Profile for binau

Katrina’s Bobbi still haunts me. She literally brought a new sound to Sondheim - it’s simply not the case that she ‘can’t sing’ but her sultry expressive vocals brought new texture to ‘someone is waiting’ and ‘being alive’. The style is not typical of Broadway and it makes me cringe that the general population would have been fine or preferred to substitute this for boring standard fare vocals (see also, Rosalie Craig). 

As for her acting, I always found it very interesting how she played the role. She was incredibly sexy and powerful but there was always the subtext of, I’m not sure, awkwardness or insecurity. I believe it was 100% intentional to try and bring more subtext in the role because it can be quite boring just to be the observer in the corner. Also, she is single and a subtle alcoholic so I felt that she was trying to take us on a complex journey around this not just someone who is a passenger waiting around for the right guy to come along and had bad luck  

I met one of the producers recently (not a ‘real’ producer but one of the many investors who had their name as one and collected a tony award for best revival as a consequence). He did cite Katrina’s casting as one of the show failings. Ouch. 
 

This revival I remember also being one of the first examples where we saw post Covid costs rise to very challenging levels causing the show to close earlier than might have happened in the few years before it. A problem that is only even worse now. 

Sondheim has always had a legacy of collecting odd vocalists who can act rather than vocal powerhouses. Katrina was continuing this tradition. 

The last Sondheim show on Broadway Sondheim ever saw. I know he loved it.

I wish he could have seen Audra in Gypsy: Sondheim, Marin Mazzie and Gavin Creel couldn’t be there . 

Is this edging towards so bad it’s good camp that will be the butt if every joke and attract a cult following? Or is it just boring and will fade away? 

Yes but the thread was deleted and then the vultures here started going for Nicole or something else happened (if I recall) so I couldn’t resist come back and once again come back and say how awful it was (to much unpopularity).  But I’m trying to be strong and move away it is a little like an addiction lol. 

I’ve always wanted to see this show live - I suspect that the choral singing is something that can really only be experienced live to be properly heard and felt. Is that true for this production? 

MemorableUserName said: "Jarethan said: "First, Binau seems to me to be one of the more consistently pleasant posters on this board. Because Binau is suggesting that some pragmatism is required, does not make Binau a right-wing conservative...just a pragmatist.


Binau has spent the past yearscreeching about cancel culture, evil libruls, helpless martyr Ch**lie K*rk, the intolerant left, and other right-wing causes. They are very much a right-wing conservative, and if you find them consistently pleasant you must not be familiar with their work(though much of it was in threads that were either deleted or bumped to the Off-topic board)."

I’ve been here for almost 20 years there is no need to pretend it’s just the ‘last year’, I have had concerns with the ideological behaviour of people in the Broadway community and this forum for at least 6 years. I’m not signing up to this cultish cancel culture behaviour around Patti or Great comet or Nicole, I’m not going to support political violence, and if there is no money I’m also not going to naively pretend the costs can just keep going up without a way to offset it. I don’t think this makes me a ‘right wing conservative’, I think it just makes me reasonable and not wanting to accept terrible ideas. However, I fully accept as this is what people do these days if you can’t take any criticism, if it’s be this far left stubborn mindset or be considered ‘right wing’ I’ll be whatever you call me I don’t care. You have to accept this. Not everyone is going to think the same way as you. Not everyone needs to think the same way as you.

I just ask that if people are too lazy, too emotional or unwilling to actually engage in a discussion about ideas you disagree with then just ignore me instead of going down this unpleasant, hysterical campaign of trying to smeer, insult and shutdown which I think you do because you don’t have the capability to do anything else. 

I agree those are truly the best musicals that define peak artistic ability and creativity across performances, book, score, subject matter. And the mix is very varied in terms of style of show. 

Asking who is going to pay for this is not being 'anti-worker' it's being sensible because when the money runs out, there is no work and THAT is certainly anti-worker. Did you read the NYTimes article? Are you proposing that the already unsustainable costs increase further or are you suggesting that the costs can be saved elsewhere (and if so, how?). 

‘Worth’ according to whom? 

It seems to me that if the costs are too high we agree that people are getting paid too much. Are we in a position where for the greater good we need to start challenging labour laws and working conditions to bring the costs down more inline with a sustainable business model? Who exactly should and can budge?

Have they closed the balcony for all performances? That isn’t a good sign. It does look like they’re missing a little bit of momentum and it’s going to be a difficult start. 

...

I saw the last London revival with Marisha and I thought the direction & staging was sooo boring. That has made me more than open to a Camille Brown take. 

The way I'd characterise it is more "think through the logical consequences of your behaviour and what outcomes it is likely to achieve, and then ask yourself is that outcome likely to be better or worse than the current position. If worse off, are there perhaps alternatives?"

You can't control how 'they' are acting but you can control how 'you' are acting. It may feel morally justified but that doesn't make it effective.