Show Boat at Avery Fisher Hall

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 8:44pm

Did anyone go tonight/is anyone going later this week? I randomly got a free ticket for Friday and I'm curious to hear how it was!

Updated On: 11/5/14 at 08:44 PM

[gstrus2]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 11:07pm

I also got a free ticket for Friday, anyone see this?

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 11:43pm

Received one of the 100 free tickets to see this on Friday as well. Very excited- especially to see Lauren Worsham as Magnolia.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 11:51pm

You lucky bastards. How'd you manage that?

[Kad]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 12:05am

The NY Philharmonic is offering 100 free tickets for people aged 13-26 for the Friday performance of all their subscription shows.

I got one for Friday, as well. I reserved mine today. I was surprised they were still available.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 1:50am

Suck it, 27 year olds!

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 9:12am

I was there last night. Overall, it was a terrific evening.

This is a true concert staging, unlike some of the "semi-staged" concerts (Company, Carousel, Sweeney Todd) that the Philharmonic has recently presented. The performers are dressed in formal wear instead of costumes, there's no set to speak of, and props are minimal. The music is the star. Luckily, music theatre doesn't get much better than Show Boat.

The performers are largely fabulous. Lauren Worsham and Julian Ovenden sing beautifully together. Vanessa Williams is an excellent Julie--especially considering she'd only had two days of rehearsal with the company prior to last night's performance. Chris Fitzgerald and Alli Mauzy are perfectly cast as Frank and Ellie, and Natasha Yvette Williams sings the hell out of Queenie's songs.

Norm Lewis may not have the vocal heft that others have brought to the role of Joe, but he sings with great emotion.

Fred Willard did little more than remember his lines--a very stiff stage presence, definitely not what Cap'n Andy should be. He's the only real weak spot, though, and overall it's great.

Updated On: 11/6/14 at 09:12 AM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 3:13pm

"Norm Lewis may not have the vocal heft that others have brought to the role of Joe, but he sings with great emotion. "

Yeah, that's precisely the reason his casting seemed odd to me. Wonderful actor, but this a concert.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 4:02pm

^I thought the same thing.

I think Quentin Earl Darrington would make a wonderful Joe.

[grandpianoalex]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 4:18pm

Philip Boykin said he got the offer, but they wouldn't let him miss a week of On The Town! He would have been incredible.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 4:18pm

Why do they keep ****ing up casting over there with these concerts? You'd think the NY Phil would have their **** together.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 4:19pm

To clarify: Lewis has a lovely voice, and performed with real feeling. I wasn't trying to put him down. That said, I do still find his casting somewhat odd. He's a light lyric baritone, not exactly the voice type for which the role was written. I would have cast an opera singer (perhaps Eric Owens) or someone like Philip Boykin, but perhaps they decided to go with someone with a more theatrical background to match the rest of the cast.

That said, Lewis does his best within his limits. His voice is beautiful--we know that--just not ideal for this role.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 4:24pm

Oh, I completely agree. Norm L. has a beautiful and expressive voice, but clearly not one ideal for this role. Still, those limitations didn't seem to stop him getting cast in his most recent Broadway role, either. Shame about Boykin not getting time off from On The Town - he would have been perfect.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 4:29pm

I was thinking Philip Boynkin as well (just couldn't remember his name).

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 10:54pm

Isherwood didn't like the fact that this production was mostly true to its description as a musical in concert, as opposed to Carousel and Sweeney Todd which were presented almost fully staged.

"For a presentation by a symphony orchestra, more music and less drama is a defensible decision. Yet in other productions, the Philharmonic has found a fine balance between letting the score be the star and allowing beloved Broadway shows to emerge as fully realized musical plays, in which song serves story and vice versa. That’s not the case here."

According to Isherwood, the lack of drama deprived songs like "Bill", "After the Ball", and of course "Ol' Man River" from carrying their usual emotional punch. (He also criticizes Lewis' "Ol' Man River", although conceding that the audience seemed to like it just fine.)

