My husband and I were given tickets for the musical "Wonderful Town" for this Sat night. I've never heard of the show and a Fodors search didn't turn up any info. Does anyone have an opinion about this show? I'm not sure it'll be worth the drive into the city.
Also, any other sites that offer broadway reviews?
thanks!

It's a revival. The star Donna Murphy is supposed to be "IT"!! You need to go, because these are some hot tickets. Sounds like you don't follow the show scene too much, but I think you'll like it. There was at LEAST one post a while back (opening week) on the show. Keep digging.. & enjoy the show!

It is about two sisters who move to New York City in the 1930's and what they encounter. It is a good revival, but the structure of the show is very 1950's.

Here is John Simon's review:
http://www.wonderfultownthemusical.c...nymagazine.htm

You can also listen to some clips of a studio recording of the music

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/cl...155335-6050430

Sorry. Try this link.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...155335-6050430

Yes, it's definitely worth an effort to drive into the city. Since the tickets are free, I'll add that Donna Murphy's performance alone is worth the cost of gas, tolls and parking....and dinner, too!

LOVED IT. Fun, energetic, colorful, and just all around a great show. Performance by Donna Murphy is fabulous and definitely Tony worthy. Her 'sister' in the show is played by the woman who wrote and starred in Kissing Jessica Stein. She is wonderful too, just not as strong of a presence as Donna Murphy.

Thanks for all your feedback. My first impression was that I'd much rather see something like Hairspray or Moving Out, but, hey, the tickets are free so I'll go with an open mind and hopefully wind up enjoying it.

I'm not sure about the comment about Wonderful Town being in the 1930's. Originally it was a play called MY SISTER EILEEN starring Shirley Booth (remember Hazel the maid on TV), but based loosely on a book. Then it was turned into a movie of the same name starring Rosalind Russel. Both were set in "the present" and they were done in the early 1950's. Then it was turned into a Broadway musical called WONDERFUL TOWN again starring Rosalind Russell, opening in 1955 and set in that period. It was a big hit until Rosalind Russell left at the end of her contract and was replaced with Carol Channing, after which it slowly faded away. One of the biggest things the musical was known for was the big "Conga" number which catapulted the Conga line to popularity.

The current revival is still set in the mid 1950's. And although the reviews were mixed, the performance by Donna Murphy is considered one of the best of the year.

Let me retract the one statement I made above. The original play (non-musical) of My Sister Eileen was originally done on Broadway in 1940, not 1950's.

The musical is a bit squishy on time setting, that's for sure. It's supposed to be Greenwich Village of the 1930s (when Ruth McKenney's book and the subsequent play "My Sister Eileen" were set), but the music, by Leonard Bernstein, veers into faux bebop and blues. It's definitely a pre-60s show-- the book is silly fun, the music second-rate Bernstein (but it's still better than most Broadway scores out there). It's not a documentary about the Village of the 30s, it's just fun. And with this great cast, it's well worth your time.

The intended time of the show is 1935. There is constant reference to workmen blasting away to build the new subway.

Since I started this "Wonderful Town trivia" bit, let me add something else. I failed to mention the movie musical version. It starred Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh with Jack Lemmon. It was pretty mediocre and can still be seen on TV fairly often.

I might also mention that the original Broadway production of Wonderful Town gave Edith Adams (better known as Edie Adams later on) her first major role as Eileen.

My time reference by the way, was meant to suggest that while the original book and Broadway play may have been set in the 1930's, I don't think there was ever an attempt to make that setting stick in the musical adaptation of the 1950's, when it was set in the "present". So today's revival is a duplicate of the original time frame for the musical itself -- New York's Greenwich Village in the 1950's.

Anyway, the apartment I stay in in New York is directly across from the Hirschfield where it is playing. I was there in October when they were setting up, and spent a little time backstage talking with a couple of stage hands and seeing the set up. Can't wait to see it in April.

My parents saw it in December (my Christmas gift to them) and they LOVED it. They couldn't stop talking about it the rest of the time there were visiting.

Saw the show last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.... Glad I went!

I saw the show Saturday afternoon. Donna Murphy's performance is what makes the show...

I went to see it last Wednesday and disappointingly, Donna Murphy was NOT in it for that performance. This can always be a possibility when seeing a show, and I could have gotten my money back but didn't.

Susie, were your tickets for the matinee or evening? I've had a couple of reports of people going to matinees and missing Donna Murphy. I'm curious if this is one of those cases where the star often misses the matinee (double performance days).

Yes, it was the Matinee but I also went to "Thoroughly Modern Millie" that evening and Dixie Carter was not appearing in her role. I wasn't that disappointed in missing her, though. By the way, I saw both on discounted tickets and the houses was not at all full.