| Branden Jacobs-Jenkin's PURPOSE and DEATH BECOMES HER (Chicago) -- To Broadway? Or Not? | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 01:41 pm EDT 05/06/24 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 01:38 pm EDT 05/06/24 | |
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| Caught Purpose Saturday night at Steppenwolf. A very funny, shocking, entertaining sort of mash-up between a Black Appropriate and The Real World visits the Rev. Solomon Jasper (read Jesse Jackson) household during a lake effect snowstorm. A lot of hilarious dialogue, expertly delivered by Jon Michael Hill (younger Jasper son), Glenn Davis (older son), Ayanna Bria Bakari (younger son's female pal) and others about secrets, relationships, family skeletons, and a lot of other good stuff -- Hill's spanking the monkey story had me laughing my ass off. Penelope Walker (Mrs. Jasper) (in for Tamara Tunie) was outstanding: warm, sweet on the outside with a hint of a cool, collected Lady Macbeth just a bit beneath the surface. Runs through 5/12 in Chicago, but sure to be on Broadway in the near future. Won the lottery for Death Becomes Her Wednesday night, great seats, center orchestra about 10 rows from the stage. Consistently funny, fast paced black comedy. There's no one better on stage today at this type of humor than Jennifer Simard. Megan Hilty is her equal here. Strong support from Christopher Sieber. That's the good part. The musical is overlong, not boring, but heavy handed (like the movie). The score is totally forgettable. The choreography is OK, but struck me as unnecessary. However, just IMO, I think the show would be better (and much tighter) as a straight comedy. It doesn't benefit by having unmemorable songs. Full disclosure: it was a very early preview. To Broadway? I don't know. I paid $30 for my seat and had a good time. I wouldn't pay $100. |
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| Previous: | By the way, both “English” and “Primary Trust” were directed by Knud Adams. nm - kieran 05:25 pm EDT 05/06/24 |
| Next: | re: Branden Jacobs-Jenkin's PURPOSE and DEATH BECOMES HER (Chicago) -- To Broadway? Or Not? - lowwriter 11:12 pm EDT 05/06/24 |
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