Thoughts on The Band Wagon

You know, it's a good thing I don't smoke or take drugs.  I have no self-control.  When I saw that Brian Stokes Mitchell would be doing a limited run of a staged version of the beloved film The Band Wagon at City Center, did I consider how it would fit into my budget?  Did I think about the upcoming Christmas holidays and all the gifts for my nephew I need to buy?  Oh no.  I just thought, "I HAVE TO SEE THAT!"  I love the movie, I love Brian Stokes Mitchell (and the rest of the announced cast).  And so self-control, willpower and budgetary responsibility flew out the window...

I'm so glad I took the plunge and spent the money - I loved every single minute of The Band Wagon.  I had a smile on my face the entire evening and left the theater on a real high.  I desperately wish I could afford to go back, stat.  It has a new libretto by playwright Douglas Carter Beane, using some of the cut stuff from the 1953 MGM film and some new stuff, too.  I think I could tell where Beane's personal zingers entered the fray and they mostly made me laugh.  The songs are rearranged and there are other Schwartz/Dietz songs in the show as well.  So last night's production was rather a hybrid of the film and of something completely new.  I was mostly on board for that - it kept me on my toes.  I missed a couple of things that weren't in the same placement as the film, but I got over it.

from City Center's Facebook page

 On first blush, the casting is perfect.  As I was watching the show progress, the casting maybe isn't. But I really didn't care since I loved them all.  Brian Stokes Mitchell, one of my uber favorites, is suave and charismatic as Tony Hunter.  OK, so he's no Fred Astaire-level dancer, but who is?  He's game and he's having a great time, plus, hello, he's just so handsome and his singing is just so dreamy.  He had me at hello.  :)  Laura Osnes is lovely as the ingenue, Michael McKean and Tracey Ullman are absolute riots as the Comden and Green standins (Tracey Ullman has a solo in the first act that is so dazzling, you immediately want to hear someone announce her for a starring role ANYWHERE in ANYTHING on Broadway), Michael Berresse is silky slimy smooth, if underutilized, as the snob choreographer, and Tony Sheldon as Jeffrey Cordova.  OMG.  Tony Sheldon.  He steals the show, in my opinion.  I adored him in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and he is perfection here.  He's funny, touching, a lovely singer and quite a smooth dancer.  What a performance.  I hope he doesn't stay away again from New York long.

There are rumors that they're hoping to transfer the show to Broadway.  Well, now, hold on a minute.  I wonder if it would have more of a set and more of an orchestra, if it did transfer.  This production is rather spare, and was only semi-staged and I'm not sure it would work in a bigger production, not like how Chicago fits anywhere.  But, you know what?  I'd buy a ticket if it transferred, so I should just shut up.  It's fast and funny and Brian Stokes Mitchell sings AND tap dances!  AND he sings gorgeous songs like "By Myself" and "Dancing in the Dark"!  And Tony Sheldon is a comic genius.  And the ensemble is also terrific.  So go ahead, people.  Transfer it.  But just in case it doesn't transfer, go people.  Go buy tickets right now. 

City Center sent me an e-mail, asking me to share You Tube links on Twitter.  I'm going to try to share it here.  If someone asks me, I'll take it down.  I hope no one does.  You'll have a smile on your face, too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYz1hVTs-rY&list=UUHFTGKHHcLoPRbLDGS4ayXA&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MKT15BandWagonPP141106&utm_content=version_A