Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Bergman's new musical comedy Honeymoon in Vegas is the best new show I've seen in years. Attending the opening night at Paper Mill Playhouse, I felt—just as strongly as I did when Newsies premiered there in 2011’it needs to transfer to Broadway. This show is fresh, funny, smart, melodious—all of the things a show should be but all-too-rarely is.The score is a succession of surprising delights. I was charmed from the first notes of the overture, and stood appreciatively through every note of the exit music—all played with great zest by a 14-piece onstage band (Don Sebesky—none better—was the primary orchestrator). I'm already looking forward to the cast album. I must confess, when I first heard (years ago) that Bergman wanted to turn his 1992 film into a Broadway musical, I didn't see the need for it. But Bergman (who's written the libretto for this musical), composer-lyricist Brown, and director Gary Griffin have improved upon the original. This is a delightful musical comedy. It opened at Paper Mill with very little advance buzz and generated a tremendous energy in the house. Stars Rob McClure, Tony Danza, Nancy Opel and Brynn O'Malley are well cast. Anna Louizos's set designs are as clever and witty as the script and score (which is saying plenty). The show might benefit from a very slight bit of fine-tuning. (Maybe the song "Never Get Married" goes on just a tad longer than ideal; maybe the show loses some momentum, for a bit, late in the first act.) But we're talking about minor polishing, tightening. The show is a winner. I bought tickets for one friend already. I wish I could afford to buy tickets for all my friends.
(Pictured, left to right: Rob McClure and Tony Danza.)
Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
October 6, 2013
www.cabaretscenes.org
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