Something Rotten! ***

Emerging out of the blue late in the season comes this dark horse of a musical that is clearly destined for lots of awards and a long run. The creators are an unlikely combo —  Karey Kirkpatrick, a Hollywood based screenwriter/director/songwriter with no theatrical credits; his brother Wayne Kirkpatrick, a Nashville-based songwriter; and John O’Farrell, a British satirist. The brothers are jointly credited with the music, lyrics and concept, while Karey and O’Farrell wrote the book. The only person on the creative side with name recognition is award-winning director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw  The topic and setting are equally unlikely — the invention of the musical in 1595 London. The Bottom brothers, Nick (Brian d’Arcy James) and Nigel (John Cariani) are struggling to keep their theatrical company afloat. To his regret, Nick had previously urged a certain actor whose initials are W.S. to leave the troupe and take up playwriting. Christian Borle plays The Bard as the rock star of his age with a nasty habit of stealing material. Nick, unable to come up with a plot that Shakespeare didn’t get to first, consults soothsayer Nostradamus (Brad Oscar) to find out what will be the “next big thing” and what will be Shakespeare’s best play. Unfortunately Nostradamus never gets things quite right, with the result that Nick sets out to write the world’s first musical — “Omelet.” Nick’s wife Bea (Heidi Blickenstaff) is a proto-feminist.  Nigel falls in love with Portia (Kate Reinders), daughter of leading Puritan Brother Jeremiah (Brad Ashmanskas) who thinks theater and music are the devil’s work. An uncharacteristically restrained Peter Bartlett appears in the dual roles of Lord Clapham and the Minister of Justice. The more familiar you are with the Shakespearean canon and the musicals of the last 60 years, the more you will enjoy the show. Running through the show are snippets from the bard and signature lines from virtually every musical you can think of, each received with delighted recognition by the audience. The music, in a variety of styles, works well within the context of the show. Midway through the first act there’s a show-stopping number (“A Musical”) that brought the loudest, longest applause I have ever witnessed in a theater. The uniformly strong cast seemed to be enjoying themselves.The scenic design by Scott Pask and the costumes by Gregg Barnes are top-notch. The show is entertaining, relentlessly so. I sometimes felt that it was trying too hard to amuse. For me, its clever conceits were stretched beyond their potential. As so often happens, the second act did not live up to the promise of the first. The dance numbers, while lively, were monotonously alike. Despite these reservations, I had a good time. The wildly enthusiastic audience portends a successful run. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

Hamilton ****

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s highly anticipated hip-hop musical about the life of one of our most intriguing founding fathers is now in previews at the Public Theater. Stop reading long enough to buy a ticket, if you can snag one. [As of February 4, the Public website indicates that there are tickets available starting in early April.] The multi-talented Miranda not only wrote the music, lyrics and book; he is the co-arranger and, last but not least, the star. This ambitious, inventive show is strong across the board: the entertaining, informative and emotionally involving book is filled with moments of humor and pathos, the characters are vividly drawn, the lyrics are extremely clever, the deceptively simple scenic design (by David Korins) is effective, the costumes (by Paul Tazewell) are attractive, the choreography (by Andy Blankenbuehler) supports the action well, the cast is uniformly excellent and the direction (by Thomas Kail) is fluid and assured. As for the music, hip-hop will never be a genre that I gravitate to, but Miranda makes a strong case for its expressive possibilities. Miranda captures the complexities of Hamilton’s personality. Brian D’Arcy James almost steals the show as King George. Daveed Diggs excels at his two juicy roles — Lafayette and Jefferson. Leslie Odom Jr. is a fine Aaron Burr. Philllipa Soo is touching as Elizabeth, Hamilton’s loyal wife, and Renée Elise Goldsberry is excellent as her sister Angelica. Christopher Jackson has just the right gravitas for George Washington. Miranda was inspired by Ron Chernow’s 818-page revisionist biography of Hamilton. If there is a fault, it is that he was overambitious and included too much material. I was a bit exhausted by play’s end, but it was a pleasant kind of exhaustion. A transfer to Broadway seems inevitable. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes including intermission. 

Giant ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
The Public Theater deserves an A for ambition for mounting this musical version of Edna Ferber's novel, with music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa and book by Sybille Pearson. With a cast of 26, a 17-piece orchestra, a two-level revolving set (by Allen Moyer) and lavish costumes (by Jeff Manshie), this production, now in previews, is indeed Texas-size. The action covers 27 years, from the mid 1920's to the early 1950's, in the marriage of rancher Jordan "Bick" Benedict (the versatile Brian D'Arcy James) and his Virginia bride Leslie (the radiant Kate Baldwin) on the family's gigantic southwest Texas ranch. LaChiusa's music is supple, varied and well-integrated into the action. While there are several effective numbers, there are none that you will leave humming. Also, many of the songs seemed to be pitched near the top of a singer's vocal range and sounded a bit strained and shrill. Some of the best songs go to supporting characters: Bick's domineering sister Luz (Michelle Pawk), Uncle Bawley (John Dossett), neighbor Vashti (Katie Thompson) and Mexican ranch hand Angel (Miguel Cervantes). PJ Griffith has a hard time finding a coherent character in Jett Rink, the bad boy turned oil magnate. Bobby Steggert plays sensitive son Jordy Benedict Jr. and Mackenzie Mauzy is his tomboy sister Lil Luz. The show seemed less than the sum of its parts; perhaps this is a result of an hour being trimmed from the show since its Dallas premiere. Four hours may have been impractical, but was probably more coherent. If you go expecting another "Showboat," you will be disappointed. If you approach it without such expectations, you may well enjoy yourself. Michael Greif directed. Running time: 3 hours, 5 minutes including intermission.