Review
A Woman of Will
Daryl Roth Theatre
September 28, 2005
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
A Woman of Will concerns a lyricist who has secluded herself in a hotel room in Cleveland so that she can complete her work on the musical version of "The Merchant of Venice". During her writer's block distress, she is inundated with phone calls from her husband, her director, her agent, her young boyfriend, the composer, and an other worldly call from William Shakespeare himself. Between these annoying messages, she sings odes to, as, and about the Bard's famous women characters, as well as numbers to, as, and about herself. Fear not - her block is lifted and she's able to pen a song about the heart, the mind, the will and she's also able to find words that rhyme with love such as "of", "above", etc.
This collaboration (book, music and lyrics) of Amanda McBroom who also stars as the lyricist and Joel Silberman who also directs is so loaded down with clichés of every kind that a ripple on a pond would sink it. As a performer, Ms. McBroom possesses excellent posture and a pleasant singing voice switching from her chest to head notes smoothly enough. As a director, Mr. Silberman is ebullient. As writers … well, to quote the mariners from Mr. Shakespeare's "The Tempest" - "All lost! To prayers, to prayers! All lost!"
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