Siri was flashing this to me on overdrive )she thought I'd be interested, I guess): "Theater Talk Live - with Susan Haskins and Jesse Green, Ben Brantley" - I have no idea who to ask and I can't find ticket info. Will this be on TV, too?
But that's it - Susan Haskins should have been Perle Mesta!
The only opinion that matters to me is my own. I read reviews only after seeing a show, just to see how my perception compares to someone else’s. In this case, Mr. Green and I saw two very different performances at the very same time. I’m certain because we locked eyes momentarily at intermission. Life goes on.
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Coincidence: "Life Goes On" was the name of the hit TV show with Patti LuPone; some online chatters seem to feel Ms. LuPone would have wanted to do "Call Me Madam" if she weren't tied up in London, since she totally triumphed in two Merman roles already, Madame Rose, Reno Sweeney. (If so - Maybe a future gala idea, and give Ms. Cusack a role to keep it graceful?)
@Donald - interesting choice of words." "Life Goes On" was the series that really gave Patti LuPone national acclaim, and some people have wondered if she had that wonderful positive baggage that they thought the book here seemed to need.
Your locking eyes (in this era of folks saying the darnedest things almost hourly) brings back to my mind the Michele Bachmann "crazy eyes" controversy from those Tea Party days, which now look so sweet and warm and happy-go-lucky. So for that, a tribute.
"I Look Into Your Eyes" - Bachmann-Palin overdrive version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhpAVAifvXg
Jesse Green should stop reviewing Encores. He fundamentally does not understand the series or what it is trying to accomplish. This review is unnecessarily cruel and completely misses the mark. I had the immense pleasure of seeing the show tonight, and Cusack was sensational! If I want to hear Ethel Merman, I can put on the OBC. I came to see a new take on this part and couldn't have been more thrilled with what I saw. Her performance was electric and confident and my goodness her singing was sublime. I enjoyed myself tremendously, as did the audience members around me. I could have seen it again and again!
But I mean, Jesse Green made 'American Son' a critics pick, so I actually don't think his opinion means much of anything at the end of the day...
I hope Cusack doesn't take this petty excuse of a review to heart, because she is a star!
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@Marie
I hope you don’t listen to the OBC recording and think you’re hearing Ethel Merman. It’s Dinah Shore. (As if anyone wouldn’t know the difference!)
@EdNY, but of course, you can be 100% sure it's Merman in her cameo as Lieutenant Hurwitz, who thought he was Ethel Merman, in "Airplane."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmZdqsCW8vM
@Marie, re "He fundamentally does not understand the series or what it is trying to accomplish"
I know at the start, it was said that its mission was to give attention to scores that hadn't gotten enough attention or were rarely heard. By by a few years in, wasn't it to present three excellent presentations of a whole variety of American musicals. Here's the history:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encores!
A great thing about profits happening at a non-profit happened two years ago and continues this spring: Once in a while, it supports a historical project like the restoration of Cole Porter's "The New Yorkers," which truly adds forever to musical theater history, and will even be recorded soon! This is a permanent addition to the history of musical theater, which likely never would have happened if Encores couldn't sustain itself. And with the recording coming, it's even more "Forever."
Hey folks .. this is Encores. You are getting an historical experience as well as a musical theater experience.
Sorry you missed Ethel Merman.... she wasn’t available.
The show was a lot of fun and had a some wonderful performances. This is a terrific series, and We’ve had a subscrition for years.
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@Citizen -
This is totally confusing that people want to hold City Center to a standard that suggests that it’s a community service for the people involved. They’re not a local synagogue or a homeless shelter. Their earnings are public record, though I was only able to easily get 2014. I’m sure it’s with overtime, but five years ago: the assistant electrician earned 273,000, the marketing VP earned 201,000, the head carpenter made 295,000, the sound engineer made 270,000, the development VP who raises donations made 151,000, the head stagehand made 254,000, the City Center president/CEO made 404,000.
The Encores artistic director did take less in 2014, just 119,000, but he does a lot of other work in Broadway theater besides Encores.
If they complain that they do the best they can do on a two-week schedule, who required them to be stuck with two weeks as a maximum?
