Tony Awards Preview

Posted on June 8, 2012 by boz

Neil Patrick Harris

This year’s Tony Awards ceremony is scheduled to include more live performances than it ever has before. The marathon of musical numbers will begin with The Book of Mormon, last year’s best musical winner, opening the show with “Hello!,” its Mormon elders knocking on the dressing room doors of several stars before visiting host Neil Patrick Harris. The CBS broadcast will then continue with a medley from several classic musicals.

The show will also feature songs from each of the four musical nominees (Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Once, and the shuttered Leap of Faith) and the four nominated musical revivals (Follies, Evita, Porgy and Bess, and Jesus Christ Superstar) as well as scenes from the musicals Ghost and Godspell and best play nominees End of the Rainbow, Peter and the Starcatcher and One Man, Two Guvnors.

Presenters and performers who have been announced to appear include Ellen Barkin, Candice Bergen, Matthew Broderick, Jessica Chastain, Sheryl Crow, Nick Jonas, Angela Lansbury, Ricky Martin, James Marsden, Jim Parsons, Mandy Patinkin, Tyler Perry, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Plummer, Paul Rudd, Amanda Seyfried, Ben Vereen, Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Predictions

Once has picked up the lion’s share of musical awards this season and will most likely take home the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical, as well as for the majority of its other nominations, including Enda Walsh’s deceptively simple book, Martin Lowe’s expansive orchestrations, Clive Goodwin’s crisp sound design, John Tiffany’s nuanced direction, and the understated but effective set and lighting designs by Bob Crowley and Natasha Katz.

The music of Once was ineligible for a nomination, and this year’s roster for Best Score is a bit sad, but Alan Menken is still the legitimate favorite to win his first award, in his fourth nomination, for his Newsies score with Jack Feldman. The choreography category is one of the most competitive this year, but Newsies will also probably bring Christopher Gattelli a win for his athletic dances.

Follies is my favorite to win Best Musical Revival, and Gregg Barnes deserves the nod for his exquisite costumes. Though Jeremy Jordan carries Newsies and Audra McDonald gives another beautiful performance in Porgy and Bess, my votes for Best Actor in a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical go to veteran performers Danny Burstein and Jan Maxwell from Follies.

For Best Featured Actor in a Musical and Best Featured Actress in a Musical, I think the choices are, once again, two veterans from the same show: Michael McGrath and the chandelier-swinging Judy Kaye in Nice Work.

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Dramatists Guild Fund Gala

Posted on June 7, 2012 by boz

Chita Rivera, John Kander, and Liza Minnelli

Earlier this week, my friends at the Dramatists Guild Fund honored legendary Tony-winning composer John Kander at their 50th anniversary gala in New York’s Mandarin Oriental. Hosted by Jon Cryer, whose mother Gretchen Cryer is president of the fund’s board of directors, the evening featured music from Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Curtains, The Scottsboro Boys and more in performances and tributes from Christie Brinkley, Stockard Channing, Rita Gardner, Joel Grey, Joshua Henry, Howard McGillin, Debra Monk, Bebe Neuwirth, and Karen Ziemba.

The highlights of the evening were a pair of showstopping performances from Chita Rivera, who offered a selection of songs from Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Liza Minnelli, who closed the evening with a medley from Cabaret. As an encore, all of the evening’s performers joined Liza onstage for “New York, New York,” which brought the audience to their feet as John Kander took the stage for a final bow.

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2012 Awards Update #4

Posted on June 5, 2012 by boz

On Sunday, Brooke Shields and Brian d’Arcy James hosted the 57th annual Drama Desk Awards at New York’s Town Hall. Presenters included Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones, Bernadette Peters, Doug Wright, Rick Elice, Maury Yeston, William Finn, Roger Rees, Alex Timbers, Peggy Eisenhauer, Jonathan Tunick, Oskar Eustis, Jenny Gersten, Martha Plimpton, John Larroquette, and Julie Halston.

The musical Once was the big winner, earning four awards, including Outstanding Musical, Director (John Tiffany), Lyrics (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova) and Orchestrations (Martin Lowe). Not far behind were Nice Work If You Can Get It and Follies with three trophies each. Nice Work brought wins for Michael McGrath (Featured Actor), Judy Kaye (Featured Actress), and Joe DiPietro (Book of a Musical), while Follies received awards for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Danny Burstein) and Outstanding Costume Design (Gregg Barnes).

