The Look of Love (musical)
Encyclopedia
The Look of Love is musical revue
of the songs of Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
. The revue was conceived by David Thompson
, Scott Ellis
, David Loud
and Ann Reinking
. It had a limited engagement on Broadway
in 2003.
production, scheduled for a limited engagement. It opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre
on April 4, 2003 in previews and officially on May 4, 2003 and closed on June 15, 2003 after 49 performances and 35 previews. The cast was: Liz Callaway
, Kevin Ceballo, Jonathan Dokuchitz
, Eugene Fleming, Capathia Jenkins, Janine LaManna, Shannon Lewis, Rachelle Rak and Desmond Richardson
, with Farah Alvin and Nikki Renee Daniels. The show was directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Ann Reinking, scenic design was by Derek McLane
, costume design was by Martin Pakledinaz
, and orchestrations by Don Sebesky
.
An earlier revue featuring the works of Bacharach and David, Back to Bacharach and David
, opened in New York in 1992.
, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" is done as a variation on a barbershop quartet. "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," is a tap number.
:"Hearing 29 Bachrach-David songs one after another only makes you realize how limited their range has been, how bland their musical and lyrical palettes are and how little interest they have shown in venturing away from a commercially viable blueprint. With rare exceptions, like Walk on By, their substance is all style."
Elysa Gardner in her USA Today
review wrote:"...there also are moments when pop savvy and theatrical razzle-dazzle meet harmoniously, and most of them owe at least as much to Reinking's perfect pitch as they do to the vocalists or musicians. The alternately wistful and exuberant dance routines accompanying instrumental versions of Wives and Lovers and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head are among the show's peaks, while a naughty reinterpretation of What's New, Pussycat? nods stylishly to Reinking's mentor, Bob Fosse."
The talkinBroadway reviewer wrote:"A few good moments do prevent The Look of Love from being entirely dreary. The self-mocking choreography in "I Say a Little Prayer" is amusing and Shannon Lewis's jaw-droppingly sexy and sinewy dancing transcends the rather pedestrian choreography she must frequently cope with. An interesting bar scene combining "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa" is central to the second act...one of the show's finest moments is its last, when the entire cast assembles onstage for one of Bacharach and David's most enduring anthems, "What the World Needs Now." They're able to lift the spirits and the heart just when they're needed most by standing and singing."
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
of the songs of Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
. The revue was conceived by David Thompson
David Thompson (writer)
David Thompson is an American writer and playwright. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.- Career :His theatre credits include And The World Goes 'Round , The Look of Love, Thou Shalt Not, Flora the Red Menace , Steel Pier , and the 1996...
, Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis is an American stage director and television director.-Biography:Ellis has directed numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including the New York City Opera Company revivals at the New York State Theatre: A Little Night Music and 110 in the Shade up to his current show, the...
, David Loud
David Loud
David Loud is an American music supervisor, music director, conductor, vocal and dance arranger, pianist and actor...
and Ann Reinking
Ann Reinking
Ann Reinking is an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has worked extensively in musical theatre, both as a dancer and choreographer, as well as appearing in film.-Biography:...
. It had a limited engagement on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 2003.
Production
The revue was a Roundabout Theatre CompanyRoundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
production, scheduled for a limited engagement. It opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
The Brooks Atkinson Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 256 West 47th Street in Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was constructed as the Mansfield Theatre by the Chanin brothers in 1926. After 1933, the theatre fell into relative disuse until 1945, when Michael Myerberg...
on April 4, 2003 in previews and officially on May 4, 2003 and closed on June 15, 2003 after 49 performances and 35 previews. The cast was: Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway is an American actress and singer, famous for providing the singing voices of many female characters in films, such as Anya in Anastasia, Odette in The Swan Princess, and Kiara in The Lion King II:Simba's Pride....
, Kevin Ceballo, Jonathan Dokuchitz
Jonathan Dokuchitz
Johnathan Dokuchitz is an American actor who works mainly on Broadway. He has starred in The Who's Tommy as Captain Walker, and also created the singing voice for John Cusack in Anastasia .- Featured productions :...
, Eugene Fleming, Capathia Jenkins, Janine LaManna, Shannon Lewis, Rachelle Rak and Desmond Richardson
Desmond Richardson
Desmond Richardson is co-founder and co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He has mastered a wide range of dance forms including classical, modern, and contemporary.- Life and career :...
, with Farah Alvin and Nikki Renee Daniels. The show was directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Ann Reinking, scenic design was by Derek McLane
Derek McLane
Derek McLane is an American set designer for theatre, opera, and musical theatre). He graduated with a BA from Harvard College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama....
, costume design was by Martin Pakledinaz
Martin Pakledinaz
Martin Pakledinaz is an American costume designer for stage and film.He won his Tony Awards for designing the costumes of Thoroughly Modern Millie and the 2000 revival of Kiss Me Kate, which also earned him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design.He worked on the 1995 production of...
