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Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris Reviews
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| 16 |
Worth seeing Review by: , May 28, 2006 |
| The show was entertaining, but doesn't come close to the powerful performance of the original cast members. (The CD with Elly Stone is available on line.) Nonetheless I recommend it because Brel was a brilliant songwriter and it adds dimension to seeing it performed rather than merely heard. Plus, the cast is good. Come a bit early because they start on time and the theater is so dark that we were not able to get to our orchestra seats,... read more, but had to sit on the side until intermission. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Tourists, Adults
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| 17 |
Fabulous Times Eight! Review by: joan, May 1, 2006 |
saw this show 5 times at the Village Gate in the 60's and 3 tmes so far for this production. and oh what a show it is, just as relevant today as then because the themes are universal.
It is not a play as much as stories told in song, The cast is excellent, especially the soulful and splendid voice of Gay, an American singer living in France, famous for her portrayal of Edith Piaf.
I totally recommend this play for thinking adults.... read more. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 18 |
Review by: lightning, Mar 28, 2006 |
I went an early preview of this show and I hear it has changed somewhat since then, but most likely, for the better,
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Better than Ever
by Thelma Blitz
The new production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at the
Zipper Theatre, directed by Gordon Greenberg has something to offer that other productions of this longest running ... read more off-Broadway show of 1968 lacked. It answers quite well the Europeans' criticism of that Brel was over-Americanized by this play . The Americans are professionals, “mais c’est n’est pas du Brel,” they complained
Gordon's mother went to the Sorbonne so he grew up with Brel
singing in his home. He knows Brel.
I was lucky enough to see a preview of this show and was very
impressed.
An American Parisian, Gay Marshall, classic small French chanteuse in a
black dress, sings Brel in French as well a English. The piano, the guitar, the accordion
bring the feeling of European cabaret to the small warm cozy theatre and
you can carry your glass of wine from the bar inside and enjoy it as
you watch the show.
The performers, four of them, are sparkling and intense. The show
opens in French with Gay Marshall singing "Ca Va Le Diable , " which
was never before included in the show. She also
sings a moving "Ne Me Quitte Pas" in French, artfully capturing the
humility and pathos of the rejected lover. Robert Cuccioli, costumed
corporate, kind of the way Brel use to present himself in concert,
does Mort Shuman’s Jacky and Amsterdam with passion and verve, body movements and flashing eyes, very Brelian. He performs the Song of Old Lovers with
sensitivity, but is at his best with The Funeral Tango where he
captures the mood of ascerbic cynicism to perfection. Natascia Diaz
reminds me a bit of Elly Stone from the original production as she sings
The Old Folks and Timid Frida in a sweet, sad highly polished voice.
Rodney Hicks is a lot of fun as The Statue who somehow sings hardly
moving his mouth, and the matador in The Bulls (who “get so bored when they are asked to drop dead for us.”) He also gives us a properly fierce Next. If We Only Have
Love is performed second and reprised at the end, but not before the
cast madly destroys the stage set during an extremely wild Carousel.
Quotes from Brel in French and English connect the songs. Les Biches
is spoken , Moribond is in French and English at once, done as a medley
with My Last Supper.
"What have we done, good people, with all the kindness in the world?"
the characters ask, over and over, quoting Brel's "Qu'avons nous
fait, bonnes gens?"
Some of it is still waiting for us at the Zipper Theatre, in preview
now but opening Mar. 27
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Family
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 19 |
Review by: flossie, Mar 22, 2006 |
| What a terrific show! The lyrics and music are exceptional. The songs are quite moving. I prefer how the numbers are staged in this version, rather than having them sit on stools as in the one 35 years ago. The cast is first rate, especially Robert Cuccioli and Natascia Diaz. If you are unfamiliar with it you should know that it is a revue of Jacques Brel's music, not a traditional story show. Each song tells it's own story. I have ... read more sent friends to see it who can not stop raving about it. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc., Seniors, Adults
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| 20 |
Review by: , Mar 9, 2006 |
| bizarre show. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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