In some of its key elements, this revival—first mounted in Korea and heading to Baltimore on a national tour after its five-week run here—is a rough facsimile of the original. But this Dreamgirls is a show with killer looks, music to spare, and a couple of new stars in its pocket.
Wonders will never cease. Sarah Ruhl, whose previous work I execrated, has now written a smart, charming, iridescently funny-serious jewel.
It is good to have Ragtime back on Broadway. The 1998 show, with book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, is a significant musical that narrowly misses being a great one. Even so, compared to what nowadays passes for a great musical (Wicked, for example), Ragtime is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Director Scott Ellis said he hired Gosselaar with some trepidation even though the actor had aced a Los Angeles audition.
Neil Simon's supposedly autobiographical comedy, Brighton Beach Memoirs is fundamentally feel-good stuff and, as such, intellectually suspect. Yet it is cleverly enough contrived to prove for a hefty majority pleasantly relaxing fare.
The show, which opened last night on Broadway, features increased sexuality, violence and vulgarity. Even allowing for a persuasive performance by Sienna Miller, it is certainly no improveme…