The best thing about attending "Happy Days" at Clowes Hall last night was seeing the poster for the upcoming LA Theatre Works
tour of "The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial" and finding out that the great John
Heard will be joining Ed Asner in that show.
Not familiar with Heard? If I told you that he was the dad
in "Home Alone" and the governor on "Prison Break," does that help?
He's one of the great underserved-by-Hollywood actors in the business. He cut his teeth on the New York stage, with performances in "The Glass Menagerie," "Hamlet" and "Othello" and then gave a string of outstanding performances in the late 70s/early 80s included two great films with Joan Micklin Silver, "Between the Lines" and "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (aka "Head over Heals"). He also was terrific opposite Geraldine Page in "A Trip to Bountiful" and as the bartender in "After Hours." And his performance as a one-legged, one-eyed Vietnam vet who finds misguided purpose in "Cutter's Way" is incomparable. Since then, well, he classes up anything he's in. But the great roles of 20 years ago don't see to be coming his way. A waste.
There's more information on the "Monkey Trial" production--and video of me rambling about the pleasures of LA TheatreWorks--over at www.cloweshall.org. And now, with word of Heard's involvement, I'm even more jazzed to see the show.
As to "Happy Days: The New Musical," the resident at Clowes Hall through Sunday, the less said the better--although I have enormous sympathy for the hard-working company, who do there best with the little they have to work with. Chris Fore exudes charm as Chachi. Felicia Finley is in good voice as Pinky. And Cynthia Ferrer seems to be auditioning for the lead in "The Light in the Piazza" as Mrs. C. I wish them all well.
Your thoughts?
Not familiar with Heard? If I told you that he was the dad
in "Home Alone" and the governor on "Prison Break," does that help?
He's one of the great underserved-by-Hollywood actors in the business. He cut his teeth on the New York stage, with performances in "The Glass Menagerie," "Hamlet" and "Othello" and then gave a string of outstanding performances in the late 70s/early 80s included two great films with Joan Micklin Silver, "Between the Lines" and "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (aka "Head over Heals"). He also was terrific opposite Geraldine Page in "A Trip to Bountiful" and as the bartender in "After Hours." And his performance as a one-legged, one-eyed Vietnam vet who finds misguided purpose in "Cutter's Way" is incomparable. Since then, well, he classes up anything he's in. But the great roles of 20 years ago don't see to be coming his way. A waste.
There's more information on the "Monkey Trial" production--and video of me rambling about the pleasures of LA TheatreWorks--over at www.cloweshall.org. And now, with word of Heard's involvement, I'm even more jazzed to see the show.
As to "Happy Days: The New Musical," the resident at Clowes Hall through Sunday, the less said the better--although I have enormous sympathy for the hard-working company, who do there best with the little they have to work with. Chris Fore exudes charm as Chachi. Felicia Finley is in good voice as Pinky. And Cynthia Ferrer seems to be auditioning for the lead in "The Light in the Piazza" as Mrs. C. I wish them all well.
Your thoughts?
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It was nice to see the familiar characters, although some were definitely more “familiar” than others. The stand out performer was by far Joey Sorge who almost completely nailed The Fonz (with a little Danny Zuko mixed in).
The music was uninspiring and seemed to drag on and on. The dance numbers were mediocre at best. The villians were cheesy and their ode to their own badness was incredibly long and boring. Still, it had its moments and some good one-liners here and there.
Well worth the cheap tickets in the balcony, (even if the family in front of us couldn’t keep their kids in their seats), but not worth seeing again.
I can, however, remind those late-twentysomethings (like me) that John Heard was also Elizabeth Perkins' jerky co-worker/boyfriend in Big.
Ah, Big. Good times.
Hope Baugh
www.IndyTheatreHabit.com
The best thing about attending Happy Days, at Clowes Hall, this Sunday afternoon, was the feeling of settling back into the late 50's with a whirlwind of excellent music and spirit.
To continue: the outstanding performances by Joey Sorge as Fonzie; James Lambert as Ralph; Cynthia Ferrer as Marion; Chris Fore as Chachi, Steven Booth as Richie, and the rest of the hard-working cast, brought fond remembrances of the Cunninghams, and like families of the 50's-60's, to the audience which saw fit to stand in ovation.
Kudos, as well, to Garry Marshall for his innate knowledge in recognizing the public's need for wholesome and happy entertainment. And a special thanks for the talent of Paul Williams
who provided the music/lyrics that helped to lift and carry this fast-paced musical, based on the original sitcom, Happy Days. But then, what else could we expect from Mr. Williams?
I'm truly glad you enjoyed the show.
Lou