By Steven Suskin *
Victor/Victoria was roundly and loudly dismissed when it arrived at the Marquis Theatre on Oct. 25, 1995. Those that found the affair an expensive mass of mediocrity might be so disposed to dismiss the video version of the show, which has just been released on Blu-ray by Image Entertainment. But hold on, not so fast; I found watching the disc interesting and thought-provoking.
Yes, Victor/Victoria was on the far side of mediocre; a team of Broadway outsiders (namely the director/librettist, composer and producers) seemingly came in determined to push their ticket-selling superstar — Julie Andrews — own the audience's throat. They put together a show that was glaringly wrong; I expect that experienced friends of the court offered helpful advice, which was blithely and foolishly ignored. A few elements were perfectly fine — beginning with the heroically valiant Ms. Andrews. And the material was dressed in a first class, spare-no-expense production from the likes of set designer Robin Wagner and costume designer Willa Kim. But oh that material! And oh those songs!
Blake Edwards, the skillful Hollywood farce director, deserves credit for the delicious 1982 motion picture "Victor/Victoria," a fine idea impeccably done. A stage version might well have worked, but Edwards was clearly not the man to write it, direct it, or pull the producorial strings. Bad ideas abound, typified by the overuse of a massive, two-sided duplex set representing adjacent hotel suites. Four distinct playing areas worked well for Edward's big door-slamming farcical chase scene at the climax, yes; but for endless stretches we were forced to look at all four areas, even when Julie or someone was singing a solo in one of the upstairs bedrooms. And the score! The film included six songs by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, two of them perfectly satisfactory. The musical needed 15, some by Mancini (who died prior to rehearsals) and others by Frank Wildhorn. These included two of the worst songs I've ever heard on a Broadway stage, ever.
15 Aug 2010
Next on the list of plusses, I suppose, should be the choreography by Rob Marshall and the work of his ensemble. No, this isn't a great musical and the material is subpar, but Marshall and his dancers seem to have chosen to pretend blissful ignorance. The "Le Jazz Hot" number, especially, is quite something, with Marshall paying homage to the late Bob Fosse.
The rest of the cast? Well, they are doing their best. Anthony Roberts drew the role of Toddy, which was created in the film by Robert Preston. Consider the style, class, talent and show-biz flair of Bob Preston; now compare this to the style, class, talent and show-biz flair of Tony Roberts. And there, my friends, you have a pretty good image of what happened to Victor/Victoria in just about every department (save Ms. Andrews). Michael Nouri isn't James Garner, either, but he does somewhat better than Mr. Roberts in a role that is poorly written.
Speaking of poor writing, Rachel York is given ghastly material and direction to match; when Lesley Ann Warren did it in the movie it was funny. But I would place the blame on the director and writers, not the actress. Standing out in a relatively smaller role is Gregory Jbara, as the bodyguard Squash. Jbara has a keen sense of comedy; while the others are flailing and shouting and acting like they are being stalked by a pink panther, Jbara just stands around looking innocent until he is from time to time moved to lift an eyebrow and deliver a small line for a big laugh.
A poor show, yes, but Victor/Victoria on Blu-ray offers a look at the big-budget Broadway musical, circa 1995, and a lesson in film-to-stage adaptation as well.
*
|
|
 |
|
Time and space are short, but as I was about to finish this column in came the Blu-ray release of Kenneth Branagh's acclaimed 1996 motion picture version of Hamlet [Warner]. And not just another "Hamlet"; a full-length one, tipping the clock at four hours. Four hours and two minutes, to be exact. Which proved problematic upon the film's release; in spite of generally laudatory reviews, you couldn't get many showings in at the multiplex. Sitting at home, relishing the text and watching director Branagh and production designer Tim Harvey's richly ornate production on widescreen, "Hamlet" is something of a Shakespearean feast. With Blenheim Palace standing in for Elsinore.
Branagh plays the great Dane himself, naturally, with major support from Julie Christie as Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia and Derek Jacobi as Claudius. (Just before attaining stardom, Branagh toured in a 1988 production of Hamlet directed by Jacobi). By 1996, Branagh was true royalty — which enabled him to people his film "Hamlet" with more stars than "Around the World in Eighty Days " or "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Billy Crystal and Simon Russell Beale as the Gravediggers? Robin Williams as Osric? The Player Queen and Player King in the persons of Rosemary Harris and Charlton Heston. By delving into the smaller roles and including visualizations of speeches delivered in the play, he also gives us cameos from John Gielgud, John Mills, Judi Dench, Gerard Depardieu, Richard Attenborough, flashbacks and — why not? — Jack Lemmon.
The folks at Warner deliver "Hamlet" in Blu-ray Book format, the 36-page book including some fine photography (but no cast list). Special features include an introduction to "Hamlet" by Branagh and a piece called "To Be on Camera: A History with Hamlet" in which they make great use of all those cameo stars. Williams suggests that Hollywood would have forced Branagh to change the gloomy ending, Crystal talks about a "To Be or Not to Be" tap dance, and Mr. Heston says that he thinks Branagh will make a fine Hamlet. The piece delves not into the history of "Hamlet" or the history of "Hamlet" on film, but Branagh's history with the piece. Starting with the day he went, as a teenager, to see Jacobi playing the role — and on the instant decided to become an actor instead of a footballer.
(Steven Suskin is author of the recently released Updated and Expanded Fourth Edition of "Show Tunes" as well as "The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations," "Second Act Trouble" and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at ssuskin@aol.com.)