It’s a business that does a kind of work (the arts) the non-profit Tax code deemed worthy of allowing tax-deductible donations to. Nobody above is working on spec. Why not do "Most Happy Fella" from 2014 again? It's so overlooked, after all. :)
Parody - "Big D - little o - double l - a -r"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtRVz6RZD7Y
In case anyone is interested, this is 2016 from the public-information form 990: the assistant electrician earned 293,000, the master electrician earned 315,000, the marketing VP earned 221,000, the head carpenter made 306,000, the sound engineer made 276,000, the development VP who raises donations made 256,000, the head stagehand made 260,000, the City Center president/CEO made 567,000 (397,000 plus deferred comp 170,000), the VP-finance got 224,000.
The two Encores artistic directors (B'way series and off-Broadway series) each got 150,000, but they do a lot of other work in theater besides Encores. It doesn’t say what the videographer, or the performers and directors made.
Encores has come a long way from the days when all performers held the book, and we relaxed when they put down the book for a song.
NYC mayors, starting with Lindsay, had walk-ons. So it was refreshing to see an SNL Bill Clinton portrayer, Darrell Hammond, in such a walk-on with a few precious quips. Carol Kane from Taxi was on his arm, playing the Royal Couple. That's what a revival should be, bringing memories of the past to life.
There can only be one Ethel Merman, and anyone else playing that role won't be able to reach that high standard. Still this revival, with dance numbers, adds something positive to the performance, along with wonderful Irving Berlin music and lyrics, now standards, performed beautifully.
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@Jerry, regarding "There can only be one Ethel Merman, and anyone else playing that role won't be able to reach that high standard."
And Ethel even had time to do school shows for fans! [The real Ethel actually did volunteer one day a week at St. Luke's Roosevelt, mostly in the gift shop, for a long time].
One of my favorite Lucy moments:
Lucy Carmichael teaches Ethel Merman to sing like Ethel Merman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu1vAQiYoEU
If you thought it was amazing that just by standing completely still in first position and cocking her head a bit, Lucy Ricardo could make everybody think she's a coat rack and hang hats on her, that's a close second to that great feat.
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@Freddie . Thanks - the video clip was a hoot!
This sounds like a show about a Trump appointee.
Ms. Cusack will have that fame at some point, I feel it from her very being on a stage that it's just that one award or "role in a hit" away - whether on TV or film or the stage - and I feel it WILL be with the same talent she has already shown. At some point she'll roar onto a stage with the crowd saying when she shows up, "We are so glad to see you, Carmen!" It WILL happen, as with Jesse Tyler Ferguson or Nathan Lane. (And also Randy Rainbow, who in “Call Me Madam” gets welcoming applause for his incredible volume of quality hilarity since the Presidential campaign three years ago!)
Who knew all the years that the always-great Victoria Clark would one day have that IT celebrity factor - Before “Light in the Piazza,” who bought seats or booked a show just because her name was attached?. After Piazza, "we" all cared, and gossipers loved that she went to Phoenix to research "Sally" in Follies for the Encores run. And when Ms. Clark raced from her curtain call at the Ahmanson after her “Follies” matinee to get to an opening night at the Mark Taper Forum (to cheer on Michele Pawk doing the very role in “Los Otros” that Ms. Clark had originated to great acclaim in NYC), an excited story from L.A. felt like the days of Earl Wilson were back. (It read like she’d sped over in a waiting taxi. If you know L.A., it’s like strolling from the Beaumont to the Newhouse - but in a starry gossipy column, it was a story of theater top-tier celebrity support and bonhomie!).
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I was wondering why Ms. Clark now being a major star "name" was so in my thoughts. It was her directing at CSC opening this weekend. Another silver citizen moment solved! (And I'd started to type over there that August Strindberg's real name was Freddie, but caught myself that it was August Wilson whose real name was Freddie. I actually think "Alexa" fact-checked me by bringing Strindberg's bio up on my screen.) But didn't Patti LuPone say getting older still beats the alternative.
We were really looking forward to seeing this on Sunday....until I read this review. That being said, I am still looking forward to it, despite this review. Thank doG for the commenters to this review! The show looks like a lot of fun, plus it has one of my all time favorite performers in the cast, Randy Rainbow!
