The Pirate Queenis sensationally costumed and choreographed, thrilling and pacy, writes Mike Murphy
If you were to ask an Irish person to identify the most spontaneous standing ovation they can recall, the vast majority are likely to mention that Eurovision interval performance of Riverdancein 1994.
Now 13 years later - and thousands of standing ovations worldwide from Boston to Beijing - the team who created Riverdance, John McColgan and Moya Doherty, have audiences rising to their feet nightly on Broadway in a wave of appreciation for a brand new show, The Pirate Queen.
At the Hilton Theatre last Thursday, those of us who have attended countless opening nights could attest to the genuine enthusiasm of the audience as they rose and cheered and clapped. The audience, mainly American, just loved the show.
But next morning the critics waded in.
Having read the first batch of reviews I was struck as much by the vitriolic tone as I was by the overall negativity.
Had we attended the same show in the same theatre on the same night? Were those who lauded what they had witnessed indiscriminating and naïve? Are there reasons for this critic/audience dichotomy?
When Riverdancearrived on Broadway a decade ago it was already an international phenomenon . . . a magical music magnet for audiences of all ages and cultures. The manner of its emergence had, in effect, bypassed the critics. Audiences had voted with ticket purchases; the critics and their reviews were largely irrelevant. They carried little, if any, influence.
Prior to Riverdance, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg had likewise paraded on to Broadway with Les Misérablesand Miss Saigon, both already major hits on London's West End and both eagerly awaited by theatre-goers in America. Again the critics were marginalised.
Then last week we saw the combination of eminently successful composers (Boublil and Schonberg) and producers (McColgan and Doherty) arriving in town - this time, ostensibly, needing a positive critical reaction.
Was the temptation too inviting for the "wielders of the lethal pen"?
It would be both foolish and churlish to suggest anything remotely resembling a conspiracy. Or would it? The peccadilloes of human nature? Hubris?
So is there an alternative view of The Pirate Queento that delivered by the critics?
Yes, there is. The show is thrilling, pacy, sensationally costumed and choreographed and, in the main, brilliantly performed by the principals, especially Stephanie J Block as Grace O'Malley and Linda Belgord as Queen Elizabeth.
Let's remember we are looking at a crowd-pleaser here - a huge, swaggering, fast-moving, visually splendid Broadway musical.
Is the day of such musicals over? Did it all end in the 1980s? I don't think so. The Lion Kingis still attracting huge audiences and yet not many of us can hum any of its songs.
Certainly the current trend on Broadway is towards the juke-box musical. For example, The Jersey Boys,which tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and is linked by their many hits, continues to be a resounding box-office success. And so too Mamma Mia, the Abba tribute.
However, it would be a rash judgment to declare that audience numbers are diminishing for the big spectacular Broadway musical.
Can The Pirate Queendefy the critics and survive to become a long-running success? I believe so, for several reasons. This show has possibly three songs that have hit potential. In addition, The Pirate Queenshowcases stunning sets and costumes and moves at a rollicking pace. There isn't a boring moment in the show.
While some critics may not like what they saw, the audiences are piling in and loving it. Other critics have been high in their praise, including Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star("Bravura performance and thespian fireworks. It may be the most beautiful musical I have ever seen") while WCBS-TV in New York described it as "a spectacular show".
Ironically, the highest ticket sales were achieved on the day of the harshest reviews.
Schmaltzy as it may sound, I was proud to be Irish in the Hilton Theatre last week and I don't believe I was on my own. Here was an Irish-originated musical competing on Broadway at the highest level. For decades Broadway has staged musicals from all around the world, but not Ireland.
In recent days I have been thinking back on the life and times of Grace O'Malley . . . her feisty nature, an unquenchable spirit in the face of the greatest adversity, gutsy to the last, even when confronted by the Queen of England. Makes one wonder how she would have dealt with the critics.
• Mike Murphyis a former presenter of the Arts Show on RTÉ Radio 1 and is a founding director of Harcourt Developments Ltd