Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day at The Paramount Theatre is delightful, but to bit too long.
What would you do if you could live one day repeatedly? How would you feel if that one day happened again and again and you could never see tomorrow? If you ever wondered how it would feel to experience déjà vu, Paramount Theatre's Midwest regional premiere of Groundhog Day: The Musical is the play for you. Directed by Jim Corti from the book by Danny Rubin and music & lyrics by Tim Minchin, Paramount Theatre Groundhog Day will make any arrogant (Phil) person change his stripes. Originally produced on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre, Groundhog Day was nominated for 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
The victim of this never-ending day is Pittsburgh's weatherman Phil Connors. The television station has assigned Phil to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. But, feeling that going to a small-town city where people place so much importance on a groundhog predicting the weather is beneath him, he reluctantly goes to cover the story of Punxsutawney Phil, the Groundhog. Paramount Theatre starts this musical by showing us how arrogant weatherman Phil Connors is on screen doing the weather. Phil's pretentious behavior, showing no respect for anyone, is evident, especially by his co-workers, Rita, his assistant producer, and cameraman Larry (Ron King). But unbeknown to Phil, he is about to encounter a twilight zone, time loop experience, where he has to repeat the same day repeatedly, repetitive and monotonous, but you get the picture.
As Phil and the production crew of Rita and Larry arrive, the people of Punxsutawney have set their heart on Punxsutawney Phil, will not see his shadow, ending winter and the commencement of spring. But when Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, depicting six more weeks of winter, Phil Connors has had enough and is ready to leave this god-forsaken town. But instead, the sheriff enters and tells them that a snowstorm has closed every road out of town, keeping everyone from departing. After the days continuously repeat and Phil is about to go mad, he discovers an advantage of knowing what will happen each day and seeks to use that to his benefit. But knowing how the days may go doesn't mean he can predict every reaction, especially when it comes to Rita. Phil continuously tries to get Rita into his bed each day, learning more and more about her, but unfortunately, the repeating days don't land him the prize, and each day at 6 a.m., he wakes up again, alone.
In the end, Phil realizes it's what you make of the day that is important and that being considerate of others is always the best policy. The musical is based on the 1993 film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as Phil Connors and Andie MacDowell as Rita Hanson, making its world premiere at The Old Vic in London in summer 2016. The superstitious belief that a groundhog could predict the weather came from German immigrants that settled in Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. Other animals (Hedgehog & Badger) have been used; however, the superstition is that if an animal emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Conversely, if there is no shadow, spring will arrive early.
Alex Syiek is exceptional as arrogant and somewhat misogynistic weatherman Phil Connors. Unfortunately, opinions regarding Groundhog, the film, and the musical vary from successful to the worst movie ever (Which we heard from someone currently). Still, just like Bill Murray, who does an excellent job carrying the film, Syiek performance at Paramount is just as good.
Phoebe González is Rita Hanson, Phil's new assistant producer fit well with the pompous weatherman. Gonzalez, a Mexican-Irish-American, Chicago-based actor and singer hail from Washington Heights. She makes us Chicagoans proud with her performance, but I felt that the songs she sang hindered us from hearing what I believe is a fantastic voice waiting to soar, and the surrounding cast members performed nicely. None of the songs (Everything About You, If I Had My Time Again, Hope, Getting The Hang Of This, Night Will Come, Boots/Punxsutawney Rock, or Seeing You) had that memorable, stick in your mind feel that you have you humming or singing them as you leave the play. We had another critic with us, and he challenged us to remember one of the songs. And why the one-night stand girl and the insurance man had a song is still puzzling.
The curious-looking pentagon/hexagon globe setting that Paramount Theatre used as the background to illuminate the stage, displaying the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, made you feel like you were in a Star Trek hologram. However, it worked surprisingly well. In the end, Phil, who is no longer the pompous jerk, has finally seen the light of day wakes up seeing the day, called tomorrow, with Rita, the girl he has been trying to seduce throughout the play.
Let's Play Recommends Groundhog Day at Paramount Theatre.
Paramount Theatre
GROUNDHOG DAY: THE MUSICAL
Book by Danny Rubin
Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin
Directed by Jim Corti
January 26 - March 13, 2022
