Cindy could use a fairy godmother
October 1, 2002 - The Montreal Gazette
PARIS - The crowd was tough at last night’s world premiere of Luc Plamondon’s Cindy: Cendrillon 2002, leaving questions as to whether the musical’s six-month run will be a success.
The three-quarters-full audience reacted tepidly, but visiting luminaries glowed with praise for Lucky Luc and his latest popera. The piece had weak leading roles, but was largely saved from disaster by fine performances courtesy of the Canadian trio of 1970s and ‘80s superstar Patsy Gallant, Judith Berard and Patrice Blouin. Other standouts included French rapper Jay as Malcolm, Cindy’s best friend, and Jean Leduc as a fashion designer.
Plamondon has talked before about the challenge of condensing the 600-page Notre-Dame de Paris into a two-hour show, but seemed to have more trouble expanding on a short fairy tale. The show brings the Cinderella story up to date, with a down-and-out Cindy (Laam) now living in a rough suburb of Paris. She falls for Ricky, a rock star played by Frank Sherbourne. For its first half the show resembles the plot of Cinderella, but the lovers have already found each other by intermission and the piece wanders in some strange directions in the second half.
One odd tangent includes Cindy’s wicked stepsister going out all night to a rave and being accused the next day of using ecstasy by her mother. Another includes a tragic overdose surrounded by a score of flailing dancers.
The Parisian audience just couldn’t get excited about Cindy’s wandering plot and didn’t seem to buy into Plamondon’s modern version of the fairy tale. At intermission, Parisians began to react - or not. Young Shannone Bougdid, who owns the CD for the show with her sister, sang along enthusiastically with many songs, but her sister took a nap during the first half of the performance.
Despite its tangents, Cindy’s second half displayed a lot of promise and nipped some of the jeers in the bud, but the Parisian audience, known for stomping its feet and clapping for encores ad nauseam, began making for the exits before the last song was over. The actors came out for their bow at the end, but there was no curtain call.
At a dinner after the show, Plamondon said he felt “lighter” then he did a few hours earlier. “Several of the singers had a personal triumph tonight,” he said, citing Jay and the entire Canadian trio.
Quebec journalist and author Denise Bombardier, in Paris working on her latest novel, gave Plamondon a big kiss before she talked about the show. “I love Luc and his big spectacles,” she said. “I don’t know about the reviews he’ll receive. A lot of colleagues seemed critical about it.”
Louise Beaudoin, Quebec’s minister of international relations, was more flattering. “Luc is our best ambassador in all of francophonie. He made it possible for so many Quebecers to get into so many big productions.”
Tanya Benhamoun, a Montreal native living in Paris for the last seven years, had a reserved judgment. “Not all the singers were great, but three or four carried it,” she said, naming Jay, Gallant and Berard.
Time will tell whether the show will live up to its predecessors. Ticket sales are said to already be over $120,000, but opening night made it seem like Luc’s luck might be running a little low with Cindy when compared to his last two pieces, Starmania and Notre-Dame de Paris.
Canadians might get their say soon; Barry Garber, the show’s international agent, said Cindy will come to Montreal next summer, although a venue is yet to be determined.
