I'd hardly call Brantley's review mixed to negative. It's pretty flat out negative. The only nice things he had to say were about Cerveris and (surprisingly) the choreography. He hated everything else.
"Disclosure: I busted my ass to get from a TV appearance to Evita but got there moments late. I had to watch the first 15 minutes on a monitor in the lobby, then was allowed in to my seat.
And it was worth the ass-busting.
I always thought the highly conceptualized 1979 Harold Prince-directed production with a fiery Patti LuPone as the Argentinian First Lady could never be rivaled, but this one does well on its own terms."
Theatremania is mostly negative with kind words for Cerveris:
"In Michael Grandage's bombastic Broadway revival of the already sufficiently bombastic but beloved Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice tuner Evita, now at the Marquis Theatre, Elena Roger makes her long-awaited Broadway debut as the ruthlessly ambitious title figure, who promises to give the people of her newly adopted Buenos Aires "just a little touch of star quality."
As it happens, the leading lady -- who is reprising the role of former Argentine first lady Eva Duarte de Peron, which she played to acclaim in Grandage's 2006 London production -- could be singing about herself. What she brings to the enterprise is indeed just a little touch of star quality, where a tremendous amount is what's called for."
Perhaps I was being diplomatic, but here are some positive quotes:
"Designed by Christopher Oram in a style that brings to mind the Metropolitan Opera at its most traditional, this production accords “Evita” the kind of respect usually reserved for Verdi and Wagner." "In other words “Evita” isn’t just showbiz, kids. It’s art." "s the show’s center Ms. Roger, who was embraced in a bear hug by the London critics five years ago, embodies that unblinking reverence. In looks and self-presentation her irony-free Evita may well be closer to the real Eva Perón than anyone who’s played her before. I very much enjoyed her early scenes as the young Eva Duarte, a scrappy, mousy girl who is set apart from the crowd only by pure force of ambition." "Rob Ashford’s smooth choreography, which presents every possible variation on the tango, is at its liveliest here as well." "As Juan Perón, the man Evita made (in all ways), Mr. Cerveris (“Sweeney Todd,” “Assassins”) is, as usual, just about perfect." "Mr. Cerveris fills him out with a finely exaggerated mix of pomposity, uncertainty and raw appetite. And he’s the only one of the stars here who finds the vocal richness in Mr. Lloyd Webber’s melodies." "Say what you will about Mr. Lloyd Webber, no composer since Puccini has managed to write tunes that adhere so insistently to the memory."
Mixed to negative is obviously subjective but we've seen Brantley's most vicious pans and this wasn't one of them. However, to me, mixed to negative means that it was certainly negative but there some nice things said. The link is posted so everyone can develop their own opinion. My word is hardly gospel.
he just doesn't like the show, regardless of the production.
Agreed.
Yes, the difference being that he raved about La Cage and Ragtime (another production he liked of a show he doesn't like). He barely had any nice things to say about Evita, meaning he didn't feel the production did anything to elevate the material in his mind.
"Designed by Christopher Oram in a style that brings to mind the Metropolitan Opera at its most traditional, this production accords “Evita” the kind of respect usually reserved for Verdi and Wagner." "In other words “Evita” isn’t just showbiz, kids. It’s art."
Based on the tone of the review, this reads to me as "over the top". I'm pretty sure he's going for sarcasm here.
"the show’s center Ms. Roger, who was embraced in a bear hug by the London critics five years ago, embodies that unblinking reverence. In looks and self-presentation her irony-free Evita may well be closer to the real Eva Perón than anyone who’s played her before. I very much enjoyed her early scenes as the young Eva Duarte, a scrappy, mousy girl who is set apart from the crowd only by pure force of ambition."
"I liked her before she started to suck."
"Rob Ashford’s smooth choreography, which presents every possible variation on the tango, is at its liveliest here as well."
One of the good things I mentioned.
"As Juan Perón, the man Evita made (in all ways), Mr. Cerveris (“Sweeney Todd,” “Assassins”) is, as usual, just about perfect." "Mr. Cerveris fills him out with a finely exaggerated mix of pomposity, uncertainty and raw appetite. And he’s the only one of the stars here who finds the vocal richness in Mr. Lloyd Webber’s melodies."
