A Tale of Two Cities

      On a rainy Saturday afternoon, I joined the revolution! The revolution at the Al Hirschfeld Theater…

      Jill Santoriello did a satisfactory job of delivering the theatrical adaptation of Charles Dickens novel, “A Tale of Two Cities.” Even though much of the novel was lumped into this two-hour performance and failed to evoke emotion from the audience, the sets, costumes and talented actors made up for these shortcomings.  

       The directors of “A Tale of Two Cities” clearly attempted to cram much of the plot into the show, resulting in the inappropriate placement of certain details. For example, the song “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” was placed toward the very beginning of Act One, when the audience had yet to learn the reasons behind Madame Defarge’s bitter quest for revenge. Act one concentrates mainly on the plot by lumping so many details into a one-hour time frame as we are relentlessly transported between London and Paris. This resulted in the failure to evoke emotion from the audience since the producers focused on inserting as much of the plot as possible, rather than creating a powerful and moving performance. Meanwhile, Act Two is all about the future of Charles Darnay. Although it focuses on only this, it is much more engaging and emotional than Act One. We feel a slight mix of sympathy and sorrow for Carton as he steps us to his death.

     The show’s producers need to heighten the drama and tension so the audience can feel more emotionally involved. In the novel, Madame Defarge is depicted as a cruel, mercilessness villain. However, this show failed in its attempts to showcase her as a crook. In the musical, I perceived Madame Defarge as more of a ‘Raggedy Ann’ type of character who just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, rather than a woman who was set on killing those who had tortured her family. By making these small improvements, the show’s content would certainly match the greatness of its set.Overall, the show is mostly forgettable, largely due to the unmemorable music and lyrics. You often leave a Broadway show, humming a tune, but “A Tale of Two Cities” failed to deliver in that aspect. In addition, the performance barely ever made you laugh, providing no relief to its intense seriousness.

            Despite the show’s many weaknesses, there were aspects of the show that successfully delivered. The set manages to gracefully switch between London and Paris due to its great flexibility. It can either break down into smaller bits or attach to other parts, allowing for a graceful transition between taverns, courtrooms, and much more. In addition, the costumes were breathtaking, giving the cast an 18^th century appeal. One cast member certainly added to the show’s magnificence, the notable drunken lawyer, Sydney Carton. He was perhaps the only member of the cast who was able to evoke emotion, especially at the end of the musical as he nobly faced death.           

        In my opinion, the show was neither ‘the best of times, nor the worst of times.‘