Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Joined: 12/31/69
#1Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:09am
Just wondered what anyone thought. I always find it interesting when a song can take on an entirely different context when you shift the performer or the situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHjb2xyVxQ4
Updated On: 8/10/10 at 02:09 AM
#2Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:14amI remember seeing this a while ago, and thinking how nice his voice is.
rmusic11322
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/07
#3Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:17amI would have settled with "You were my wife. It never occured to have more." I'm not sure if the message would be the same, but regardless, he's really good.
#4Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:23am
Wow. The related clip of Aaron Tveit singing it.
"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
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#5Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:41am
I did similar lyric changes when I did it. Except I went to "You were my life" so that the rhyme stayed.
It sounds like he was straining for the upper notes.
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
broadwayboy101
Broadway Star Joined: 3/20/08
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#7Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:47amListen/watch the same kid sing Scott Alan's "Now". VERY nice.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#9Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 7:38amYea, not much going on there emotionally.
....but the world goes 'round
#10Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 7:49amHe needs to get rid of the annoying habit of shaking his head from side to side to indicate emotion. Other than that, I think if he wore Mother's hat we'd barely notice the vocal straining at all.
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.
silversurfer2
Broadway Star Joined: 7/20/07
#11Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 8:09amI agree about Aaron Tveit's verson. Gave me chills, he is amazing...the other kid, not so much.
#12Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 8:16amWhen you are following Noll and Mazzie you have to at least bring some urgency or intensity. That was limp. Plus, he breaks character and smiles after he does one of the money notes. It didnt do it for me.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#13Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 10:58amI wasn't blown away by his performance but was surprised by how effective it was. I kept thinking how he hardly made any changes and suddenly it was about a kid telling his parents he's gay.
#14Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 11:56am
Joe, I love your point about how the context of the song shifts based on the singer. Here I was just critiquing the kid, but you raise a great point about the poignancy. I felt the same when I saw a gay kid sing "Defying Gravity" and all of a sudden it was about coming out.
That being said, the kid doesn't come out in the video and if he reads as gay when singing he is gonna get passed over for a lot of leading man roles. Its sad but true.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
#15Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 12:10pm
Strong potential. Nice talent, good looker, but needs acting lessons. And yes, he needs to get rid of his habit of shaking his head (perhaps he was inspired by Catherine Zeta-Jones' performance on the Tonys?...).
Here's to hoping he gets in a great musical theatre conservatory or program at a university/college. If he awakens his emotional life and is able to bring that into his acting...he could very well be in the next generation of Broadway talent.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#16Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 12:18pm
I've always thought that 'Back to Before' could be taken out of the Ragtime context and used for individual purposes. That said, the lyrics 'women in white, and sturdy young men at the......" took me right back to the world of Ragtime/the time period.
This young man in the video is very bold and I applaud his tenacity to stay with his chosen moments. Good for him. After all, theatre is about taking risks.
Chorus Member Joined: 12/31/69
#17Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 1:09pmSee I liked the new symbolism of that line: A choice between "Women in white" (i.e a bridal gown) and messing around behind the boathouse with one of those "Sturdy young men at the oars." I thought of the Pet Shop Boys talking about "Behind the cricket pavilion and the bicycle shed/ Trembling as your dreams came true"
#18Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 2:18pmIf he were a woman this would have been good. Not because the song shouldn't ever be sung by a man..... but because he seems to have approached it like a woman to be honest. Nice voice, femininely acted. IMO.
Can, can I have it?
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#19Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 10:35pmHe sounds like a girl.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
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-whatever2
#20Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 11:15pm
JoeKV99, that's a great way of looking at it, and to be honest, I hadn't thought of it in that way...the same way I never thought of Your Daddy's Son as such:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb7OkdI8adQ&playnext=1&videos=02nqP8p1ZQg
Looking at it from that angle would require such a committed actor who interpreted the lyrics as such a way you described it. I simply applaud this young man for his bold take on the song and wish him all the best in his chosen profession. He's got talent!!!!
#21Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 11:21pmSo how long before this kid is cast in a tour or something like that other girl who did Ladies Who Lunch exactly like Barbara Walsh?
#22Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/10/10 at 11:42pmNot to undermine his talent by any means, but do you think it was his direct intention to shift the meaning?
Actor2
Featured Actor Joined: 1/12/08
#23Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/11/10 at 12:06amAnyone bother to see how high it goes? Even with the key shift the tessitura is pretty high.
#24Back to Before by a 17 year-old boy
Posted: 8/11/10 at 12:08amI think Ab4. At least that is what the big note at the end is (We can never go back to before)
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