Kristina

Posted: 9/22/09 at 12:48pm

Is anyone going? I for one am excited and am going tomorrow. I adore the score and can't wait to hear it in Enlgish. I wonder what the running time will be?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 12:57pm

PLEASE report back with every detail!

I'd venture 3 hours or darn close.

P

Posted: 9/22/09 at 1:22pm

Oh, I will!

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 1:27pm

GLORIOUS!

Have a BLAST!

I hope you see some sand turn to gold!

:)

P

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 1:38pm

Have a great time and report back!

Is this still being recorded?

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 2:46pm

According to a great article on Playbill.com, the running time is 2 1/2 hours. They've removed dialogue and added narration, which apparently cuts it down by 30 minutes.

I'll be there both nights and I can't wait either. I'm starting to drive those closest to me a little crazy because I can't shut up about it.

Supposedly Decca is still recording it, although an actual release date is anyone's guess.

Posted: 9/22/09 at 2:55pm

Glad to hear its being recorded! Had no idea!

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 4:18pm

I really hope they get the recording out quickly... I NEED another version of Helen singing "You Have to Be There"

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 7:34pm

I normally hate Ripley's voice, but her version of "You Have To Be There" is pretty great.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 7:36pm

Oh, quite the opposite. Alice was HORRENDOUS! Kerry Ellis did a good job with it but Helen should be the only one to touch that song for a while. Helen will blow the audience away, wish I could be there! can't wait for this cd to come out.

[speedjeans]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 9:04pm

I'm getting a little concerned about Russell Watkins absence. He did have an adenoma that was causing him a bit of trouble and I wonder if he's the kind of artist that has to
insulate himself completely from all the incidentals to feel he has to give his best. But it does seem strange not even appearing for a shoot of the ensemble.

I hope I've just read into it wrong and he's truly a bit off with a slight stomach bug.

I don't think B & B would go to the mattresses and disappoint his many fans coming from all parts of the globe if he was not up to it but still kept it silent.

I really wish by now, he'd have checked in.

That being said, the music is without equal--not necessarily better than another show you could name--but unlike anything that's come before it and the ensemble is hard to beat.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 9:09pm

I wish I was near NY! This is going to be stellar, and I hope it prompts an English production!

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 9:51pm

speedjeans,

You probably meant Russell Watson and not Russell Watkins.

He may just have been ill the day of the photos shoot which was 6 days ago.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 9/22/09 at 11:54pm

"I normally hate Ripley's voice, but her version of "You Have To Be There" is pretty great."

Eesh. I had to listen to Helen's YHTBT for a good hour after Alice Ripley's because I was so mortified by how she ruined it.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 8:42am

It's like Idina and "Chess" but not as extreme. Alice's version was the first I'd heard of the English translation and I thought it was fine for what it was, but her voice doesn't really suit the song. It's too thin, too reedy.

Helen blows her out of the water but after years of hearing the Swedish version, is there really any surprise there?

Leaving work in 30 minutes to head to the city:)

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 10:09am

I'm a fan, usually, of Alice's voice, and I was at the Town Hall concert when it was recorded. It was clear in the beginning that Alice was not in good voice and she pushed through YHTBT and blew her voice out. She could barely finish "She's Gone" by the show's end.

Since seeing N2N and listening to the cd, it seems clear that she is simply not singing properly and slowly ruining her voice...so sad. I had her pegged to play Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca", but now I know she couldnt handle the role vocally.

Updated On: 10/13/09 at 10:09 AM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 1:18pm

No word on how it went?

I'm DYING here!

P

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 7:25pm

A medley of clips from the demos has been posted at the official KRISTINA site.

Overture, "You Have To Be There" and "Gold Turns To Sand" by Helen and Peter Joback.

Peter sounds FANTASTIC and I ADORE the orchestration on the latter.

Helen is a force of nature.

And there is also a wonderful Behind The Scenes vid with Benny, Bjorn, Gemignani and Helen. If only it was longer! More! More!

Helen sings a snippet of a song called "(A Place Called) Home" which I think may be a new melody, no?

Not ONE WORD about the concert?! STILL?

P

You have to be there, you have to... Updated On: 9/23/09 at 07:25 PM

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 8:35pm

Well, the first concert was tonight... SO there is no word yet, but hopefully there is some later tonight!

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 11:43pm

There are some reports over on the Old Folk's Board (aka ATC)...