The only other good thing I mentioned.
"Say what you will about Mr. Lloyd Webber, no composer since Puccini has managed to write tunes that adhere so insistently to the memory."
This is not something he is necessarily HAPPY about. He says he TRIES to shake the tunes from him memory. He compares the songs to a virus. I'd hardly call that a compliment.
"At the center is Elena Roger, a petite Argentine soprano who delivers a charismatic performance as the ambitious nobody who box-springed her way up the power ladder, from the provinces to the Casa Rosa in Buenos Aires as the wife of dictator Juan Peron."
i agree that "mixed to negative" is a subjective call, and also agree that brantley found a few nice things to say, but overall i thought the review was pretty negative -- the withering opening line set the tone.
(i also think some of the quotes you pulled only sound positive in isolation, broadwaydevil ... especially the last one referencing puccini -- he went on to compare a bit of ALW's score to a dormant virus.)
but, like you said, it wasn't entirely praise-free.
Bjh - obviously they aren't raves. I never said anything close to it. In fact, I said mixed to NEGATIVE. The point still stands that there have been much harsher Brantley reviews. We may also have a different definition of mixed to negative. To me, just the word negative implies that no kind words were said. The qualifier mixed does just that, demonstrates that it wasn't consistently bashing the show.
Really? I'm not reading his mind. I'm reading the tone of the review. I am not saying that there aren't pull quotes that can be used out of context. All of the cited quotes above could be used. But IN CONTEXT of the review, he uses those things pretty negatively.
I mean, the sentences before and after the stuff about the set being opera like are "Sexy is not a word that comes to mind with Mr. Grandage’s production, which originated in London in 2006. This version is, above all, sincere, even pious. Not so much toward Eva Perón (who died at 33 and, as the opportunistic wife of a dictator, remains a deeply, er, divisive figure) as toward Mr. Lloyd Webber and Mr. Rice’s work."
Followed by "And as the show (with running commentary from Mr. Martin as Che, the disdainful, socially conscious narrator) follows its heroine’s meteoric career in the Argentina of the 1930s and ’40s from small-town social outcast to big-city actress and party girl to the most powerful woman in South America, it never cracks a smile."
He's basically saying that the production is a tribute to the show's history, NOT to Eva Peron. And then he basically goes on to say that it takes itself too seriously. What's to mind-read?
ETA: I never said this was one of his worst reviews. A Brantley pan is a whole different category of bad. But this certainly wasn't mixed in any respect. There is no doubting how he felt about the production. He doesn't say "while certain things didn't work so well, it wasn't completely ineffective." He says "here's why this is terrible. P.S. I have a boner for Michael Cerveris." This may not be a pan, but it's CERTAINLY a negative review.
It will be interesting to see what the STAGEGRADE turns out to be for this...it almost seems like JCS will have received better reviews than EVITA. I'm sure tons of you will correct me if I am wrong.
well, gator, if by "tons" you mean us six losers who are sitting here staring at a message board instead of leading productive lives, well then: yes, prepare for the deluge should Evita top Jesus on Stagegrade.
(Quite a coup during Holy Week that would be, too!)
With regards to the Tony, isn't End of the Rainbown being billed as a play? Even though Bennett does sing some of Judy's songs (sort of), wouldn't that push her into contention for Best Actress in a Play rather than Best Acress in a Musical? I'm not defending her over Roger (I saw both and didn't like either) but how can a performer be nominated for Best Acress in a Musical when the show identifies itself as a Play?
@bjh2114 I completely agree Brantley even wrote an editorial on how he hates La Cage as a musical, but he still gave the most recent revival a positive review. Although I would say it would take more for a musical that he hates to impress him. It doesn't help that everyone was expecting Rogers to be a gift from god...considering even Broadway actresses have been saying she must be amazing if they waited all this time between productions....everyones expectations were her were as high as the notes she's supposed to hit, and when she can't hit those notes...its understandable that the critics didn't like her.
On another note...Godspell may actually nab a best revival nomination now since its reviews were universally luke warm..and so that people don't think I am a crazy Godspell Freak....Follies' name is currently being engraved in the statuette.
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joined:4/19/06
Posted: 4/5/12 at 10:10pm