Road Show at Encores! Off-Center (post your thoughts here)- Page 4

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 1:18pm

As I posted before, I really did enjoy this production, even though I agree that it's not quite Broadway ready, or even really in the running as one of Sonheim's masterpieces.

**Spoilers ahead**
That being said, I'm honestly a little surprised at the confusion regarding the failure of Boca Raton. It seemed pretty apparent to me that the whole sequence covered quite a bit of time as Wilson's claims got more outlandish and Hollis grew more uneasy about the false advertising, ultimately resulting in him denouncing the whole thing. They basically created a housing bubble and Hollis popped it--if the major investor in a housing project publically said that it was all a sham, I can imagine that getting devalued pretty quickly. Add to that Wilson's track record of starting and abandoning high profile projects and there would definitely be cause for concern from potential buyers.

The breakup with Hollis was probably the most confusing part to me since Addison didnt even try to repair that relationship but other than that everything seemed to rung true to me.

I forgave a lot of the flaws in the book because it's not supposed to be a story of the brothers' lives, but a story of their relationship with each other and how that plays into their lives. Could it have been better constructed to make that focus more obvious? Definitely. But for a show that had such a troubled past, I was expecting much worse, and I definitely would want to see what kind of future this has.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 11:10pm

goldenboy said: "As someone said... "What happened in Boca Raton that they through them out.? Neve explained. They were building houses and then in one sentence there was some kind of scandal and Boca Raton through them out?

What was the scandal? The show did not explain that!

Addison Meisner seemed to be in love with the rich son of a steel Magnate. They seemed happy and successful.  They even sing a beautiful love song and kiss. And in one sentence they are at each others throats without any cause with Addison saying he used him. The show jolts the brain without these transitions made clear 

Used him how? What happened?

How do you tell a story and leave the  audience in the dark? How do you leave so many blanks?"

 

I agree with chrishuyen- Boca Raton addresses these points specifically. Hollis makes his increasing frustration pretty clear in the song breaks. He doesn't explicitly state "Here is an itemized list of the ways in which I feel you used me", but you can infer. Same with the scandal. I had only the vaguest memories of seeing it at the Public in '08, and none of them plot related, and I had no issue following it.

I saw this the other night. Great cast in a middling show. Raul and Brandon worked really well together. The show is never going to be Sweeney/Sunday levels of Sondheim, but it's not that bad compared to many of the new musicals I could name and won't.

Did anyone else hear about the stagedoor on Wednesday? Someone told a friend of mine that a bunch of people mobbed Sondheim and Raul when they came out after the party. I wasn't sure if it was an exaggeration or not, but yikes.

Updated On: 7/26/19 at 11:10 PM

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 11:50pm

I saw the show tonight and I loved every minute of it! I just really really enjoyed it. I was front row center and had bought tickets when they first went on sale early in the year, so I had no idea until I opened the Playbill that Raul Esparza was the lead! What a wonderful performance. I had seen the Public production with Cerveris and found that pretty bland, here I loved it.

I didn’t have any problem understanding why Boca Raton went south, the only qualm was Addy and Hollis’s relationship did end pretty abruptly and I wasn’t quite sure why.

Damn I wish there would be a recording of Raul performing these songs.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 2:08am

orangeskittles said: "Did anyone else hear about the stagedoor on Wednesday? Someone told a friend of mine thata bunch of people mobbed Sondheim and Raul when they came out after the party. I wasn't sure if it was an exaggeration or not, but yikes."

I was at the stage door Wednesday night and while I wouldn't quite consider it a mob, a bunch of people did kind of swarm them when they came out from a side exit. I wasn't really paying attention as I was talking to another audience member at the time but I just noticed suddenly around 7 people were crowded around a car and one person who came back to where we were standing confirmed that Raul was there (didn't even realize Sondheim was there too until you just mentioned it!). Honestly while I'm somewhat disappointed I didn't get to see them I feel like if they're going through the effort to not come out the stage door they probably don't want to be bothered. 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 10:40am

This presentation is probably the best this show will ever get. I enjoyed it more than I anticipated, but the show’s faults are baked in and twenty years of tinkering have only mixed it up more.

There are several gems in the score, but ultimately it made me just want to listen to Assassins (it doesn’t help that “It’s In Your Hands Now” originated in that show).

