In Which We See James and the Giant Peach
Apr. 22nd, 2018 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shannon_aToday, we saw James and the Giant Peach at the Berkeley Playhouse.
Unfortunately, it was one of the most disappointing musicals that we've seen at the Playhouse, and almost certainly the one with the least ambition. There have been musicals that I didn't love because of stylistic disconnects (e.g., they were old and dated), but this was one that I found almost entirely superficial, in a way that even the Disney musicals aren't.
One problem was the plot, which is nonexistent. Almost nothing happens in the first act, until the giant peach rolls free of the tree and drops into the sea. And even the second act is just a meandering journey with very little actually going on. You could put all the major plot points on a postcard and have plenty of room for an actual letter.
The other major problem was the music, and that's of course how musicals live and die. A good song in a musical needs to (1) move along the plot; (2) reveal depths of the characters; (3) surprise the viewers with revelations about plot or character; and (4) provide subtext that makes the song's words about more than the obvious. The best songs in the best musicals simultaneously and constantly do all of these things. The Giant Peach songs? A few of them gave a tiny bit of character insight, and that was about it.
There were a few songs that I kind of liked, even though none were earworms. But even those were very pedestrian. Take a song about James losing his family (though I can't even figure out its name, looking at the song list, because they're all so generic). It was moving. I shed tears. But it also seemed super-cliched with messages like "when you find something it's never lost again" and "they'll always be there in your heart".
Generally, there was some good messaging, like: your family aren't family if they hurt you; and you choose your family; and if your family sucks you should cheer when they're killed by a giant peach; and we should appreciate everyone's diversity. But what a dull vehicle for those messages.
The only particularly lively thing of the musical was the various bugs in the peach, who only show up toward the end of Act I. That's when the show came alive as it ever was. Grasshopper and Spider were particularly good. Gloworm would have been if she'd gotten any attention. (She was even the one member of the Peach crew who didn't get a postscript.)
A few other good things:
Meanwhile, the villains were over-the-top and awful. I particularly hated the depiction of the villain who was portrayed as overweight and constantly talking about how she wanted to eat something. It was cringe-worthy.
This was one of the very few Playhouse plays that I seriously considered leaving at intermission. But it had been such work getting up there with K's broken foot and damaged hand that it seemed like we should at least repay that investment. And the second half was better than the worst (first).
Skimming the Wikipedia article, I find that the musical didn't even make it to Broadway, due to mixed reviews. No surprise. More surprising that Berkeley Playhouse is lauding it as the "centerpiece" of their 10th anniversary season, and the sort of thing they created the Playhouse for. Which apparently means musicals for 5-6 year-old-ones, who would have probably loved it.
Unfortunately, it was one of the most disappointing musicals that we've seen at the Playhouse, and almost certainly the one with the least ambition. There have been musicals that I didn't love because of stylistic disconnects (e.g., they were old and dated), but this was one that I found almost entirely superficial, in a way that even the Disney musicals aren't.
One problem was the plot, which is nonexistent. Almost nothing happens in the first act, until the giant peach rolls free of the tree and drops into the sea. And even the second act is just a meandering journey with very little actually going on. You could put all the major plot points on a postcard and have plenty of room for an actual letter.
The other major problem was the music, and that's of course how musicals live and die. A good song in a musical needs to (1) move along the plot; (2) reveal depths of the characters; (3) surprise the viewers with revelations about plot or character; and (4) provide subtext that makes the song's words about more than the obvious. The best songs in the best musicals simultaneously and constantly do all of these things. The Giant Peach songs? A few of them gave a tiny bit of character insight, and that was about it.
There were a few songs that I kind of liked, even though none were earworms. But even those were very pedestrian. Take a song about James losing his family (though I can't even figure out its name, looking at the song list, because they're all so generic). It was moving. I shed tears. But it also seemed super-cliched with messages like "when you find something it's never lost again" and "they'll always be there in your heart".
Generally, there was some good messaging, like: your family aren't family if they hurt you; and you choose your family; and if your family sucks you should cheer when they're killed by a giant peach; and we should appreciate everyone's diversity. But what a dull vehicle for those messages.
The only particularly lively thing of the musical was the various bugs in the peach, who only show up toward the end of Act I. That's when the show came alive as it ever was. Grasshopper and Spider were particularly good. Gloworm would have been if she'd gotten any attention. (She was even the one member of the Peach crew who didn't get a postscript.)
A few other good things:
- A great 30-second interlude at a chocolate factory where a snippet of the oompa-loompa song is sung.
- A hilarious/terrifying intro where James' parents are eaten by an angry rhino.
- A fun reveal about the nature of the narrator.
Meanwhile, the villains were over-the-top and awful. I particularly hated the depiction of the villain who was portrayed as overweight and constantly talking about how she wanted to eat something. It was cringe-worthy.
This was one of the very few Playhouse plays that I seriously considered leaving at intermission. But it had been such work getting up there with K's broken foot and damaged hand that it seemed like we should at least repay that investment. And the second half was better than the worst (first).
Skimming the Wikipedia article, I find that the musical didn't even make it to Broadway, due to mixed reviews. No surprise. More surprising that Berkeley Playhouse is lauding it as the "centerpiece" of their 10th anniversary season, and the sort of thing they created the Playhouse for. Which apparently means musicals for 5-6 year-old-ones, who would have probably loved it.