Other musicals picking up accolades were Porgy and Bess (Outstanding Actress in a Musical to Audra McDonald, and Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical to Acme Sound Partners), Newsies (Outstanding Choreography to Christopher Gattelli and Outstanding Music to Alan Menken), as well as The Best Is Yet to Come (Outstanding Revue) and Ghost (Outstanding Set Design to Jon Driscoll, Rob Howell and Paul Kieve). Mary Testa, who starred in the Off-Broadway musical Queen of the Mist, was presented with a Special Award.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Liza Minnelli

Last night, Ava Astaire and Patricia Watt hosted the 30th annual Astaire Awards at NYU’s Skirball Center. The evening featured performances from Steppin’ Out, Newsies and a selection of dances in tribute to Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. The presenters included dancers Chita Rivera, Karen Ziemba, and Lee Roy Reams and choreographers Susan Stroman, Josh Bergasse, and Rob Ashford.

Leslie Odom Jr. was named Best Male Dancer for his performance in Leap of Faith, Lisa Nicole Wilkerson took honors as Best Female Dancer for her role in Porgy and Bess, and Ron Brown received the Best Choreographer trophy for his work on Porgy and Bess. Special honorees included Hugh Jackman, Ricky Martin, Matthew Broderick and Liza Minnelli, who received the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award from Mikhail Baryshnikov.

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Ragtime: Review Roundup

Posted on June 4, 2012 by boz

Rosalie Craig in "Back to Before"

The first West End revival of Ragtime opened last week to mixed reviews. The creative team is Terrence McNally (book), Lynn Ahrens (lyrics), Stephen Flaherty (music), Timothy Sheader (direction), Javier de Frutos (choreography), Jon Bausor (sets), Laura Hopkins (costumes), James Farncombe (lights), and Nick Lidster and Ian Dickinson (sound). The cast includes Rosalie Craig (Mother), David Birrell (Father), Rolan Bell (Coalhouse), Claudia Kariuki (Sarah), John Marquez (Tateh), and Tamsin Carroll (Emma Goldman).

Michael Billington (Guardian): Revived by Timothy Sheader, it is staged with all the brilliance you’d expect of a man who has won the Olivier award for best musical revival three years running. My doubts concern the show itself. … Skilful as Terrence McNally’s adaptation is, the characters lack real individuality. Mother, as the heroine is called, becomes an emblem of the white liberal conscience, while Father is left to embody racial conservatism. Even Stephen Flaherty’s score and Lynn Ahrens’s lyrics seem duty-bound to give us an anthology of period styles. I have no reservations about the staging by Sheader and choreographer Javier de Frutos. … You can’t fault the way the piece is sung and staged – but, in attempting to provide a panorama of turn-of-the-century America, it inspires awe rather than affection.

Michael Coveney (What’s On Stage): The melting pot of America simmers down into coagulant goo. … Despite one or two flash points of action (the abuse of Coalhouse’s Model T Ford, for instance, or Emma Goldman rabble-rousing in Union Square) there’s a becalmed mood to the evening. In many ways, Sheader and his team have revolutionized how shows are presented at this venue, notably in revivals of Lord of the Flies and Into the Woods. But Ragtime does not fulfill its promise of Shakespearean complexity, and soon becomes a penance to sit through; and not being able to see the band (they are supervised by Nigel Lilley on a hidden platform way up in the trees) is another serious deprivation.

Mark Shenton (The Stage): Against a wrecked billboard featuring an election poster of Barack Obama with the slogan “Dare to Dream” still visible below its gashed centre, Ragtime’s focus turns from being a story about the transformation of a nation … to a show which we are invited to see through the prism of the crushed ruins of the hopes that America once represented. … If the production is all too full of distractions, at least the frequently glorious score has its own seriously captivating power, and is punchily rendered here under the superb musical direction of Nigel Lilley. There are some terrific vocal performances. … All, however, are fighting a losing battle against the dominating concept that forces them to comment on their characters rather than live them.

