Nov 18 2012
I NEED TO GO BACK.
The show actually won me over before it even started, because any show that uses the famous Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand duet of “Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again” as its musical overture is bound to be steeped in perfection. As Gil (Colman Domingo) stepped out in front of the curtain to deliver a fast-paced, snarky, sarcasm-laden introduction, two things hit me: One, if the rest of the show is as witty and hilarious as this monologue is, I don’t think I’m going to survive. And Two, okay maybe he needs to slow down a little because I’m laughing three jokes back.
I loved everything about the production. The plot was minimal enough to the extent where I didn’t feel bogged down trying to remember little details about why the mom’s in the urn or why Gil’s so upset with…everything. The ending in particular is notable, because it somehow takes the cheesiest, most cliche conclusion ever, but it makes it work perfectly! Sure, it’s groan-worthy, but it didn’t cheapen the experience at all. Honestly, if the show had ended with anything less that fireworks, the full-circle of a aforementioned phrase now understood, and a Cinderella allusion… all while taking place in the Cinderella Suite in Disney World, the show wouldn’t of been half as good. The cheesy worked.
I’m fairly certain all my inner-monologues sound just like this scene.
The phenomenal double-casting of Adelaide/Aunt Glo (Sharon Washington) was one of the most genius decisions made by this production, and Ms. Washington deserves every accolade and rave review known to the theatre – and maybe a month off for vocal rest after all that screaming. Fingers crossed she lands a one-woman show on Broadway someday, I’d go every night.
The set design deserves special mention for finding a way to take a small stage and four coffins and convincingly create a church, apartment, funeral parlor, a park, two cars, and Disney World. Somehow it worked, and somehow the fact that a coffin was lifted up into an armoire filled with dresses fits in perfectly with the show’s theme.
Wild With Happy has easily been one of the best off-Broadway productions I’ve ever seen.
Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand duet of “Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again” really did set up the stage pretty well in the beginning of the performance. It was absolutely gorgeous how the lyrics got along with the message of the show. I liked when you mentioned about how the “cheesy-ness” works in this play because it really did.:) Not to mention I think they really knew how to play along the clichés and cheesy-ness to take the play to a whole new level.