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The musical "Not Just Blonde" reduces the level of anxiety to two and a half hours
While Broadway has been shut down for more than a year and the flight to London's West End is banned, the musical "Not Just Blonde" manages to bring to the Israeli audience two hours of light entertainment, pink escapism with a sparkling cover, and with Anya Buxtein devouring the stage.
In such days of anxiety and uncertainty, it is far more than satisfying
Tags
Not only blonde
Anya Buxtein
Hannah Leslau
Oz Zehavi
Ben Byron Braude
Friday, 20 August 2021, 09:12 Updated: 09:38
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Introduces enthusiasm in the audience as long as she is on stage.
Anya Buxtein, the musical "Not Just a Blonde" (Photo: Orit Pnini)
A rather chauvinistic cliché claims that blondes enjoy more.
By the same token, when you are blonde people are holding the elevator doors for you, Walt couriers do not cut you off on the road and even the packages you have ordered from Asus always arrive on time (and to the right extent).
If you rely on the butchers' way that the Hebrew version of the musical "Not Just Blonde" went through until it hit the stages, it's really not sure that's true.
The Hebrew version is based on a musical already running on the Broadway and West End stages, and is based on the successful film of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon and the novel by Heather Hatch.
It first took to the stages in Israel in February 2020. If your memory is already dimmed by too many flashlights, it was a moment before we all entered the hermetic closure.
Despite a lot of investment in processing and production, "Not Just a Blonde" managed to go up only eight times before stepping off the stages with the closing of the world of culture.
Against all odds and while many plays have not yet returned from the "vacation", producer Maayan Zellner and director Avichai Hacham managed to reunite the cast after more than a year and a half, this time for a round that will hopefully be longer and may return the investment.
If you rely on the increasing morbidity data, it's not really sure it's going to last long, but hey, let's stay optimistic.
Whether you watched the 2001 blockbuster, the sequel "Not Just Blonde 2" or the original version of the musical, you and I should already know that optimism is the name of the game here.
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Among the best singers in Israel.
Anya Buxtein, the musical "Not Just a Blonde" (Photo: Orit Pnini)
"Not Just Blonde" is a romantic comedy with a twist, one that beyond a love story reinforces feminist and liberal values, and even went ahead of its time and did Mi Tu even before the term existed. At the center of the plot is Al Woods (Anya Buxtein), a beautiful, rich and superficial young woman from the coastal city of Malibu who is deeply in love with her handsome partner Warner (Yiftach Mizrahi). Upon graduating from high school, Warner decides that in order to fulfill his political aspirations and alongside his admission to law school at Harvard University, he needs to find a better quality and separate partner immediately. Heartbroken (but still full of style) Al decides to change her attitude and impress Warner thanks to her intelligence. After an effort by her and her friends to join the Delta Nu fraternity (played here by a chorus of particularly energetic and talented actresses), she too is accepted to study law at Harvard.
From here and for about two and a half hours (including a break) do not fight fiercely and with a perfect face in the difficulties that many women face - the condescension and abuse of men alongside the revenge and jealousy of her classmates.
She will show us how to use knowledge from magazines like Vogue and obsessively watch Channel E to resolve legal issues, and also fall in love with the handsome practitioner and idealist Emmett (Golden Oz).
Although this is an external production for the major theaters, big names have been recruited here, besides the ones I already mentioned here are Hannah Leslau in the role of emitter (the same iconic role she played in the film Jennifer Coolidge), Shashi Keshet as the corrupt Professor Callahan and Mae Feingold as a fitness guru accused of murder.
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There is no timeless classic here but there is pure pan.
The musical "Not just a blonde" (Photo: Orit Pnini)
The experience of visiting the theater (like any other cultural event) became a bit annoying during the Corona period - the long queue at the entrance to show the green note, sitting with the mask on during the show and the fear that someone will cough at you. Even with all this and in front of an audience that voted with their feet and filled the Heichal Hatarbut in Tel Aviv, watching the 'comeback' show of "Not Only Blonde Israel" turned out to be a great pleasure. It's important to say - this is not a perfect musical, there is no timeless classic here "Poor Life" style or a punch in the stomach like "Spring Awakens". In fact, even the Broadway version starring Laura Bell in Andy was not a huge box office success, and went down after a relatively short time.
So why watch it anyway?
That is, beyond being a musical that is all pure pan.
First and foremost thanks to the secret element that was not present in any of the world versions of the musical - Anya Buxtein.
Buxtein's tremendous talent is not a new discovery, for years she has been one of the most esteemed and busy actresses in Israel, one who has made television, film and theater.
It does not detract in any way from the enthusiasm she puts in the audience every moment she is on stage (and she is on stage throughout most of the show).
There are roles that every actress dreams of, like that of Nina in the play "The Seagull" (which has already become a recurring joke in the series "Rehearsals"), the role of Al Woods is actually one that many actresses would have avoided.
Although her character goes through a journey of self-discovery, she is at the end of the day a 'simple' character, one that is easy to fall into clichés.
But not in the hands of Buxtein, who simply devours the stage and presents a sensitive, intelligent, vulnerable and powerful version of Woods.
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The whole cast is great.
The musical "Not just a blonde" (Photo: Orit Pnini)
And the voice?
I have been claiming for years that Buxtein is one of the best singers in Israel.
In her short singing career she has managed to produce a number of hits (mainly "Dancing" with Ofer Nissim) but she is still best known as an actress.
When you hear her sing Sarah Live on stage it is impossible not to admire her vocal abilities.
Throughout the show her singing is accurate, powerful and mostly moving.
She manages to lift the audience with the light numbers (and most of them are) but even in the quiet moments her voice crosses the distance and touches each of the viewers.
Watching it reminded me of big contemporary Broadway stars like Kirstin Chanut and Edina Menzel.
I have no doubt that the next time they look for an Israeli actress to star on Broadway (Maimon Style songs), Buxtein can take it in stride.
But wait, even though she's undoubtedly a good reason to see "Not Just a Blonde" Buxtein really isn't alone on stage.
Although there are no songs here that will break your heart and not come out of your head (maybe other than "Gay or European" that should become a cult), the live orchestra's arrangements are excellent and fun, all the choir members do excellent roles, and Daniel Efrat's translation flows without causing discomfort ( The song in which Leslau's character insists on calling the guy 'Irish' instead of 'Irish', as is customary in Hebrew) stands out.
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Like an Anglo-Saxon version of the memorable Marioma.
Hannah Leslau, the musical "Not Just a Blonde" (Photo: Orit Pnini)
And speaking of Slough, it's hard not to fall in love with her presence on stage, the role of the salon owner Polt is reminiscent of an Anglo-Saxon version of the memorable Marioma, and the audience kept cheering her on throughout the show. It's amazing to see how this entertainer manages to produce a constant sense of comeback even though she's never gone away. Oz Zehavi, who has relatively lowered his profile in recent years, also plays an excellent role here and turns out to be a very good singer.
One thing that made me uncomfortable was actually the presence of Al - Bruzer's dog, on stage. True, both in the film and in the show Al's Chihuahua dog is one of its salient features, she even makes sure to say that he is not a dog but a family member. Here they brought a particularly charming Jack Russell dog that appears alongside Buxtein, and although it can be assumed that this is a dog with experience in productions, animals suffer and do not enjoy such situations. What's more, there is no gimmick here that contributes to the show itself. The producers will make up their minds if they give it up in the next shows, and I hope many more, are still to come.
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