Josh Young in "Jesus Christ Superstar". Photo by David Hou.

A quick round-up of the weeks theater headlines:

• Want tickets to a “secret” performance by the cast of the upcoming revival of Jesus Christ Superstar? “Like” their Facebook page by Monday and you can be entered to win passes to the special event as well as tickets to the show.

• Need another reason to see Audra McDonald’s bravura performance in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess? Buy tickets to the February 21st performance through givenik.com, send your confirmation number to RSVP@givenik.com and you’ll be invited to a special post-show cast party at B. Smith’s, supporting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

• 

  Condola Rashad & Mekhi Phifer in "Stick Fly". Photo by Richard Termine.

  The multiplex to Main Stem fast lane continues to hum with the announcement of a Broadway bound adaptation of Honeymoon in Vegas, with music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade) and book by Andrew Bergman (director and screenwriter of the original film which starred Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker).

• Playbill.com is reporting that the cast of Les Miserables will be singing live on sound stages and not lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks, at least for a portion of the film adaptation directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).

• Stick Fly, the well-reviewed family drama presented by singer Alicia Keys, announced it will be closing Sunday, February 26 following 24 previews and 92 regular performances on Broadway.

• Setting to rest any of the “will it or won’t it” drama of last week, the producers of the Pulitzer-winning Clybourne Park announced an official schedule, beginning previews March 26 and opening April 19.

Celia Keenan-Bolger, Colin Donnell & Lin Manuel Miranda. Photo by Peter Cunningham.

At opening night of the City Center Encores presentation of Merrily We Roll Along, a man two seats away from me was weeping, full on Terms of Endearment sobs. It wasn’t the end of the show, when the infamous “told in reverse” musical winds its way back to the innocent beginnings of a trio of old friends (who earlier in the show/later in chronology had been torn apart.) It wasn’t at the emotional climax of one of Stephen Sondheim’s gorgeously emotional and savvily show-biz songs detailing the travails of growing up and making compromises. It wasn’t even as the overture began with a brassy strut, tears brought on by the thrill of a big Broadway band. No, he was crying no more than a phrase into “Not a Day Goes By,” the oft belted at concerts (see videos below) dramatic show piece sung by a betrayed wife outside her divorce hearing.

The thing is, though Betsy Wolfe sang it beautifully and with admirable restraint, the song hadn’t really gotten going yet. There was nothing to cry about on stage. This sniffling man was crying at the idea of the show, the show that he had built in his head after years of listening to each version of its amazing score or reading each new edit of its difficult to wrangle book by George Furth. He was enjoying Merrily, but not the one on the stage.

What is on stage is fine (and at times thrilling) but still searching to meet the perfection that seems to exist in much of the audience’s imagination. The score remains a rich, affecting blast of show tune heaven, densely packed with truth that rocks you as you age into and regretfully recognize yourself in the characters. The book feels clearer than other drafts, though revelations of “oh, that’s why that happened” click into place with a loud, slightly distracting metaphoric snap.  The actors playing the central trio work mightily to stay atop the backward rush of events (and the limited rehearsal time), with Colin Donnell fitting most comfortably into Sondheim’s musical world and Celia Keenan-Bolger making the most of her character’s overlooked “gal pal” one liners. Perhaps because they don’t have to shoulder the weight of the reverse arc, the two supporting female performances are dynamite; Betsy Wolfe and Elizabeth Stanley offer sugar and spice contrasting visions of wronged wives, Wolfe sweetly real and Stanley boldly playing to the rafters.

In the end, though, this production is a thought-provoking show that never quite works its way into your heart. The “perfect” version will always remain just over the horizon or tucked away in a private place. And come to think of it that seems, well, perfect for a show about the illusions we cling to and the lies we tell ourselves as we age.

Curious why this show has such a mystique? Just watch these diva-rific versions of “Not a Day Goes By”…

Read more…