By Andrew Gans
12 Dec 2003
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| Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town |
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| photo by Paul Kolnick |
News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.
DONNA MURPHY
What can't Donna Murphy do?
After triumphing (and nabbing two Tonys) for her performances in Passion and The King and I, she now seems poised to bring home a third trophy for her comedic performance in the revival of Wonderful Town at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. I had first seen Murphy perform in the City Center Encores! mounting of the Leonard Bernstein-Betty Comden-Adolph Green musical, so I knew what a perfect fit Murphy and Ruth Sherwood make, but it was still a thrill to see the actress again step into the shoes of the unglamorous aspiring writer who must contend with the harsh realities of being out of work in New York City and a sister who attracts all the male attention.
But fear not for Ruth Sherwood (or Donna Murphy). After two hours of acting, singing (solos, duets, Broadway ballads and even some jazz riffs), and drawing laughs from nearly every line she utters, Ruth gets her man. I'm particularly fond of Murphy's show-stopping "One Hundred Easy Ways," her physicality in "Conga!" and her terrific, jazzed-up "Swing." She's also brilliant reenacting the characters in the three laughably terrible manuscripts she submits to Greg Edelman's Robert Baker.
FOR THE RECORD: Wicked
No one need mourn the score for Wicked.
On CD, the Stephen Schwartz score is much stronger than I had originally thought, which confirms my belief that a score cannot be judged by merely one hearing in the theatre. In fact, there are very few scores that totally impress on one hearing (a fairly recent exception was Maury Yeston's Tony winning Titanic score). I think familiarity is part of the reason why revivals are usually met with such great reviews; critics know the score before they enter the theatre.
Getting back to Wicked which confronts our ideas about good and evil while examining the challenges and rewards of friendship and the Stephen Schwartz score. The Decca Broadway disc begins with the show's opening number, "No One Mourns the Wicked," which commences with a series of minor chords that suggest that all may not be well in the land of Oz, where Glinda, Elphaba and the other characters from Gregory Maguire's novel spring to vivid life. The tune then segues into a melodic rhapsody on the lives of the wicked. In fact, throughout his score Schwartz contrasts lighter and darker sounds with dramatic effect.
The opening number also features the surprisingly touching verse (and the score's most melodic section) first sung by the Glinda of Kristin Chenoweth, "And goodness knows/the wicked's lives are lonely/Goodness knows/the wicked die alone/It just shows when you're wicked/You're left only/on your own." Chenoweth, as we all know, possesses one of the most versatile voices in the theatre, and the Wicked score allows her to display her Broadway belt as well as her rangy, glorious soprano. Her co-star, Idina Menzel, also boasts dazzling chest tones, and she lets them soar on "The Wizard and I," a show-stopping ballad with a driving force that speaks of Elphaba's desire to be seen for who she is on the inside rather than her unnaturally green exterior.
Menzel and Chenoweth, who unwittingly become odd-couple roommates, also get to have some fun answering the question, "What Is This Feeling?" The answer, of course, is "loathing." Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero does well with the pop-sounding "Dancing Through Life." And, one of the highlights of the first act follows, "Popular," or actually, "Pop-you-ooh-lar," in which Glinda explains the importance of popularity to her cosmetically challenged friend. Menzel then scores with the sweet, gentle ballad "I'm Not That Girl," perhaps the score's prettiest tune, with the exception of its final, oddly low-placed note. The first act concludes with "Defying Gravity," where Menzel uses her belt with thrilling effect, as she sings, "No wizard that there is or was/Is ever gonna bring meeeeee doooowwwwwwn!"
Highlights of the second act include Chenoweth's reflections on happiness in "Thank Goodness"; Joel Grey's toe-tapping "Wonderful"; Menzel's epiphany in "No Good Deed," in which she realizes her good intentions have led to her downfall; and the touching duet between Chenoweth and Menzel, For Good.
The 19-track disc also boasts complete lyrics as well as notes from author Gregory Maguire. The Wicked CD hits stores Dec. 16; with performances by Chenoweth and Menzel, it's a vocal feast.
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