, and orchestrations by Don Sebesky
Don Sebesky
Don Sebesky is an American jazz trombonist and arranger.-Biography:Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton...
.
An earlier revue featuring the works of Bacharach and David, Back to Bacharach and David
Back to Bacharach and David
Back To Bacharach and David is an Off-Broadway revue that featured the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David in a show created by Steve Gunderson and Kathy Najimy and directed by Najimy, with musical arrangements and orchestrations by Gunderson...
, opened in New York in 1992.
Background
David Thompson, in an interview published by the Roundabout Theatre, said that "the challenge was to figure out how to make the songs theatrical...Each lyric's narrative is usually a character singing about a situation...With the Roundabout we had the opportunity to do a couple of workshops, play with the music, and find out what works. We brought in musical director David Loud to give it its musical sensibility and Ann Reinking to give it a style and a sexiness."Concept
There is no story or unifying theme, songs are staged like skits or dance routines. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" has a ballet solo; "What's New Pussycat?" has a dance tribute to Bob FosseBob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" is done as a variation on a barbershop quartet. "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," is a tap number.
Songs
- The Look of Love – Capathia Jenkins and Entire Company
- (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me – Eugene Fleming, Jonathan Dokuchitz and Kevin Ceballo
- You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart) – Janine LaManna
- I Say a Little Prayer – Capathia Jenkins, Janine LaManna and Liz Callaway
- Promise Her Anything – Jonathan Dokuchitz, Rachelle Rak and Shannon Lewis
- Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself – Liz Callaway
- My Little Red Book / Anyone Who Had a Heart – Kevin Ceballo
- Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head – Desmond Richardson and Eugene Fleming
- Are You There (with Another Girl) – Capathia Jenkins
- Another Night – Janine LaManna
- Yo Nunca Volveré Amar (I'll Never Fall in Love Again) – Kevin Ceballo and Shannon Lewis
- She Likes Basketball – Eugene Fleming
- What's New Pussycat? – Janine LaManna, Rachelle Rak and Shannon Lewis
- Walk on By – Capathia Jenkins
- A House Is Not a Home – Jonathan Dokuchitz
- One Less Bell to Answer – Liz Callaway
- Casino Royale – Farah Alvin, Nikki Renée Daniels and The Orchestra (performed from the orchestra pit)
- Half as Big as Life – Liz Callaway
- Wishin' and Hopin' – Janine LaManna, Rachelle Rak and Shannon Lewis
- Trains and Boats and Planes – Desmond Richardson
- Do You Know the Way to San Jose – Desmond Richardson, Eugene Fleming, Jonathan Dokuchitz and Kevin Ceballo
- Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa – Rachelle Rak
- This Guy's in Love with You / This Girl's in Love – Capathia Jenkins and Eugene Fleming
- Alfie – Liz Callaway
- Close to You – Jonathan Dokuchitz and Janine LaManna
- Wives and Lovers – Desmond Richardson, Kevin Ceballo and Shannon Lewis
- What the World Needs Now Is Love – Janine LaManna, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Kevin Ceballo, Liz Callaway and Rachelle Rak
- Make It Easy on Yourself – Capathia Jenkins
- Check-Out Time – Janine LaManna
- Knowing When to Leave – Liz Callaway
- Promises, Promises – Capathia Jenkins, Janine LaManna and Liz Callaway, Entire Company
- Beginnings – Entire Company
Critical reaction
The production was reviewed by Bruce Weber in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
:"Hearing 29 Bachrach-David songs one after another only makes you realize how limited their range has been, how bland their musical and lyrical palettes are and how little interest they have shown in venturing away from a commercially viable blueprint. With rare exceptions, like Walk on By, their substance is all style."
Elysa Gardner in her USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
review wrote:"...there also are moments when pop savvy and theatrical razzle-dazzle meet harmoniously, and most of them owe at least as much to Reinking's perfect pitch as they do to the vocalists or musicians. The alternately wistful and exuberant dance routines accompanying instrumental versions of Wives and Lovers and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head are among the show's peaks, while a naughty reinterpretation of What's New, Pussycat? nods stylishly to Reinking's mentor, Bob Fosse."
The talkinBroadway reviewer wrote:"A few good moments do prevent The Look of Love from being entirely dreary. The self-mocking choreography in "I Say a Little Prayer" is amusing and Shannon Lewis's jaw-droppingly sexy and sinewy dancing transcends the rather pedestrian choreography she must frequently cope with. An interesting bar scene combining "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa" is central to the second act...one of the show's finest moments is its last, when the entire cast assembles onstage for one of Bacharach and David's most enduring anthems, "What the World Needs Now." They're able to lift the spirits and the heart just when they're needed most by standing and singing."