Man, I LOVE the new season at Reprise. I'm so glad I've been a long-
time subscriber, since seats are very hard to come by in recent years.
1. ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
2. I LOVE MY WIFE
3. MAN OF LA MANCHA
4. CHESS (with the world premiere of a NEW BOOK by RIchard Maltby,
Jr.)
The last is particularly exciting. I would call CHESS the finest rock/
pop score ever written for the theatre, but it's always been hampered
by Richard Nelson's turgid book (also by Tim Rice's awkward, mopey,
self-indulgent lyrics). Let's see if Maltby's the man who can finally
make this show fly as it ought to, considering the power of its music.
It's been kind of weird to see MAMMA MIA conquer the world, while the
ABBA guys' vastly superior CHESS score languished, tied to its lumpy
book as if to a ball and chain.
I missed the last Reprise show, LIL ABNER, but the friends I gave my
tickets too loved it. I'll be seeing the final show of this season,
FLORA THE RED MENACE, on May 16.
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