...not good...

3 or 4 reports, and all of them left at intermission.

"Boring" is the word being bandied about.

P

[sanda]

Posted: 9/23/09 at 11:53pm

Lots of people think Chess is boring and hard to understand as well. But the music is wonderful in that show. If Kristina's music is as good as Chess, I think I will love the show if I can see it.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 9/24/09 at 12:11am

I hope others liked it...

[thtrbear]

Posted: 9/24/09 at 4:41am

Well, I didnt leave at intermission, but I was disappointed. It didnt play like musical theater, more like an accessible opera or an oratorio. Tons of Swedes in the audience going nuts regularly. It WAS kind of hard to hear the lyrics and follow them without difficulty. I thought the singers and actors were good. I don't think it would go over on Broadway at all. I got to shake the hands of Benny and Bjorn by going back into the auditorium after a leisurely trip to the men's room after the show!

[speedjeans]

Posted: 9/24/09 at 5:48am

So, for those keeping score, four out of five people have reported in, one on this board was "disappointed" and three out of four elsewhere found it boring".

I'll see your three "left at intermissions" and raise your one "disappointing" with the admittedly small sample of eight: myself, my wife, a friend, another couple, and
four people directly behind us--none of the eight being in town for the show.

Me: The music was rhapsodic. There were some amplification problems that made about 50% of the lyrics unintelligible. I attribute this to a soundboard problem tweaked and fixed in the second act but also because of our proximity to the stage.
(Fourth row). Sitting in the Tenth row would have probably changed the acoustics.

The show far exceeded my expectations given it was a concert, there was no set design, dialogue, limited lighting, and only the barest suggestion of a book.

Take out the dialogue, sets, and lighting from, "Light in the Piazza" or "Sunday in the Park with George"and you would have the performance equivalent of a double dose of Ambien.

The story, however, was epic, realistic, and I could see where if one's idea of entertainment is the story of a girl who couldn't possibly pass the bar exam in real life becoming a legal eagle, than the struggles of 19th-century emigrants is not likely going to keep you on the edge of the seat.

Musically, there were a few songs I'd cut but on balance it is rapturous and you can give me any 11:00 song you want of the past 50 years and I'll take "You Must be There".

Herb Kretzmer's lyrics were masterful and at time pure poetry.

Overall grade: a thrilling experience.

My Wife: A few points lost for the sound in ensemble and choral pieces but there are at least eight or nine keepers in this piece with the Act I finale, The gold Turned to Sand, You must be There, and the penultimate chorus, simply gorgeous--90% of the rest is a cut below but still better than almost everything else that get's a shot at a run.

Other Couple: "I'm (We're) speechless. (In a good way.)

Four behind us: "The most exciting night we've had in a theater since God knows when."

As an aside, The Times was somewhat tepid about the Phantom of the Opera, and "Mamma Mia" was eviscerated by at least half of the critics.

It didn't really matter did it.

I could tell you about three people who walked out of Billy Elliot BEFORE intermission.

Clearly, the sample is a little on the small side.

I was there. If there was ever a candidate for a resentment based on outlandish
expectation, I was due for a fall.

"Kristina" delivered. It's going to be around for a long time.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 9/24/09 at 9:47am

I was there as well and overall, it was a very positive experience. Do I think it will succeed on Broadway?...the jury is still way out on that one. I think a limited engagement might be the best way to go.

The audience was pretty much split between Kristina diehards like myself, Swedes and curiousity seekers probably weaned on Mamma Mia. Yes, a chunk of people left at intermission and in the case of two men in the box next to me, before.

The music is still undeniably rich and gorgeous, but this is a VERY serious story with only a couple songs even attempting humor. I thought "Lice" was a complete disaster...very jarring and not funny at all. "American Man" worked far, far better.

Kevin got a huge ovation after "Gold Can Turn To Sand" and the place went insane after "You Have to Be There." Much like Carolee and her last note in "The Winner Takes It All," Helen's last note was breathtaking...literally.

Bjorn and Benny came on stage at the end, which was very cool. Did the stage door thing for about 90 minutes (Kevin and Louise came out briefly but went back in for a reception) and then left. Had a rotten experience at "Millionaire" early in the day (the taping ran so long I had to leave before taking the audition test or risk being late for "Kristina."), so I was about to crash.

I'm going back tonight..had planned that already...although from the rafters this time.