April 16-May 1, 2005
Book
and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music by Jimmy Roberts
Based upon the screenplay
MEN by Doris Dorrie
Musical
Direction
DIANE KING VANN
Directed
& Staged by
LARRY RABEN
Honorary
Producer:
Kathryn Baker Campbell
Review
for The Grunion Gazette
"Men"
Makes For Fun Night At Carpenter
What do you get when you combine the
"Odd Couple," "Rent" and "Love
American Style?"
The
songs are crisp, advance the story, and provide a few
walkaway moments: Tom's singing "The Better Man Won,"
and the Company's rendition of "Downtown Bohemian Slum."
The
acting works very well. Land is a saucy Lucy. She's
proud, with that potent mix of arrogant/vulnerable and
she plays both sides well. She moves like something
peeled off of the side of an ancient Egyptian tomb,
slinking, often in profile, almost feline.
COMPLETE REVIEW
|
PRESS
ROOM
This
uproarious new comedy from the creators of I LOVE
YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE is about an advertising
executive who will stop at nothing in an outrageous
attempt to win back his wife's affections. Based on
the acclaimed film "Men" by Doris Dorrie, The Thing
About Men puts romance center stage and shows us the
foolish, desperate, and sometimes downright insane
extremes we all go to for love.
By
David C. Nichols, Special to The Times
Breezy
affairs of the heart
A capable cast and direction keep
the lightweight musical 'The Thing About Men' enjoyable
and breezy.
Here's
the thing about "The Thing About Men" in its West
Coast premiere by Musical Theatre West: You don't
have to think about it. In fact, if you do think
about it, you might pop a vein. Better to let this
musical triangle ply its lightweight but crowd-pleasing
wares.
COMPLETE
REVIEW
By
John Farrell Correspondent to Long Beach Press Telegram
'Men'
lightweight, delightfully comic
Freud
famously is supposed to have asked "What do women
want?"
"The
Thing about Men," the light and entertaining, if
hardly profound, new musical comedy making its West
Coast debut in a Musical Theatre West production
at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, asks the
same question, but with the gender changed.
COMPLETE
REVIEW
By
Les Spinde for Backstage West
"The
Thing About Men"
It's
heartening to report that the duo's new effort
is a quantum leap upward: a fresh and engaging
satire on the marital battlefield, boasting
amusing characters and a touch of rueful reality.
Based on Doris Dorrie's German screenplay,
this adaptation plays like a superior sitcom.
The story didn't cry out for musical treatment,
and the songs are generally negligible. Nonetheless,
Larry Raben's buoyant staging maximizes the
fun in this sprightly Southern California
premiere.
COMPLETE
REVIE
|
