Queen of the Mist OFF-BROADWAY REVIEWS

NY TIMES
VARIETY
NY POST
AP
TM

Opening Night:: November 6, 2011
Closing:: November 20, 2011

Theater: The Gym at Judson / 243 Thompson Street, New York, NY, 10012

Synopsis:

QUEEN OF THE MIST is a world premiere musical with words and music by 5-time Tony nominee Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Marie Christine, Hello Again). Based on an astounding and outrageous true story, two-time Tony nominee Mary Testa (On the Town, 42nd Street, Marie Christine) stars as Anna Edson Taylor, who, in 1901, set out to be the first woman to shoot Niagara Falls in a barrel of her own design. Navigating both the treacherous Falls and a fickle public with a ravenous appetite for sensationalism, this unconventional heroine vies for her legacy in a world clamoring with swindling managers, assassins, revolutionaries, moralizing family, anarchists and activists. Convinced that there is greatness in her and determined not to live as ordinary, she sets out to tempt her fate.

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NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF Queen of the Mist

Obsessed With Taking the Plunge
Ben Brantley

November 6, 2011: It can get pretty lonely being the kind of person who goes over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Anna Edson Taylor (1838-1921) made her name more than a century ago by doing just that, and received oceans of publicity. Yet during the many years of her life portrayed in “Queen of the Mist,” Michael John LaChiusa’s obsessive musical portrait of an obsessive woman, she encounters only one true kindred spirit. And he’s not exactly someone whose name you’d want linked to yours for eternity.
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VARIETY REVIEW OF Queen of the Mist

Queen of the Mist
Steve Suskin

November 7, 2011: Anna Edson Taylor, a struggling 63-year-old schoolteacher, threw caution to the wind in 1901, plunged over Niagara Falls in a barrel and lived to tell about it. Instant celebrity resulted, but she just as quickly plunged into obscurity. Until now, that is, as prolific musical maker Michael John LaChiusa has taken up Taylor's cause with "Queen of the Mist." An unusual story, a provocative score and inventive staging by Jack Cummings III combine to make this an intriguing offering from the Transport Group, buoyed by Mary Testa as the stubbornly contrary Anna.
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NEW YORK POST REVIEW OF Queen of the Mist

Not worth taking plunge for Niagara Falls tale
Frank Scheck

November 6, 2011: As musical subjects go, Anna Edson Taylor’s hardly the Unsinkable Molly Brown. In 1901, the real-life heroine of Michael John LaChiusa’s new show went over Niagara Falls in a barrel at age 63 and lived to tell about it before lapsing back into obscurity.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS REVIEW OF Queen of the Mist

'Queen of the Mist' a turn-of-the-century charmer
Jennifer Farrar

November 7, 2011: Fame is a fickle friend, and always has been, as shown in a new musical by veteran composer Michael John LaChiusa about the shifting public reaction to a daring stunt from 1901. "Queen of the Mist" is based on the real-life story of Anna "Annie" Edson Taylor, an independent, stubborn, 63-year-old woman who was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive.
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THEATERMANIA REVIEW OF Queen of the Mist

Queen of the Mist
David Finkle

November 6, 2011: There are many talented performers today for whom musicals should be specifically written. Mary Testa is one of them, and composer-lyricist-librettist Michael John LaChiusa knows it. As a result, he's crafted the insistently involving, though still imperfect, "Queen of the Mist", being presented by Transport Group at The Gym at Judson.
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