Vanities

Marsha Maxwell Los Angeles, CA

I thought it felt very tired and dated and static. The music has a sameness and is pretty much a drone. The three women are pretty good, but not exceptional in any way. I saw the play, and it was ok, but this really isn't a musical. It's just the play with a few songs added. I can't imagine this on Broadway, or even off-Broadway. This seems very Pasadena-bound to me.

Doug Glendale, CA

After seeing the simply awful Mask, Vanities is, at least, shorter and lots more tuneful. I remember the opening scene of the play working better than it does in the musical, and I thought several of the songs were too much alike, especially in the prologue and first sequence. Beginning with the second sequence things get better and the songs become more varied. And then in the third sequence we get a bona-fide showstopper in The Same Old Music - everything works in that number. Didn't care for the epilogue or final song much. The three cast members do very well, but there's something that's just not clicking and I don't know whether it's because it still seems like a play with songs added in, or because it's a little dated. Still and all, I enjoyed it a lot more than I have other Playhouse productions.