Based on the screenplay by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath, Bullets Over Broadway finally hit the NYC stages this past week. The production introduced a new collaborating team to Broadway: Woody and Susan Stroman. With a pair like that, my hopes were high. Zach Braff, Marin Mazzie, Betsy Wolfe, Heléne Yorke, Vincent Pastore, Brooks Ashmanskas, Nick Cordero, Lenny Wolpe and Karen Ziemba head the ensemble cast of 29 – that’s a lot of talent on one stage.
The story revolves around emerging playwright David Shayne, who is about to have his play produced on Broadway by investor Nick Valenti. Valenti takes on the project to secure a role for his girlfriend, Olive Neal. When a bodyguard by the name of Cheech comes along to protect Olive, he somehow ends up re-writing the entire script from start to bottom as a ghostwriter. Shayne takes his new found success to his head, falling in love with the leading lady, Helen Sinclair, and leaving his down to earth life behind. But at the end of the day, you’re dealing with gangsters, so it’s just a matter of time before he is found out.
There are certainly laughs, and several of the song/dance routines are fun to watch, I won’t deny that. But for the most part, unfortunately, this play falls right on his face during act one and is hard to fix before the second act begins. Early on in the show, I realized that the songs were not originals – they were existing songs from the 1920s. Do I think an original score would have helped make this show more enjoyable? Possibly, I’m not sure. The movie, which I did love by the way, involved a cast of characters that I enjoyed watching, like the wonderful Diane Weist who won the Oscar for her portrayal as Helen Sinclair. However, in the play, the characters are just far fetched and annoying, particularly Zach Braff, who just tried to hard to be exactly like Woody Allen.
The verdict on Bullets Over Broadway? See at your own discretion, but try not to go in with any big expectations so you don’t come out disappointed.
Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary tickets for this show but no specific opinion was asked of me.
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