Nice Work if you can get it is subtitled, "The New Gershwin Musical". Which is not really the truth. It's a new reworking of an old Gershwin musical. Nice Work is loosely based on the 1926 musical Oh, Kay! which had an original book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse. Both of those gentlemen are given credit in the Nice Work playbill. The new book is by Joe DePietro.
The only songs from the original Oh, Kay! That is used in Nice Work if you can get it are Do, do, do, and Someone to watch over me. Every other song has been interpolated from other Gershwin musicals. Taking place in prohibition era New York, the story follows that of Jimmy Winter (Matthew Broderick) a rich long island playboy who is about to be married for the 4th time. The night before the wedding Jimmy meets a lady bootlegger named Billie Bendix (Jessie Mueller). In a drunken stupor he tells her of his swanky Long Island beach house that he hardly ever uses. Billie, being a bootlegger, thinks this would be a swell place to hide her hooch until the heat dies down. Of course, Jimmy shows up with his new bride and hi jinx ensue.
The music is Gershwin so you can't go wrong there. Each song has been (almost) perfectly worked into the book by Joe DiPietro. Things are locked into place, but you can tell some of the pieces of the puzzle don't quite belong where they are. The book is funny, but it's a particular kind of funny. If you enjoy big brash screwball comedies with corny jokes this is the show for you. There are a few genuine belly laughs in the book. Judy Kaye plays a Duchess so set on ridding the USA of "demon rum" that she has founded an organization called "The Society of Dry Women".
The sets and costumes are lavish. Derek McLane has given us the kid of sets you don't see in Broadway musicals very often anymore. They are stylistic rather than realistic, and beautiful to look at. In one of the last shows he designed before he died, Martin Paklidinaz has given us a luscious wardrobe that perfectly evokes the period, while simultaneously poking a little fun at each character. The wedding dress worn by Eileen Evergreen (Jennifer Laura Thompson) at the end of the show is "Delicious".
Kathleen Marshal is always on top of her game as a director and choreographer. She sometimes has the tendency to add dance sequences where there needn't be any. This show is no exception to that rule, but the dancing is always so good that you don't really mind. The only complaint about that is it makes the show run a bit longer than it needs to.
Matthew Broderick is back in a musical for the first time since The Producers. He has a sweet and lovely voice, and he's a fine actor, but he's miscast in this role. Everyone knows that Matthew Broderick has a youthfulness about him that doesn't seem to ever go away, but the man is over 50. While Matthew certainly doesn't look 50, he does look about 45, which is about ten years too old to sell this character. It would also have helped if he could dance a little better.
Jessie Mueller has taken over the role of Billie Bendix from Kelly O'Hara. Jessie Mueller is a joy to watch in everything she does and Nice Work is no exception. She makes a full meal out of every Gershwin tune she sings. Her characterization is perfect, her comic timing is impeccable. She is younger than Kelly, and so makes Matthew Broderick look even older by comparison, and there isn't much romantic chemistry between the two of them, which is unfortunate.
In two Tony award winning featured actor performances, Judy Kaye as Duchess Estonia Dulworth and Michael McGrath as Cookie McGee steal nearly every scene they are in. It's easy to see why the pair of them went home with the gold last year. Jennifer Laura Thompson (who was my favorite Glinda in Wicked), Robyn Hurder, and and Chris Sullivan also shine in supporting roles.
It's a shame that ticket sales for this show haven't been higher. I'm sure the producers tried without success to find a suitable replacement for Matthew Broderick. I guess John Stamos wasn't interested. If you get to see this show before it closes on Saturday, you should have a good time. If you can't see it on Broadway, I'm sure it will become a popular title among regional and community theaters. When it closes, Nice Work if you can get it will have played 27 previews and 478 regular performances at The Imperial Theater.
No comments:
Post a Comment