Oh my.

[fancycwabs]

Review of Little Women came out today, and much to my shock, the reviewer didn't like it! And he liked their (widely regarded as shitty) production of Comedy of Errors!

The Commercial Appeal site is b0rked this morning, so I'll reprint here in its entirety:

Theater review: 'Little Women' goes a long way with forgettable songs

By Jon W. Sparks
Special to The Commercial Appeal
Friday, May 23, 2008

Over the years, Louisa May Alcott's 1869 novel "Little Women" has jumped off the pages into scads of plays and movies, retelling the story of the four March sisters.

Now Germantown Community Theatre is staging "Little Women, the Broadway Musical," a version that melds the sentimentality of the novel with the adventures of Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas and Gabriella ... oh, wait. The Disney influence really is that pervasive in Jason Howland's generic tunes and Mindi Dickstein's lyrics.

Well, derivative isn't always bad if it can be reheated into something tasty, but the music in "Little Women" isn't much to whistle about even if you could remember any of it. Except "Off to Massachusetts," which seemed to have been exiled from "The Music Man."

And that's a shame because the byproduct of crafting a musical is that the story -- this book is by Allan Knee -- has to be corseted to fit.

The averageness of the songs just exacerbates the loss of rich detail about the four Civil War-era girls who have been so identifiable to generations of readers. More's the pity since the musical is about two songs too long.

Not all is woebegone, however. The GCT production has some charming performances and director Julie Reinbold has done a fine job.

Annie Gray (Jo) shoulders much of the work in this story. She handles it well enough, particularly considering the burden of having to be a character who is often charmless, clueless, immature and strident.

That Jo! Gray's at her best in the quieter moments in song and dialogue when we see the thoughtfulness shining through.

Kimberly Baker (Meg) is delightfully expressive as the family romantic, and her singing voice is resonant.

The quiet character of Beth gets plenty of personality and depth from Kelly Owens, who is also a strong singer. This is especially welcome since Beth is the one sister who could most easily be overwhelmed by the others.

Caroline Murrah (Amy) is a delight, fully delivering on her character's mischief and ambition, thus drawing fine lines of contrast as the least endearing sister who is, nonetheless, essential to the family fabric.

Jeanna Juleson (Marmee) is rock solid as the four girls' mother, who represents all women who wait for the men gone to war. (Daddy is referred to often, by the way, but never makes a postwar appearance). Juleson has a very good voice and is convincing in her solos.

The best voice in the production belongs to Randal Cooper, who is particularly adept at the subtle touches of performance and showmanship. Cooper's Professor Bhaer (a relative to the German bureaucrat he just did in "The Underpants" at GCT), is one of the few who can fathom Jo's self-indulgence.

Justin Smith (Laurie) provides a nice comedic presence and does a lot to lighten up things when they threaten to bog down in sentiment. His singing isn't up to the task, but his enthusiasm helps compensate.

Ashley Bellet's set design makes nice use of the limited space at GCT. And costumer Caroline Redfearn does a nice job in placing the characters in the fashionable 1860s. Jeff Brewer's musical direction was effective.

By the way, the Broadway version of "Little Women, the Broadway Musical" was not one of the highlights of 2005 although it did star Sutton Foster as Jo. Foster spent several months in Memphis after college before being plucked from the chorus and hitting the big time in "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

I kinda feel sorry for Justin (although Spark's assessment is honest), who's doing his first non-high-school production. Getting your first bit of true criticism can be a tough pill to swallow.

I've heard folks say that once a play has been on Broadway, a critic is only allowed to critique the performances. This, of course, is a load of crap; criticism serves to inform the public as to whether they should drop $23 on a ticket, and if the show is a well-performed bit of weak material it would be dishonest to give a glowing review only to have folks lose a little bit of trust upon discovering the truth.