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The Big Voice: God or Merman Reviews
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A Heartfelt and Moving Show with Wonderful Music Review by: Beth M, Dec 2, 2007 |
The BIG VOICE: God or Merman? By Beth Mandelbaum
This show is a wonderful love story with two themes: the love story of two men, Jim and Steve, intertwined with a love story about music and musical theater. Like The Drowsy Chaperone and Curtains, here is another show that is a great tribute to passion for musical theater and to the healing and transformative power of this music.
These are two people who were truly meant to meet. ... read more I somehow wish that they had had the opportunity to meet long before they met in 1985 in the Fantasy Lounge on the cruise ship Galileo, humorously mentioned to be the sister ship to the Andrea Doria!
Even though they lived in two extremely diverse community far from each other, they had so extraordinarily much in common: both pursuing healing ministries: a Catholic boy from Brooklyn named Steve who wanted to be the first Brooklyn born Pope; the other a boy, Jim a Baptist from Arkansas, whose father was a preacher and who dreamed of becoming an evangelist.
Both had come to discover that their true passion was music. When Steve’s mother asked him what would make him happy, his answer was very clear—that he wanted to be a song writer. And his mother, (bless her), said “So go and write a song!” (Lucky for us!)
As for Jim, who had taken a spiritual pilgrimage with his father to Lourdes and Rome, two places that he felt would inevitable offer him the inspiration and connection with God, found nothing there to nurture and fill his spirit. And the album of the Pope singing Gregorian chants failed to ignite. It was not until he listened to a record he randomly selected at a music store, because it was the first one that he saw as it began with the letter “A” (Annie Get Your Gun, with the immortal diva Ethel Merman), that his life was completely transformed and the thunderbolts at long last feel from the sky! (Lucky for us!) Jim’s father knew Ethel Merman’s father and arranged not only for Jim to see Gypsy, then playing on Broadway, but also to go backstage and meet his beloved Ethel, and even to have the opportunity to meet her at Sardi’s where he asks this “Big Voice” whether he should become Pope or actor, as he seems to be less certain than Steve about what his life path should be, Merman’s response was something like “Well how the Hell should I know!!” But even without Ethel’s validation, his path was becoming clearer and clearer to him.
Actually, both men’s parent(s) were extremely supportive of what would make them happy and their desire to pursue their dreams.
Jim, who had been in desperate need for a change afternoon realizing that his decision to go to Seminary following the death of his father, which was a sad and fearful time for him, had been a huge mistake, just happened to book a discount cruise to get away from it all, on the Galileo . And there was Steve playing the piano in the Lounge. And now their partnership of love began.
One scene that touched me so was after Steve gets his diagnosis of AIDS and becomes horribly depressed, and seems close to giving up, Jim encourages him to stop sitting and staring out the window but to have the faith that he had more things to do in his life to do them. To me this is Jim’s ministry at work, though here in the form of tough love. Here is a form of love in action and a ministry of healing. Had this not happened, we might not have had the gift of this musical.
It becomes clearer and clearer to both men that you don’t have to be a minister to heal. One of the most profoundly meaningful moments in God or Merman was when a young woman, who had just seen The Last Session, came over to Jim and Steve and shared that this show had saved her life. Because of the theme of the Last Session, Steve’s musicalized story about his experience of having AIDS, his depression and thoughts of suicide, this young women, who also had AIDS and who was planning to commit suicide, changed |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Review by: , Mar 1, 2007 |
| Very funny yet poignant love story Worth the effort |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Adults
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| 3 |
Just not enough laughs Review by: Tom, Feb 12, 2007 |
The story of two men who devoted their lives to the theater and each other: a Catholic boy from Brooklyn who wanted to be pope, a Baptist boy from Arkansas who went to bible college with the goal of becoming an evangelist. Being gay, however, stood in the way of all that. Somehow they found each other and had successes (a show off-Broadway) and setbacks (AIDS) in their life together. On the positive side, these two men telling their own story ... read more do so with great honesty and very little self-consciousness. Unfortunately, the songs they wrote for this show are mostly unimaginative and semi-tuneless. On the positive side, they tell their story with great honesty, very little self-consciousness, and not a few laughs. Just not enough laughs. Plenty of heart, though.
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| 4 |
DON'T MISS IT!!!! Review by: SHARON, Dec 29, 2006 |
THIS WAS A TOTALLY ENTERTAINING AND TOUCHING PLAY WITH WONDERFUL INFORMATIVE AND INSPIRING MUSIC PERFORMED BY TWO VERY TALENTED ACTORS. CAN I PRAISE IT ANY MORE?!!
I SEE A LOT OF THEATRE AND AM A NATIVE NEW YORKER WHO WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MY COMPANY FROM OUT OF TOWN WOULD TAKE TO THIS VENUE AND SUBJECT MATTER OF HOMOSEXUALITY. THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY- THEY LOVED IT TOO.
DON'T MISS IT. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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GREAT SHOW YOU WILL TRULY ENJOY THIS TRUE STORY!! Review by: DUFF, Dec 1, 2006 |
| GREAT STORY TELLING. GREAT LAUGHS. GREAT INSPIRATION. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR BACKROUND WITH AN OPEN MIND YOU WILL FIND BOTH ENTERTAINMENT AND INSPIRATION IN THIS STORY. A GREAT EXAMPLE OF LIFE THAT BECOMES ART AND ENTERTAINS PLAYED OUT ON STAGE. A UNIQUE STORY TOLD WITH HUMOR AND TRUE EMOTION. GO SEE IT AND ENJOY! MGD |
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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:
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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