A PROMISE FULFILLED

Dinner at Serafina, a brief walk to the huge Broadway Theatre (perfect for big budget musicals) and the promise of an enchanting evening. We were excited
from the moment we heard that PROMISES, PROMISES was being revived with Kristen Chenoweth as Fran Kubelik, the female lead and Sean Hayes as Chuck Baxter. And we weren’t disappointed for a single moment.

Neil Simon’s book is brilliant. The story, although clearly set in the sixties, is really timeless and if you are a tried and true New Yorker (like we are) then you love it even more. The music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David remind you why each has won so many awards and why some of the tunes in the show have haunted people for over 30 years. We can’t count how many artists have recorded I Say A Little Prayer but when Kristen sings it with her “girls” behind it you remember instantly what a wonderful song it is. And A House Is Not Aa Home is just the perfect first act closer.

But forgive us for getting distracted,with so much wonderful to say it’s difficult to stay on track. Sean Hayes is really not a singer. What he is, though, is a simply brilliant comedic actor and his self-effacing super vibrato even endears you to his less than fabulous singing. After all, it is a little difficult to have to share a song with Kristen Chenowieth. We are still trying to figure out how 80 pounds and 5’ houses a 500 pound and 10’ voice. But she does - thank God and we adore her for her talent. Chenoweth, who created the role of Glinda in the wildly successful WICKED, has quite a resume and her talent is just beyond words.

We just loved it all. The costumes. The sets. The story. The directing and choreography both by Rob Ashford are award winning. The five philandering husbands, played by (Tony Goldwyn, Brooks Ashmanskas, Peter Benson, Sean Martin Hingston and Ken Land) are all wonderful, as is the doctor, played by Dick Latessa (Jeff commented that Latessa was reminiscent of Ned Glass as “Doc” in WEST SIDE STORY – interesting comparison). Tony Goldwyn, who has been in only one other Broadway show, was terrific as JD Sheldrake, but a standing ovation was earned by Katie FInneran as Marge MacDougall, the drunken distraction, who stops the show with her body language, her “owl” capelet and her unbelievable rendition of A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing.

The chemistry between Chenoweth and Hayes was perfect. This revival was worth waiting for and as soon as we see everything new this season we will definitely be back again. Make yourself a promise to see PROMISES, PROMISES and keep it!

NEXT UP: NORTH ATLANTIC