The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea
Talk of Broadway surrounds this African retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fable. If the buzz refers to the cast, one of the finest ever assembled at the Rep, or to Jennifer Brawn Gittings's gold-flecked, Afrocentric costumes, then sure: they merit an extended stay at the Big Hotel. But Princess is a house divided: an amazing group of performers grafted, by cutsie directorial touches, onto an aimless book and a score with intermittent hits and misses. The singers are better than the songs. Talent is either underutilized - Ken Prymus and TON3X (who threatens to dismantle vast portions of the Gaslamp Quarter when he belts "Partay") can step to the head of that class - or often at odds with the text. Lillias White sings "My Only Son" with such oceanic feeling and wisdom she breaks through the confines of the musical and her shallow, one-note character, Queen Zanuba. The book promises boffo scenes (the mattress test, a challenge dance) but doesn't deliver them. As if worried we aren't being entertained, or afraid things might become too serious, director Stafford Arima adds silly, intrusive bits. When American Idol's Sabrina Sloan and Josh Tower, who played The Lion King's Simba for five years on Broadway, sing "Love at First Sight," they don't need a tree branch with white, cartoony doves waving over their heads to make the point. Worse: some of the writing uses African-American stereotypes to get laughs. In effect, the Rep's Princess is a talent show, a great parade, but that naked dude on the throne waving to the crowd? A pretender.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, December 21, 2008
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 8pm |