“The pleasant score is full of warm pianos and suspended cymbal rolls, but its lyrics are mired with platitudes...As its actresses weave through that hanging garden, they look ravishing in Toni-Leslie James’s svelte period dresses — and so does this small-scale musical, whose tribute to women’s sacrifices and encouragement is put in their own finest light.”
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“The musical is definitively not a biomusical, but the show is wanting in more dance. I’d love to see Younger Anuncia perform full-blown dance sequence and showcase the talents her family helped nurture...In many ways, ‘The Gardens of Anuncia’ presents the hallmarks of a successful garden: It is visually appealing and full of life.”
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"This wealth of material, however, orbits around a figure that 'The Gardens of Anuncia' — and indeed, the Anuncia narrating the show — doesn’t fully illuminate. "
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“ ‘The Gardens of Anuncia’ is a chamber piece, more a biographical oratorio than a traditional musical. It provides a signal pleasure that modestly scaled musicals often do...A dappled mosaic of song and story, it coalesces into an affecting portrait of an artist whose roots are deeply planted in the soil of family affection.”
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“If you were hoping for backstage showbiz tea, you won’t get it. And you also won’t get much about what made Anuncia’s — Daniele’s — life remarkable. It’s a nice tribute to the women who raised her, but does that make good drama? In this case, not quite.”
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“In a way, the sheer professionalism that defines The Gardens of Anuncia is also its chief problem. As pleasant, even pleasurable, as it is, one yearns at times for something darker and more dramatic to break through; it's a case of emotion recollected in perhaps too much tranquility. Still. Anuncia and her loved ones are a delight to be around, and Lopez and company remain a collective wonder.”
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“ ‘The Gardens of Anuncia’ is a delicate work that is dependent on its perfect cast and the sure eye of its director to keep things gently flowing. There is no room for rough spots or prima donnas anywhere along the way. Fortunately for this production, it's all hands on deck, so that the whole work comes off as if it were a piece of intricately tatted lace. Or, perhaps, a lovingly nurtured garden.”
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“By closing, ‘The Gardens of Anuncia’ reveals its primary strength. Created by two friends so taken with each other and with each other’s talents, their result arrives as a labor of love. To be fair, Daniele and LaChiusa might object that their musical in no way required labor, just love.”
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