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 The musical, starring Tony Danza as a dapper, high-rolling
gambler, is adapted from the movie of the same name which also
featured James Caan and Sarah Jessica Parker. Its Broadway
opening at the Nederlander Theatre was replete with skydiving
Elvis impersonators and sexy showgirls.
"'Honeymoon in Vegas' answers gloomy Gotham's crying need for
some good lowbrow farce," said trade journal Variety, adding it
is just the ticket to warm up freezing New Yorkers.
The New York Times chimed in, saying the production is
everything audiences would want it to be.
"That means a little hip, a little square, a little dangerous, a
little kitschy and a whole lotta delicious fun," it added.
Danza, best known for his roles in the TV comedies "Taxi" and
"Who's The Boss?", portrays gambler Tommy Korman, a widower who
falls madly in love with a younger woman who looks like his
deceased wife.
But Betsy Nolan, played by actress Brynn O'Malley, is in Las
Vegas to marry her Brooklyn-based fiance, Jack Singer (Rob
McClure), who unfortunately has a fear of commitment because of
a curse from his overbearing, late mother.
"Much of the humor in the finger-popping first act derives from
Jack and Betsy's absurd situation," said the New York Post
newspaper.
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Jack must up his game to keep his girl in the zany plot that moves
from the neon lights of Vegas to the shores of sun-drenched Hawaii.
"It's breezy and fun, full of toe-tapping numbers, witty design
touches and frequent bursts of irreverent comic inspiration," said
the Hollywood Reporter.
But the entertainment trade newspaper added that the 2-1/2-hour show
slumped in the middle before bouncing back.
All the leads won praise from critics who described McClure as a
"winning nebbish" and O'Malley as plucky but in need of a new wig.
They reserved special kudos for tap-dancing, crooning Danza, 63, in
what the New York Times described as a "breakout performance."
"His Tommy is an ever-mellow figure of both menace and romance, a
criminal pragmatist with a soft, dreamy side," it said.
"What he conveys with the tiniest inflection or quirk of a finger is
immense and the sum effect of a fabulously sober comic performance,"
it added.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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