Broadway musicals
"Les Miserables" Photos: Joan Marcus
Pay a visit to "Legally Blonde –The Musical," "Les Miserables" and "Xanadu" before you try to beg, borrow, steal or pay through the nose for a ticket to "The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, long title but guaranteed to be funny. All true, still there are leftover musicals going strong, (some may even be at TKTS the half price booth at Times Square) and not to be missed if you are searching for an entertaining night at the theater.
The 13-year-old-girl sitting next to me in the Palace Theatre where "Legally Blonde – The Musical" is currently packing the house, was giggling loudly enough to draw my attention from the delicious antics of Laura Belle Bundy as Elle Woods, the legal blonde at the center of some super fun. Grandmoms and moms can rest easy buying a ticket for this show for their progeny to this show. There isn't a ripped open blouse or unzipped pants to mar the sheer exuberance coming across the footlights. It is a perfect evening on Broadway for teens, tweens, grumps, seniors and everyone else wanting to leave the theater smiling.
It begins with "Oh My God," an old-fashioned splashy opening number belted out by a gaggle of Elle's sorority sisters as the Greek chorus that guides her towards her college goal and away from pining over being unceremoniously dumped by Warner Huntington III. This role is played with perfect insufferable ego by Richard H. Blake. "Oh My God" brims with physical energy, as does the whole show. This is to be expected since Jerry Mitchell is at the helm as director/choreographer. Though the 2 and a half hours exude fun with plenty of high kicks to marvel at, the good message sent to the young lady next to me and a house full of other young ladies absorbed in Elle's climb up the ladder, boils down to never -- no never -- sell yourself short.
Elle has a high school four-point grade average, and though she uses her feminine wiles to bamboozle the Harvard admittance board into accepting her, (a high-stepping drum majorette dance number goes right in here) once she is there, she is determined to take her admittance seriously. Bottom line she has to study to become head of the class, win her first big case, and accomplish through long hours of book learning more than what her blonde locks and pink tight outfits can secure for her. There is a nice subplot that has Paulette, Elle's best friend, who after her own sour relationship, hooks up with a Mr. Wonderful Fed Ex guy. There are lots of worthy good guys for everyone on stage, and the bad eggs get their just desserts. Bundy is a triple-threat performer, one of those scarce commodities in theater and a real find.
"Les Miserables" is, as expected, the exact opposite of the frothy "Legally Blonde," yet carries a strong message across the footlights. It tells the story of one man's run from a police officer who was blinded by his sense of duty into capturing a man whose crime was stealing bread for a starving child. Based on Victor Hugo's seventeenth-century French novel the story revolves around Jean Valjean's heroic transformation from a prisoner to a well-respected and wealthy mayor of a small French village, governing his constituents with a sense of goodness and honesty. No matter, Javert, the police officer, stays in relentless pursuit of Valjean throughout the piece. To save an innocent man from the crime Valjean had committed years ago, Valjean confesses and is on the run again. Beautifully presented by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn from the original London production, "Les Miz" speaks of the soul of Valjean, untouched by evil despite the cruel and inhuman obstacles he has faced, and how his goodness is rewarded in the love of Cosette, the frail orphan he has protected and raised to be a fine young woman. Against the background of social unrest and student revolt Valjean triumphs and grows old near the ones he loves.
It's not a song and dance musical though replete with crowd scenes that more resemble an opera than a Broadway production "Les Miz" is a rewarding evening carrying a bit of history and its own message. In the end good triumphs over evil, and if you stay steady in your sense of what seems right to you regardless of the circumstances, you will be redeemed.
How about "Xanadu?" Memories of the movie, a mega-flop with a flimsy plot at best, come bounding forward in this musical comedy version which seems to poke honest fun at musical theater itself. The stage version also follows a flimsy plot about gods and goddesses as the show zeros in on Clio/Kira, sung by Kerry Butler, a goddess who comes to earth to save a sidewalk artist named Sonny. Thanks to Clio/Kira's evil sisters who put a spell on her, she falls in love with him. No surprise! A less riveting scenario would be hard to find, yet the pep and pop injected into the score and by the performers' vitality carries the audience along on a 90-minute joy ride. At times the cast glides along on roller skates not attempting "Starlight Express" expertise but handling rudimentary patterns with ease.
The performers seem to be saying, "Do you really believe this nonsense?" And because the show is so honest about its intentions it is a laugh a minute. This jocularity is perpetuated by two very funny ladies: Mary Testa as Malpomane and Jackie Hoffman (in harlequin glasses) as Calliope. Tony Roberts, a rather wooden Zeus/Danny Maguire attempts to fill the shoes of Gene Kelly in the movie version. This is a stretch, but then so is the show, which garnered enough pleasant reviews to keep it on the boards. All three musicals would make fine Christmas presents for those making the trip to the Big Apple at holiday time.