REVIEW Rocky at the Winter Garden Theatre There were four things I liked about this show, other than that, I believe the critics will savage it with their reviews (and rightfully so)...and it will only run a long time, if straight men and fans of the movie come in droves to see it. Andy Karl is great as Rocky. Perfect casting of a wonderful actor with a great voice, who channels that seminal performance from the film. He is the best thing in the show, by far. It was wonderful to see the Winter Garden again. The last time I saw is, it was still a cats playground /junkyard. The venue is perfect for this show and the theatre is beautiful. It is odd to see neither CATS nor MAMMA MIA on the block-long billboard above the theatre. Those two signs remained a Times Square landmark for a total of thirty years. I loved Dakin Matthews as trainer, Mickey. A lovely and passionate performance. And the transformation of the proscenium stage show into a Madison Square Garden-like arena boxing venue has to be seen to be believed. The whole technological process of that finale and the final bout between Rocky and Apollo is the stuff of legends. Unfortunately, you have to plow through a fairly dull evening to get to the finale. Sylvester Stallone adapted his screenplay...and not nearly as successfully as Woody Allen. The story is fine, the dialogue rings consistent with the characters, but if I had to hear Yo, Adrian or Yo, fill-in-the-blank come out of Rockys mouth one more time... Plus, Stallone attempts at humorous dialogue fell flat every single time. In addition, Creeds bad guy persona was even more paper thin and two-dimensional than in the film. However, all the famous moments from the film are there, including drinking raw eggs and running up the steps of the museum to Gonna Fly Now The score is another mediocre disappointment from Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND), with Gonna Fly Now and Eye of the Tiger from ROCKY III thrown in for good measure. So far... The worst show Ive seen on the trip. Its not awful, though. Its just mediocre and disappointing. My guess is that it might not even make it to the Tony Awards, but we shall see.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:58:38 +0000
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