On The Town- Page 4

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 2:39pm

I insult her because she's stubborn and won't listen to me. But she's nice.

Anyway, has anyone tried the lottery?

[mc1227]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 3:30pm

Again, no TDF TIx offers for this show...boggles my mind.

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 3:31pm

I feel like they should just be handing out tickets at this point LOL.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 4:49pm

Skimbleshanks, how much is your "basic friend" package and how many hours per month are they required to spend with you? My contract is up next month and I am debating whether it is worth it to upgrade to "premium friend". Did you consider that before you signed up for basic?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 5:03pm

Fisherman Bob- I'm dying of laughter.

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 6:18pm

I don't really consult people who graduated from the Bruce Vilanch School of Comedy.

[EthelMae]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 1:29am

I was so excited to see this. I was one of the few who liked the 70's revival.
I liked it. The score is sublime. Most of the dancing was good but I would have preferred "in the style of Jerome Robbins", at least.
Thought the sets had no period flavor.
Orchestra was great. Loved all 3 sailors-Mr. Yazbeck is great. Elizabeth Stanley was fun and in good voice. I was disappointed in Alysha Umphress. Her 2 songs didn't land. To be fair the staging didn't help in Come Up to My Place-no projections please in a piece set in the 40's. Megan Fairchild was delighful.
Overall, I guess I would call it uneven.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/20/15 at 9:19am

Caught this with my middle school son. We both enjoyed it immensely. It was so nice to see so much DANCING! It was thrilling to see both a huge cast and orchestra (that sounded amazing!)

Is the story slight? Sure. Was it a delightful afternoon? It certainly was.

Loved the sets and enjoyed the projections too....and I usually hate them. I felt they supported the story entirely.

I was totally dismayed to see so any empty seats. I was in the orchestra and I would have to say it was at least 1/3 empty...maybe more. (No idea what the mezz looked like).

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/20/15 at 9:39am

^ Glad you enjoyed the show! I am seeing this in March and I am very excited - mainly for that huge orchestra!

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 5:31pm

Saw it this past Monday night and LOVED it. Outstanding choreography and good performances all around. The music is not all memorable but serves the show well. And beautiful to look at. The full orchestra just sounds wonderful!

[CukorLover]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 10:02pm

Looks like Bergasse may have a better chance for the TONY, now that Hamilton is not coming in.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 10:21pm

Unless American In Paris(Christopher Wheeldon) has something to say about that award.

[CukorLover]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 10:24pm

One can hope!

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 11:22pm

I saw the show a couple of weeks ago. Really loved it. I loved the colors of the sets. I can't see how this production won't go on tour.

[lauraehefner]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 12:27am

This is super cute. I'll be interested to see how she does in this role! http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/tiler-peck-megan-fairchild-on-the-town_71902.html?cid=homepage_news

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 9:53am

I saw the show last night. I absolutely adored every second of this show. This show had me hooked from the Star Spangled Banner all the was through the curtain call.

The entire cast was great. Tony Yazbek and Alysha Umphress are definitely worthy of Tony nominations. There was not a weak link in the entire cast. Julie Halson was on for Madama Dilly and all the other parts that character has. She was wonderful! She found all the laughs without overdoing it. The entire cast was just phenomenal.

The sets and projections were stunning. It was like looking at NYC through a candy color lensed kaleidoscope! It really evoked the comic feel of the story.

The true stars of this production are the dancing and the orchestra. My. God. Absolutely breathtaking. The Times Square Ballet and the Dream Ballet are worth the price of the ticket alone. The orchestra was astounding. It was such a treat to have such a large orchestra playing that classic score.

All in all, I absolutely LOVED this production. It was slick and sleek and did not miss a single beat. If you haven't seen this, I would highly recommend it. The whole production is just glorious.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 2:56pm

Saw this again as tix were offered complimentary and the orchestra was full and was told that the mezzanine was around 1/2 full so not bad for a Tuesday night but Julie Halston is now on for Madame Dilly and not sure what she is doing with the role since nothing worked. She is really bad not finding any of the humor as her performance was so forced. It's a detriment to the production as she just drags the swift pace of the show down. Jackie Hoffman come back to OTT ASAP! The dancing and 30 piece orchestra are still so beautiful and glorious. House Manager told me that they plan on keeping it open till summer. Still entertaining...see it if you haven't!
A Tony nomination for best revival!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 3:10pm

This has a far inferior score to AAIP

Theater is far to big and going into this barn with a 30 piece orchestra was madness.Anyone booking this theater should be given a discount by the owners. They should be happy as a pig in **** that anyone would actually rent it.

