| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | |
| Last Edit: PlazaBoy 09:48 pm EDT 07/29/24 | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 09:46 pm EDT 07/29/24 | |
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| What a satisfying, substantial evening. It was refreshing to see a new musical with complexity and depth, as opposed to something like Death Becomes Her which felt engineered to be a hit, but had little substance. Sierra Boggess, Tom Hewitt, and J. Harrison Ghee are all spectacular. The score is ravishing. Many stand out numbers in a wide range of musical styles. The show is epic, running just under three hours and is masterfully directed and choreographed. It doesn't do the novel justice, so yes, it needs work. As good as Ghee is, they are probably given too much to do. The crime story isn't satisfyingly integrated with the Lady Chablis story. That may be inherent to the source material and unsolvable without cutting a lot Ghee. I don’t imagine that is what anyone wants to do. The show has an oddness and unpredictability that I really appreciated. I’ll give one example. The show features a wonderful ensemble playing middle aged southern ladies. One of them, played by Jessica Molaskey, is given a poignant ballad “Since My Mama Died.” It sort of comes out of nowhere and you wouldn’t expect this character to have a solo, but it is an absolutely beautiful moment. There are many of those. One bit of miscasting in my opinion. Austin Colby as Danny (the rough trade), seems a bit too strong and has a Clark Kent look that doesn’t seem right for the role. He lacks neediness and the chemistry between he and Hewitt isn’t there. The show is occasionally meta, especially the ending. That is not an element I particularly enjoyed, but I think many loved it. Overall, it was a remarkable evening. The show is funny, sad, haunting and full of creative achievement. Is it ready for Broadway, probably not. Will it ever be? I am curious to see. |
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