Wonderful Town

We were given free tickets to Wonderful Town for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own based on our experience.

Musicals Tonight presents shows that either did not get a long run on Broadway or have not been seen on Broadway in a long time. They have about five shows a season which run at The Lion Theatre located at 410 W. 42nd St., New York, NY. Their season goes from approximately October through April. The last show of their 2015/2016 season was Wonderful Town. Here is our view of that show as well as a preview of shows to come in their 2016/2017 season.

Me- I really liked Wonderful Town. I liked the story. It was about these two sisters who came from Ohio. They went to New York. One of them wanted to be a writer. One wanted to be an actress. They found an apartment, and they lived together. Every once in a while there would be any annoying shaking noise because they were building a subway under where the sisters lived. The show was about them trying to survive in the City and not have to move back to Ohio because then they would have to let everybody back home know that they had failed. One sister was named Ruth. She was the one wanted to write. The other was Eileen. She was the one who wanted to act. I thought it was funny that there was this man that kept calling Eileen, Eleanor. I really liked both the character of Eileen and the character of Ruth They were very loyal to each other. They  were good sisters, and they were nice to each other. They supported each other a lot. The music in the show was good, but I don't remember most of it. I liked the song Ohio, but I heard that one before on Glee. There were some really nice costumes in the show. Musicals Tonight usually has nice costumes. Wonderful Town is my favorite show that I have seen at Musicals Tonight.

Mom - While I have enjoyed all of the shows, I have seen at Musicals Tonight, Wonderful Town was my favorite so far. This show is based on the play, My Sister Eileen which was based on the book My Sister Eileen by Ruth McKenney. Ms. McKenney wrote short stories about life with her sister  for The New Yorker in the 1930s.. The stories were eventually published in book form and became the basis for the play. Wonderful Town was most recently produced on Broadway in 2003 starring Donna Murphy and Jennifer Westfeldt. Both actresses were Tony nominated for their roles. Brooke Shields later took over the role of Ruth. I never saw that version of the show. However, I really enjoyed Musicals Tonight's version.  The acting was good. The songs were fun. I especially liked the songs One Hundred Easy Ways, A Little Bit in Love and Wrong Note Rag. I loved the story about two sisters trying to make it in New York. I especially loved the relationship between the two sisters Ruth and Eileen. The two actresses playing the leads, Elizabeth Broadhurst as Ruth and Savannah Frazier as Eileen  worked very well together, and were really believable as sisters. The supporting cast was equally as good. We look forward to Musicals Tonight's next season. See below for more about that.

In the 2016/2017 season Musical's Tonight will present the following shows:

Funny Face is a 1927 musical  by George and Ira Gershwin. It opened on November 22, 1927, and starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele . Songs include ‘S Wonderful; My One and Only; He Loves and She Loves; The Babbitt and the Bromide; Let's Kiss and Make Up; High Hat

October 18 – October 30

Hoi Polloi has music, lyrics and libretto by Noel Coward.  It was planned for production in 1949.  Some of its songs were subsequently used in Coward’s Ace of Clubs and Sail Away.  We are honored that Musicals Tonight has been selected to offer this world premiere with an adaptation by Barry Day OBE.

November 1 – November 13

Louisiana Purchase has music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and satirizes Louisiana Governor Huey Long. The ballets were staged by George Balanchine. Songs: Sex Marches On; You're Lonely and I'm Lonely; Latins Know How; Outside of That I Love You; Fools Fall in Love

February 28, 2017 – March 12, 2017

Mr. Wonderful was written specifically to showcase the talents of Sammy Davis, Jr. The cast also featured Chita Rivera.  This is the show’s first revival.  Songs include: Too Close for Comfort, Mr. Wonderful; Without You, I'm Nothing ; I'm Available; Ethel, Baby

March 14, 2017 – March 26, 2017

I Can Get It for You Wholesale starred Elliott Gould, Lillian Roth and the 19-year-old Barbra Streisand (who received a Tony nomination). Songs include: Miss Marmelstein; What's in It for Me?; I'm Not a Well Man; The Family Way It opened in March 1962, and ran for 300 performances.

 

March 28, 2017 – April 9, 2017

We will feature more about these shows in future posts.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

photo credits: All Wonderful Town photos supplied by Musicals Tonight