Suckwatch: A Tale of Two Cities

I hear that A Tale of Two Cities is every inch the hot mess I predicted! An anonymous industry insider called me during intermission at a recent performance, urging me to "get to the theater right now and see what's left of this mess, because there's no way they could possibly have any more performances after tonight!" From my pal's description, the show sounds like a hodge-podge of the worst moments of Les Mis, The Scarlett Pimpernel, and Jekyll and Hyde. Oh my!

I don't see what could be so terrible about a show that starts it's press releases with these words:

A Tale of Two Cities, a new musical to quicken the hearts of fans of sprawling romantic historical epics — the kind of show where characters in the shadows sing about the light of tomorrow — begins its Broadway life Aug. 19 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. (emphasis mine)

I mean, wow.