Imagine this in the Nederlander with a smaller orchestra

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 3:24pm

I wish they'd film this, or something, I'd see this just for the design (I love how everyone's finally catching on to those Robert Wilson color washes) but I'm stuck all the way over here on the West coast.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 10:19pm

Imagine this in the Nederlander with a smaller orchestra

I think one of the major points of this revival was to have a large orchestra.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 10:44pm

"I was so excited to see this. I was one of the few who liked the 70's revival.
I liked it. The score is sublime. Most of the dancing was good but I would have preferred "in the style of Jerome Robbins", at least.
Thought the sets had no period flavor. "

From what I've seen, the choreography is in Robbins' 1940s style (even aping some Fancy Free bits.) Would you disagree? Certainly FAR more than the 1970s revival.

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 8:35am

"Certainly FAR more than the 1970s revival."

For one who didn't see the 1970s revival, you certainly posit yourself as an authority on its every aspect.
You didn't see this revival either, so that really gives you a sound basis for comparison. Certainly sound enough emphasize your assurances with words like "Certainly" and "FAR." Lest there be any doubt!

Why don't you also tell us about Bernadette Peters's performance? And Ron Husmann's. And everyone else's. As well as every other feature of the show. To the most minute detail.

Honestly! Humility is in such short supply among some of the self-proclaimed "experts" on this board.

Updated On: 3/26/15 at 08:35 AM

[aj88]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:24am

ON THE TOWN is a classic show with a fantastic score, but only an average libretto. I think a lot of the enjoyment for me is based on the production itself as I have seen a couple of productions over the years but never really enjoyed myself fully until I saw this production this past October.

I didn't really have much of a desire to see the production until I read the raves, particularly from Ben Brantley (granted that can be a bust since he didn't care for Ragtime or Pippin and yet loved Honeymoon in Vegas). I was so pleased with this production and thought that, yes, while the show is dated in many ways, it is also a very important musical and one I enjoy more than Oklahoma, which I will admit to never caring for it (I consider Carousel to be the R&H masterpiece but I digress...).

I am not really a person who is crazy about dancing/choreography, but I was definitely a fan of Bergasse's work and thought Rando got the most he could from the material.

The sets were a mixed bag for me, but I still adore the Battery Park setup for Lonely Town. At the performance I saw, the whole audience gasped in delight when the curtain came up.

Performance wise, it is a very strong cast but it is Alysha Umphress who stole the show and she deserves to be Tony nominated if only one person gets singled out from the show.

Jackie Hoffman is hilarious but I feel like in this particular show she may have been a bit too much...at least in terms of her Maude P. Dilly work.

I think the show could have benefitted a little more had they waited for the Spring and a smaller theatre, but I don't think the run would've been much improved. I think the biggest issue is strictly that there isn't a name attached and On the Town doesn't have the same weight as a R&H musical or a few other classics.

I am baffled as to how they are still able to hold on and I wonder when they will close. If they stay open until May or June, great...but I just can't see how they are able to keep it up.

[Peter2]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 2:58pm

It's nice to hear other people with fond memories of the Central Park production. "A joyous romp" indeed. I remember at one point an usher had to sit down in my aisle because he was laughing to hard. During "Lucky to Be Me," the set opened up to show us people strolling through the real Central Park illuminated by the moon. Magical. Comden and Green reportedly showed up for every performance. At mine, they audience members around them recognized them, word spread like wildfire, and they got a spontaneous standing ovation! Really touching, and a night I'll never forget.

I agree that the transfer to a huge Broadway theater killed it dead. So it's a shame the current production makes the same mistake of putting in a theater way to big for it. Maybe that's why everybody overplays (this comes across too on the cast album that just came out, btw). Jackie Hoffman was the worst in this regard, mugging shamelessly in a profoundly unfunny way (I'll never forget wonderful Mary Testa, who had a hilarious and charming personal triumph with Madame Dilly in Central Park), but really almost everybody, with the possible exception of the fine Tony Yazbeck, is guilty. It's the only time I've ever heard "Come Up to My Place" when it didn't get a single laugh. Not one! Can you believe it? And it didn't get any laughs because the two performers were just begging for them. (Again, you can hear this on the cast album.) My feeling is those who find the libretto clunky are probably reacting to this heavy-handed direction. It's such a great score with a funny, light-hearted libretto, I love it completely, and I so wish it could transfer to a smaller theater where I think it would have a much better chance of success.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 2:22am

Anyone know when Jackie Hoffman will be back in the show?