3 February 2024 Snowy Saturday

[KathyB]

It has been snowing all day except when I first took the dog out for a walk early this morning, when it was rain that was just turning into snow. Neither one of us wanted to be on that walk, and one of us didn't poop. Since then, it looks as if we've gotten about three inches of accumulation. I have nothing to do today, although the laundry is looming. Next Saturday I'm going to see a play called Cebollas, about a road trip from Albuquerque to Denver. Then on the 27th, I'm seeing a play called Rubicon, about espionage.

I think I may head back to bed and snuggle with the dog.

[scenicdesign71]

Thursday night I went with some friends to see Harmony, which closes this evening; I guess they were papering the house for the show's final week, since we were comped by a colleague.  It was a more or less watchable -- but sometimes frustrating -- mix of not-bad and not-so-good, with Chip Zien, Sierra Boggess, and Julie Benko fighting to elevate mediocre material.

One of my companions, unaware of the show's 26-year history, opined that it needed a few more months out of town.  I'm tempted to wonder, conversely, whether it hasn't been stewing for too long by now; to be honest, I'm just not sure there is a universe in which this show was ever going to successfully cohere into anything great.

It did leave me mildly curious about the real Comedian Harmonists, whose story has previously been told in a 1976 documentary; a 1997 movie; and in another, even shorter-lived 1999 B'way revue.  And even mild curiosity might be counted as a point in the Manilow musical's favor -- but then, it's also worth mentioning that I emerged from the Barrymore the other night with little real understanding of who these guys were, or of the times they lived through, beyond what could easily be summarized in a very short blurb.  While a great deal of talent, intelligence, showmanship and good intentions have been invested in Harmony, I came out with essentially the same curiosity I'd brought in, largely unaffected by the show's version of these people and events, which I couldn't help suspecting had been Broadway-ized beyond plausible recognition.