups and cuts-it all feels stiff and belabored on stage. There is no sense of high-stakes, or even low-stakes for Aditi, Hemant, or their families; no narrative grist around them making this decision for a set of truly convincing reasons, or asking what they really want. Theirs is a woefully under-conceived central relationship to base a musical around. When they sing the duet “Could You Have Loved Me” it rings not just implausible but pointless; they never seemed that into each other. There is no yearning or mystery or intrigue. They seem pretty dullsville as a couple.
