‘Fanny’ revival at City Center’s Encores! series falls flat
‘Fanny’ revival at City Center’s Encores! series falls flat
Friday, February 5th 2010, 2:44 PM
Through Feb. 7 City Center, 130 W. 56th St.
Tickets: $25-$95, (212) 581-1212
If there was a compelling reason to drag “Fanny” out of musical mothballs, it never materializes at City Center, where it runs through Sunday.
The show marks the 50th Encores! revivala benchmark with ooh-la-la. Too bad this tired take is so ooh-la-lackluster.
The 1954 musical play is based on a trio of Marcel Pagnol stories. Joshua Logan and S.N. Behrman wrote the book, adapted here by David Ives.
The songs are by Harold Rome, who also wrote “Destry Rides Again” and “I Can Get It for You Wholesale.”
Seaside Marseilles provides the setting. But what’s so striking about Mark Bruni’s stodgy staging is its failure to establish a sense of place. Marseilles? In France? Right? There’s no sense of that here. Pourquoi?
Bruni doesn’t create a cohesive mood either. But even a more experienced director would struggle with that due to the show’s hodgepodge construction.
In short, it’s a tale of crisscrossed romances: Girl Loves Boy. Boy Loves the Sea. Codger Loves Girl. Girl Gets Pregnant. Baby Complicates Everything.
As Fanny, Elena Shaddow nails all her notes without hammering much emotion. As Panisse, the rich old businessman chasing Fanny, Fred Applegate (“The Producers”) tilts too often toward easy laughs. It’s not that kind of show.
As Cesar, the father of the boy Fanny loves, George Hearn gets two noteworthy songs”Love Is a Very Light Thing,” which serves up an interesting perspective on love, and the charming “Welcome Home.” The usually sturdy Hearn is ho-hum bland.
As Marius, the sea-bound boy she loves, James Snyder (“Cry-Baby”) fares best, showing off his handsome voice in fine fashion on the title song and the wistful ballad “Restless Heart.”
He still can’t make the show a must. After two hours of this “Fanny,” it’s not your ticker but your tuchis that’s restless.
jdziemianowicz@nydailynews.com
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source : www.nydailynews.com
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Submited at Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 8:00 pm on arts by Alina
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