Profile for Someday

Have any of you had success with this in recent years? Curious if the seats are restricted-view these days, or way high up, far to the side, or otherwise less than ideal for kids.

Trying to decide whether to bite a very pricey bullet, or see if the lotto thing might work for  when I bring my little guys to town.

Side question: if you win, does the lotto tell you the seat locations before you buy?

 

The saga continues? Fool me once, and all that? Seriously, surely it must be legit this time.

 

 

 

BCfitasafiddle said: "...Yes, He was a Dr. Pangloss in Candide. That's something I would've loved to see him do."

I was surprised to learn he had been Pangloss in the famous Harold Prince revival. And I just came across this clip, which gives a great sense of his vitality in it!

 

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "I don't know how close to ready each was, but I do know he had at least two or three, maybe four, irons in the fire.... Consequently, I would not be surprised if Square One was a different show, or... they managed to cobble something together score-wise by cannibalizing all of the projects."

Is it possible that the property closer to production-ready is The Susquehanna River? I posted this on a different thread pre-hoax, but I came across this NYTix.com subpage (still-up), which is ostensibly about Square One. I hear that site is less than reliable. Still, some of their details are rather specific to have been invented out of whole cloth. Quoting from that page:

"In 2015, David Ives and Stephen Sondheim fell in love with films by Luis Buñuel and worked on a now-cancelled Broadway show together. That show, The Susquehanna River, was based on two films by Luis Buñuel, Belle de Jour (1967) and Tristana (1970). 
...

Sondheim and Ives also collaborated on Francophile which is a blend of other Luis Buñuel films The Exterminating Angel(1962) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), which both share a common plot-point."
 

Maybe if something is now actually being readied for production, it's that earlier Buñuel work — or, mostly the early work, with a few songs from the latter project, a.k.a. Square One ...a.k.a. Francophile?

I wonder if there's enough viable combined Buñuel material to mount a full-length program of one-acts, with The Susquehanna River as Act One (or as Acts One and Two?), and the newer, Exterminating Angel–based piece as a closing act. Or vice versa. Of course, this would be instead of the more recent plan to use their adaptations of Exterminating Angel as Act One and Discreet Charm (apparently unfinished) as Act Two.

This is pure speculation and may look silly in retrospect. But, for this particular topic, using existing tidbits to think through possibilities is irresistible.

Have you all seen the NYTix.com subpage for Square One? It has the first mention I’ve seen of “The Susquehanna River.” Had anyone heard about that?

Quoted from that page:

Square One on Broadway Background

With Broadway legends Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters already attached to the latest Stephen Sondheim and David Ives production Square One, Broadway interest in this show has been piqued. 

In 2015, David Ives and Stephen Sondheim fell in love with films by Luis Buñuel and worked on a now-cancelled Broadway show together, That show, The Susquehanna River, was based on two films by Luis Buñuel, Belle de Jour (1967) and Tristana (1970). 

Scathing Commentary on Bourgeoisie

Sondheim and Ives also collaborated on Francophile which is a blend of other Luis Buñuel films The Exterminating Angel(1962) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), which both share a common plot-point. 

This show is a scathing commentary on the bourgeoisie in Franco’s Spain. The irony is that the word "Francophile" is actually social commentary about France, not Spain at all, which underlines the duo's dark humor on the matter. The Broadway musical Square One borrows heavily from the previously shelved show and the latter development.

Franco’s Spain or New York's Hamptons?

The show is ultimately a scathing commentary on the bourgeoisie in Franco’s Spain before WWII and the excesses and inhumanity that set the course towards the Spanish Civil War. This ultimately became the training ground for Hitler's army and many blame the Spanish Civil War as being the First Battle Of WWII. 

Others see the show as a scathing attack on the modern bourgeoisie of The Hamptons, NY or Malibu, CA where excess, mediocrity and materialistic values reign supreme.

Do you mind sharing what your seat location was like? And did you like the show?

Haha

Okay it’s not for everyone.

How terrible. And what an impressive resume. Sending love to those who knew and worked with him.

BWW's article on this workshop says the characters will be played not as cats, but as humans in the drag ballroom scene. I wonder if portraying the characters as humans has been done before, perhaps regionally or abroad.

I assume the uptown ball culture setting is a new concept for the show. It feels promising to me, because it's not at odds with the text. It could give audiences another point of entry into the much maligned, thin plot by way of an alternative explanation for why we're seeing a succession of cats performing numbers about themselves.

I'm a Cats apologist who defends the show against criticisms that it has no plot. Plotlessness might not be a deal-killer for me anyway, but I feel the charge is untrue. The competition for selection to the Heaviside Layer often feels unclear until the end of the show. And the lack of direct conflict bores some audience members and confuses others. But something meaningful does happen for any audience members who connect with the characters.

If you can surrender to the episodic structure, and if a production is well produced and performed, the show rewards you not just with character-driven spectacle and feeling, but with wryly observed satires of various personality types — by Literature-Nobel-Prize-winner T.S. Eliot, no less. I enjoy hearing some of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most tuneful music without any truly cringey lyrics. And when productions maintain the choreographic emphasis, the show offers a platform for talented dancers to shine brightly. I hear it was primarily regarded as a dance show before all the buzz took over.

For most Cats haters, I suspect the primary offense is the un-coolness of humans costumed and prancing about as cats. That's fair. It's certainly unnatural. But when performed with a focused intent of storytelling, the campy sensation can be overpowered by narrative craft, music, and the performers' skills.

As with any production, the artistic success of this particular workshop and any subsequent productions will depend more on execution, than on concept. For now, I'm encouraged the concept seems not just novel, but well matched to the needs of the show. By consciously reducing the overt feline uncanniness and by adding another interesting layer of narrative, this take seems positioned to give non-Cats-lovers a way in.

Fingers crossed that this works out.

Thanks, Charlie. We’ll give it a go.

Details of this Square One reading seem to have been kept fairly close to the vest. It’s fascinating to imagine Nathan and Bernadette working on it — and under the direction of Nathan’s old castmate, Joe Montello.

Does anyone know where it was held? Or if there’s a cast list? I’d love to learn who else was involved. And, I know it’s too much to ask, but a list of song titles would be incredible if anyone has such a thing.

 

I see Town Hall has announced you can now stream the video recording of this program – but only until August 12 at midnight (details here).

I’m on the fence. Has anyone already streamed this? For those who were there, do you think it’s worth viewing it in a recorded format? How were Mandy and Bernadette’s contributions? Did Mandy address his volatility during the process? Thanks.