JRB's Parade back in NY

[Ghandi722]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 10:31am

Um.. yes.

I adore this show and haven't been able to see it because no one ever does it! Incredible news.

Anyone else up for this? BWW field trip?

https://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/The_Secret_Theatre_Presents_PARADE_4716_20110324

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 10:45am

Don't get too excited. This is one of those "Cast Your Best Friend" troupes. Mediocre, at best.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 10:46am

saw the LA version based on the West End...still a mess. Not better, but just different. Rumor is Uhry has washed his hands of JRB...no telling as they are both pretty much gentlemen. Love the score, but if JRB doesn't learn to listen about structure, not sure what future the piece has.

[Ghandi722]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 11:05am

TxTwoStep- I have the West End CD. And, besides some of the cast, and 'The Glory', I think it's a much stronger show. Though, again, I've never seen it. What's wrong with it on stage? Does anyone know if this is the version that is being used?

iluvtheatertrash- Interesting... I think I'll go no matter what but good to know. What did you see there? I just googled them and it looks like they've only done one other musical. HUGE difference going from Putnam to Parade.

[SingingCats]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 11:36am

i saw spelling bee there this summer because i had a friend in it. I had also seen the imaginary invalid there awhile before and it was pretty bad. But spelling bee was great, so maybe this will be too. my 2 cents.

[newintown]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 12:02pm

I don't particularly fancy a trip to Queens to see a showcase production of a dreary flop musical that will probably be accompanied by an out-of-tune piano, synth, or a pre-recorded track. Sorry.

[BabyitsME2]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 12:21pm

Hey. I'm actually a part of this production, thus the brand new account :)

Just wanted to add after the last comment that we actually have a live band playing the music. And, though technically in Queens, it's only one stop from Manhattan. Way better than most of the other theaters deeper into Queens or Brooklyn.

Ghandi: The version is the West End/ LA Production as that's what the rights are now. It's a much tighter show, as you mentioned.

If anyone has any more questions I'd be glad to answer them!

[Ghandi722]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 12:40pm

Wonderful! Thanks BabyitsME2!

I'm back to being excited about this!!

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 12:41pm

what i saw in LA: the score remains a joy. The configuring of Leo as a central but somehow passive (or at least reactive) character is still tough. Having empathy for him, no matter how well he sings, is a hard row to hoe. i did think some things, like re-thinking the doubling of some roles by VERY strong near-lead actors, was a good idea. Still there is some confusion, narratively, on "whose show is it?"....the narrating newspaperman, Lucille, Leo...these are the structure problems which have always dogged the show...B'way, tour, West End, LA....not saying they are NOT solve-able, but JRB bless his talented heart not always the most collaborative. i mean if the author of DAISY and other beautifully-plotted shows like BALLYHOO is treating a source that has made many a compelling cinematic adaptation, and somehow your musical is STILL not working...perhaps some adjustment of the score and your goals is in order. NOT TAKING AWAY THE BEAUTY OF THE PIECE'S SCORE...but it ain't a song cycle, or if it is, produce it that way and not let all that pesky bookwork stand in the way of your genius opus.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 12:41pm

It's a shame the book is such a mess because I really do love the score.

[newintown]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 12:49pm

How many pieces/players in that live band?

[Ghandi722]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 1:10pm

Thanks, Texas. Very interesting.

[Michelle616]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 1:16pm

I highly doubt this is a "cast your best friend" type of show with a name like Jay Aubrey Jones involved. It seems like this theater is trying to pull itself out of the image that has been made over the years. Good for them.
Updated On: 3/25/11 at 01:16 PM

[BabyitsME2]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 1:32pm

newintown- The band is a five piece band made up of the primary instruments provided for the show: Piano, Violin, Cello, Trumpet, and Drums. The only instrument left out is the extra wind piece.

For the size of the space, it is the maximum amount of instruments that can be used to create the best balance of sound, and it has been fantastic so far. The director is a huge fan of the piece and music and is working very hard to make sure that every aspect of the show is professionally done.

[newintown]

Posted: 3/25/11 at 1:50pm

Good to hear. Most showcases think that a single piano is sufficient (and it is, if the original orchestration was for one piano).

