Victor Victoria: 1995 Broadway Production [Blu-ray] by IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT

Actors

• Julie Andrews
• Tony Roberts
• Rachel York
• Michael Nouri

Format

• Widescreen

Editorial Review

Fans of Julie Andrews will delight in this 1995 videotaping of the stage musical Victor/Victoria, based on the 1982 movie of the same name. The plot has been kept intact: an out-of-work British soprano (Julie Andrews) in Paris falls in with a down-on-his-luck gay man (Tony Roberts), who gets the idea to present Victoria as the world's greatest female impersonator, Victor. The plan is a phenomenal success until a Chicago mobster on vacation (Michael Nouri) sees Victor in a nightclub and falls in love–and refuses to believe that Victor is a man. Due to the needs of the stage, the musical doesn't have the snap, crackle, and propulsive drive of the movie, which is a sprightly romp; to make up for this, the story has been expanded (some might say padded) with extensive dance numbers and new songs by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, with additional musical material by Frank Wildhorn. While Roberts and Nouri don't quite have the charisma of Robert Preston and James Garner, who played their roles in the movie, they're seasoned stage performers and make the most of things–Nouri in particular has a strong singing voice, which may surprise people who only know him from his movie career. And Julie Andrews is Julie Andrews; at this point in her career, you either love her or you don't. Victor/Victoria isn't going to change anyone's mind, but Andrews knows her audience and knows how to give them what they want. –Bret Fetzer