HOME PAGE Search Curtainup SITE GUIDE REVIEWS REVIEW ARCHIVES ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP FEATURES NEWS Broadway Off-Broadway NYC Restaurants BOOKS and CDs OTHER PLACES Berkshires London California New Jersey DC Philadelphia Elsewhere QUOTES TKTS PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS LETTERS TO EDITOR FILM LINKS MISCELLANEOUS Free Updates Masthead |
A CurtainUp Review
Rocky
The better days come when, through a fluke, he is given the chance to fight the world's heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Terrence Archie). Can he turn his life around? Can he train and get himself sufficiently into shape to last fifteen rounds? More importantly, has the hugely successful Academy Award-winning 1976 movie hit Rocky (that spawned five sequels) been marvelously re-conceived and transformed into a colossal Broadway musical? You bet, and mainly due to the extraordinarily clever direction of Alex Timbers. Having previously wowed critics and audiences with his imaginative direction of Peter and the Star Catcher and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Timbers outdoes himself bringing the somewhat cliched story to energizing life and keeping the action compelling in the stunningly detailed and intimate interior scenes as well as the excitingly visceral ones in the gym and on the street. And the climactic scene, with the up-front-and-center blood, sweat and violence in your face, has been staged to knock your block off. With the exception of the classic Clifford Odet's play Golden Boy (recently revived successfully on Broadway) and The Body Beautiful a 1958 musical about a prize-fighter (60 performance flop), stories about pugilists and their plights are rarely seen on the stage. The seriousness with which composer Stephen Flaherty, lyricist Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and book authors Thomas Meehan and Sylvester Stallone have afforded their collaborative effort is remarkable — especially in light of the show's being an easy target for jokes. Though their choosing to premiere the show in Hamburg, Germany also risked chukles were it not for how it has evidently paid off. Many in the audience will laugh with delight as well as applaud at fondly remembered scenes, such as Rocky climbing the high and wide steps to the Philadelphia Art Museum and punching away at the huge raw carcass of a cow (one of many) in a meat factory locker. Familiar scenes from the film have been awesomely re-envisioned by set designer Christopher Barreca to dazzle us with spectacle, as well as frame and support the musical and dramatic content. Seeing how superbly the principal characters are being played is certainly not in conflict with the film's vivid portrayals. What makes this musical work so beautifully is the way the love story, in which two forlorn people discover the best in themselves and support the best in each other (as reflected in their lovely duet "Happiness"), is balanced against the grittier side of their lives. Karl, who earned praise for his performance in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and as the handsome hunk in Legally Blonde , is terrific. His Rocky delivers the punches with as much fury and fervor as he delivers the songs that define him, notably the reprise-worthy "My Nose Ain't Broken." Aside from the Italian ghetto lingo and the familiar resonances of him shouting "Yo, Adrian," he has a commanding presence. Margo Seibert, who is making her Broadway debut, doesn't have nearly the same amount of stage time, but she impressively empowers her impassioned solos — "Raining," "I'm Done," and "Adrian." Overall she is warmly affecting as the over-protected sister of her brutish brother Paulie (a bristling, demonstrative performance by Danny Mastrogiorgio). the supporting roles are given a vivid reality by a fine cast. Archie, the body-beautiful, has had time since originating the role of Apollo Creed in Hamburg to fine tune the character's swagger and his upper cuts and body blows. As Rocky's aging manager Mickey, Dakin Matthews bellows gritty truths even as he gets to belt his defining song "In the Ring" in waltz time. As a song writing team Flaherty and Ahrons (Ragtime, Seussical among many others in their thirty years of collaboration) once again demonstrate their ability to keep alive the tradition of matching glistening melodies to glittering lyrics. We certainly forgive them for retaining snippets of the original inspirational movie theme (by Bill Conti) for key moments. Highlights include watching the corps of fighters in training in a sprawling gym and seeing the audience become a virtual participants in the main event thanks to the choreography by Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine. True, that Rocky (and thank you producers for not adding The Musical to the title) is yet another adaptation from film to stage. But it goes its full fifteen often thrilling rounds without you wishing for a k.o. in the first.
|
|