This fall, the Walnut Street Theatre presents La Vie en Bleu, a musical disaster of colossal proportions that not even Nicole Kidman dying of TB or Kylie as a frightening absinthe-induced Tinkerbell could have saved.
Featuring music by Pascal Stive, this show is heralded as "a dazzling celebration of the life, art, and loves of Pablo Picasso." I think not. It follows the artist first through his early bohemian Parisian years, in which he passed most of his time fraternizing with prostitutes at the Moulin Rouge. Here the audience bears witness to the classic Burlesque love story: a painter, a whore, an evil pimp and plenty of scandalous dance moves.
| La Vie En Bleu The Walnut Street Theatre 825 Walnut Street (215) 574-3550 |
The show drags on from here, following Picasso through his various artistic phases -- though never showing him painting a single thing. The lyrics of the musical numbers all sound like Dr. Seuss poems, and though the singers are clearly gifted musicians, the cheesey over-dramatized songs did not do them justice. In one such number, the theme song of the show, we watch Picasso, played by actor Jeffrey Coon, passionately declare to his dying wife: "Life in blue/ For me and you/ This much is true/ My life in blue." It sounds like a bad Barry Manilow tune.
Some of the more perplexing elements of the show include: two interpretive Flamenco dancers dressed in a bizarre mix of gothic and Vegas show attire who burst onstage at random intervals throughout the performance, a woman in a nude-colored full body unitard who makes a brief cameo appearance during a scene in which Picasso joins a freakish gang of carnies, a few hot and heavy make-out scenes and a chorus of can-can wenches.
The audience seemed to generally share my sentiments, as the theater emptied significantly after intermission. If you're looking to do something cultural with your Thursday night, bypass La Vie En Bleu and head to a local strip club for some more modern-day Burlesque house action.
