34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bravo! Great way to capture this show's musical magic!, November 30, 2003
This review is from: Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Songs of Leiber and Stoller (DVD)
Usually I would complain that all these productions wait too long to film their shows. However, this DVD is of the last performance in which they brought back the original cast!
The singing talent in this show is excellent, particularly in the males. Each song is sung flawlessly with harmonies and orchestrations that, in my opinion, are improvements on the original songs and translate effectively to the stage.
Although most of the dancing is done in the first act, it is very fun to watch, hard to emulate and successfully executed.
The show was filmed in front of a live audience and filmed well, there is never any problem with not being able to see an actor on stage, nor is there a problem with people being upstaged. (Unless you want to include one person in the audience who couldn't help but standing up and applauding with their arms above their head).
The only problem I was able to notice was that the cast did seem slightly out of practice. To be more specific: In the song "On Broadway" there were problems establishing a beat as the five males in the song were trying to slow down the song in order to perform the dance steps. Also, "Poison Ivy" was, in a word, rushed.
But, overall, it is undeniable that this is probably the best recorded Broadway musical and it is a rarity to catch a show in its original cast. Also, this is rarely, if ever, on television, I would definately recommend buying it.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Baby, THIS is Rock 'n' Roll!, November 6, 2003
This review is from: Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Songs of Leiber and Stoller (DVD)
Rarely does a Broadway show get recorded in it's entirety, and even more rarely does this produce a good representation of what was seen live in the theatre. Smokey Joe's Cafe is about as good as it gets. As the longest running review in B'way history, Smokey Joe's Cafe brought back nearly all of it's original cast to perform for the last few weeks. I was in the audience for one of those magical last performances, and though this DVD can capture the electricity in the Virginia Theatre, it's still one amazing show! You'll love every second and you'll probably find yourself dancing in your living room when no one else is looking! Buy this DVD, if you love great music, you'll LOVE IT!
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The greatest ever!, February 23, 2002
This review is from: Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Songs of Leiber and Stoller (DVD)
There is a reason why this show was one of the longest running on Broadway - and the dvd proves it. From the boys' cheeky 'Young Blood' to DeeLee and Brenda's raunchy 'Trouble'....the crowd pleasing 'On Broadway' to Matt and DeeLee shakin' it up in 'Teach Me How To Shimmy'....BJ and Victor hamming it up in 'Treat Me Nice' and the ball-breakin' 'Hound Dog' to the emotive 'Stand By Me' finale - the cast just nails every song brilliantly. Only downfall is perhaps the bonus features - over time this show has played host to many guest stars such as Rick Springfield, Gloria Gaynor and Gladys Knight, each bringing something wonderful as they were slotted into their roles - it would have been nice to perhaps see some highlights such as Rick's 'Jailhouse Rock' or Gladys and the girls tearing the roof off the house with 'Kansas City'.
Still, an awesome show that every stage-lover MUST have in the collection!
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