A NEW BRAIN- Page 2

[wicked1492]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 12:12am

Ana Gasteyer would win a Tony if this were on Broadway. Seriously stunning performance.

Praise be to the costume designer for putting Aaron Lazar in a skin tight polo and chinos. WOWZA.

Rema Muthafvckin Webb, y'all. She sings that score into the GROUND. Damn.

 Josh Lamon just makes everything better and so much more fun.

 Those vocal arrangements are out of this world. We need this cast on an album. STAT.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 12:58am

Tonight was my first exposure to this show. Can't believe I've never heard the score. It contains some gorgeous songs and often soars.  Aaron Lazar was the main reason I attended, and he was just as powerful as I thought he'd be.  Why he isn't a big star headlining his own B'way show is just beyond me.  Groff was adorably fine.  Gasteyer made my jaw drop; she was that good. I remember reading that she was Elphaba in a sit-down production of WICKED in Chicago. She must have brought "Defying Gravity" to the stratosphere. Wish I could catch a second performance of A NEW BRAIN, but I can't fit it in.  Hope there's a future for this production.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 5:54am

Thanks for all the reviews!

I'm going to miss Whenever I Dream most from the cuts mentioned.

 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 8:30am

I'm glad Gasteyer is killing it- I love her and wish she would do more musical theatre. Her performance in the film of Reefer Madness is truly great.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 8:37am

Reefer Madness was the first time I realized she could sing so well along with being an ace at comedy.

When she belted The Stuff I was blown away (no pun intended).

[manhattandreamer]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 8:43am

Anyone attempt the stage door?  Or did the cast exit through the lobby?  xx

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 9:05am

How was "And They're Off"?  One of my favorite songs, just about perfectly crafted.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 9:20am

Never heard any of Finn's music. Seeing it tonight

Mid July ordering Dr Z & The Visit from Amazon at the same time. After tonight, may need to add this to the ever growing list of cast albums to get.

[HSky]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 10:10am

Staging wise, I've only seen the production photos of the original production but there were no walkers in "And They're Off." I wasn't sure if they were going to do silhouettes or projections of some sort when a white screen came down blocking the orchestra from view (most of the time, they were visible with different colored lighting illuminating them from behind) but there wasn't any of that, just the cast drumming their hands on their knees like galloping horses and rotating from side to side. I thought it was very effective capturing the background of the Schwinn family in a few minutes.

 

 

 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 10:13am

I've loved the score since it came out, but I was doing a show in Los Angeles when it was playing in NYC, so I've never gotten a chance to see a production.  That all changes on Friday.

The run time is about 1:45 ? I'm charged with getting a dinner reservation after the show, so help a brother out!

[HSky]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 10:18am

Yes to the running time. It did start a little late but was over by around 9:15. I was down at Penn Station by 9:45.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 11:37am

I remember reading that she was Elphaba in a sit-down production of WICKED in Chicago. She must have brought "Defying Gravity" to the stratosphere.

Not really.  She was fine and I liked her, but she was honestly the weakest Elphaba I've seen.  I liked her a little better as Fosca in Passion at the Shakespeare Theatre.

I played the Minister in a regional production and it was probably my all-time favorite show to perform.  Even if not all of the cast got along well on a personal level, every one of us LOVED performing the show and didn't want the run to end.  I do wish there was a full recording of the score that included the title song.  It's a brief and charming number that humorously and explicitly explains the title of the show.  It has a lovely and fun moment for the Minister and I love when the Doctor sings "Whoopsie!" as his pager goes off.  I'll actually be singing Heart/Time and Music at a cabaret fundraiser in a couple of weeks.

I can understand cutting Calamari and Poor, Unsuccessful and Fat as they really aren't that relevant to the plot or theme.  However, the latter helps set up a relationship that connects more coherently to You Boys are Gonna Get Me in Such Trouble, but its loss makes Eating Myself Up Alive seem even more peculiar than it already is.  But they cut Whenever I Dream?!?!  That seems a very odd choice.  So, the Waitress/Thin Nurse is mostly just chorus and the part of Rhonda loses her only solo.  That's pretty sad.  And Whenever I Dream really worked well in the construct of the coma "fever dream" sequence.  The more you cut from that, the less sense it makes.

Edit: Just realized they also cut Eating Myself Up Alive.  That's too bad.  I'm assuming Brain Dead is the only remnant left of the dream sequence and The Music Still Plays On is more realistically represented in the story.  

Never heard any of Finn's music.

You haven't even listened to the cast recording of March of the Falsettos or Falsettoland?  Falsettos is in my top ten list of shows and scores.

 

Updated On: 6/25/15 at 11:37 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 11:47am

"Poor, Unsuccessful, & Fat" is still in- just "Calamari" is out, along with the two dream songs.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 12:25pm

Happy to hear they kept Poor, Unsuccessful and Fat.  The dream sequence originally started with Brain Dead and ended with Don't Give In.  How does the sequence work now without the Nurse and Rhonda songs?  To me, the whole sequence was an important part of his experience, especially his journey through the surgery, which is the real centerpiece of the plot. 

[HSky]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 1:55pm

 

There's the complete song list from the Playbill. "Brain Dead" was a surreal staged dance sequence with the ensemble in various post surgery getups (bandages, headgear) while Gordon sang his frustrations and intermittently kept dancing with a blank faced Roger, but they were often (pun not intended) ships passing in the night. "The Music Still Plays On" was set at the foot of Gordon's bed while he lay comatose, then while Mimi, Roger, and Rhoda talked off to the side, Mr. Bungee reappeared to start "Don't Give In" in the same greenish tinted lighting that indicated the earlier hallucinatory moments. At the end, he took off the hat and gloves that represented Mr. Bungee as he exited the stage and the trio returned to Gordon's bedside as he started mumbling the song.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 2:50pm

Can anyone tell me if there is any merch? i know they had some stuff for Tick Tick Boom last year....

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 11:01pm

They have a tee shirt with all 3 off center shows on it. In addition, they have a magnet. They have cd's but I did not see a New Brain there.

I never saw it or heard the score before. The show was great with a number of standout performances including Groff & Gasteyer. I did not realize that I had previously bought the cd when it first came out and never even listened to it. Me bad

Truth be told enjoyed this more than Fun Home. By the way, there is a Fun Home reference that was obviously put in for this production.

[rcwr]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 12:24am

I don't know this show the slightest bit but just reading this thread has me hoping they'll make a cast recording!

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 12:54am

This was pretty damn brilliant if it wasn't for Groff being in Hamilton id say replace Fogler (my opinion the only weak link) and transfer this, if you don't already have a ticket for this weekend, grab one!

[Alex M]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 1:35am

Loved it!!! Stage door should have been a little more organized though.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 2:18am

they never have barricades set up, and they seriously better consider it for Little Shop next week....

[skies]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 2:26am

"Hamilton" "How to Succeed in Business" in London,  "A new Brain"  and back to Broadway opening of "Hamilton".

I think Jonathan Grof has given up sleeping.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 2:26am

Can someone please post a pic of the Playbill cover?

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 2:26am

Can someone please post a pic of the Playbill cover?

[tazber]

Posted: 6/26/15 at 6:09am

Now we just need to get Romance in Hard Times to NY.

My life will be complete once (if) that happens.