Don't Tell Mama... but London's "Cabaret" rocked (Don’t miss today’s Weekly Blast!)
London show report (includes Pretty Woman and The Lion King)
Shalom!
The Broadway Maven’s classes are on hiatus.
• This Weekly Blast contains:
A) an ESSAY reporting on my recent London trip and the three West End shows I saw (Cabaret, Pretty Woman, and The Lion King);
B) PETER FILICHIA on Annie: Peter talks about why Andrea McArdle was the best Annie, the show’s surprises, and the use of “Leapin’ Lizards”;
C) a REVIEW of Broadway’s The Thanksgiving Play, a comedy in which four white liberals try to organize a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving Play. Hilarity ensues…;
D) a Broadway Maven YouTube GEM that’s a ten-minute version of Newsies;
E) a GAME related to Broadway song titles in foreign languages; and
F) a LAST BLAST about Sweeney Todd.
NOTE: Peter Filichia’s Broadway is a new feature of the Weekly Blast. These brief show-specific videos will be available on YouTube for subscribers only (except the first issue of the month, of course). Last Blasts are free every week; just scroll to the bottom.
I spent the past week in London, and got to enjoy three shows that I recommend: Cabaret, Pretty Woman, and The Lion King.
The West End production of Cabaret is a fresh interpretation even for someone like me who knows the material well (Fosse’s version is my favorite movie of all time). Before the show, there’s lots of interaction between the cast and the audience, which creates a great atmosphere (no Nazis yet).
Performed in the round, the staging also includes a roundtable that is used to great effect (especially during "Tomorrow Belongs to Me” when mannequins ominously revolve on it). A refreshing change was the gorilla from “If You Could See Her Through My Eyes.” Rather than looking jokey as in the film and most other versions I’ve seen, the gorilla in this production lopes around the stage like he’s right out of the zoo. It’s actually a little scary. And the staging and performance of the finale, “Cabaret,” was simply extraordinary.
As in most stage productions of Cabaret these days, the songs draw from both the original score and the additions to the film (“Mein Herr”; “Money”; and “Maybe This Time”). But the subplot about an interfaith romance (cut from the film) is retained here and creates some of the most heartfelt — and tragic — moments in the show.
My musical-loving theater companion said it was one of the two or three best shows he’d ever seen.
I had a great time at Pretty Woman, even if it was not a critical or commercial hit on Broadway. My enthusiasm is almost entirely related to the music by Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams — yes, that Bryan Adams. Songs like “You’re Beautiful” and “I Can’t Go Back" are worthy of being hummed on the way out of the theater and beyond. I was less impressed with the lyrics, which were anodyne and used some distracting imperfect rhymes.
The book (script) was another problem — it seemed rather cookie-cutter, as if they watched the film, hit pause every 10 minutes, and said “Let’s put in a (generic pop-worthy) song here.” So when heroine Vivian is unhappy being a prostitute, she sings “Anywhere But Here” (good song, by the way). When she catches the eye of the filthy-rich Edward, he sings “There’s Something About Her.” Some of the dialogue is lifted from the film (which enthralled me upon repeated viewings in 1990), and some is new, but not always compelling. Still, I recommend the show as a fun experience with lots of enjoyable music.
The Lion King I’ve seen many times, but never through the eyes of a child. This time my friend Calev Seshold (age six) joined me, Simba, Scar, and the rest for a fun experience. (His favorite parts? When “the bad guy got killed” and when the funny characters “ate bugs.”)
If you attend the West End production having only seen the movie or the Broadway version of many years ago, you’ll find a few small changes to the book. For example, the annoying song Zazu sings is “Let it Go” instead of “It’s a Small World.” Instead of “talk about your fixer-upper,” there was a reference to a very popular British home renovation television show. And in reaction (overreaction, I’d say) to the racial protests of 2020, the phrase “monkey’s uncle” has been replaced twice. This despite the fact it’s a show with an actual monkey in it!
Since I know the music so well, and the remarkable stagecraft has been discussed ad nauseam, this time I focused on the book in preparing for this review, and I have to say it’s excellent (both the parts lifted from the film and those added for the stage). The Lion King is funny, heartfelt, and really well-paced. I’m embarrassed I had to look up the writers’ names (Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi) but they should be congratulated for creating the scaffolding on which Elton John and Tim Rice built their celebrated songs.
NOTE OF THE WEEK:
Substack Notes are short-form content (like a tweet) that I’m using several times a week to provide commentary on musical theater in the news. Here’s a Note from last week as an example:
HOW TO JOIN: Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to The Broadway Maven's Weekly Blast, you’ll automatically see my notes (don’t worry, they won’t fill your email box). Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!
LAST BLAST: Toward the end of Sweeney Todd, Mrs. Lovett knits young Toby a muffler. It’s the perfect item of clothing for that moment, since Toby is as yet unaware of the murder and cannibalism his hosts are engaged in. She wants to muffle his perception of what’s going on, and once he’s come to realize what exactly is going in the meat grinder, she needs to muffle his cries to avoid being caught.
The Broadway Maven, David Benkof, helps students further their appreciation of musical theater through his classes, his YouTube Channel, and his Weekly Blast. Contact him at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.