Cast: Billy Crystal
I'm sure most people know this is Billy Crystal's show by now, but it never hurts to mention it. If you're interested in the rest of the creative team, see IBDb's 700 Sundays page.
Billy Crystal won the Tony award for best special theatrical event and the Drama Desk award for outstanding solo performance for 700 Sundays and he definitely deserved it. 700 Sundays was funny, moving, and really well done. The set was great - the set looks like just a house with windows, but the windows (and blinds in them) are actually being projected and there are three big screens where Billy Crystal shows many of the home movies his father shot throughout his life. Very well done!
I learned a lot about Billy Crystal's life and how the many jazz musicians he met because of his father and uncle (and Commodore Records).
The only thing I'd say about 700 Sundays is that it could have been a little shorter. The first act dragged a bit for me. I think part of this is because I was already very tired before the show started (taking over two hours to get to a show and not having time for dinner will do that to you). However, I wish someone had told me that it was an extraordinarily long one-man show. Most plays and solo performances on Broadway are under 2 1/2 hours. Most musicals are under 3 hours (including intermission). 700 Sundays is 3 hours long including the intermission and that's long for a one-man show.
One of the funniest things in the show was that they announced that Denzel Washington would be playing the roll of Billy Crystal that night. I'm sure he does this in every show, since clearly the only one who can do 700 Sundays is Billy Crystal. However, it was especially funny at our performance, since most of the people there had (like me) bought tickets for a Saturday matinee in January that got cancelled due to illness. Of course, had we seen the show on that date there would have been no hunting with Chaney joke. I like that Billy Crystal keeps the show up to date!
I highly recommend 700 Sundays if you're a Billy Crystal fan (and who isn't), though I'd say to make sure you don't go to see it in the middle of the week if you live pretty far from the theatre. Today is going to be a long day.
Grade: B
Labels: 2006, Billy Crystal, comedy, drama, play
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams