Dancing in the Dark
The Old Globe's world premiere, based on the MGM movie The Band Wagon, has miles to go before it reaches Broadway but already offers considerable entertainment. Playwright Douglas Carter Beane writes three-dimensional one-liners: they are funny; always, often painfully, true; and perfect for the character the moment they're uttered. The musical comedy, about the near impossibility of making a musical comedy, also boasts the original's great songs, including the iconic "That's Entertainment" and the title song. There are good bits: as when Adam Heller and (the hilarious) Beth Leavel, as comedy writers, pitch their idea to potential cast and backers. They blitz with manic urgency and stop the show as well. The cast performs on John Lee Beatty's minimalist, backstage/onstage set. Patrick Page, clear-voiced Mara Davi, and Scott Bakula do quality work. Though it ran for almost three hours, the opening night performance felt cramped, however. Numbers got truncated, and knock-your-socks-off entertainment - the raison d'etre of the original - often got shoved aside for plot and character development. It feels strange to say this, because plays get deservedly clobbered for lacking these qualities, but the revised book is trying for depths and motivations that weigh the show down. New scenes fill in back-story and dull the pace and whimsical, "anything can go" tone. The production pulsed forward and needed to get out of its own way.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Tuesdays, 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm |