Confession time. We never got around to start watching Amazon’s wonderful new TV series The Marvellous Mrs. Maizel until after it won a Golden Globe for Best Comedy or Musical, and its star Rachel Brosnahan won the Best Actress in the same category. We did however quickly get addicted to this riveting tale of a wealthy Upper East side nice Jewish housewife in the 1950’s who takes up being a stand-up comedian in the Village on the down-low.
Created, directed and written by Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) its very warm and humorous script is brought so alive by the acting, not just from the delightful Brosnahan but also from the talented supporting cast. They include Alex Bornstein playing Suzie the tough lesbian gatekeeper of an underground club who becomes Midge’s (Mrs. Maisel) manager; Michael Zegan as Joel Maisel, Midge’s husband, who leaves to live with his secretary before he realizes what a mistake he made; Marin Hinkle as Midge’s immaculately-turned out mother always scheming on behalf of her daughter; the sublime Tony Shalhoub as Midge’s Maths Professor father who valiantly tries to keep some sense of order in the family; and Luke Kirby as THE Lenny Bruce who becomes Midge’s friend and mentor.
However equally important is the work of both the Production Design Team led by Bill Groom and the absolutely divine costumes designed by Donna Zakowska that so perfectly capture Mrs. Maisel’s NY life in that period. When she is Uptown and at home, she looks like a chic Paris couture model, but when she is in the Village with a more beatnik crowd, her look is slightly more bohemian.
It does help that Brosnahan looks perfectly stunning in almost anything as does Hinkle who as her mother explains that Midge learned to drive because she fell in love with a pair of pink driving gloves. ‘Everything with Midge starts with an accessory.‘
The spectacular way the program looks on the screen is actually reason enough to start binge-watching the series, but once you do you will also see exactly how marvelous Mrs. Maisel is.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel can be viewed now on AMAZON PRIME
