photo: Joan MarcusGranted, it was an early preview, so I'm going to reserve judgement with the very strong (and very doubtful) hope that somehow, this show can be saved. A lot of money has been put into it and many, many people are working on it. The size of the cast alone is surprising. The only thing that worked for me in this 2.5 hour wannabe spectacle was Graciela Daniele's Irish step-dancing choreography. The biggest disappointment is Stephanie J. Block, who I don't feel has the charisma to carry an entire show. During her act two duet with Linda Balgord (Queen Elizabeth I), all I heard was shrieking from one (Balgord) and belting from the other (Block). Sharp and flat don't cancel each other out, and they definitely don't create harmony. Eugene Lee's set design is all ropes and sails — attempting to create the illusion of a full-scale pirate ship. But that's also part of the problem. Like his ship without a mast, this is a musical without a backbone.
