HOME PAGE SITE GUIDE SEARCH REVIEWS REVIEW ARCHIVES ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP FEATURES NEWS Etcetera and Short Term Listings LISTINGS 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
Now Here This
By Elyse Sommer
The costumes are still just comfortably casual street clothes. The "characters" are again named Hunter, Jeff, Susan and Heidi because this is still their journey. The basic structure remains: four people who know and seem to genuinely like each other riffing about themselves and a big dream. But the Babes in Arms style team has left Judy and Mickey's homespun setup and opted for more carefully scripted and staged polish. Instead of a pianist, there's a 4-person combo. The dance routines (again (by director Michael Berresse) are a bit slicker. Richard DiBella is on board with some stunning and show enhancing projections (as far as I'm concerned, the star of the show). Most importantly, the new piece addresses a broader audience. You don't have to view being part of a musical on or off Broadway as the dream of dreams to relate to the subject of getting the most out of life and dealing with past failures, disappointments and the inevitable sorrows of losing loved ones? Reflecting on one's past and present, the things one yearns to do and actually does and doing so within the context of the whole human species is the memoirist's mother's milk. The same sort of rumination, prompted a successful Hollywood guy, Tom Shadyac, to make the documentary I AM after a near fatal accident. But with Now. Here. This. the journey towards being more present to experiencing more life is a four-way, everything but the kitchen sink ride with topical stops, in no particular order. Those topics include: birds, bees, reptiles, dinosaurs, , ancient civilizations, outer space; plus memories of middle school, loneliness, friendship, hoarding, hiding, laughing, living and dying. To steer our "searchers" through all these topics Neil Patel has created a facsimile of a generic Natural History Museum for them to wander through. Its various exhibits set off all manner of musical and conversational free associations with personal histories. With the exception of some segments, like one about the death of a beloved grandmother, more than a few smack of self-indulgent navel gazing. None are likely to offer any really revelatory insights. The lyrics are occasionally clever and the music is pleasantly melodic and well delivered (especially by Heidi Blickenstaff), though somewhat repetitive. If I had to pick the three best, it would be "I Wonder," "Archer " and "This Time." While the show business insider references from title of show are gone, Now. Here. This has plenty of cultural references. in addition to the thematic concept quoted at the top of this review and borrowed from Trappist monk Thomas Merton, there 's the Groupon coupon used to pay for the museum admission and the thousand dollar stuffed dinosaur that triggers the need for an ipad. The show biz smitten fans who carried title of show to Broadway and numerous regional productions with stand-ins for its creators will undoubtedly flock to the Vineyard to see what Hunter, Jeff, Susan and Heidi are doing. But while they're no longer the only ones to get everything said or sung and the more sophisticated presentation notwithstanding, Now.Here.This. is a small show, more an autobiographical revue than a musical and probably best suited to and most engaging in an intimate theater like the Vineyard.
|
Slings & Arrows- view 1st episode free Anything Goes Cast Recording Our review of the show Book of Mormon -CD Our review of the show |