Theater Thursday - Woman of the Year

We were given complimentary tickets to Woman of the Year for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Woman of the Year

Where: Theatre Row

             410 W. 42nd St.

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 12 and Up

When: Through April 23, 2023

The 1942 movie, Woman of the Year, is horrifyingly dated and includes some questionable plotlines particularly one dealing with an adopted child who is returned. Happily, although the gist of the story which revolves around the enemies-to-lovers trope is the same, the 1980s musical of the same name has been updated enough to remove any questionable plotlines. It is still somewhat dated, however, and if you are younger than a certain age although you can still enjoy the show there's a good chance you won't get most of the references. 

The main problem with the story is that the main female character, Tess Harding is not all that likable. It's not that she is career-minded, it's that she is aggressively so to the detriment of her relationship which is not an attractive trait in a man or a woman. The ending, which we will not go into in detail here due to possible spoilers, seems thrown in just to try to soften her up and make her more likable, but it does not ring true. 

However, that being said, Janine LaManna who plays the role here, does make Tess a bit more likable than either Lauren Bacall in the Broadway show or Katherine Hepburn in the movie. One can detect a touch of softness and vulnerability behind that tough exterior that was not present in the other's portrayal.

Ms. LaManna's singing voice is also a lot better than Lauren Bacall's. Bacall wasn't much of a singer at all nor was Harry Guardino who played the role of the main male character, Sam Craig. What they were thinking in choosing these two to star in a musical is unfathomable. That is definitely not an issue here, however as both Jannine LaManna and John Leon who plays Sam Craig have very nice voices as do the rest of the cast members. In fact, the singing is the nicest thing about this show. There are some really great Kander and Ebb songs in the show including One of the Boys, I Wrote the Book, Sometimes A Day Goes By, and more. It's nice to hear them sung the way they were meant to be sung by actors who can sing as well as they act.

And that's our view. For more about Woman of the Year or to purchase tickets, visit www.j2spotlightnyc.com/woman-of-the-year

Photo credits: 

All Woman of the Year production photos by Russ Rowland