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 12:20pm

I agree, the score is very similar to Assassins, but as a whole, I’m more drawn to Road Show, in terms of score. Assassins is a more intense and consistent score, but I find Road Show softer and more emotional, with several touching songs.

I finally get to to see the Encores presentation today.

Updated On: 7/27/19 at 12:20 PM

[binau]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 1:05pm

You must be the only Sondheim fan in the world that prefers Road Show over Assassins, lol. From the clips though I can see how this cast might be a vehicle that the show has long deserved and never been able to get for some strange reason.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 1:24pm

Lol, I think Assassins is the better show, obviously. But i’m emotionally drawn to more songs in Road Show.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 1:38pm

I think I might like Road Show just a little more than Assassins if I had to pick. I won't argue that Assassins is the better written show and I adore "Unworthy of Your Love" and the scene at the end between Booth and Oswald, but the story of Road Show and the relationship between two brothers interests me a bit more than a show about presidential assassins.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 5:15pm

Just getting back from the matinee. I saw it the other night but went back mainly for the Sondheim talkback after. To me, I hear “Merrily” more than anything else in this score with bits of “Assassins” thrown in here and there. It’ll never be my favorite but glad I saw it again.

As for the talkback, it was about 30 minutes long and Sondheim and Weidman mainly discussed what it was like working together collaborating on shows. It’s always fascinating to hear him speak so I wasn’t disappointed, although I was hoping for some little hint about anything upcoming, which we didn’t get.

Regarding his health, he looked and sounded totally normal to me, if you’ve seen him in the past few years. When he walked offstage he did seem a tad uneven but really he seemed perfectly normal otherwise which made me very happy.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 5:39pm

The talkback was great but Anne Kaufman wasn’t the best host.
I agree, Sondheim sounded great and looked perfectly normal for his age. It’s always an honor to be in the same room as him.

I enjoyed the concert. Raul and Brandon are giving so much life, depth, and emotion to this piece. Gemignani and Cerveris didn’t come close. The score sounded lovely, and I find it impressive how swiftly the show moves from song to song. The audience was very enthusiastic and several songs received extended applause. I remember sitting through the Public production and you could hear pin drop, there was this sense that the audience was truly bored.
I enjoyed the radio play concept here, and it mostly worked. Will Davis explained at the talkback that the concept purposely falls apart over the course of the show, just like the scheming of the brothers.
Brandon and Jin had so much chemistry and it was a joy to witness. Gemignani and Elder weren’t believable as a couple.

I would love to see what Will Davis could do with a full scale production. I will also be attending the evening performance.

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 5:47pm

Just left the matinee.

City Center could’ve kept this. Subpar performances in a subpar musical. No surprise this never made it to Broadway.

It’s very telling when the most exciting part of the entire thing is the post-show talk. If you aren’t getting that, save your coins.

They need to stop doing these glorified readings. The ticket prices were too high and the space was too big for something like this. A smaller space would justify the ticket price and have more value, but completed musicals just aren’t meant to be presented in a setting that’s meant for a work-in-progress.

I think because it’s Sondheim people are falling for the hype. Outside of the insightful, energized post-show talk, this was not an enjoyable time at the theater.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 6:17pm

OffOnBwayHi said: "Just left the matinee.

City Center could’ve kept this. Subpar performances in a subpar musical. No surprise this never made it to Broadway.

It’s very telling when the most exciting part of the entire thing is the post-show talk. If you aren’t getting that, save your coins.

They need to stop doing these glorified readings. The ticket prices were too high and the space was too big for something like this. A smaller space would justify the ticket price and have more value, but completed musicals just aren’t meant to be presented in a setting that’s meant for a work-in-progress."

Tickets started at $25.

 

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 6:27pm

......and Encores! Isn’t meant for works in progress. It’s been doing completed musicals since the beginning. You should know what you’re getting into it. If you didn’t want to pay a lot, there were plenty of $25 seats available.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 6:40pm

And I wanted to say that in theory the radio show concept could have worked but it was such a half-baked idea it was never clear as to that’s what it was. I understand the reasoning behind it but for me, it was just a total waste. And when the director said today how it was meant to all just fade away as the performance went on, I took that as a total cop out that it just didn’t work and was basically forgotten about halfway through.

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 6:48pm

ljay889 said: "......and Encores! Isn’t meant for works in progress. It’s been doing completed musicals since the beginning. You should know what you’re getting into it. If you didn’t want to pay a lot, there were plenty of $25 seats available. "

I know both of those things; I knew what I was getting into, just never experienced it. ALL seats should be $25 (honestly, free for this) and readings of completed, already produced works shouldn’t be presented in this way, in my opinion. It’s lazy and cheap, and this performance of Road Show more than proved that.

