I went to see the American premier of "The Witches of Eastwick" last night at the Signature Theater. Click
here to read an interesting Washington Post article that details Witches' debut in London and its path to the US. Apparently, press reviews will not happen until June 15 to give them some time to work through technical and staging issues, and there were plenty. That said, the framework is there for a decent show, if all the bugs can be worked out during its run.
Let me be clear, the four leads were absolutely terrific in their roles. The three women, Emily Skinner, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, and Christiane Noll, all Broadway veterans, blended incredibly well during their musical numbers. They played off of each other well and I thought the pacing and line delivery for all three were great.
Marc Kudisch, who plays the devil, was swarmy, sexy, suave and holy hell what a voice. He has the most difficult and meaty role because you must believe that he can seduce and control the whole town. He pulled it off with his sheer animal magnetism because I thought the hip-grinding choreography they gave him in every number became quite repetitive.
My favorite song of the night was "Waiting for the Music to Begin" that showcases the devil's seduction of Jane while she plays the cello. The song is great and the interaction between the two, half playing the cello half playing with each other, was sexy, seductive, and hot. I happened to run into the cello player from the orchestra after the show and when I asked her if the actress, Christiane Noll, actually played the cello or if she was faking it, she rolled her eyes and said, "She can play, but I was actually playing. We worked it out."
Another standout was local actress, Kariah Hamilton, who played the repulsive Eastwick busybody Felicia Gabriel. She looked the part, and her hard gravel voice was spot-on for the two songs she sang, "Dirty Laundry" and "Evil." She also had to spit up spiders, cherry pits, golf balls, and tennis balls which she did convincingly.
Now, the technical problems are mostly around the flying. All three girls are suppose to fly, but in talking with Emily Skinner after the show, she stated that the wires kept tangling up when they tried to do all three at once. She said they will have them all three flying before press night. The other problem I had with show is that at its core it is about casting spells, and because the theater is so intimate, you see the trick coming from a mile away. There was only one "trick" I did not see coming and it worked really well. The show needs a few more of those moments.
Overall, not having read the book nor seen the movie, I am not sure what this particular show is trying to say. It really didn't speak to me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, and I laughed at many of the quips being thrown around, and I thought the singing was great. That said, I would think to make it to Broadway, it would need a little more there there. The show is scheduled to run until July 15th, and that may just give them enough time to make magic happen.
I went to see the American premier of "The Witches of Eastwick" last night at the Signature Theater. Click here to read an interesting Washington Post article that details Witches' debut in London and its path to the US. Apparently, press reviews will not happen until June 15 to give them some time to work through technical and staging issues, and there were plenty. That said, the framework is there for a decent show, if all the bugs can be worked out during its run.
Let me be clear, the four leads were absolutely terrific in their roles. The three women, Emily Skinner, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, and Christiane Noll, all Broadway veterans, blended incredibly well during their musical numbers. They played off of each other well and I thought the pacing and line delivery for all three were great.
Marc Kudisch, who plays the devil, was swarmy, sexy, suave and holy hell what a voice. He has the most difficult and meaty role because you must believe that he can seduce and control the whole town. He pulled it off with his sheer animal magnetism because I thought the hip-grinding choreography they gave him in every number became quite repetitive. 
My favorite song of the night was "Waiting for the Music to Begin" that showcases the devil's seduction of Jane while she plays the cello. The song is great and the interaction between the two, half playing the cello half playing with each other, was sexy, seductive, and hot. I happened to run into the cello player from the orchestra after the show and when I asked her if the actress, Christiane Noll, actually played the cello or if she was faking it, she rolled her eyes and said, "She can play, but I was actually playing. We worked it out." 
Another standout was local actress, Kariah Hamilton, who played the repulsive Eastwick busybody Felicia Gabriel. She looked the part, and her hard gravel voice was spot-on for the two songs she sang, "Dirty Laundry" and "Evil." She also had to spit up spiders, cherry pits, golf balls, and tennis balls which she did convincingly.
Now, the technical problems are mostly around the flying. All three girls are suppose to fly, but in talking with Emily Skinner after the show, she stated that the wires kept tangling up when they tried to do all three at once. She said they will have them all three flying before press night. The other problem I had with show is that at its core it is about casting spells, and because the theater is so intimate, you see the trick coming from a mile away. There was only one "trick" I did not see coming and it worked really well. The show needs a few more of those moments. 
Overall, not having read the book nor seen the movie, I am not sure what this particular show is trying to say. It really didn't speak to me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, and I laughed at many of the quips being thrown around, and I thought the singing was great. That said, I would think to make it to Broadway, it would need a little more there there. The show is scheduled to run until July 15th, and that may just give them enough time to make magic happen.