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I also attended the dress rehearsal of "Call Me Madam" on Tuesday (and enjoyed it a lot more than Jesse Green did I have to say). I was concerned about Carmen Cusack's pulling back on important high notes which Merman would have happily belted. But I wondered if she was "marking them" since it was a rehearsal and I looked forward to a report based on the first real performance on Wednesday night. Cannot tell you how cheated I feel to have just read a review of the rehearsal.
NYTimes - PLEASE stop sending Green to cover these shows!!! He really doesn't seem to get the program on any level. There are delightful melodies in this show - I loved it and look forward to seeing it again later in the week. My companions (who were not familiar with it going in unlike myself) also had a good time.
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@Susan Hochberg
I believe the critics cover the first regular performance (Wednesday), not the dress rehearsal. That’s why The NY Times review appears in Friday’s paper (and on line late Thursday.)
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@Susan Hochberg - but it can go either way, can't it? That's why I love that when there's a major new show, we sometimes get two critics these days.
Tune of “You’re Not Sick, You’re Just In Love”
I like critics and know why they’re there
I like reading them when they are fair
And that’s only when the views they share
Are just like mine
Are just like mine.
If they love a show that I can’t stand
Or I love a show that they have panned
I would love them to be swiftly canned
Oh yes, that would be grand
And I’d feel fine.
— (counterpoint)
You don’t want real reviewing
If you say “nothing doing”
When they don’t like what you adore.
Or if it makes you crazy
When they get really prais-y
For a script you found one big snore.
If you’re feeling frustration
Without Times validation
Why don’t you join me in this song?
Here’s a heartfelt helpful hint:
If you don’t match what they print
They’re not right, and you’re not wrong.
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@Susan Hochberg Sending in an apology re: my incorrect remark about Jesse Green reviewing the rehearsal. I was confused when I read that Jack Viertel made opening remarks before the show on Wednesday. Still looking forward to seeing the show again at the end of the run.
I wish reviewers who write about Encores! productions would spend less time on how a 70-year-old book holds up. Yes, Irving Berlin was a songwriter, not a musical dramatist. There are good reasons why Encores! cuts dialogue and puts the (full) orchestra on stage. I loved the performance because the music, singing and staging were terrific and full of energy. The book is silly and dated - so what? (And I much prefer that to "updating," other than removing now-offensive content.) I enjoyed the performance, could relate to why it was a hit 70 years ago, and definitely left the theater humming.
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If CALL ME MADAM is second-drawer Berlin, then how lucky we are he went down to that lower drawer.
While it’s true that Merman was a type all to herself, I’m sure all the other ladies who have played Pearl successfully other than she and Daly would disagree that they are not capable of making the show work. I’m sure Elaine Stritch who headlined the national tour would have a few remarks about the subject.
What MADAM needs undeniably is a star, which I imagine Encores had hoped to acquire when they chose to revisit this show. Carmen Cusack, while incredibly gifted and filled with her own special kind of charm, is not yet of that distinction. They needed Patti LuPone, Megan Mullally, Jane Lynch, or maybe Tracey Ullman.
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If it indeed needed a name star, would Kristin Chenoweth have needed too much music adjustment?
Ms. Chenoweth is not an ideal Pearl. While larger than life, she’s no natural belter—and unlikely to bulldoze through the material like Merman, Stritch, and Daly did. This role needs a broad. Chenoweth isn’t a broad.
I wonder if Allison Janney was asked.
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@Matthew MacDermid, I'd been thinking that some of what she'd done in "The Apple Tree" and parts of "On the 20th Century" might have worked for her vocally (and it's pretty clear she can handle anything when it comes to comedy). But after reading what you wrote, I looked back at those shows online, and see what you're saying.
For goodness sakes! Why didn’t they cast Klee Blackhurst in the Merman role. Listen to her recording of Everything the Traffic Will Allow. You’ll hear what I mean.
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@Peter Elliott - Klea Blackhurst
@Peter Elliott - wow, I don't think I've seen her perform, and she is great! Thanks for mentioning her.
