"Bridges," "Rocky," "If/Then": Three Imperfect Musicals, With Much To Recommend

It is very difficult to create a near perfect musical, and the current theater season has failed to produce  one thus far.  But many pleasurable moments can be found in three new musicals on Broadway that get a great deal right, even though each is flawed in some significant way.

I will confess that going into "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY," I expected to find the show unduly sappy and trite.  Thus, I was quite surprised to find myself swept away by one of the finest on stage romantic pairings I have seen,  provided by this show's enormously talented leads, Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale.  The on stage chemistry between these two fine actors and singers is palpable, and aided by a lush score and the fluid directorial touches of Bartlett Sher, this show soars when its two leads command the stage.  The disappointment comes when any of the other characters are on stage, as none of them can compete with the heat generated by the two central performers.   There is a great 110 minute show trying to break out of this 2 hour, 40 minute production, and those minutes are what makes this show well worth catching, at least as long as Ms. O'Hara and Mr. Pasquale are in it.

"ROCKY," the big money spectacle musical of the season, left me with very mixed feelings.  On the plus side are two terrific lead performances (Andy Karl and Margo Seibert in another strong romantic pairing), several fine songs and one of the most amazing musical stagings I have seen.  On the minus side are a number of pointless songs, an anemic book and some miscast actors (the usually fine actor Dakin Matthews being the chief offender).  But in the last 20 minutes all misgivings are swept away by the exquisitely staged final boxing match that sends its audience out a musical theater high.  Is it enough to wipe away the flaws that came before it?  Probably.

Finally, although not without its flaws, I found "IF/ THEN" to be the best new musical I have seen thus far this season.  An interesting and thoughtful look at the various choices taken in life, and the metaphysical strings that influence those choices, "If/ Then" features a fine score, cast and staging.  The show's book is well thought out, unique and unpredictable.  I became deeply invested in the show while watching it, but I must confess that it never moved me in a deep way.  I think this is partly due to the lack of nuance provided by the show's lead actress, Idina Menzel.  Ms. Menzel is a fine singer and belts out the fine songs she is given in true show-stopper fashion.  But her acting is simply not on par with her singing, and she fails to give her character an innate sweetness that a better actress could have provided as a means to connect with the main character on a deeper level.  While watching the show, I could not help thinking that LaChanze, who plays a supporting role in the show, would have been put to better use cast in the lead role.  Nevertheless, there is much to recommend in "If/Then," and I hope it finds an audience beyond the rather noisy Idina Menzel groupies that attended the performance I saw.