OH, MARY!
Oh, Mary! Oh, yes! This show deserves the exclamation along with a chorus of madcap melodies for this cha-cha showgirl.
This is drag farce played at top pelt, physical comedy, recurring gags and a twist in the tale of the banal life of the unhinged Mary Todd Lincoln and the looming assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln. Grossing $1m a week this is a hot show on Broadway. It’s mostly sold out, even with tickets at $353 – so it’s worth heading for the theatre before 10 am for in person rush tickets or registering on the show’s website for the lottery.
Cole Escola playing Mary, almost an overnight sensation, now has their name up in letters of fire. If you are lucky enough to be seated in a box you might be spotlit – after all, spoiler alert, Abe was shot in his box.
This show is laugh out loud funny – even the cameos in the promo videos – Joel Gray, taxi driver; Patti LuPone as box office Manager are a delight – they couldn’t throw any more comedy at you, at yet there’s still more.
- Cole Escola and Conrad Ricamora in Oh, Mary! – Photo Credit Emilio Madrid
- Our Man in the Box – Alan Greenhalgh at Oh, Mary New York 2024
Oh, Mary! is running on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, (149 W 45th St) New York until JANUARY 19, 2025 – BUT expect this to extend and pray for a London opening.
THE ROOMMATE
Producer Chris Harper came on to announce four-time Academy Award nominated actress Marsha Mason would be standing in for an ill Mia Farrow, quite an upgrade for an ‘understudy’.
Script in hand, Patti LuPone guided Marsha gently and with good humour; a thrilling moment in theatre.
It’s a funny and harmless enough new comedy play despite the scams on stage. Sharon is a recently divorced woman who lives in Iowa and needs a roommate to help her pay the bills. Robyn (played by Patti who can do no wrong on stage) is a woman from New York City who needs a place to hide and start over.
100 minutes, no intermission.
Runs to December 15, 2024.
Booth Theatre, 222 W 45th St, New York, NY.
THE GREAT GATSBY
The Great Gatsby, a new musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved novel.
What an extravaganza. Not a penny was spared in this production – two full-sized cars including a yellow Rolls Royce. Just when you thought they’d gilded the lily then they shower bubbles and more glitter. With 50 set changes, opulence is the key word and worth the $25m bucks it’s rumoured to have cost. Jeremy Jordan, as Gatsby is the stand out star, keeps you waiting for his first appearance and when he does, the show takes off. The sideline story with gangsters, the garage owner’s wife and Daisy’s husband drags and is a bit confusing but there’s quite a dramatic climax. Songs you come out humming, or want to listen to again? Daisy and New Money. Fabulous scenic and video design by Paul Tate dePoo III
- The Great Gatsby Theatre Curtain with a flashing green light of Daisy’s dock.
- The Great Gatsby on Broadway
Broadway Theatre, 53 and Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
CABARET at the Kit Kat Club
I’d seen this production before in London in 2023 and didn’t really get the hype, but having seen it in America I understand it better. So swigging a cherry schnapps I ventured back into the faded era of accordion playing, fringed table lamps and pineapples. When Cabaret first ran as musical in the 1960’s it was a gritty adaptation that drew parallels between the spiritual bankruptcy of Germany in the 1920’s and contemporary struggle for civil rights for black Americans. Walking out of the theatre pre-US presidential election 2024, there’s a lingering sensation of doom. It’s not exactly a knee-slapper show.
The London production had a caterwauling Sally Bowles, but here the sensational Auliʻi Cravalho as Sally makes you care. I am still a bit hesitant of the melodramatic direction of the big closing ‘Elsie’ number, having being spoiled by Liza Minnelli as sad face clown. This time I got the anger, the frustration, the hopelessness as the result of Sally’s own terrible experiences and a fight for survival in the face of rising fascism and antisemitism. Throw in the loss of a fur coat, a botched abortion and I’d be coming out screaming too.
Big applause for Bebe Neuwirth stepping on as Fräulein Schneider – she’s TV and Broadway royalty, unforgettable as Lilith on Cheers and Frasier. As if the sub plot couldn’t be any clearer she brings heart to the jeopardy of her relationship with Herr Shultz.
I had booked to see Adam Lambert as the Emcee – and we know he can sing. Adam did not disappoint – he knows how to handle an audience and looks good in leather.
- Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Broadway
2hr 45 minutes, 1 interval.
August Wilson Theatre. 245 West 52nd Street, New York NY
STEREOPHONIC
What a recording studio to be in – a British-American rock band on the edge of stardom but at war. Each character is someone we know, love and hate. A bunch of egos who make beautiful music, together. When the singing comes it’s like a hit you know you’ve heard somewhere before. Torment, tantrums, cocaine and Jack Daniels-fueled binges, take after take. They just can’t get it right. Their new track ‘Masquerade’ spells it out clearly “My soul is sold and the money paid.”
The set is on two levels, the centrally placed mixing desk skilfully managed by the sound engineers and up above it the fishbowl studio. While the characters are lounging on bean bags downstage, well it is the 70s, we overhear the drama in the soundproof studio. It’s gripping, hilarious and heartbreaking. A hyper naturalistic break-up drama of harmonies and discords. You just want to bang their heads together.
It’s a worthy five-time Tony award winner.
- Stereophonic on Broadway NY
3 hours, 1 interval.
Golden Theatre in New York City, located at 252 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036
THE BIG GAY JAMBOREE (off Broadway) opens 6 October
High hopes for this one, having loved Titaníque out of the same stable. Our star, the ‘delusional’ Marla Mindelle is the toast of queer New York, she just gets them and they love her. This new show is described as a cross between The Book of Mormon and Oklahoma! and is a musical comedy about a woman who wakes up hung over trapped in a Golden Age musical – and must find a way out.
It’s got some serious producing weight behind it, including Barbie’s Margot Robbie, so there’s enough money to throw at this (including a stage turntable) but it’s been hit with a sledgehammer. It’s in a ‘boots down’-real cinema cum theatre, The Orpheum – home of Stomp for 29 years and looking a bit downtrodden.
First announced in 2019, as a movie project, The Big Gay Jamboree gets on stage before a production of Schmigadoon! (itself a parody of Brigadoon!) premieres Jan 2025 at the Kennedy Centre Washington DC – worlds apart in location and audience, but with parallels.
It’s a crazy love letter to musical theatre, and bit more of a jumble than a jamboree – some original tunes in a belt-them-out heavy score sprinkled with an audience sing-along to a rude “Do Re Mi”. It’s gay and probably couldn’t get any gayer.
The random in-jokes are quick and fast and much went over my head. There’s everything in there – Real Housewives, Judy Garland, Charlie XCX and even Jennifer Lopez gets the Celine Dion treatment. The hugely charismatic Constantine Rousouli as Bert brings beefcake with an adorable Winthrop Paroo lisp and Alex Moffat (SNL) as Keith, tries to bring some order.
There’s a lobotomised character in the show and, sadly, that’s how I felt after the show. Would I see it again? Yes, but needs work.
100 minutes, no interval.
Orpheum Theatre in New York City, located at 126 Second Avenue, New York, 10003