War Paint

I didn't stay for the second act of War Paint, and it's closing in early November, so I'll make this brief.

• My response to Patti LuPone's first solo: "I wish they had closed captioning."
• My sister's response to Patti LuPone's first solo: "Was she singing in English?"

Patti LuPone
Photo: Joan Marcus
Lyric interpretation: Wendy Caster

• The dancing was lame. 
• They have a lot of nerve having a scene at The Cotton Club with zero black performers.
• LuPone and Christine Ebersole sounded fabulous musically--and Ebersole was frequently even intelligible. 
• A show so completely lacking in plot really needs something else to make it worthwhile. They went for two amazing stars, having all sorts of scenery and costumes, and generally trying to be stylish. It is not enough. 
• I am a big fan of Grey Gardens, also by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, but this show has little of that show's individuality, character, and humor. 
• I suppose that War Paint's lyrics may be as good as Grey Gardens', but, really, who could tell? (By the way, the chorus was also pretty difficult to understand. And we were in the 7th row, so that wasn't the issue.)
• The show curtain is ugly. It's a huge painting of a woman putting on lipstick. Only her face from the nose down, her neck, and her hands are visible. It's completely out of proportion and the color choices are awful. 
• After I got home, I texted my sister, "Did it get any better?" She texted back, "No!!! But great fun and BAAAAAAAAD." I guess that's something...

Oh, and:

• This isn't the show's fault, but it is part of my experience: Before the show started, the guy behind me was crinkling something. I figured he'd stop when the show started. He didn't. I gave him a look. He said, "I'm trying to make less noise." The crinkling got fainter. I figured he was getting something he needed, and he'd be done. But it kept on. So I turned again and saw that he was taking pieces of candy, one at a time, out of a crinkly bag. I hissed, "Seriously?" He did stop after that. Except...
• After I was gone, the guy started crinkling again during the second act, until my friend turned and mouthed "Stop!" at him. Considerate fella.

Wendy Caster

(7th row, audience left; tdf ticket, around $47)