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Glee Recap: Goodbye

Posted on June 1, 2012 by boz

Matthew Morrison in
"Forever Young"

As expected, “Goodbye,” the finale of Glee’s third season was awash in misty-eyed nostalgia, and director-writer Brad Falchuk wasted no time in prompting viewers to reach for their tissues. In the very first scene, we find Will (Matthew Morrison) watching from the hall as the glee club founding members perform “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” from Guys and Dolls, the first song they sang together, and the scene is interspersed with flashbacks from that performance in the series pilot. On the verge of tears, Will gives his students their final assignment: goodbye songs. He himself begins with a poignant acoustic version of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” as his own farewell to the seniors.

In the first of numerous voiceovers in the episode, Kurt (Chris Colfer) reflects on his high school years as he wanders into the auditorium and unexpectedly discovers his dad (Mike O’Malley), who is there to deliver a special graduation present, a somewhat awkward karaoke facsimile of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” with Brittany (Heather Morris) and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), and the song is interspersed with flashbacks of Kurt singing the same number in “Preggers” from season one.

Back in the choir room, Kurt is the first to offer his goodbye, a tearful performance of Madonna’s “I’ll Remember.” For their collective goodbye, the seniors perform the New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give,” led by an over-produced vocal from Finn (Cory Monteith). The juniors’ collective goodbye is the Beatles’ “In My Life,” a resonant rendition that they dedicate to Finn for joining glee club and making it the success it is.

We then briefly follow Quinn (Dianna Agron), who tries to make amends with Rachel (Lea Michele) and Puck (Mark Salling), whom Quinn admits was her first love as she kisses him. In his voiceover, Puck waxes on somewhat incoherently about the power of that kiss, which he credits for giving him the confidence to pass his history final retake so he can graduate. At the unique graduation ceremony, a cross between rock concert and runway show, Puck and Finn perform Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” as the seniors sashay onstage to get their diplomas.

Cory Monteith
and Lea Michele

After graduation, Kurt, Finn and Rachel gather to open their college letters. Only Rachel is accepted. In her voiceover, she considers deferring so she can help Kurt and Finn re-apply. When Finn picks up Rachel for their wedding, though, he makes a detour to the train station, “setting her free” to pursue her dream. Of course, she is weeping buckets, but instead of knocking the living daylights out of him for canceling the wedding at the last minute, Rachel follows Finn to the platform, where the entire club is waiting to say goodbye.

Rachel sings Room for Two’s “Roots Before Branches” as she boards the train and arrives at Grand Central Station, which is picturesque but really isn’t where she would have arrived by train from Ohio. Anyway … the episode ends with Rachel wandering through Times Square, very much like a modern Marlo Thomas from That Girl, before disappearing into the crowds on Fifth Avenue.

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Sweet Little Devil: Album Reviews

Posted on June 1, 2012 by boz

The second Gershwin CD that PS Classics released last week is the world premiere recording of the 1924 musical Sweet Little Devil. The creative team includes Frank Mandel and Laurence Schwab (book), Buddy DeSylva (lyrics), George Gershwin (music), Robert Russell Bennett (orchestration), David Loud (vocal arrangements), and Sam Davis (conductor). The studio cast includes Beth Austin, Danny Burstein, Philip Chaffin, Sara Jean Ford, Jason Graae, Rebecca Luker, and Sally Wilfert.

Andy Propst (Theater Mania): At the other end of the musical and emotional spectrum is the utterly delightful Sweet Little Devil, featuring music by Gershwin and some laugh-out-loud funny lyrics by B.G. “Buddy” DeSylva. This 1920s gem, which opened on Broadway just a scant month before Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue premiered, couldn’t have a wackier plotline (oh-so-easy to grasp from the recording alone). … The disc is filled not only with some lighter-than-air and instantly infectious melodies, but also a host of flavorsome performances starting with Rebecca Luker, who has a vocally shimmering quality as the pertly wise, yet utterly sweet Joyce. Her delectably smooth vocals are beautifully complemented by Danny Burstein (Luker’s real-life husband), who plays Joyce’s beau. … Robert Russell Bennett’s orchestrations are a buoyant joy, particularly those for “The Jijibo,” a jubilant syncopated ragtime tune.