This show is no cheap ticket, which may explain why so many seats are still available. Not sure if this link will work for you.

Isherwood

[NYadgal]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 11:15pm

Well, I, for one, did not remain dry-eyed.

The performances, with the exception of Fred Willard, all moved me. I thought the concert presentation of this worked perfectly, and provided a stage upon which to present the glorious music of the show.

Beautiful evening.

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 11/6/14 at 11:23pm

When, I think, Playbill posted video of the concert in rehearsal, I got really excited about this. Everyone seemed at least competent...except Fred Willard. He looked stiff and awkward and barely even phoning it in. At least his performance is consistent?

[newintown]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 8:10am

Hearing the original, full orchestrations was a treat, as well as the inclusion of songs that weren't in the original score ("It's Getting Hotter in the North," while maybe not as theatrically effective as other songs that have filled its slot, was great to hear - it's perfect Kern writing in his "elegant" vein - like Berlin and "Let's Face the Music"). The acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall, however, always make a theatre score sound less tight, less sharp than they are intended to sound.

Lauren Worsham was, as always, perfect. However I don't think any of the other principals (with the possible exception of Natasha Williams) could really succeed in a real production. Vanessa Williams looks gorgeous and sings carefully (but she never had a thrilling voice to start with, did she? - merely capable). I find Ovendon's voice unbearably harsh and nasal, and as an actor he runs the gamut of A to A. Lewis has tremendous dignity and gravitas and humor, but unfortunately he doesn't have the notes to really make "River" shine. I enjoyed the choice to make Frank & Ellie the comic couple more then the dancing couple, and thought Fitzgerald and Mauzey were very fun.

It was an enjoyable one-off evening, if not really more than a theatrical side dish (rather than a full meal).

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 8:45am

Vanessa Williams looks gorgeous and sings carefully (but she never had a thrilling voice to start with, did she? - merely capable).

Mostly agreed. It's a pleasant, small instrument, but she has the ability to overcome her vocal limitations by singing with great style. That's what I found in her performance as Julie--I completely disagree with Isherwood's characterization of her performance as one-note or unemotional.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 9:55am

I thought it was a mixed bag. It's wonderful to hear the original orchestrations, and the score contains so many perfect songs. However, I thought this was hindered by subpar casting choices and the lack of stronger direction. Norm Lewis simply does not have the instrument to make "Ol Man River" the powerhouse number it should be; Alli Mauzey seemed to be a poor man's Annaleigh Ashford and, when paired with expert musical comedian Christopher Fitzgerald, her weaknesses were more apparent.

I very much enjoyed Vanessa Williams and Lauren Worsham.

I do think the production could have benefited from a stronger director, who could have possibly helped make the melodramatic scenes work and helped the performers dig a little deeper into the material.

That being said- the old woman's monologue in the finale is so expertly manipulative that it's hard not to feel SOME emotion.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:52am

This just in. Like Carousel, Show Boat will be televised on Live from Lincoln Center. You may wonder why it's called "Live" since it's not a live presentation, like South Pacific was. You may also wonder why they are announcing this when, if I'm reading the theater's web site correctly, they have over 150 premium orchestra seats available for both shows tomorrow. We now return to our regular programming.

In 1988 John McGlinn releases a three CD set of every song ever written for Show Boat. It featured Frederica von Stade and Teresa Stratus.

Every production of Show Boat is different because there are just so many songs to include or exclude. Decisions must be made. Songs were left out of the original due to length, and Kern wrote new songs for the first Broadway revival and the 1936 film.

But I was fascinated to discover that the original final dance number after Gaylord returned, "It's Getting Hotter in the North," had never been used in any major stage production or in any of the three films. I heard it on McGlinn's mega-collection and really liked it.

Someone has finally used the song. Would like to hear it.



Updated On: 11/7/14 at 11:52 AM

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 7:46pm

To those of you who got Free Friday tickets - where are your seats? I'm sitting in Row Z Seat 12 on the right side.