Did San Francisco Critics Find the B'way-Bound Mambo Kings Sizzling?

Lennon tried out in San Francisco and is due in New York on July 7. The second tuner of the 2005-2006 Broadway season is also having a San Francisco tryout--The Mambo Kings, scheduled to start Gotham performances at the Broadway Theatre on July 20, is currently on the West Coast giving the Golden Gate Theatre a Latin flair. With a book by Oscar Hijuelos who wrote the original novel and Arne Glimcher, music by Carlos Franzetti, and lyrics and direction by Glimcher, the tuner officially opened in California on May 31. Did area critics think Mambo sizzles?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Dennis Harvey of Variety: "The raw ingredients for a crossover crowd-pleaser are present in new tuner The Mambo Kings, adapted from Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer-winning 1989 novel. But this advertised 'hot new musical' at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theater is currently just lukewarm--an uneven, sometimes tepid package more middling than sizzling. To meet the show's rich potential by the time of its planned August launch on Broadway, creatives need to rein in sentimental song and story elements that, at present, are too blandly highlighted, while kicking up a notch lead perfs, pacing and design contributions... The tropical color intensity of lighting schemata triumphs over paltry set design. Its background left mostly empty black a scrim frequently cloaking orchestra on wraparound stage balcony, the show too often seems underpopulated and underdressed. Though dance corps and most support players are just fine, lead thesps aren't yet sparking on all cylinders."

Robert Hurwitt of The San Francisco Chronicle: "Whenever it mambos, the Broadway-bound new musical that opened Tuesday at the Golden Gate Theatre is a quick-stepping, skirt-swirling, energetic blaze of lavish color, exciting choreography and high spirits. That, unfortunately, doesn't happen often enough. The Mambo Kings bogs down in a cut-and-paste book, too many journeyman ballads and, except for the dancing, a puzzling lack of charisma onstage… Mexican film and singing star Jaime Camil is appropriately handsome and golden-toned as Nestor, but the character remains mostly a symbol. Film and TV star Esai Morales works hard to create Cesar's inner conflict, but his performance often seems smaller than life and his songs overtax his limited range."

Tiger Hashimoto of The San Francisco Examiner: "[The Mambo Kings] is dramatically sluggish, musically dreary and full of every cliché in the American musical comedy handbook — including some offensive Jewish 'comic relief' that, if removed, would shorten the show by a needed 20 minutes. The new songs, written by Carlos Franzetti with lyrics by Glimcher, are virtually tuneless... Even with an occasional witty line, this domestic stuff is heavy going, with the hard-working but not very charismatic cast just keeping its head above water. The singing is acceptable, but only Noll proves to have an exciting voice. What makes the 2½-hour show bearable is the dancing, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The band, above the stage behind a curtain much of the time, is brass-oriented and hot. The coda to the mambo form is often an improvised drum solo and the drummers are terrific. The dance ensemble on the stage below is so electrifying you want them to continue and the story to stop. Not exactly the right formula for a Broadway hit."

Chad Jones of The Oakland Tribune: "First, the good news: the world-premiere musical The Mambo Kings... is not a complete disaster. There is some spectacular dancing and a few good moments here and there. The bad news is that disaster looms over much of the show... The score features some alarmingly bad songs and some of the weakest lyrics since 'love' was rhymed with 'glove' a million songs ago. If there's an expiration date on this Mambo Kings, it probably reads 'best by June 1958.' Musicals don't get much more old-fashioned than this. The quaint and creaky Mambo makes last winter's White Christmas look cutting-edge... The best thing about the musical is Sergio Trujillo's scintillating choreography. The Mambo Kings should be primarily a dance show. Forget about the cliché-ridden scenes and the droning, one-dimensional melodrama. Tell music director Constantine Kitsopoulos to unleash his drummers and his horn players and let the dancers tell the story of Cesar, Nestor and their quest to become Mambo Kings at the height of New York's mambo fever. Pity the poor actors who have to make something of the lame dialogue. And did I mention the lyrics are atrocious?... Limited by Glimcher's words, both in song and in scenes, the actors come across stiff and uncomfortable. You would, too, if you had to say something like, 'The shrimp that sleeps gets carried away by a cocktail.'"

Pat Craig of The Contra Costa Times: "Oh, what fun The Mambo Kings is… With some tinkering here and there, it should have some Manhattan mamacitas lining up in their ruffled dance skirts to keep the show running for a long time… Director and co-author Arne Glimcher keeps the show running like a great party. The show itself is charming and imbued with a sort of old-fashioned sweetness that makes it a lot of fun to watch. And the ensemble cast, including famed Cuban singer Albita as nightclub performer Evalina Montoya, produces enough power to light the Las Vegas strip for several weeks."

Karen D'Souza of The San Jose Mercury News: "As fiery and sexy as a trip to the DMV, The Mambo Kings, in its world premiere at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre, fizzles way more often than it sizzles. This Mambo scorches only when it moves. The dancers' bodies throb and pulse like the neon lights in Riccardo Hernandez's fever dream of a set; Sergio Trujillo's racy choreography sets the blood afire, urging theatergoers to rumba and cha-cha in their seats. Trujillo's choreography is hot, hot, hot. But Oscar Hijuelos and Arne Glimcher's dialogue is not, not, not. And the acting and direction in this 2 1/2-hour production also are nowhere near as zesty and vivid. In fact, as directed by Glimcher, the pacing seems not so much slow as congealed... Overall, there's a static quality to the performances that smacks of soap opera acting."