Joe Stead (Chicago Stage Style): A forgotten little gem from 1924, Sweet Little Devil is what I would call a charm score. In fact, if you’re in a nostalgic mood, there is charm galore in this delightful little trifle. The earliest of the composer’s scores to survive, Gershwin’s music is frothy and loaded with vintage Twenties style. And the lyrics by B.G. DeSylva are at once wickedly amusing and, for their day and era, surprisingly clever and biting. … Droll satire abounds in both the lyrics and the sprinkling of spoken dialogue (again a PS Classics signature). … Producer Tommy Krasker has assembled his customary first-class company of stage-honed talent, including the golden-throated Rebecca Luker and Jason Graae, the dryly sardonic Danny Burstein, and bell-toned Sara Jean Ford. … Perhaps the most distinctive sound belongs to character actress Bethe Austin … with a hilarious Betty Boop sound that almost begs for more material. Adding considerably to the satirical merriment are the orchestrations of the great Robert Russell Bennett, which for their historical significance alone make this a must-have disc.

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Porgy and Bess: Album Reviews

Posted on June 1, 2012 by boz

Last week, PS Classics released a pair of Gershwin recordings, each of which have received positive reviews. The first was a two-disc set of the 2012 Broadway revival cast recording of Porgy and Bess. The creative team includes Dorothy and DuBose Heyward (book), Suzan-Lori Parks (book adaptation), Ira Gershwin (lyrics), George Gershwin (music), Diedre Murray (musical adaptation), Christopher Jahnke and William David Brohn (orchestration), and Constantine Kitsopoulos (conductor). The cast includes Audra McDonald (Bess), David Alan Grier (Sporting Life), Norm Lewis (Porgy), Phillip Boykin (Crown), and Nikki Renée Daniels (Clara).

Andy Propst (Theater Mania): Listeners who have seen Diane Paulus’ production … will notice that the album boasts a richer and fuller orchestral sound almost as soon as the overture has begun. The CD uses an expanded string section, featuring seven violinists (as compared to the three used in the pit), and throughout the recording, the enhanced strings provide a beautiful (and frequently delicate) balance to the brash brass sections for Gershwin’s rich fusion of musical theater traditions, opera, and traditional spirituals. Then there are the show’s stars, who are all in exceptional voice on the recording. … The slip-cased set comes with a richly illustrated booklet, which contains both synopsis and lyrics, along with a terrific essay by arts journalist Patrick Pacheco. Moreover, producer Tommy Krasker has carefully crafted the album with just enough dialogue to make the entirety an apt recreation of the production.

Joe Stead (Chicago Stage Style): The score has never sounded more enticing. …. The 2012 Broadway cast makes the words as crisp and essential as the music. This CD consequently feels much more like a musical drama, albeit gorgeously sung, than some of the more operatic treatments available. The sound of the new Porgy recording, with gorgeous orchestrations by William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke, is clear as a bell and makes a strong case for one of the true landmarks of the American musical. … Gershwin’s lush score, adapted here by Diedre L. Murray, sounds fresh and vital under Conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos’ baton. And the two-disc release is generously accompanied by the requisite full-color booklet featuring photos, synopsis, lyrics, and production notes. This superlative recording is another plume in the already beauteous cap of PS Classics. At the risk of hyperbole, I predict Porgy and Bess will be at the top of this year’s crop of musical theatre recordings.

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Larger Than Life: Video Reviews

Posted on May 29, 2012 by boz

Last week, Entertainment One released the DVD of the recent feature documentary Carol Channing: Larger Than Life. Reviews have been mostly positive. The creative team includes Dori Berinstein (co-writer, director), Adam Zucker (co-writer). Those interviewed include Channing, husband Harry Kullijian, composer Jerry Herman, as well as Lily Tomlin, Chita Rivera, Barbara Walters, Tyne Daly, Tippi Hedren, Loni Anderson, Debbie Reynolds, Phyllis Diller, Tommy Tune, Bob Mackie, and Bruce Vilanch. Among the 15 bonus features are “Creating Dolly,” opening night stories of Hello, Dolly!, and “Barbara Walters on Carol,” among others.

