Review Roundup: EVER AFTER Opens at Paper Mill

Just last night, Paper Mill Playhouse opened the world-premiere musical Ever After, directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes, Nice Work If You Can Get It), featuring a book and lyrics by Marcy Heislerand music by Zina Goldrich.

Ever After stars two-time Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole (Grey Gardens, 42nd Street) as Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent, Tony Award nominee Tony Sheldon (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) as Leonardo da Vinci, Emmy Award winner Charles Shaughnessy (Urinetown, "The Nanny") as King Francis, James Synder (If/Then) as Prince Henry and Drama Desk Award nominee Margo Seibert (Rocky) as Danielle de Barbarac.

Paper Mill Playhouse presents the world premiere of a new musical based on the 1998 film starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston. This is no fairy tale. Ever After sets the record straight on the fable of Cinderella. Her name was Danielle and it was always about her wit, her smarts, her strength and her good friend Leonardo da Vinci. She makes her own dreams come true. Warm and romantic, funny and smart, this is the musical you've been waiting for.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: The popular film has now become - surprise! - a storybook-pretty if bland stage musical...A fair amount of the movie's dialogue makes its way into the stage version...the score leans heavily on romantic balladry...Danielle sings a tender ode to her father, "I Remember," that's among the prettier songs. But while Ms. Goldrich's music is always polished and gently melodic, and Ms. Heisler's lyrics smooth if mostly prosaic, the score doesn't inspire excitement; much of it blurs together in the memory almost instantly...As a result, the performances are similarly competent but somewhat colorless. Ms. Seibert...brings a rich voice and ample energy to Danielle, but despite her proto-feminism and staunch democratic ethics, the character remains a fairly typical fairy-tale heroine, destined for a happy princesshood. Mr. Snyder...also sings well and cuts a handsome figure in Jess Goldstein's leather leggings, but Henry's moral awakening feels rather perfunctory...Ms. Ebersole...is deliciously cast as Rodmilla. With her superlative comic timing, she draws out all the humor in the character's sugar-laced nastiness.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: There's sweet magic in "Ever After," a new musical based on the 1998 big-screen riff on Cinderella starring Drew Barrymore...It's a fun show with a lively and pretty score, a fantastic leading lady and leading man and a wickedly good evil stepmother. But there's work to do. The first act is way too long with too many songs, the pacing drags and some plot points puzzle - what's with those wings Danielle dons for a ball? - and some characters are underused. Prince Henry's parents played by the potentially hilarious Julie Halston and charming Charles Shaughnessy, who are both royally wasted...The show comes down to Danielle and her prince. James Snyder [has] never sounded more handsome. Seibert impressed last year on Broadway as Adrian in "Rocky." But that was the tip of the iceberg of what with this wide-eyed and soulful actress can do. Just as she carries Henry in a key scene, she lifts the show whenever she sings.

Matt Windman, AM New York: "Ever After" sadly proves to be pretty underwhelming. After an initial viewing, it is hard to say whether the fault lies primarily in Kathleen Marshall's plain-looking, workmanlike production or the thin, overstretched material. The songs...are well-crafted and character-driven, but they rarely advance the plot. A few dance sequences are randomly inserted in order to inject some liveliness. The cast is acceptable if not exceptional. Margo Seibert displays plenty of personality as Danielle. Christine Ebersole, as the stepmother, lands plenty of laughs but borders on being too hammy. James Snyder gives a broad, blank reading of the prince. Mara Davi intermittently shines as the wicked stepsister. Charles Shaughnessy, Julie Halston, Tony Sheldon and Andrew Keenan-Bolger are underused in supporting roles.

Jason Clark, Entertainment Weekly: ...though we may be on the cusp of princess fatigue given that Disney just unveiled a new Cinderella coupled with the fact that this pleasant, sweetly old-fashioned production is not yet at its most ideal stage, this Paper Mill Playhouse production...proves there's still life in the old gal yet...This literate, faithful adaptation-blessed with a gorgeous score by longtime collaborators Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich-appears to be on the fast track to Broadway...But before it gets there, director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall...might need to remove some of the lumps. The first act is overstuffed and too long...and as golden-voiced as she is, Seibert isn't quite as adept with light comedy as her silver-screen predecessor--it probably doesn't help either that she's surrounded by some of the choicest cut-ups in the biz, like Ebersole, Halston and Sheldon...and if some of them are a tad squandered, they all make notable contributions; Snyder, in particular, actually exceeds his cinematic counterpart...

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Photo by Jerry Dalia