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posted by modernvintage on Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:49 pm
"Of course, all the things stated above would be didactic, moot points if it weren’t for the stellar performances, which brings me to this: Nellie McKay is amazing. If you’ve ever heard her debut album, Get Away From Me, this should come as no surprise; what may be surprising, however, is the fact that she can act, too. Her portrayal of Polly Peachum — the young girl seduced by the notoriously vile “Mac the Knife” Macheath (Alan Cumming) — is brilliantly innocent without ever becoming naïve. Polly’s not the helpless damsel in distress, but rather the gutsy heroine who manages never to sully herself, even when she’s threatening to slit someone’s throat... Though McKay’s performance stands out as the real showstopper..." - Source
"Nellie McKay, the phenomenally gifted young recording artist (new to Broadway, though you'd never guess it)...Polly (McKay, a wide-eyed beauty with a clarion singing voice, Audrey Hepburn-like intonation, fierce interpretive skills and a fine sense of mischief)...Over all, it has a bold, stripped-down, vibrant feeling. Particularly when Dale, McKay and Lauper are in the spotlight, it is nothing less than triumphant." - Source
"The real surprise is singer-songwriter Nellie McKay, a genuinely odd and appealing stage presence who seems to have time-traveled in from another era. Dressed in dusty, corpse-bride white, and with her fresh-faced looks, dreamy eccentricity and sing-song dialogue delivery, McKay is an arresting match for Macheath's young wife, Polly Peachum. She gets the balance of naivety and cunning just right, and her savvy spin on "Pirate Jenny" and "The 'No' Song" places them among the production's better numbers." - Source
"McKay is rather effective as Polly, performing her role as if she were an ingenue in an early talkie film, with a forced mid-Atlantic accent." - Source
"As Polly Peachum - the other lady in quest of Mack - Nellie McKay is charming in a gaga fashion, but is permitted to perform as if she were auditioning for "The Sound of Music."" - Source
"...Including... the terrific Nellie McKay...But on to bigger news. Eccentric young pop singer McKay is utterly at home in her Broadway debut. As Polly Peachum, daughter of the rich people who run the beggar business for the enterprising poor, McKay has the vulnerable look of a silent-movie heroine and a diabolically subtle vocal style. As Mack's fake bride, she dominates the first act with a sweet and cruel voice of range and attitude." - Source
"Warbling and wobbling touchingly atop this shipwreck is Nellie McKay, who plays the twisted ingénue Polly with an otherworldly abandon that might have been star-making in a better vehicle. As it is, McKay's oddball histrionics just happen to be the most interesting thing about this impoverished Threepenny." - Source
"Nellie McKay's Polly finds another vocal role model, at least in her speaking voice: Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz." It's a bit disconcerting but the young woman does have a definite stage presence that could translate beyond her pop-music career." - Source
"Polly Peachum, the supposedly nice girl who falls for bad-boy Mackie, is portrayed as a dazed waif by the enchanting pop starlet Nellie McKay." - Source
"Lauper and McKay, both making their stage debuts, are unable to bring much shading to their turns as Jenny and Polly Peachum, respectively -- though, as might be expected, they do more than decently by their musical numbers." - Source
"McKay fares better at first, though her mock-bright demureness grows tedious. By the end of the first act, she sounds as if she's reciting fiction for National Public Radio..." - Source
"Nellie McKay plays his bride, Polly, promisingly in the first act, wanly
later." - Source
And from the most important reviewer for NY Broadway, the NY Times...
"Ms. McKay, the inventive and seriously talented young singer-songwriter ("Get Away From Me"), comes closest to achieving a Brechtian effect. Clad in trailing pre-Raphaelite bridal white, her Polly speaks and sings with a flat, deadpan sincerity that suggests sugary blandness can accommodate a multitude of sins. It's a brave, carefully thought-out performance, though its willful affectlessness means that songs like "Pirate Jenny" (restored to Polly here, as in the original version) have no chance of being showstoppers." - Source
Overall, not mixed to not-so-great reviews for the show, but excellent reviews for Nellie... what CAN'T this girl do, eh? heh
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