newjerseynewsroom.com

Share this Twitter Myspace Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Slashdot Furl Yahoo Technorati Newsvine Facebook Export PDF Print E-mail Tags broadway fanny music rome series city ‘the york stars marius trilogy call irving center score encores! concert returns david musical Article Index Romantic ‘Fanny’ returns to New York in fine concert form Page # All Pages

The script has been sharply edited down to its essentials by David Ives while the score is beautifully rendered in full, fragrant bloom by music director Rob Berman's onstage orchestra.

Designer John Lee Beatty provides atmospheric scenic bits against blue skies. Lorin Latarro's high-flying choreography is nimbly executed -especially so in an acrobatic circus sequence and by Nina Lafarga's sinuous turn as a belly dancer - and the choral singing is robust. Ken Billington's lighting lends color and romance. Nicely dressed by Martin Pakledinaz, the leading performers often carry scripts (reflecting their one-week rehearsal period), but deliver fully-fleshed characterizations.

Under Marc Bruni's smooth direction, first-class artists generate a good deal of magic. Genuine warmth can be seen in the growing bond between Shaddow's sweet, unassertive Fanny and Applegate's good-hearted Panisse. Snyder makes an ardent Marius and George Hearn portrays his crusty dad with a twinkle. Taking a break from "In the Heights," longtime Montclair resident Priscilla Lopez tartly depicts Fanny's semi-fishwife of a mother.

For all of the musical's poignant appeal, "Fanny" appears unlikely to transfer to Broadway as did the Encores! series' revivals of "Chicago" and "Wonderful Town." The musical's old-school format and its unabashed emotional sincerity are (sadly) not in tune with today's predominating taste for fast, furious entertainment. So anyone who'd love to see this golden oldie should get to City Center this weekend.

"Fanny" continues through Sunday at New York City Center, 131 W. 55th St., New York. Call (212) 581-1212 or visit www.nycitycenter.org.

ALSO BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Resolute Laura Linney makes certain ‘Time Stands Still' on Broadway

Stephen Rea stars in Sam Shepard's latest play ‘Ages of the Moon'

‘The Orphans' Home Cycle' spins Texas stories of passing blessings

Voyeuristic ‘Venus in Fur' seduces viewers with laughter

Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson enhance ‘A View From the Bridge'

Broadway's ‘Present Laughter' revival offers passable amusement

Intimate rendition of ‘Our Town' remains a must-see show

NY Gilbert & Sullivan Players make do with ‘The Mikado'

‘Circle Mirror Transformation' views the games some people play

Horton Foote's ‘Orphans' Home Cycle' spins further tales about a nice guy's journey

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury shine in a darker ‘A Little Night Music'

Noel Coward's ‘Brief Encounter' flickers only dimly in Brooklyn

Mike Daisey gets crazy over the world banking crisis

James Spader, David Alan Grier and Richard Thomas argue David Mamet's ‘Race'

Cate Blanchett takes a slow ‘Streetcar' to Brooklyn

‘Law & Order' regular Julianne Nicholson stars in a smart Manhattan comedy

Texas trilogy chronicles a sorrowful 1900s childhood

Irving Berlin classics deck out ‘White Christmas'

‘The Starry Messenger' represents bad news for Matthew Broderick

Afrobeat music drives Broadway's new ‘Fela!'

Okay ‘Dreamgirls' visits the Apollo Theater

New Broadway comedy explores Victorian sex lives

Radio City Music Hall's ‘Spectacular' inaugurates holidays

‘Brother/Sister' trilogy illuminates African-American lives

‘Wintuk' returns to Madison Square Garden for holidays

‘Ragtime' stirs up America's 1900s melting pot

A dark new drama dreams up a dystopian future in ‘What Once We Felt'

Show biz egos collide in ‘The Understudy'

Lynn Redgrave takes flight as a solitary ‘Nightingale'

‘Finian's Rainbow' glows with a colorful score and story

The Big Apple Circus presents a wonderfully (Bello) Nock-about time

Neil Simon's beguiling ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs' unfolds once more on Broadway

Sienna Miller makes her Broadway debut in a sexy Strindberg classic

‘Memphis' sings and dances along the 1950s racial divide

‘Bye Bye Birdie' doesn't fly high with Gina Gershon and John Stamos

Mamet's ‘Oleanna' stars Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles

Expect a ‘Royal' good time

A ‘Hamlet' who knows what he's doing

‘Wishful Drinking' proves a bit hard to swallow

Flavorful acting sells ‘Superior Donuts'

Stars brighten a dark cop drama in ‘A Steady Rain'

JOIN US AT NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM:

IN OUR NEWSROOM

ON FACEBOOK

ON TWITTER