PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE first previe- Page 5

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 4/5/11 at 11:13pm

As other people have said, there is a giant frame hanging over the stage that literally frames most of the playing space, so it doesn't really "fit" one theater over another.

One thing it could have really benefited from in the American Airlines, however, is a true pit. Having the orchestra up in the boxes made it hard to hear the singers and make out the lyrics, my biggest complaint about the show.

Maybe a more intimate house would help, it's hard to say, but both theaters are among the smallest Broadway houses, so it probably would not have made much of a difference.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/5/11 at 11:37pm

Donna’s only competition for Best Actress seems to be Sutton Foster who’s good, but too young for Reno Sweeney.

Sorry, "Broadway Doctor", but Patina Miller is certainly competition, and will be the likely winner. Neither of the other two women come close to doing what does.

[Morgaine885]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 2:09am

I admit, I was a crying mess during the last ten minutes, despite some very mixed feelings about the show. I really wanted to love it.

Did anybody catch Signs of Life at the YMCA last year? I thought that show was really beautiful and poignant as far as Holocaust musicals go and would love to see it transfer somewhere else.

Also, it kind of bothered me how they never said what happened to her after the ghetto and before the war ended. Did she survive the camps? Did she escape the ghetto after the Warsaw uprising? Really not relevant to the story, but I was thinking about it.

And some of the lyrics were just really laughably bad.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 7:35pm

Seeing this on Saturday night. I'm not a big Donna Murphy fan but I do love historical musicals.

[bryan2]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:18am

I may be in the singular minority but I find Donna Murphy
very cold in everything she does acting/singing.
I always feel like she thinks she is this big TONY winner (1 by default) and we are lucky to be in her presence. I want to like her, I think she is beautiful and her voice is interesting enough it is just she just leaves me cold...
I wish she would do something fun (she was out to much in Wonderful Town for me to try to see) so I can see if it is me or just her style I dont like

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 11:32am

La Cage! That's it! Since seeing it last night, I had a melody stuck in my head that I knew was from another show but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Not much more to say that hasn't been said here, particularly with the predictable lyrics (as easy to finish as a Jay Leno joke), cardboard secondary characters (they make a point to introduce them in the first song and don't go much from there) and underwritten daughter role (a comedy writer? for what? zoloft ads?), but the music/vocals balance issue is still a major problem for the show. I was near the front of the orchestra and still had trouble hearing about 50 percent of the lyrics in the opening song. My ears adjusted somewhat as the show went on. But at intermission, a bunch of ladies from the mezz moved down to empty orchestra seats, saying they couldn't hear a word up there because of the orchestra.

But it's always a pleasure to see Murphy, and there were a smattering of chuckles and nice moments.

As a side note, at a quiet moment at the end of the first act, I started to hear a click-click-clicking noise next to me. A lady a few seats down had started clipping her nails. Seriously. Who does that?

[Morgaine885]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 12:30pm

Does anybody else think that gas chamber joke at the end really should probably go?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 5:05pm

I disagree that Donna Murphy is cold or calculated. Her performance in FOLLIES was incredibly fresh and terrific, she had the audience eating at the palm of her hand. She was also sublime in LOVEMUSIK, a not-so-great little show that she completely elevated; she's very crafty and it shows in her acting. I find her to be ridiculously versatile, equally adept at comedy and drama.

[Katia2]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 12:51am

Yeah, sorry can't agree about not liking Donna in general. I have a friend who doesn't like her either though, so it's not entirely unheard of. Personally, I adore her and find her nothing less than warm and thoroughly involved with her characters-- I've read/seen a lot of interviews with her though, so I'm super biased at this point.

And I like this show a lot actually. I'm not sure how much it's been changed since first preview (probably quite a bit), but I thought it was plenty enjoyable. Still definitely sound issues, but I think that once those are fixed and a few other snips made that have already been mentioned in this thread, then it'll be a great show. It's already near there. I don't think Donna will get a Tony this year at all, Patina definitely has it, but a great performance from Murphy nonetheless.
Updated On: 4/8/11 at 12:51 AM

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 1:16am

Bryan2,
Let me get this straight. You think Murphy believes the audience should be grateful just to be in her presence because she's a big Tony winner, even though she's only won 1 and that was by default (according to you). Let's assume you're right and she is that arrogant. Couldn't it be she's arrogant regardless of the Tony? Maybe she just feels hey I can sing, I can act, I've got style, I can make you laugh, I can make you cry, you bet your ass you should feel lucky to be in my presence. What's your evidence it's because of the Tony?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 1:19am

Those of you who say shlt like that about her have obviously never met the woman. And I'm not talking about saying how much you love her as she signs your playbill.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 1:22am

even though she's only won 1 and that was by default (according to you).

She has two.

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 1:33am

...and a Drama Desk Award.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 1:42am

Actually it's 3 Drama Desk Awards but maybe they were all in bad years.
If Bryan2 had written he felt she behaved like hey I'm a three-time Drama Desk Award winner, you should feel lucky to be in my presence, I wouldn't have felt compelled to reply.

[wexy]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 1:07pm

morgaine, the gas chamber joke was not there when I saw it.
You also make a very good point that they went from the Ghetto to 1946 and there was no mention at all about about the Concentration Camps which I thought about on the way home.

Being the son a of a survivor, I wasn't sure going in what I would think, Dancing Warsaw Ghetto people didn't do it for me but my friends all thought the second act was better.

