Fleabag

C-

When Phoebe Waller-Bridge performed this one-hour one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013, it was a smash hit. When it moved on to London, she was nominated for an Olivier award. As a result of the show’s success, it was adapted for television as a six-episode series which garnered her a BAFTA award. Since then she has won further acclaim as the writer and show-runner for “Killing Eve.” Since I had greatly enjoyed both the television version of “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve,” I was eager to see Ms. Waller-Bridge live when the stage version finally arrived in New York for a limited run. Apparently I was not alone, because the entire run at Soho Playhouse is sold out. When the lights dimmed for the show to begin, the audience roared before the star even appeared. Although I did not have much trouble with the British accent, I still missed a good part of what she said during the first several minutes. She spoke rapidly, swallowed the ends of her sentences and performed without amplification. The uncompromising character that she has created is a troubled young Londoner who is sexually compulsive and not very sympathetic. What we see of her in one short hour is no match for the extended look we get in the TV series. Onstage we don’t really get a sense of why she is the way she is. The monologue is often graphically raunchy and Ms. Waller-Bridge can be quite funny. Nevertheless, the experience somehow did not stir me nearly as much as the TV series did. Most of the audience seemed to be having a wonderful time but I was quite disappointed. If you were unable to get a ticket, don’t despair. Watch the TV version on Amazon Prime. You’ll have a better time and save $200. Plus you’ll get to see Olivia Colman too. Running time: one hour, no intermission.

Triassic Parq, The Musical *

(Please click on the title to see the entire review.)
After suffering through "Silence: The Musical" [reviewed 2/27/12], I should have learned my lesson and avoided all musical spoofs of hit movies. Nevertheless, when the opportunity arose to see this send-up of "Jurassic Park" at minimal cost, curiosity got the better of me and I headed to the SoHo Playhouse. While not without redeeming features, especially an appealing and talented cast, the muddled book caused my interest to evaporate long before the 90 minutes were over. It's the kind of downtown show that might be a lot more amusing after a few drinks. Wade McCollum, Lindsay Nicole Chambers and Shelley Thomas are stand-outs in a strong cast. Brandon Espinoza, as Mime-a-saurus, steals every scene he is in. Marshall Pailet's music is lively, but the book by Pailet, Bruce Norbitz and Stephen Wargo, is lame. Caite Hevner's set an Dina Perez's costumes are amusingly clever.  Pailet also directed.