I was thinking about Everyday Rapture a lot today and I can't help but marvel about what an incredible piece of theatre it really is. I am going to go out on a limb and say it is the only new musical I've ever seen where every element works. Most new musicals have a strong score and a weak book, or strong actors and weak material, etc. But this show was simply fantastic. I cannot come up with enough adjectives to describe what I felt for this show. The book by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan is, according to Scott, about 50% reality and 50% embellishment but the transition is seamless and one would never suspect that it was not all autobiographical. And her singing and acting abilities? Well they are unparalleled. I am going to agree with Barbara Cook and say Catherine Zeta-Jones did now deserve that Tony award, Miss Sherie Rene Scott did. I've seen a lot of Tony winning female performances including the revered Alice Ripley in Next To Normal and Idina Menzel in Wicked and in my opinion, neither of them even came close to the level of talent that Sherie Rene Scott displayed in this show.
Now I've seen some amazing revivals in my time, A Little Night Music, Hair, and South Pacific to name a few that were really spectacular, but this post is devoted specifically to new musicals and I stand behind my decision 150%.
Here is my review of the show as well as one of my favorite video clips.
http://backstagebarbie.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-would-judy-do.html
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