[jbm2]

Posted: 4/10/11 at 1:30am

Most people who saw the first previews weren't loving the show, and talked about it needing a lot of work..
Has anyone seen it lately? Is getting any better? Anyone enjoying it?

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/10/11 at 2:22am

I am wondering the same thing. I see it on Tuesday.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/10/11 at 8:46am

We saw it yesterday and were quite surprised.

The show started slow and I was starting to believe all the negative posts. It than started to get much better. Murphy was phenominal . My wife said the show hit home on many levels. She saw a lot of her mother in Murphy. The lullaby she sings is the same one she heard as a child.

The rest of the cast was good. I was not aware Lewis J Stadlen was in it. Nicole Parker was very good as the daughter. I had never seen her before on stage but she has a very good voice.

Some of the words were hard to hear as the show was underamplified at times. The choregraphy was better than expected from a piece like this but was not award worthy. Sad to say, I doubt it will run past its scheduled date as the rear mezzanine was about 80% empty and ushers were telling people they could move down if they wanted.

The show has no appeal to tourists and it not a feel good tap your toes kind of show. It is worth it to see as it is a competent piece of theater elevated by Murphy's tony worthy performance.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 4/10/11 at 2:25pm

I saw the show yesterday and thought it was wonderful. Definite nominations for Murphy, Parker, and possibly a nod for Zien. It's a very touching show, but definitely not for everybody.

It's a very funny show, but most of the jokes didn't land. I don't know if it was because the theatre was practically empty, but that couldn't have helped.

[adamschwartz]

Posted: 4/10/11 at 4:29pm

geez, you are a tough cookie. So far this is a big year for RTC. Brief Encounters, The Importance of Being Earnest, Olympia Dukakas off broadway and then Anything Goes. Can you please name a subscription based company that has put out that much quality work in a season?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/10/11 at 9:20pm

Maybe the jokes aren't landing because of the piece. I mean, you go in with the idea that "Oh it's about the Holocaust...." so you aren't expecting to laugh.

[Morgaine885]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 12:37am

"morgaine, the gas chamber joke was not there when I saw it."


Good! I cringed.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 2:33am

Saw this today and don't think it's nearly as bad as people claimed it was. And to say that Donna Murphy will get a "pity nomination" is unnecessary, she does beautiful work here; she doesn't need make up or accessories to make you believe in the transformation, she simply does it in front of your eyes and it's a thrill to watch her do it. But really, more than anything she's just able to find a depth to the character she plays that's ultimately touching and deeply emotional.
The show itself is generic, yes, but it's hardly a bad show. I love the concept of memories colliding with the present and think it's beautifully realized at some points; however, the actual material needs to be so much stronger than it is, the characters and situations are predictable. I thought Nicole Parker's role was terrible! She gets the worst, most cliched dialogue and songs (if she sang another ballad I was going to lose it), whereas the character of Jenny actually gets good songs and has wonderful chemistry with Murphy. And I totally agree that there's something Anne Hathaway-esque about her.
I do feel the show becomes a missed opportunity. Why doesn't Murphy get a big showstopper as the young Raisel? The Hollywood number is completely misconceived, it should be about her not about the blonde chorus girls, and it's completely undercut by what comes next.
I thought the Dancing Dybbuk number was actually hilarious, it's broad comedy and it's about enjoying the ridiculousness of it all, and Murphy sells it. I thought the portrayal of cinematic image/theater moment was so well realized, I would love to see a revival of MACK & MABEL that used a similar concept.
The show is slow and generic, yes, but it has a heart and it's full of beautiful, sometimes even haunting moments, and Murphy's performance has to be seen.

[tgrabon2]

Posted: 4/12/11 at 1:42pm

Roundabout Ticket Services called and told me that tomorrow's matinee (4/13)has been canceled and that I will need to choose to see the show at another time. I'm assuming they are making changes.

[Sauja]

Posted: 4/12/11 at 2:01pm

I quite liked the show. It isn't perfect, but I thought it was very good. As to why they didn't show Raisel at the concentration camps or how she survived: it's not what the show is about. The show is about the fact that she DID survive and as such, it's her responsibility/desire to pass along the stories, history, and culture of those who did not. It's a show about celebrating a shared history and not forgetting the positives that tend to get overwhemed and subsumed by the massive, unforgiveable tragedy of the Holocaust. Showing her at the camps or dwelling on the tragedy would divert attention from the message of the show.

What I most liked about the piece as a whole is that it manages to be relatively upbeat--not denying the horrors that happened but not dwelling on them. It gives us enough to go on, assuming our knowledge of the history will allow us to know the tremendous stakes without forcing us to confront them at all times. If this were the only show about the Holocaust, that would be unforgiveable. But as a piece inside a larger context of artist remembrances, this chooses a lighter (though still serious) focus.

I also thought Donna Murphy was tremendous and nothing BUT warm and committed. I don't really understand why some theater fans feel the need to portray every musical theater diva as an entitled bitch, but I find it even more confusing that Murphy in particular would be the object of scorn. I've seen her in about five shows, and she's never been less than wonderful. She's the most chameleon-like of our leading ladies and while I think she's had more impactful roles (in The King and I, Anyone Can Whistle, Wonderful Town), she's still giving a wonderful performance here. I'd say it's Tony worthy on its own. I haven't actually seen most of her competition yet, though. Still waiting on Anything Goes, have tickets for Sister Act, and don't think I can handle Wonderland or Baby It's You. But I do know she's doing sophisticated, subtle, impressive work. And that's all I can ask for.