Sammy
"Your whole life just moves too fast," his wife tells Sammy Davis Jr. This musical biography follows suit. Leslie Bricusse's book depicts such a shallow, itemized portrait that Davis remains one-note throughout. Name performers usually have a signature song. Davis had several, most written by Bricusse ("Once in a Lifetime," "Who Can I Turn To?"). These iconic numbers, however, dwarf those written specifically for the show (the new ones, in particular those sung to Davis, feel flat and often preachy by comparison). Some portrayals verge on cartoon (Dean Martin, Sinatra, Eddie Cantor), and the women, with one exception, don't rise above the generic (the exception, Ann Duquesnay, outstanding as Davis's grandmother Rose). Obba Babatundé's Davis has the hunched shoulders, the bebop head-nod, the firm grin, and the manic energy down. Babatundé deserves the jump-to-your-feet standing ovation the audience gives him. But in his nearly three-hour performance, Babatundé is, at best, only like Sammy Davis Jr. The hit-and-run script - scenes often mere set-ups for the next song - never gives him the time to be the great entertainer.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, November 8, 2009
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Tuesdays, 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm |