Review – Lend Me A Tenor, Music Box Theatre, Broadway

The Broadway Bellyachers’ last show on The Broadway was Ken Ludwig‘s “howlingly funny” (Time Out New York), “hilarious” (New York Post) Lend Me A Tenor.

It came highly recommended by real people too, but most promisingly of all Charles Isherwood dissed it and so far his opinions had proved to be the very anti-matter to our opinions (which are clearly therefore the ones that matter – see what we did there?).

Anyhoo, we hadn’t agreed with him on anything. Surely we were destined to adore Lend Me A Tenor?

Review – Memphis, Shubert Theatre

Much like the West End, The Broadway is awash with juke box musicals and Memphis had been somewhat off the Whingers’ dial as they had mistakenly assumed it fell into that category. It just does sound like Dreamboats & Petticoats, Jersey Boys or American Idiot, doesn’t it?

Having already been chastised for not doing our homework (we tried explaining that Kevin Spacey’s dog Minnie ate it but to no avail) we really should know by now to have have checked and found out that – hallelujah! – Memphis is indeed a completely original show.

Well, perhaps “completely original” is stretching things a little. Since we knew next to nothing of this show we hadn’t read of the comparisons with Dreamgirls and Hairspray, but as the Browadway Bellyachers (as we then were) drifted into the street for their interval discussion, they found themselves almost in accord with the real critics.

Review – Sondheim on Sondheim, Studio 54

We’re still here.

And despite our involuntary extended status as Broadway babies it wasn’t the least bit difficult to observe the embargo on this show.

Sondheim on Sondheim officially opened at Studio 54 on Thursday night.

The Bellyachers  had graced it with their presence at last Sunday’s matinee but had to keep their traps shut until yesterday. Which was a relief really as we’ve been getting way behind with our posts and just when we almost catch up we ruin it all by going to see something else.

Review – Promises, Promises, Broadway Theatre

We may have to make our Show Rating system even more complicated and bewildering that it already is.

For how are we supposed to give a single rating to a show that was a 2 or a 3 at the interval and a 5 15 minutes into the second act?

This is Promises, Promises at The Broadway Theatre, the Burt Bacharach musical with lyrics by Hal David, a book by Neil Simon. But the classy provenance does not end there for it is based on Billy Wilder‘s classic film, The Apartment.

That’s a good start to proceedings. But there’s more: add Sean Hayes (Jack from Will & Grace), Kristin Chenoweth (alcoholic April Rhodes in Glee) and put  Chicago-the-movie Donmar Streetcar director  Rob Ashford in charge of it all and it’s looking very promising.

But wait! Get scenic designer Scott Pask (Hair, Behanding) to construct some gorgeous sixties chic à la Mad Men and his twin brother Bruce Pask to work wonders with the color (sic) palette for the costumes and you’ve got something that simply could not fail except, except…

Review – My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, Midtown Theatre

We are all out of step with our write-ups for various reasons so bear with us.

We actually saw Mr Leslie Jordan‘s My Trip Down the Pink Carpet on Saturday night paying real dollars out of our own purses, this all taking place before being introduced to its lovely producer (well, one of them; Lily Tomlin is another) Mike Dvorchak through Mark Shenton.

Are you keeping up with all this?

This “full disclosure” principle is damned complicated and dull.

Review: Elaine Stritch Singin’ Sondheim. . . One Song At A Time, Café Carlyle

Every cloud has a silver lining but the lining of the cloud of microscopic basalt ash particles emitted from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano was pure gold.

For thanks to being “stranded” in new York (with Virgin Atlantic picking up their accommodation and meal costs) the Whingers found themselves invited to dine at the very posh Café Carlyle and take in the entertainment provided by someone called Elaine Stritch.

Review – Green Day’s American Idiot

Like Dreamboats and Petticoats, American Idiot is based on a titular album but with a lot more foot-stamping and head-banging.

Review – La Cage Aux Folles, Longacre Theatre

Start spreading the news.  We’re not leaving today.

No. People are always telling us we’re not going anywhere and how true this has proved to be.

We were due to have shuffled off our Broadway moniker and headed back to blighty yesterday evening and  La Cage Aux Folles was to have been our last theatrical outing.

But an Act of God (or possibly Lord Webber – is there really a difference?) has kept us here for the forseable.   So now having spent hour upon hour holding on the phone to Virgin Atlantic we’re so far behind with our posts we’re going out of synch to report on the fabulously glittering opening night of this Menier transfer.

Review – Next to Normal, Booth Theatre

It’s always the way. You wait years for a show about bipolar disorders and then two come along at once.

Not that Next to Normal has  just come along. It celebrated its first birthday on The Broadway this week and added the Pulitzer Prize for Drama to its mantelpiece to sit alongside its Tony Award for Best Musical.

It was only last week the Whingers endured Polar Bears at the Donmar. But everyone was banging on about how we simply must see N2N and, well, really, you can’t have too much mental illness, can you?

Review – The Addams Family, Lunt – Fontanne Theatre

At last – the Whingers’ Holy Grail.

It has been a whole year of excitement since the Whingers first heard of The Addams Family Musical and – answering at least some of the voices in their heads – forswore to embark on a pilgrimage to The Broadway to worship at the shrine the twin saints of musical theatre: St Nathan and St Bebe.

Yes, Nathan Lane as Gomez and one of Andrew’s favourite comedy actresses Bebe Neuwirth (hitherto unseen by him on the stage) as Morticia. PLUS the redoubtable Jackie Hoffman whom the Whingers had loved here in Hairspray and Xanadu (which means the Whingers have seen her entire Broadway canon, according to her bio).

What could possibly go wrong?

Review – A Little Night Music with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Walter Kerr Theatre

Yes, A Little Night Music again, but with Catherine Zeta-Jones…

…but without Angela Lansbury.

Oh, how  we agonised over this one. To see or not to see? We’d already loved the Menier production, could  its Broadway incarnation match up? Could we ever get over the fact Ms Lansbury had decided to take her 2 week vacation just as the Whingers arrived in New York?

Well yes and no.

Big on The Broadway

Review – A Behanding in Spokane, Schoenfeld Theatre

And be-jetlagged on B-Broadway, the be-whinging began.

Be-Jesus, going to the theatre on The Broadway is a strange experience. It’s really not very friendly at all.

Waiting innocently for Phil to emerge from the Schoenfeld Theatre rest-room Andrew was twice told to move along by an extremely officious usher. “I’m just waiting for my friend to attend to his bladder again,” he explained only for the woman to repeat her instruction – but with the dial turned up from “frosty” to “mildly aggressive”.

The usher at the top of the aisle seemed quite friendly until he looked at our tickets and saw that we weren’t within his realm. Turning away quite regally he uttered, “The usher at the front will seat you” in a tone so weary with disdain that the Whingers were quite awestruck by his ability to dismiss them so utterly in eight innocent words.

And so it went on.

The Whingers Take Manhattan

Yes, the Whingers are on Broadway.

Or rather “The Broadway” as we now refer to it (a gag that makes us chuckle every time we use it and – interestingly – is the only “gag” to bring a faint smile to the Whingers’ lips in the otherwise tedious The Big Gay Musical).

And you know what? The Broadway isn’t on strike. Yet.

Lets look at the likelihood shall we?