All tagged John Rando
“Gettin’ the Band Back Together” is a genuinely funny new guilty pleasure of a musical with a tried-and-true formulaic structure and a host of scrappy, likable characters; the score is unfortunately unremarkable, derivative, and forgettable, but the book, developed through improv rehearsals, is sitcom-light, irreverent, well-beat, and really silly. Others may pile on, but I must admit: I had fun.
After a 15 year wait, “Jerry Springer—The Opera” has finally arrived in New York in a spectacular and profane production with an excellent cast headed by Terence Mann; unfortunately, the shock value is low and the vulgarity gratuitous, and mostly humorless. The show’s value lies in its role as mirror to our society, but that point remains too understated and insufficiently explored to make a lasting impact.
