Brilliant show!!! I got to see this at a local theater and it was phenomenal!! So sad not too many people do this anymore, but glad it's making a comeback!! :)
Ms Buckley dressed as "Drood" not "Datchery" as she would be in the show in "Don't Quit While Your Ahead." No change time and hiding her in "that aggravating garb and face" wouldn't be cool here in this brief Tony performance. Such an awesome cast. Howard McGillin has such a wonderful voice perfect for any villain. And Ms Cleo Laine! Such a great artist. Terrific. No words can adequately describe Ms Buckley nor give her proper credit for her gifts. Just a perfect show IMHO.
For those who were wondering, Betty Buckley "accosts" Judd Hirsch, who later that night won the Best Actor in a Play Tony for I'm Not Rappaport. Patti Cohenour is singing to the great Hume Cronyn, also a nominee that night.
i must say, a glorious show and we need a production over here in the uk and soon, unless i have missed it, us brits did take charge over there for a bit, i love all musical theatre, but thank you for broadway you have given us some pure gold xxxxxx look at the wes tend now, full of broadway transfers at the moment, but the golden age was the best and i love u for it xxxxxxxxx
Totally agree with you Sid. I just directed this musical in March and I would gratefully do it all over again. This musical deserves a major revival, as it was somewhat eclipsed in the late 80's by the invasion of the 'Big Box' musicals from across the pond. People barely remember it, unless they have seen a good production of it and then they will never forget how it made them feel. I adore how this show celebrates the audience and invites them into the process of theater. So wonderful.
Nick, I'm sure you're correct that the revival received "poor notices" considering the fact it got 5 TONY noms 2 months after it closed, was actually revived to great critical reception.
Indeed it did! I also know George Rose (The Chairman character) won the tony award for best Featured Actor in a Musical that Year. I hear the revival is doing really well too.
I saw this show so many times when it came over to London. Unfortunately because it didn't have Cameron Mackintosh or Andrew Lloyd Webber's name attached to it, the critics panned it and it closed very quickly. Such a shame - a brilliant show. It was revived in London a couple of years ago, but by a director who didn't really understand what was real and what was music hall, so it was a very confused show which failed to run for any length yet again. :-(
"The chances are that a play or musical that has just opened is NOT a familiar name or sound to you out across the country." Remember when that was true?
Very, very sad. What a horrid country to allow such a crime. He was truly one of the greats. I loved him in this show, My Fair Lady, My Fat Friend and several others.
Does anybody know the names of the people they are singing to in the audience? I'm pretty sure Betty Buckley's victim was the author/composer Rupert Holmes.
Yes it won but did not have a long run. It may not have been South Pacific....but it was fun and full of energy.... Cleo Laine...was quite good . I saw a preview.
Apparently you failed math and reading comprehension when you were in school. If you read the actual reviews, which are easy to access on line, you can see that they were quite negative. And the Tonys nominate four shows when there were only a handful of revivals so do the math. Last season, Leap of Faith, which got royally trashed, was nominated for Best Musical...and I can give about 100 other Tony examples. You might want to check out the 1968 Tonys...where the Best Musical had closed.
One of the best casts ever assembled....for a show that was and remains utter rubbish. The revival received very poor notices with only a few critics with good enough memories to acknowledge that it only won best musical because it was one of the worst seasons ever.