Jason Bailey (DVD Talk): I’m sure it’s possible to dislike Carol Channing, but I’m not sure how. … Much of the film is centered on her defining performance, as the title character in Hello, Dolly! … But it also gives us a sense of her background, growing up as a stage-hungry kid, working her way to Broadway, and becoming a theatrical legend. It is also, charmingly, a love story. … Carol Channing: Larger than Life is a cheeky treat, entertaining and skillfully crafted – the bridging animations (adapted from Al Hirschfeld’s drawings) are marvelous, and an early montage, in which Channing gets young and younger via intercut performances of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” is lovely. There aren’t a lot of performers who can honestly be called “living legends,” and Channing is one of them. If this documentary leaves us wanting more of her, well, that’s probably an accomplishment.

Phil Hall (Film Threat): Carol Channing is one of the most original forces of energy in the history of American theater. Dori Berinstein’s documentary on the 91-years-young star is a wonderful tribute to a genuine theatrical original. Accompanied through much of the film by her childhood sweetheart and fourth husband Harry Kullijian (who died after filming was completed), Channing makes a fast sweep of her life. … Much of the film is devoted to recalling Channing’s theatrical triumph as the matchmaker Dolly Levi in the 1964 show Hello, Dolly! … The film places a strong emphasis on the positive, and a surplus of famous collaborators and admirers lavishly sing the praises of Channing’s generosity, humor and strength. The film avoids dwelling on Channing’s low points. … However, the film makes up for those stumbles by serving up some wonderfully rich examples of Channing’s brilliance as a singer, comedian and raconteur. And a Today clip of a Channing story reducing Gene Shalit to hysterics is one of the most infectiously hilarious items ever put on screen. As show biz documentaries go, this one is a must-see.

K. Harris (Amazon): Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, by Dori Berinstein, is as infectious as its subject. … The relationship with her husband Harry (unfortunately since deceased) is absolutely beguiling and has an incredible backstory that I won’t spoil. This film is a fitting love letter to this unorthodox couple as much as being a chronicle of Channing’s career. The film really jumps all over the place, though; it does not particularly give you a comprehensive overview of Channing’s life, more like savory bites and humorous anecdotes. … Larger Than Life is not a perfect film by any means, but its subject matter makes it virtually irresistible. The film itself runs shy of 87 minutes, but there is a bounty of bonus features as well. … If you’re a fan, you’ll definitely want to check this out. And if you don’t know Channing, why not?

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Liza: Album Reviews

Posted on May 28, 2012 by boz

Masterworks Broadway has released the first digital transfer of Liza Minnelli’s live recording of her 1974 concert at the Winter Garden Theater. The reviews have been generally favorable. The tracks on the CD, which include three songs not on the original LP release, feature a pair written by Charles Aznavour and a handful by Minnelli’s frequent collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb, who also wrote the book for the show. The creative team also includes Bob Fosse (direction and choreography), Marvin Hamlisch (music coordinator), and Jack French (conductor). The recording team includes Gary Klein (producer), Phil Ramone (engineer), and Don Puluse (editor and remixer).

Chuck Lavazzi (KDHX): The story behind the release of this newly remastered recording of the famous 1974 concert is a bit convoluted. … This is the first time that the entire show will come out on CD and digital release. … When it’s good – which it mostly is – it’s very good indeed. Of course, Ms. Minnelli was at the top of her game when she recorded this. Fresh from Broadway, film, and television triumphs and performing for a wildly enthusiastic audience, she sounds energized and completely engaged. … The selection of material is quite good as are the arrangements.

Andy Propst (Theater Mania): After spending nearly 40 years in limbo because of rights issues, this live recording of Minnelli’s engagement at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre hits CD, and there’s no doubt her fans will welcome this release that features the multi-award-winning singer at her peppiest best. Even if the Las Vegas-y medley of “If You Can Read My Mind” paired with “Come Back to Me” sounds a little retro-campy by 2012 standards, Minnelli’s deftness with some of Kander and Ebb’s specialty material for the show atones for it.

