A Tale of Two Cities, with book, lyrics and music by Jill Santoriello, 'tis a far, far better show than I expected. James Barbour rocks the theater with his powerful, base-baritone voice and deep emotional commitment, the very beautiful Brandi Burkhardt shakes chandeliers when she sings, the entire cast is top Broadway-level in acting and voice, and the active imaginative set by Tony Walton, good classic costumes by David Zinn and fine lighting by Richard Pilbrow, all directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, add up to a Broadway spectacle that, although speckled with flat spots and very little humor, is mostly an engaging musical-theater experience. Yes, some portrayals are caricatures, some sections of carousing are boring, and I did not walk out humming any of the very derivative music, but ultimately it is a simple entertaining show that the audience enjoyed - an historical drama that is sort of a Les Miz reduced.
Not the best of times, but far, far from the worst.
