原文
At the first of the production's three sold-out performances, it appeared that Gyllenhaal wouldn't have had it any other way. From his initial entrance, accompanied by a stumbling pratfall, he approaches the nebbishy role without an ounce of movie-star vanity, shuffling around with his hands in his pockets, his shoulders bowed and an air of permanent apology stamped on his bespectacled face. He even made a point of stepping aside during the curtain calls to give the emotionally overwhelmed Greene the final solo bow.
Gyllenhaal has already demonstrated his stage chops and his disinclination to dominate an ensemble in the play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, and in last season's superb Broadway two-hander, Constellations. If this brief run is an experiment to see if he's up to the challenge of doing a musical, he passes with flying colors. He may not have the vocal gusto of a Hugh Jackman, but his voice is sweet, expressive and tuneful — a natural extension of his endearingly nerdy characterization as the orphan taken in by crabby florist Mr. Mushnik (Joe Grifasi).
When Gyllenhaal chimes in with his yearning for an escape from a life of poverty and drudgery in the soul-stirring ensemble number "Skid Row (Downtown)," there's passion and sincerity in his singing. He nails the goofy comedy of "Grow For Me," pleading with the exotic plant discovery that is his one shot at becoming somebody. And in the show's soaring emotional crescendo, the glorious duet "Suddenly, Seymour," his timid declaration of love for co-worker Audrey is a perfect complement to Greene's exultant realization that someone decent might actually care for her. That number quite literally stopped the show and made the age gap between the performers disappear.
At the first of the production's three sold-out performances, it appeared that Gyllenhaal wouldn't have had it any other way. From his initial entrance, accompanied by a stumbling pratfall, he approaches the nebbishy role without an ounce of movie-star vanity, shuffling around with his hands in his pockets, his shoulders bowed and an air of permanent apology stamped on his bespectacled face. He even made a point of stepping aside during the curtain calls to give the emotionally overwhelmed Greene the final solo bow.
Gyllenhaal has already demonstrated his stage chops and his disinclination to dominate an ensemble in the play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, and in last season's superb Broadway two-hander, Constellations. If this brief run is an experiment to see if he's up to the challenge of doing a musical, he passes with flying colors. He may not have the vocal gusto of a Hugh Jackman, but his voice is sweet, expressive and tuneful — a natural extension of his endearingly nerdy characterization as the orphan taken in by crabby florist Mr. Mushnik (Joe Grifasi).
When Gyllenhaal chimes in with his yearning for an escape from a life of poverty and drudgery in the soul-stirring ensemble number "Skid Row (Downtown)," there's passion and sincerity in his singing. He nails the goofy comedy of "Grow For Me," pleading with the exotic plant discovery that is his one shot at becoming somebody. And in the show's soaring emotional crescendo, the glorious duet "Suddenly, Seymour," his timid declaration of love for co-worker Audrey is a perfect complement to Greene's exultant realization that someone decent might actually care for her. That number quite literally stopped the show and made the age gap between the performers disappear.
