Robin and the 7 Hoods
This new musical unfolds like the greatest hits of Sammy Cahn (lyrics) and Jimmy Van Huesen (music). Bill Elliott's fresh, savvy orchestrations and a 13-piece band make familiar songs feel newly minted (Act two, for example, goes from "The Tender Trap" to "All the Way" to "Come Fly With Me"). Songs take off and soar like jets at O'Hare. The musical's based, in part, on the 1964 movie (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy D.), in which mobsters move in on rival territory and recriminations abound. Rupert Holmes's book isn't bad. It's got banter and snappy one-liners (asked whose idea it was to rob from the rich and give to the poor, Willie replies, "Karl Marx?"), but it's based on showbiz personalities, not developed fictional characters. It requires the indomitable, "top of the heap" Rat Pack aura to pull it through. Mere mortals, even backed by first-rate direction and spectacular bursts of choreography, pale in comparison. Look past surface pizzazz, and Robin's feels like an imitation. The Cahn/Van Huesen parade of hits make it enjoyable nonetheless.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, August 29, 2010
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Tuesdays, 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm |