Maid in the Shade

If there can be any theater role where the actor portraying it is too good for the material, among them would definitely be Audra McDonald in the current Broadway revival of 110 in the Shade. The musical is bland, dated, socially out-of-whack and needs to be mothballed for at least another 50 years. In other words it was a perfectly pleasant afternoon in the theater and the tourists will probably love it. Ms. McDonald is in full, luscious voice and, I’m not kidding, gives a lot deeper meaning to a role that doesn’t deserve her attention. It’s a well thought out performance but is ultimately, I think, a useless interpretation. The lady sure can sing, though…she almost makes Shade’s hackneyed melodies and lyrics palatable. Almost. The racially blind casting in this production means zilch so even that can’t add zest to what is just basic, boring material. I suppose in desperation the director and designers needed to throw in a constantly whirling turntable but that seems to be de rigueur these days on Broadway and a particular gripe of my own; no offense meant to those who remember Les Miserables fondly. I wish they would just abandon this theatrical device (which is no longer a novelty) and let people walk and/or dance across the stage like they were meant to in the script. Oh, yes, I’m glad you asked: it rains on stage in the finale. Yawn.