The first review of "Young Frankenstein" on Broadway came out before midnight last Friday, and it wasn't good. "Thou Shalt Not Put 'Young Frankenstein' On the Stage, Mr. Brooks," the headlin…
Not even some fireworks from Rosie Perez, in her Broadway debut, can make this play seem fresh, let alone funny.
This piece, about the battle over possession of the world's two most valuable stamps, never reaches its audience, I regret to say -- a case of insufficient postage.
In Brooklyn, the Royal Shakespeare Company's 68-year-old incumbent, Ian McKellen, I would rate as roughly B-plus; better than I expected but less than I would wish for.
Newsday theater critic Linda Winer picked up the New York Times on Sept. 7 and noticed a 30-square- inch advertisement for Walmartopia,' a new off-Broadway musical she panned. The ad included two quotes about the show, which is a satire of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer. "I saw the ad and said, 'What idiot liked Walmartopia?" she said in an interview. "And then I read it and said, 'I'm the idiot!'"
The show presumes to be satire. But true satire needs sharper writing and catchier music. "Walmartopia" may have tongue in cheek; what it lacks is teeth in mouth.