Opiniones de usuarios

Shining 2016 Broadway production of this beloved and nearly perfect musical stars Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski, and Gavin Creel as employees of a perfume shop in 1930s Budapest. Superb music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick propel the story so well, the 140 minutes fly by.

The story goes back to the original Hungarian play by Miklos Laszlo, which was adapted for the 1940 Hollywood film THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. A musical version followed in 1949 as IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME, starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson. The first Broadway musical production in 1963 went back to the original play and starred Barbara Cook, Daniel Massey, Barbara Baxley, and Jack Cassidy. This production was revived in 1993 with Boyd Gaines and Judy Kuhn and again here in 2016. There was also a British TV movie in 1978 starring Robin Ellis and Gemma Craven, based on a West End stage production. The story was also used for the 1998 film YOU'VE GOT MAIL, which starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Story has battling co-workers Benanti and Levi who each writes lonelyheart letters to "dear friend." They have no idea that they are writing to each other. The romantic story unfolds amid tensions and work and the problems of fellow employees.

Benanti and Levi are wonderful as the would-be lovers Amalia and Georg. They act and sing well. Krakowski nearly steals the show as the hard-luck Ilona, and Creel is snarky as Kodaly. Co-stars include Byron Jennings as the store owners, Nicholas Barasch as the delivery boy, Michael McMcGrath as toady Sipos, Peter Bartlett as the frantic head waiter, and Michael Fatica as the busboy.

The many variations on stage and screen of the well-loved story missed out on what may have been the definitive version. At one point, Julie Andrews planned a film version of the musical but it never got made after musicals fell out of favor at the box office. She would have been a sublime Amalia.

A delight from start to finish. This is an old school musical, perfectly crafted. It is easy to see why this production garnered 8 Tony nominations. They were awarded one, for David Rockwell's beautiful sets. These transpire well in the recorded medium (even though it can't match the joy of experiencing them at a live show) Laura Benanti has the voice of an angel and great comedy skills to match. I have long appreciated the skills of Zachary Levi and he really shines in this production. I love a man who can make you laugh and also move you to tears. He also sings magnificently and shows true commitment to selling the role of a man truly in love. Jane Krawokski is scene stealing as Ilona, Gavin Creel fabulous as the cad who is not worthy of her heart. The support cast are all great, it's ALL great! A heart warming delightful show!

I'm thunderstruck that this musical is considered a classic. The thin story is watchable, but the musical numbers are nothing but immediately forgettable. I've seen Laura Bernanti before in the Lincoln Center revival of "My Fair Lady," and she can be spectacular as well as funny. But the songs here don't justify her almost-operatic voice. Full disclosure: I watched this online and by the second act, I started fast-forwarding through the songs. It's hard to believe the same composer/lyricist team that wrote the immortal score for "Fiddler on the Roof" produced this score. Great sets, great costumes. But a two-hour snooze.