To purchase the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording of A TALE OF TWO CITIES, click on the image above.
It’s Double Take December at Musical Cyberspace! Every musical pretty much has something one likes and something one doesn’t in it. This month I’ll be listing one of each for a range of musicals, a different one each day.
A Tale of Two Cities
Something I Like: Jill Santoriello’s tenacity in seeing this musical through from conception to a Broadway production. It’s nothing short of astounding that she achieved what she did considering the overall quality of the show itself.
Something I Don’t Like: On that note, it’s sad that the show is something of a Frank Wildhorn knockoff. I also don’t like the fact that the recession at the time of the show’s premiere has become the official scapegoat for the show’s commercial failure. While this may offer those who had money invested in the show some comfort, it doesn’t excuse the fact that the show simply isn’t the compelling piece of work it should be given the pedigree of its source material.
Feel free to share your “double take” on A Tale of Two Cities in the comment box!
Musical Cyberspace 
Biggest piece of crap I’ve ever seen on Broadway. If I weren’t given comped tickets, I may have asked for my money back.
Frankly, I’m rather surprised you see this as a Wildhorn knock-off when the more obvious comparison is Les Mis.
The earlier versions of the show owe more to Les Misérables than the final version. By the time the show premiered, Wildhorn’s style – which is, of course, strongly derivative of perhaps the weakest aspects of that 1980s musical, can clearly be seen as a huge influence on the final product – so much so, in fact, that a Wildhorn song was shoehorned into the PBS broadcast of the concert staging of the show.
I felt that was more a byproduct of casting Wildhorn’s steady in the show at the time, but no matter. We both agree it was crap.