Something tells me there will be lamenting after the reviews come out on this. Hope I am wrong. We shall see. It will be interesting if Marin is back tonight. No idea why she has been out.
Based on very little (I'm seeing the show the day before it opens), my prediction is that the show will receive reviews that range from so-so (e.g. entertaining but nothing special) to all out raves. I doubt that it will be panned, even by Ben. But I reserve the right to change my mind after I actually see it. :)
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Braff was out but his understudy Andy Jones was fine. Marin was back and she was fantastic in the role. Marin does not come in till midway of Act 1. Helene Yorke as Olive nearly steals the show and deserves a Tony nod. Another standout was Nick Cordero as Cheech. Pastore/ Ziemba were also good in their limited roles.
Brooks Ashmanskas was great as Warner Purcell. It was like you were watching Chris Christie in a show. The rest of the cast was fine as well
Most of Stroman's choreography was good but one number looked like in had been lifted from the airplane number in Steel Pier. Here the chorus girls dance on top of a train pulling out of Grand Central Station. There is also a solid number with tap dancing gangsters to the tune of Taint Nobody's Business If I Do.
The Irving Berlin Joke was still in and drew mixed reaction. The banana # was in & we enjoyed it. Woody's book is serviceable but not a ton of one liners rather jokes sprinkled here and there. The costumes & sets were first rate. It was very enjoyable but that will not stop some critics from ripping it
We originally has the next to last row of the mezzanine. The usher told us immediately we could move down so we wound up 10 rows closer on the aisle. I think the second balcony was totally closed. This show, as good as it is, will need the notices to survive. I can see Brantley ripping the Hot Dog number done by olive.
We had some amateur critics behind us complaining there were to many songs - hey guys it is a musical. They were also claiming how much better Braff would have been etc etc. My wife said if they continued she would have said something.
After last night (see above) I see why TDF has such good seats. This show really needs good reviews to make it. Woody Allen's name alone will not cut it.
I see most shows before the critics go, so they have no sway over whether I like a show. I have an opinion before they write theirs.
I'm questioning why you are now viewing shows through the lens of what Brantley might think about things? "I can see Brantley ripping the Hot Dog number done by olive."
Who cares?
I have no clue why you think anything I am writing has any relation to If/Then.
Given that If/Then is in a better financial situation than BULLETS, they are probably going to be less worried than the Bullets producers if Brantley gives them a pan.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Just thought I'd mention that we have no idea who will be doing the Times review, Ben or Ish.
Also, didn't someone mention that Brantley might hate the number "I Need a Hot Dog For My Roll"? Why would he, just because it's an overtly heterosexual and very racy number? Many think it's one of the show's highlights.
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.
The latest batch of TDF tickets for Bullets says that seating is in the balcony, not in the orchestra or mezzanine. Sometimes when TDF issues a warning like this, the seats end up being better than advertised. But now I'm nervous to buy these tickets. I think the balcony is pretty bad, right?
Zach Braff tweeted that he has bronchitis and is sick in bed. So, I imagine he will be out tonight and it doesn't sound like he will be returning soon. Mazzie was on last night.
Last night, I had $ 49 tickets in the back of the mezzanine. As most of it was empty, we were told to move up & wound up with Row K on the aisle.
They are having problems putting fannies in the seat. Woody Allen's name does not appear to be helping.
Re the Hot Dog #, it was not due to sexuality. I think old Ben would not think this type of song belongs on Broadway and is a leftover from vaudeville. Time will tell when he reviews it.
>>>This are having problems putting fannies in the seat. I was there last night and it was packed. I didn't see an empty seat in the orchestra. & I loved it. Zach was out but Andy Jones was fantastic. I never read the Playbill until I get home and had no idea until after the show that he was the US. Nick Cordero was also outstanding! I saw him in Man Of Rock @NYMF
All I told you was 're last night. The balcony was closed and the mezzanine was half empty. It is not on TDF frequently because they are selling tickets @ full price.
I went last night. There was a stop about 20 minutes in. Lasted about 3 minutes. Nothing big. I guess some set pieces didn't come up in time.
My scattered thoughts:
The show was quite boring and pales in comparison to the movie. The set was nice but distracting. The side balconies were rarely used and I wondered why they were there at all. The transitions were big and flashy, but do people go to the theatre for the scene changes? Doubtful when the rest of the show is so dull.
The acting was stale and the only time things got interesting were when the actors started to closely impersonate their movie counterparts. The actors in the movie are so closely connected to these roles it's hard to imagine anyone else playing them. The moment Karen Ziemba made her entrance I thought, "Oh right! Tracey Ullman was in this movie!"...because it sounded just like a Tracey Ullman role. Woody Allen allows his actors to take liberties with his script thus allowing the actors to make the roles their own. I think this is detrimental in trying to adapt his work to new actors and a new medium.
I did wish that Helen was played by Patti LuPone. I'm certainly no LuPone fanatic but someone with her enormous personality could have taken this role (and maybe even this show) to greater heights by breaking through the Diane Weist mold. I think Mazzie is still getting her sea legs but again...she only shone when impersonating Diane Weist in the "Don't speak..." lines.
I found the hot dog song to be a rare highlight because it was something I didn't remember from the movie (mind you, I haven't seen the movie since I was a kid but it was surprising how much I remembered as I was watching this performance). This was the one point in the evening where the audience seemed to perk up.
Betsy Wolfe was underused which is understandable in an ensemble cast of this size. I think we all wanted more from her as her "Baby" number had some real spark without any flashy lights and props.
In general, wanted this to be better, but it's not. It will be a great piece for regional theater so investors will make their money back eventually should this fail to stay in town. I was in the orchestra section and there were many empty seats.
I think Stroman is good at creating flashy numbers and giving us spectacle, but there's seemingly little thought behind it. It all comes across as homage to the golden days of the Ziegfield Follies. That's great and all, but it would be nice to have a greater driving force. I think that can be said for a lot of what is coming to Broadway these days. Does anyone agree?
P.S. Zach Braff was out but cheers to his understudy, Andy Jones, who gave a smooth and confident performance. I was very impressed by how seamlessly he handled this role. Mr. Braff was not missed.