Broadway Review- the Pirate Queen

The trouble with being the creators of the longest running big budget musical in history is that it's hard to top your prior accomplishments. Expectations are set preposterously high, and when a scene, a voice, or a choreography routine doesn't mesmerize each person in attendance, the question- "what happened" is poised and repeated. To make things worse for the new swash-buckling tuner, a watered down "revival" of Les Miserables is playing only two blocks away.

The new resident at the Hilton Theatre has been described as long, boring, unoriginal, and a thing of the 1980s. That the mega musical spectaculars such as Phantom and Saigon no longer have a home in the Broadway community. This train of thought can't be tolerated, and shouldn't reflect the buying power of a curious thespian. For what is the purpose of musical theatre? Is it merely a form of live entertainment? For some it definitely is, for others it's so much more.

For many, being confined to a seat and watching a world unfold and characters come to live before your eyes is a life altering experience. The spectator is no longer merely watching a show, but is immersed into a magical world far from all they know, and more beautiful than anything they have ever experienced. That ideology is the concept of musical theatre at its best. A concept that Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg have mastered. A concept that The Pirate Queen sails upon.

Simply because our theatre community has its arms wide open for original master pieces such as Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone, and others, it doesn't signify that musicals which feature an emotional storyline that run centuries deep, isn't appropriate or needed for our stage. It's these musicals that transform us from our seat into a new world, a better world where other peoples stories are told through melody and dance, through scripted dialogue and blocking. So to presume that because these musicals were popularized more than twenty years ago, and have now become antiquated is misinforming and selfishly convened. This genre of musical theatre genius isn't a fad that comes and goes with the seasons; it's the root to a community that is often lacking depth and emotion.

And thus, all aboard the Pirate Queen. According to press notes for the new musical, the story tells of a heroine who led an extraordinary life as a pirate, chieftain, lover and mother in 16th Century Ireland. Her quest to protect her people - and save her one true love - embarks her on a thrilling voyage that climaxes in a heated confrontation with the one woman more powerful than her... her fierce rival Queen Elizabeth I of England. And the stage is set.

The story is intriguing alone, and crafted sensitively enough to carry the show for the long haul. As expected, no expense is spared and no creative bone isn't tapped in the on stage production values of the entity. Ships are built, cannons are lit, palaces are resurrected and so on. Costumes are elegant and plentiful while lighting and sound are simply practical.

There are three matters of substance within the show that evoke and tug on the emotional and physical cords of the human spirit. Those are the choreography, the score, and most importantly, Stephanie J. Block.

With the show being produced by Riverdream, (the same company behind the international hit, Riverdance) it was to no surprise that the choreography was like no other currently playing on a Broadway stage. Irish dancing takes tap dancing to a higher level, where artistic respect is endowed simply because of the physical demands it requires. Throughout the show, perfectly timed dance scenes would lead the audience to an uproar of satisfaction and appreciation.

Then there is the score. Sweeping and powerful (as expected) the cords strung and the melodies sang are of a sweeter sense than the over drawn begging that Les Miserables offered so long ago. The zeitgeist is properly captured through the 40 plus ensemble that belt and and tenderize the aching lyrics and the turbulent dance routines that Schonberg and Boublil have built their career upon. But fair is fair..."Boys will be Boys" does have a striking similarity to the cords of "Master of the House." But if it works, then stay with it! Many cast albums released these days can't be listened to in full pleasure. Hearing ridiculous lyrics, (that work well upon stage, such as Spamalot), sometimes face a tough transition of being enjoyed once you have left the theatrical environment. The Pirate Queen offers a score that can be enjoyed time after time, for many years to come.

Last but not least, Stephanie J Block, who plays the lead role of Grace O'Malley, has finally found a role that she can claim for herself, and quite possibly pick up a Tony for. The vixen that has starred and stolen the show in both Wicked and The Boy From Oz, hasn't been able to derive ownership or branding from either role. The green-faced witch of Wicked will always belong to Idina Menzel, and the entire production of The Boy From Oz always was and still is, Hugh Jackmans. In Pirate Queen, Block is given the opportunity to create a role, to stand apart from her fellow cast mates, and to blossom as a serious force to be reckoned with in the theatrical community. From her singing to the physical demands that the show requires, Block never misses a beat, and ensures us that the sincerity of the true story is still in tact hundreds of years later.

Its important never to believe everything you read (except for this article of course) as quite often the scope of importance when deciding the future of any specific production is frequently focused on the negatives and not the positives. The production does everything a genuine piece of musical theatre genius should and then some, so what other reason is required to go see this spectacular!?!