SOME OF US COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS...

The New York Observer, a nasty little newspaper, is bound to be right in its review of the Twyla Tharp / Bob Dylan musical, which, under the heading "Don't Think Twice, Twyla - It's Not Remotely All Right", begins like this:

The other night, I was in Elaine’s in search of a little solace when an old friend came by and said in wounded disbelief that he’d just been to the worst show he’d ever seen in his life.

“That’s funny,” I replied regretfully, “so have I.”

We’d both just seen Twyla Tharp’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on Broadway. Though it gives me no pleasure to say so, I’ve a slight qualification to make. It’s the worst show I’ve seen that was conceived by a respected artist... If an unknown artist had stumbled so badly creating a new musical, I wouldn’t in fairness review it at all. But there’s an arrogance at work here, a cynicism that gives offense. Ms. Tharp is more than a respected artist: Some hail her as an innovatory genius of modern American dance. She conceived, directed and choreographed The Times They Are A-Changin’—and so she must take the knocks for her mind-boggling fiasco.

Let me say positively at least that I enjoyed Movin’ Out, Ms. Tharp’s dance musical set to the songs of Billy Joel, though its narrative and stage pictures of the Vietnam era were too familiar. That hit show was a cut way above the usual jukebox dross. But I regret to say that her opportunistic new show bewilderingly sinks to the lowest Broadway level, while killing the Bob Dylan songbook along the way.

And so on. Some of us could have predicted this. The Broadway musical is fundamentally against the work of Bob Dylan. And vice versa. You may as well try to put Dick Cheney together with Son House.