Theatre Review: Grand Hotel Shows The Poverty of Wealth AT NYCC

To live beyond your means is, usually, a sign that you are not living with meaning. Those that choose to materialize their existence by buying things rather than feeling something are avoiding the luxury of authenticity. In a time where “genuine” can feel like a loose term, Encores’ presentation of Grand Hotel was a marvelous display of what being “authentic” mean in terms of being happy. 

For being a musical based on a 1929 novel, Grand Hotel felt so relevant to our times’ gaudiness and the desire of many to look good without being it. Nearly every character feels like a vintage “reality star”; proudly displaying the “money” they do not have and, inadvertently, showing the emptiness their soul can carry. People trying to look and act “rich” is nothing new to a premise, but Encores! made Grand Hotel feel like the freshest, most relevant musical despite being retro in “pizzaz”. With artfully splashed decadence in costume, designed by Linda Cho, and set, designed by Allen Moyer, the Grand Hotel looks like the most beautiful place to stay, but its characters show it is the saddest. 

It is hard to “pick” my favorite character within this production. Absolutely every actor shines in giving their characters a list of issues and a bigger list on why they avoid them. You feel entranced by graceful dancing of The Countess and The Gigolo (Guadalupe Garcia & Junior Cevila), charmed by The Two Jimmys (James T. Lane & Daniel Yearwood), chuckled by Madame Peepee (Kate Chapman), and connected with the solidity of Raffaela Ottannio (Natascia Diaz). Moreover, you understand the ambitions and frustrations of being broke that moves “lighter” people to darker moves like, Baron Felix Von Gaigern (played dashingly by James Snyder) and Flaemmchen (played ambitiously by Helene York). These two characters, in particular, stood out to show how lack of money makes you feel unseen, and pushes you to sell your greatest attributes, like your talent or charisma, just to get recognition. The problem is when you sell yourself like an object, you lose your say in your moral price. Hence, the audience gravitated towards the more innocent, nobler characters like Elizaveta (played with sweetness by  Irina Dvorovenko) and, of course, Brandon Uranowitz’s Otto Kringelein.

Uranowitz makes Otto feel like the moral breathe of the Grand Hotel. He is so kind, caring, and eager to be aware of others’s needs, I wanted to protect him from his ailments. When he sang “We’ll Take a Glass Together”, I felt revived. He went from sickly to dance king, and I was right there with him. Yet, there were so many songs like, “Girl In The Mirror” and “What She Needs”, that unveiled the life we carry within ourselves, for better or worse, and choose to hide because we want to “look” our best. I do not know when being adorned but unfeeling became a symbol of “classy” appearance, but it could be why you pour into Luthor Davis’ book and Robert Wright and George Forrest’s music; they realized that a good prose and magical rhythm can be a revelation of humanity.

Dynamically directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, Grand Hotel felt more “Broadway” than some current Broadway productions. You did not feel like you were away from “The Great White Way” as much as in its deserved epicenter. Not one person walked away from this Encores! production without wanting to see it again, and also feeling like it could go off to win best revival, at the Tony’s,  if it actually chose to run on Broadway.  For More Information On Encores! Productions and New York City Center Click Here. Located 131 W 55th St, New York, NY‎ Grand Hotel is 105 minutes without intermission.