It's based on the Columbia Pictures film that starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Sleepless in Seattle has a book by Jeff Arch, music by Ben Toth, lyrics by Sam Forman. Rounding out the ensemble are Sachin Bhatt ( Bombay Dreams), Terron Brooks ("The Temptations," The Lion King), Jay Donnell ("Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean"), Charissa Hogeland, Teya Patt ("Weeds") and Yuka Takara ( A Chorus Line, Rent, Flower Drum Song). The cast includes Gleason ( The Phantom of the Opera) as Sam, West ( A Christmas Story) as Jonah, Schwartz ( Wicked, Gypsy) as Annie, Sabrina Sloan ("American Idol," Catch Me if You Can) as Becky, Todd Buonopane ("30 Rock," Happy Days) as Rob, Cynthia Ferrer ("General Hospital," "Georgia Rule") as Eleanor, Katharine Leonard ( Hairspray) as Victoria, Robert Mammana ( Les Misérables, "Dexter") as Walter, Adam Silver ("Californication," "The Runaways") as Greg, Lowe Taylor ( The Marvelous Wondrettes) as Suzy and Carter Thomas ( Mary Poppins national tour) as Jonah alternate. But Keaton as director has little sense of how to make the material real and the conclusion is so banal, you wonder how it ever got through a Hollywood script meeting.Sheldon Epps ( Baby It's You!, Play On! and Blues in the Night), artistic director of Pasadena Playhouse, directs the production, which continues through June 23. The romantic musical based on the hit film will officially open June 2. The film is not a total disaster occasionally the Ephrons' ear for sharp language is evident, scenes of the women dressing for meetings make sharp observations about the difference between private and public visages and Matthau's grizzled, ferocious presence - he has more character in his lined face than any living actor - is always something to cherish. Ryan does her best Everywoman schtick as the most caring of the daughters, but has zip to work with Keaton is one of those caricatured bitchy magazine types that populate this type of film, and Kudrow will be unstoppable when she finds the right movie - only this isn't it. There are lots of signs that this is meant to be a contemporary commentary on the speed and shrill of modern life or the way illness can strike at the most disruptive times, but neither the script or the playing can fill the vapid centre. Never achieving a correct balance in tone, what emerges is a frazzled, frenetic piece that never gets under the skin of any of its characters or their emerging neuroses.īased on Delia Ephron's 1995 semi-autobiographical book, it trades in the warm 'n' fuzzy arena that the Ephrons (particularly in Sleepless In Seattle and You've Got Mail, both directed by Nora) have made their stock in trade. The troika of great comedic actresses combined with brisk pacing and broad brushstrokes suggest this has the makings of a larf riot. The strange thing about Hanging Up is that it has the demeanour of an out and out comedy.
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