This just was not that good. It’s a forgettable “production.” Period.

I said what I said.

Updated On: 7/27/19 at 06:48 PM

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 6:50pm

Jordan Catalano said: "And I wanted to say that in theory the radio show concept could have worked but it was such a half-baked idea it was never clear as to that’s what it was. I understand the reasoning behind it but for me, it was just a total waste. And when the director said today how it was meant to all just fade away as the performance went on, I took that as a total cop out that it just didn’t work and was basically forgotten about halfway through. "

Same! With that said, I found him charming and knowledgeable. Looking forward to see what he directs in the future.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 6:52pm

It’s interesting to me that a lot of people in this thread have said that this production is better than the original, while mainly pointing to the two lead performance as the reason.

I totally believe that this production is better, and I also believe that the lead performances were better. But has anyone brought up the fact that original production was directed by his majesty the King of Dullness, John Doyle? While I didn’t see that production, I would bet that Doyle was far more at fault for the production being a dud than Cerveris or Gemignani were. His influence was probably even the reason those two performances fell flat (as we know, Cerveris and Gemignani are very skilled actors, especially Cerveris).

Just another example of John Doyle sapping all the life out of almost every piece he touches.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 7:48pm

JBroadway said: "IBut has anyone brought up the fact that original production was directed by his majesty the King of Dullness, John Doyle? Just another example of John Doyle sapping all the life out of almost every piece he touches."

You may have a point there. Doyle can certainly be polarizing.

The radio play concept did get me thinking about vaudeville and how Road Show would play presented in a vaudeville type frame, which I think was one of the original concepts for Wise Guys. It would certainly be different from anything I've seen of Doyle's work.

[cjmclaughlin10]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 7:56pm

So, how was the talkback??????????

[Skip23]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 8:14pm

Moderator was terrible.

Asking bland, generic questions about the nature of collaboration to Sondheim, Weidman and director Will Davis.

Hello? We’re coming up on Sondheim’s 90th? Where are the occasional personal inquiries? What about his recent collaboration with David Ives?

Talk about lost opportunities!

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 11:57pm

Even at 2 hours with no intermission (which I'd been in no way prepared for) I'm very glad that I saw this. I think the radio show conceit was a brilliant approach to the limits of the Encores format and there were some very good performances. Most of the actors delivered what I'd expected but I've never seen Jin Ha in anything and he was the standout for me. I wish there was more of his singing recorded out in the world. I feel like he'd sound particularly good with something lush and romantic like R&H. The other leads brought a lot of intensity but it was almost wasted on their characters. I'm not sure this show makes much sense structurally or in terms of character motivations. From listening to the album, Bounce was a little boring but it had a clear trajectory. Road Show is stronger in some ways but it keeps going in circles and its thesis statement and social commentary are ultimately weaker. It was a strong presentation of flawed material. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/27/19 at 11:58pm

I'm in the camp of not loving the score. It sounds too much like other Sondheim shows. And to me, it's a pale imitation. A lot of a Assassins, touches of Into the Woods here and there, some "Everybody Loves Louis", and little phrases here and there that echoed most of the other shows. And yet, somehow it didn't have that normal bite of his shows and felt more like a weak imitation of Grey Gardens written by Andrew Lloyd Webber or something. It's a little bland and bloodless.

Updated On: 7/28/19 at 11:58 PM

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 5:50am

I thought the actors were good  (especially Esparza) and the singing was quite good as well. It was an odd idea for a musical and I must agree with some other posters that it was hard as an audience member to connect emotionally in any way to the material. And then to top it off there is not any sort of redemption in the end. I will say there was a fair amount of humor and I was never bored with the presentation.

I thought Sondheim was as articulate as ever in the talk back and he was very much in sync with his writing partner. I agree the moderator could have done a better job of asking more interesting questions. She tends to be a bit of an attention getter and with the legends she had onstage all she needed to do was guide them. Someone else should have moderated.

Does anyone know if Sondheim is still with his male partner? Did they get married?

Updated On: 7/28/19 at 05:50 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 10:14am

I don’t know if they’ve gotten married, but both times that I’ve seen Sondheim in the past few months, he’s been with his partner.