SCANDALOUS is based on the life of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), the world's first media superstar evangelist -- a woman whose passion for saving souls equaled her passion for making sensational headlines and attracting overflow crowds of thousands throughout the world. Time Magazine named Aimee Semple McPherson one the most influential people of the twentieth century.
Set in 1920's Los Angeles, holiness collides with Hollywood in this extraordinary tale of one remarkable woman's charismatic rise to fame amidst scandalous love affairs and growing controversy, inevitably ending in her much-publicized fall from grace.
When Carmello sings, there’s magic in the theater, even if David Pomeranz and David Friedman’s tunes are generic (Gifford also gets a credit for “additional music”). Joel Fram’s music direction and vocal arrangements, though, are an absolute delight. The revival scenes feel like a religious experience, thanks to a winning ensemble and Lorin Latarro’s peppy choreography. Puzzlingly, set designer Walt Spangler’s clunky white altar staircase never leaves the stage. (There has to be wing space at the Simon, right? Why would there be an altar on the farm where Aimee grew up?) The entire cast is fantastic. Roz Ryan gives Carmello some scene-stealing breaks as brothel owner–turned–revival assistant Emma Jo Schaeffer. Candy Buckley fills the bill as Aimee’s overbearing mother, and Edward Watts believably morphs into two characters, husband Robert and love interest David Hutton.
Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson...may not have a firm grasp on whether its subject was a heroically crusading woman of God or a hypocritical mountebank, but one thing's for certain: She sure was a grand ol' gal! That seems to be the main theme of Kathie Lee Gifford's script, and it works in part. The songs...provide emotional and plot development that help keep the story moving at a quick clip...David Armstrong's direction flows effortlessly from one episode in McPherson's life to the next with minimal hiccups, and Carolee Carmello gives a charismatic performance in the lead, belting out her numbers like a one-woman church choir...The scandal of the title is given surprisingly short shrift...It's a complex story filled with a lot of knotty issues, but much of the nuance gets glossed over in this production, overstuffed as it is with other, less fascinating anecdotes, like a lengthy introductory sequence about her early life as a Canadian farm girl. Still, Scandalous has enough high energy and witty lines to help to atone for some of its sins. B–
2012 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Carolee Carmello |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Carolee Carmello |
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