My co-worker Dani and I went to see this new (murder-mystery) musical down at the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A. last week and we both loved it. The music and lyrics were done by John Kander and Fred Ebb (who did Caberet and Chicago and the show-within-the-show allows it to be an homage to good old-fashioned musicals. You can't help but see the references to other great classics like Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun, 42nd Street, and Oklahoma while watching it. While we were leaving I heard another theatre-goer complain, "Well, I think we saw just about every cliché in the book." and I thought, "Well, DUH... that was the point!" There were a couple of great show-stopping numbers and Dani and I smiled though the whole thing. Great dancing and singing and David Hyde Pierce was terrific as the star-struck cop who's sent to the theatre to solve the murder but who really just wants to solve the problems with the production before opening night. If you can, check it out. After L.A., it's heading to Broadway.
Two thumbs up, 5 stars.
Comments