The delightful Irving Berlin score was beautifully played by the Encores orchestra and the performers did their absolute best to bring the dated book (and jokes) back to life. I agree with the reviewer, however, that Carmen Cusack, as good as she is, did not display the charisma or star power to play the larger-than-life title role. In the playbill the producers acknowledged that Tyne Daly's star performance in this role saved the Encores series in the 1990's. Why then did they not select a similar performer for this production?
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@Tom, I've got to think any name star who did it knew the public would know they weren't the first choice. I don't think names are bothered to not be the first choice, as long as the public doesn't know.
The last like this I can recall was the search to replace Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury in the "Night Music" revival. Everyone knew a search was going on, but it stayed quiet who the names who got offers were (and they couldn't make it work); but suddenly one big name blurted out that she'd been asked in an interview, and then after that, anyone asked to do Mme. Armfeldt knew that everybody who cared knew there had been a line of No's to replace Angela Lansbury. They ended up with Peters and Stritch and artistic magic, but the irony was the new stars being stars who loved the stage and did stage constantly made it more about how good the quality of the re-casting was (once Stritch accepted that "Liaisons" was a tough lyric to memorize for anyone), when the open secret was investors were like "quality-shmality," and were hoping not to eat into the Zeta-Jones/Lansbury success.
But boy, one of the great re-casting coups ever quality-wise, IMHO equal to Reba as Annie Oakley (who had been a triumphant replacement for Bernadette in the Merman "Annie Get Your Gun" title role) or the gold standard, Jonathan Pryce in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." Peters and Stritch knew we knew they weren't first choice, but seemed to be loving doing those parts!
1
Saw it Thursday night, and thought the show and the performers were all wonderful.
9
This Golden Age musical is brought to life -- its old-fashioned sparkle shines through a book that creaks, but still has some resonance. It is the tuneful Irving Berlin score that makes the show -- sung by a talented cast and played beautifully by the Encores orchestra on stage. Carmen Cusack is not Merman, but she is wonderful, nonetheless. Jason Gotay is charming and in great voice. Jason gets some songs we all cherish. Ben Davis has a booming voice and presence. The Denis Jones choreography is lovely. I've urged all my theater friends to see it.
14
True family folklore: My brother and I exist only because of Ethel Merman being such a huge smash in :Call Me Madam.”. My mom and her guy then (1950 or so) went to see the SRO show starring Ethel Merman, all dressed up for their perfect seats. A house person quietly walks over and discreetly tells them they have to vacate the seats; the tickets were fake. They get up calmly, and walk the long way out of the theater.
As life goes, they're more embarrassed than really angry, so with not all that much said, after a while, it’s clear to the two of them that they’ve broken up. That near-Ethel Merman experience in those incredible seats was their last date. Mom (of course, still not “Mom” yet) goes to a dance a few months later, and working the door table was a charming relatively new-ish to NY guy who would later be “Dad.”
Mom and Dad first told us this story on the subway to see Merman in “Hello Dolly.” I now have the Playbill, signed not by Merman (she “didn’t say hello” between shows on 2-show days; the delightful St. James doorman a-dork-ably said, and Ethel gave her all for us at the matinee, (we all agreed she was amazing) and knew she had to do the same that night, - her co-stars Jack Goode who had killed as Horace was happy to say hello and sign all our Playbills, and then - Georgia Engel (pre-MTM fame) and then - Russell Nype, who played Cornelius while Ethel Merman was Dolly. So Mom did finally get to see Ethel Merman and Russell Nype onstage together!
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I forgot to mention, one of the cast announced that any of us who was willing to leave our Playbill and write their address on the back (sure enough, the ad on the back happened to have enough white space to write the address), Ethel would sign them and the producers would send them back to us. Interstingly, whenI saw Georgia Engel in "Half-Time" at Paper Mill this past summer, Georgia Engel had to stay behind for between-show exercise before the end of a 5-show weekend, and the stage door staff was shuttling programs to her making sure they had people's names, while Donna McKechnie and Andre De Shields hung out as long as anyone wanted to get autographs and talk to them about anything we wanted; then Donna McKechnie was driven off to have dinner (her role had been first done by Stefanie Powers, so less actual dance time, but what she has is thrilling) and Andre went back in to join the exercises that were already in progress.
The star-love for Georgia and (among the stage fans) Donna felt as real as the star-love for Ethel.
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