What:High Button Shoes
Where: Encores!
New York City Center
131 W. 55th St.
Who: Recommendef for Ages 13 and Up
When: This event occured from May 8 - May 12, 2019
Me- High Button Shoes was good show. It was about man who was scheming to get money. It was a very old fashioned musical. The story was entertaining, Some parts of it were original. Some parts were very similiar to other things. The songs were nice. However, none of them stuck in my mind. It was interesting to me that parts of the story took place at Rutgers University and almost all of it was set in that area because my Mom went to college there, and we have been to that area a lot. Although there are a lot of shows that take place in New York City which is a place I go to a lot, there are not that many shows that take place in other places I go to a lot. It's fun to see a familiar place on stage. I would not say that this was my favorite Encores show that I've seen but I did like it better than some others I have seen. This is not to say that I have seen any Encores! shows that are bad. Their shows are all good, and this show was no exception. The acting, singing and dancing were all really good. It was a very enjoyable show. I am really looking forward to see what Encores! is going to do next.
Mom - High Button Shoes is a musical from the 1940s and as such as it is dated in a lot of ways. The basic story is about a con man. Almost the whole story revolves around him, and there is very little subplot. Michael Urie in the lead role of Harrison Floy seemed to be trying to channel Phil Silvers who played Floy in the original. Kevin Chamberlin was a hoot in very funny turn as his sidekick, Mr. Pontdue. Mark Koek was also very good as the big lug of a football player, Oggle. Also, worth mentioning is the lovely voiced Carla Duren who played Fran. Her duets with Mr. Koek were especially nice. There are some pretty songs in the show including a few that may be familiar, such as, Papa, Won't You Dance with Me? and I Still Get Jealous. As pretty as they are, however, it felt like those songs and maybe some of the others were just kind of thrown in and didn't really advance the plot at all though. Of course, that is the fault of the original show writers and has nothing to do with the current production. The thing the show is best known for and the reason, it was chosen for Encores! current season was the dance numbers originally choregraphed by Jerome Robbins Having never seen the original show, I cannot say how much was taken from Jerome Robbins original dances and how much if any was new to this version of the show. However, the dance numbers were certainly the highlight of the show especially On A Sunday By the Sea and the Bathing Beauty Ballet which opened the second act and which were real crowd pleasers as indicated by the thunderous ovation that followed them.
This show concludes Encores! 2018/2019 season of very short run revivals of Broadway musicals. To find out about the upcoming Encores! Off Center summer season of very short run revivals of Off Broadway musicals go to www.nycitycenter.org/events-tickets/encores-off-center. We will also bring you more about the upcoming Encores! Off Center season and next year's Encores! season when it is announced in futrue Sunday Scoop posts.
And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.
Photo credits: All High Button Shoes production photos by Joan Marcus
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I like the dandyish suit and orange waistcoat! Fun costumes!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a pretty fun show too. Thanks for visiting Says Me Says Mom and for your comment.
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