[mallardo]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 7:07am

TxTwoStep I couldn't agree wiuth you less. I thought the revised Parade, both in London and LA, worked like a dream. Sorry if the ambiguity and complexity of the some of the characterizations bothered you. It's a musical drama, not a musical comedy.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:10am

Michelle -- Sorry to burst your bubble, but Leo is the director's boyfriend. Does that say anything?

I was hired to musical direct a production for the same director last summer. Putnam, actually. I requested a metronome about fifty times because they couldn't decide on a tempo. The nights were long and ridiculous. I'd teach harmonies a hundred times. And I often found myself playing on an out-of-town, 60 year old piano that was missing two or three octaves. It was something you'd see Colehouse Walker playing.

The director, while a talented performer, knows exactly what she's doing. It's a very self-serving group of people. Just because she's a fan of the piece, however, doesn't mean that the show will be good. I love HAMLET, but I admit that the production I recently directed was far from perfect.

As for their getting Jay Aubrey Jones -- they have contacts. Plain and simple. A lot of us do. Doesn't necessarily mean that contact wants to be there, either. Could just need the work. Could be bored. Could be dying to do 'Parade' somewhere.

The commute to the theater is an easy one. If you plan on going just for the show itself, the commute is really not that awful. It's four stops from Times Square on the N and Q.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:17am

they didn't "bother" me....i still think the piece has structure problems. Sorry if my opinion somehow offends you. You're free to advocate yours, just kindly don't attack mine.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:18am

And yes, I left the production two days before it opened due to a massive clash with the director.

After auditioning 40 Olives and 40 Logans, I was informed the director was casting herself as Logan and her best friend as Olive. She wasted over 50 actresses' (and my) time with a schlep to Queens for that.

She'd want to run the show several times a night, abusing those of us who were not getting paid.

It was just an all-around awful experience. I have no doubt that she's organized a talented cast as many of the people in Putnam were qutie talented. The director herself is also talented.

Just don't expect New York's big return of PARADE to be the grand production you've all been waiting for. The Secret Theatre can barely afford a good piano [although they've got an electric grand... last time I was there, though, the legs were falling off... Hm.....]

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:20am

that "out of town" piano....was that on the way in to B'way to be a "cabinet spinet"? LMAO.....or was the tuning so bad you could hear it even outside the city limits?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:28am

Oh, it was most definitely a spinet. But some of the keys hadn't made noise in months. It was covered in so much dust (which I'm highly allergic to) that I had to finally put my foot down, be a diva and demand a better piano. [Plus, 'Putnam' is not an easy score to play.]

They got another piano and this one was so rough, so old [but luckily in tune] that I sliced the side of my finger open one night trying to play a glissando. That was a lovely night.

While you've got some talented people involved in the production, the values are certainly going to be allow. The Secret Theater, in my opinion, is a little corrupt. I don't like the way they run their business - as a lot of people will tell you. And their shows are not worth it. I've seen a ton of off-off shows that are fabulous. Theirs are not.

[Don't let the company name fool you. That's their "musical thaeter troupe". It's still very much The Secret Theater/Queens Players.]

It just wasn't the kind of environment in which I wanted to be doing theater. Way too self-serving a place to be that vulnurable in.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:31am

Oh, God. I just got your joke. ha! I said "out-of-town". And in the last message, I said "allow".

Not having much luck with typing this morning, it seems...

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:39am

your fingers are just better suited to another kind of keyboard (tuned, dust-free, with nothing to slice your gliss's except the shimmer in the air your fingering conjures...)

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:43am

I don't need dust free. I just prefer to not look like Pig Pen while playing the piano in a cloud of dust.

[Ghandi722]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 10:36am

iluvtheatertrash- No offense, but what you're saying doesn't look great for you.

"And yes, I left the production two days before it opened due to a massive clash with the director." This comment specifically. You left a production TWO DAYS before it opened? Seems like the issue with the theater is with you (you did call yourself a 'diva') and not with the production (and director) themselves.

You also compliment the director several times which leads me to believe that she actually put on a great production which for whatever reason you took yourself out of.

"Leo is the director's boyfriend" ...And? People hire people they know. Tim Burton works with the same people (including his wife) all the time, does that mean what he's doing is corrupt?

Either way, I don't want this thread to turn into something snarky. You obviously had a bad experience due to... whatever it was and feel a need to vent. Cool. Not stopping me from seeing Parade there. I'll judge for myself.