Theater Thursday - Cross That River and The Mad Ones

We were given free tickets to Cross That River for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Cross That River

Where: 59E59 Theaters
             59 E. 59 St.
             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for ages 16 and up

When: Now through December 31, 2017

Me - Cross That River is a show about an escaped slave who became a cowboy. The show was good. I really liked the music. It was different than music you would normally hear in a show, but it was good. I would like to listen to the songs again.  The story was  interesting. The acting was excellent. The singing was superb. There was no dancing. There were no sets. They didn't have costumes but they used little things like hats and stuff to change characters. There were four people in the show. The two women played a lot of different characters. The men played the main character at different ages. My favorite thing about the show was the music. People who like shows with good music or shows about cowboys would like this show.

Mom's - Cross That River is the story of one of America's first black cowboys. The story is a mix of fact and fiction. The show is a musical. The songs are fun and some are really pretty. They don't sound like typical cowboy songs or like typical musical songs either. They sound like songs you would hear on the radio. The jazz based score was composed by Allan Harris, the star of the show. Mr. Harris is a renowned jazz musician. He and his wife wrote the show as well. They did a nice job with it. The story definitely keeps you entertained. The show is presented in concert. It's nice that way because you can really concentrate on the beautiful voices and the pretty music. The songs and music were so nice that even if there were no story, it would still be worth just going to hear a concert of the songs or to hear the talented band play. The drummer even played one solo number on a block of wood meant to represent the sound of horses hoofs.  This is not a show for children due to the subject matter. However, for anyone else if you want to see an entertaining show with nice songs, this show is a good choice.

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We were given free tickets to The Mad Ones for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: The Mad Ones

Where: 59e59 Theatres
              59 E 59 St.

              New York, NY 

Who: Recommended for ages 16 and up

When: December 17, 2017'

Mom's view: The Mad Ones is a completely original musical about Samantha Brown who is at a crossroads in her life and trying to decide whether she should follow the path set out for her or forge her own path. The songs here sound like musical theater songs but their subject matter is not always like typical musical theater songs. Songs in the show include one called "My Mom is a Statistician" and another called "Top Ten. " The latter is about the top ten ways for a character in the show to die. The song is actually more of comedic number then it sounds from the description. However, the show itself is definitely not a comedy although there is a lot of humor in it. On the contrary, Samantha is actually dealing with  a major traumatic event which happened in her life and which will be revealed through the course of the story and which will have an important effect on her ultimate decison of how to proceed with her life. The acting and singing are both first rate. Krystina Alabado makes a sweet and sensitive young heroine, and Emma Hunton is terrific as her free-spirited best friend. Ms. Hunton has quite a powerful singing voice as well. Leah Hocking and Jay Armstrong Johnson are good as well as Samantha's overbearing mother and her supportive boyfriend respectively. Mr. Armstrong Johnson came into the show at the last minute but you would never know it as he has seemlessly blended into the cast and is really believeable in his role as Adam.  The show is not a good show for young children due to subject matter some of which would be inappropriate and some of which might be upsetting. Over all, this is a show that will definitely give you  an emotional workout so if you like that sort of thing you will enjoy this show. 

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Funtivity Friday.

Photo credits: All Cross That River production photos by Carol Rosegg
                       All the Mad Ones production photos by Richard Termine