So I admit it, we went to a new musical in the West End called Zorro! (don't forget the exclamation point). It was groaningly awful at the beginning, and I seriously thought about not coming back after the interval, but Time Out said it was good, and we paid a ton of money even at the half-price ticket booth, and the theatre was full, and other people were enjoying it, so we stayed.
Theatre is so interesting. Here is a production created, one senses, by committee--hey, what about all these comic books to TV shows to movies, let's get in on that--something Hispanic, with salsa--and dancing! Like Stomp or Riverdance, but with Latin rhythms--oh yeah, we'll have to hire a writer--maybe a group of writers--no, the script is too long, we have to cut characterization and dialogue to allow more time for the music-- anyway, you get the picture, it was really an unintegrated mess. But, energetic acting, dancing, singing, good staging, goes a long way even with something that hasn't come together yet, and I think if they keep tweaking it, it might be a reliable hit. You heard it first here. On the other hand, it might fold in three weeks.
And the Zorro character reminded me irresistably (or inexorably, or something) of Jack Black, which I couldn't decide helped or hurt.
No comments:
Post a Comment