NEW YORK >> Last week, we reviewed “Carousel,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “SpongeBob Squarepants” and “Pretty Woman;” we continue the Broadway coverage, with more flashes of color-blind casting plus gender-bending:
“Frozen”
St. James Theatre
A musical by Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and Jennifer Lee, choreographed by Rob Ashford and directed by Michael Grandage, based on the Disney film
Who: “Frozen” (the film) is the Mouse House’s snow-whitest endeavor, so the new casting diversity here is mildly surprising. Separated by a dark secret, sisters Elsa (Caissie Levy) and Anna (Patti Murin) are back, as is the show’s key anthem “Let It Go” that everyone was singing at the height of the movie’s popularity. King Agnarr (Nicholas Ward, an African-American actor), and Queen Iduna (Ann Sanders) prevail, with Olaf (Greg Hildreth) as the oafish snowman puppet. Sven (Andrew Pirozzi), the larger-than-life reindeer character with realistic eyes and a mouth that moves, is an ingenious piece of stagecraft, masterfully enacted. And the mountaineer Kristoff (Jelani Aladdin, another African-American actor) reflects more trendy casting. The icy visuals are chilling, notably when Elsa magically switches gowns right before your eyes, and crystals appear in a brilliant flash.
The takeaway: Let it glow … Disney thrills with chills.
“My Fair Lady”
Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center
A musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, directed by Bartlett Sher and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”
Who: Eliza Doolittle (Lauren Ambrose), the cockney flower peddler, is taken under the wings of Prof. Henry Higgins (Harry Hadden-Paton), the English linguistics academic, whose notion is that he can convert her into a “proper lady.” Under the watch of his colleague, Col. Pickering (Allan Corduner), and much to the chagrin of his mum Mrs. Higgins (Diana Rigg), ’enry ’iggins proceeds with his “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” exercises. Alfred Doolittle (Norbert Leo Butz), Eliza’s dad, and Freddy Eynsford- Hill (Jordan Donica), who woos Eliza on the street where she lives, have their moments. (Note: Laura Benanti takes over as Eliza, and Rosemary Harris will be Mrs. Higgins, beginning Oct. 23).
The takeaway: I could have glanced all night, thanks to all the singable and danceable classics.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two”
Lyric Theatre
A two-part drama, by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany, with movement by Steven Hoggett, based on an original new Harry Potter story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
Who: A true epic, this first Potter tale adapted for the stage, puts an older Harry Potter (Jamie Parker) — now an employee at the Ministry of Magic, a husband and a dad of three children — in jeopardy with his youngest son Albus (Sam Clemmett), as they face darkness and unwanted truths. The West End cast, reunited on Broadway, also features Noma Dumezweni (an African-American) as Hermione Granger, Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley, Poppy Miller as Ginny Potter, Alex Price as Draco Malfoy and Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy. Stylish, intriguing, complex and magically Potteresque down to the final curtain.
The takeaway: This is a sit/watch marathon, with back-to-back matinee and evening performances (perseverance required!), but minus curses, and worth every minute.
“Once on This Island”
Circle in the Square
A musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, directed by Michael Arden and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, based on Rosa Guy’s novel, “My Love, My Love”
Who: If Shakespeare wrote about the tropics, he might have created this treasure about a peasant girl, Ti Moune (Loren Lott), who falls in love with a light-skinned, upper-crust boy Daniel (Isaac Powell), whom she rescues one stormy night on an island in the French Antilles; it’s a doomed relationship, about star-crossed lovers, around which is wrapped a mini- pageantry of Caribbean folk tales, plenty of gods, familial rituals and oodles of exotic, expressive songs and dances. Alex Newell, as a transgender, plays Asaka (a Mother Earth type) and delivers a powerful “Mama Will Provide,” while in contrast, Merle Dandridge, a woman, is the death god Papa Ge, in such wailing wonders as “Forever Yours.” Gender- blind casting rules. And the play-out’s the thing.
The takeaway: Go early, soak in the prelude, see the goat parade in diapers and witness the arcane set suggesting encampment: sand on floor, chicken in cage, water in pond, hanging laundry. …
And that’s “Show Biz.”
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.