William Ruhlmann (CD Universe): Essentially a revised and updated version of the show she immortalized as Liza with a Z in 1972, she tries to mix contemporary material with show tunes. … It doesn’t really work, despite her usual full-throttle performance style. … [Fred Ebb] and his composing companion, John Kander, have penned some special material, notably the novelty “Exactly Like Me.” … This is a typically effective live show from Minnelli, and clearly just a souvenir from the act itself that could only be completed by seeing as well as hearing her.

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February House: Review Roundup

Posted on May 27, 2012 by boz

Julian Fleisher
and Kristen Sieh

The new Off-Broadway musical February House, based on Sherill Tippins’ 2005 book, opened last week at the Public to mixed but somewhat positive reviews. Below is a sampling. For the record, the creative team includes Seth Bockley (book), Gabriel Kahane (music and lyrics), Davis McCallum (direction), Riccardo Hernandez (sets), Jess Goldstein (costumes), Mark Barton (lights), Leon Rothenberg (sound), and Danny Mefford (choreography). The cast includes Stanley Bahorek (Benjamin Britten), Ken Barnett (Peter Pears), Ken Clark (Reeves McCullers), Julian Fleisher (George Davis), Stephanie Hayes (Erika Mann), Erik Lochtefeld (W.H. Auden), Kacie Sheik (Gypsy Rose Lee), A.J. Shively (Chester Kallman) and Kristen Sieh (Carson McCullers).

Dan Bacalzo (Theater Mania): While there are a few bright spots … the slow-going endeavor is significantly lacking in character development. What makes this even more frustrating is that the musical’s dramatis personae are some of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century. … Indeed, the main drawback of Bockley’s book for the musical (based on the similarly titled 2005 nonfiction book by Sherill Tippins) is that instead of really exploring the way this communal environment could have stimulated the artistic genius of its denizens, it mostly treats the enterprise as if it were a situation comedy. … The musical’s creators have taken a bit of liberty with certain biographical details regarding the individuals depicted in February House. While that is certainly to be expected in a project like this, what is harder to forgive is the mere fact that Kahane and Bockley have made these intriguing historical figures so much less interesting than they surely must have been.

Ben Brantley (New York Times): It’s the music that makes the magic in February House, the account of an experiment in communal living in the early 1940s that sounds like a culture groupie’s fever dream, glittering with boldface names. … The show and its appealing cast are at their best when the focus is on individual artists who feel alone, even among their own, and hear uncommon melodies that no one else hears. … When the gang decides to give a party, its constituents sound like Judy and Mickey preparing to put on a show in the barn. … What saves February House from annoying gaucheness and pretension is the obvious affection that its creators feel for their subjects. This show suggests a sweet collection of fans’ notes, set to music that is something more than that. As a lyricist, Mr. Kahane, a singer-songwriter who eludes pigeonholes, may hardly be on a level with Auden, three of whose poems he courageously uses as the basis for songs. But the music he writes artfully captures the spirit of the years.

Joe Dziemianowicz (Daily News): February House is a well-meaning but wimpy and exceedingly precious new musical at the Public Theater. It’s a disappointment, since the material, inspired by a book by Sherill Tippins, seemed filled with music – a bohemian rhapsody, if you will. … With careers percolating and war ravaging Europe, there’s much to mine. But Bockley’s book simply finds the residents squabbling, fretting about sex and then leaving. It fails to locate themes that resonate and make it more than the simple fact that this happened. A Big Brother episode has more tension. Indie singer-songwriter Kahane’s collection of art songs are designed to match the idiosyncratic personalities and histories of the characters. Lyrics tend to be predictable or forced and the melodies ineffectual. … Director Davis McCallum’s spare staging gives the show an elemental look. His cast is a mixed bag.

Keith Staskiewicz (Entertainment Weekly): Bolstered by a series of complex, moving songs by Gabriel Kahane that sound like a melding of Steven Sondheim and Sufjan Stevens, the musical skips deftly from contrapuntal dissonance to an open-air folksiness that itself is a fascinating counterpoint to the cultured subject matter. … Like the most erudite possible version of a VH1 celebreality show, the high-profile personalities complement each other by the sheer unlikeliness of their proximity. … But it’s Kahane’s music and exceptional lyrics that carry the production into the sublime, even if the cast occasionally strains to keep up with his intricate melodies. … A–

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