All in Theatre Time Machine
Quite possibly the darkest of all musicals to grace the Broadway stage, but also a musical that is overflowing with hope and courage, Kiss of the Spider Woman opened on Broadway in 1993 and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical. The amazing part of this show's journey is rewinding a few years and examining its genesis and uphill climb to reach Broadway. If ever there was a "Little Engine That Could", Kiss of the Spider Woman overcame many odds to reach the Great White Way.
Of all of the musicals that I saw in the first decade of the 21st Century, the one that brought the most smiles to my face was the 2004 David Yazbek (music and lyrics) and Jeffrey Lane (book) comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Based on the popular film of the same name starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, seldom does a musical achieve such daffy joy while simultaneously being cunningly witty. The story of two con-men who scheme to steal an heiress’s fortune when she visits a resort town in the French Riviera has wicked humor, surprising plot twists, and a heaping helping of political incorrectness that make the show ribald and salacious fun.
It’s been a big year for the composing team of Bock and Harnick, with Broadway revivals of their two beloved pieces Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me. The success of both of these revivals speaks to the durability of their work and to their place in the pantheon of musical theatre greats. At one point in time, there was a third Bock and Harnick musical that was as revered as the aforementioned titles, but that has faded somewhat into obscurity today. Fiorello!, which opened on Broadway in 1959, was a big hit, financially and critically. The story of the former NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia played to an audience who had memories of the reform politician who took on Tammany Hall in the early part of the 20th Century.
A new musical by Stephen Sondheim is usually met with rabid curiosity and excitement leading up to its opening, so in 1990 when the musical Assassins readied itself at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons, theatre fans couldn't wait to see the result. We were all more than ready to see how Mr. Sondheim would create songs for the disillusioned men and women who attempted (and sometimes succeeded) killing Presidents of the United States. John Weidman would provide a book that used the failed American Dream as the through line to bring these notorious character into the same world. With Jerry Zaks at the helm as director, and a cast that included a vast array of Broadway's finest talent (Victor Garber, Terrence Mann, Debra Monk, Annie Golden, Jonathan Hadary, Lee Wilkof among them) Assassins looked to be something unique in musical theatre terms. Everyone assumed it would be well-received and then transfer to Broadway where it would settle in for an artful but not particularly long run. It didn't.
