A Tale of Two Cities Reviews (A Few Spoilers)

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/30/07 at 1:34pm

*Title edited to better reflect content of thread.*

There's a few things I want to set out before I give my thoughts.
1. As I have always been open about on this board I do have a connection to the show so feel free to take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
2. I really do love this show and want it to be at it's best so I am really trying to not hold back in my thoughts unless I feel it will give away too much of the plot.

The first act began differently than I expected. (An added prologue) I only had one small qualm with it, but I will not share what as it would give away a major plot point.
I feel the entire production moves very well. Michael Donald Edwards has done a great job of keeping the show moving. Tony Walton's set also helps to keep the transitions between scenes very fluid. The set accents the show wonderfully. It really is almost as if it is another character in the show, but at the same time it doesn't distract you from the story line. It is seamlessly interwoven. Richard Pilbrow's lighting is well done and I can say without a doubt in my mind groundbreaking. I got to talk to the ME about it and the theatre nerd in me is really excited about what he's developed. Costumes (David Zinn) are designed in a way to connect the styles of the time period to modern ideas about clothing, and I feel they do that very well. The wedding veil you can see in some of the photos seems simple but is ingeniously used. Warren Carlyle's choreography and movement aid this piece well and goes hand in hand with the rest of the creative team in keeping this show moving when it could easily drag.

The first act does need some tightening as has been mentioned elsewhere. The song "No Honest Way" is called by some superfluous. However in that scene there is a key plot point addressed that is important to the show. It is easily one of the audiences favorite songs, and provides some much needed humor in a heavy show. On the note of humor, Jill Santoriello does a wonderful job with it in the show. The humor welcomely lightens the mood at times, but at the same time it doesn't disconnect the audience from the story or the mood. There are a few staging things that I think could help to tighten things up, but on the whole it flows pretty well.

I have much less to critique in the second act. It is a roller coaster ride. There is a new Act 2 opening song called "Everything Stays the Same" that I find stunning. Warren Carlyle's work really shines in this number in my opinion. Overall it is very emotional, and can say I honestly cried more than I have at any other show I have seen. Trembling lower jaw and all during curtain call.

Now onto the actors...

James Barbour (Sydney Carton)-I had seen two presentations of the show before and thought he was a great talent, but didn't understand the obssession some people seemed to have with him. I see it now. This role really is perfect for him, and he had the audience in the palm of his hand. If he makes it to Broadway in this, I think he will easily get the Tony. It is one of those once in a lifetime marriages of an actor and a role.

Natalie Toro (Mme. Defarge)- I would go see this show again and again just to see her performance as Mme. Defarge. She is a phenomenal talent and really embodies the rage and revenge that has taken over her characters life.

Nick Wyman (Barsard)- Hilarious, treacherous, touching. He manages to get a wider variety of emotions out of me than any other character. He does a great job, and has a lot of nuance to his acting that I notice and appreciate.

Alex Santoriello (Dr. Manette) -Does a great job in the role, you really can see and feel his journey throughout the show.

Les Minski (Evremonde)- Wonderfully evil in the role (but very nice in real life) he does a great job.

Joe Cassidy (Ernest Defarge)-Plays the role well, and shows his characters growth well. Especially touching in a new Act 2 song called "Goodbye".

Jessica Rush (Lucie Manette)-She has a beautiful voice, but I would personally love to see more emotion in her portrayal. I could hear it in her singing and see it in her movement, but not necessarily in her face as much as I would have liked. (Of course it could be due to the fact that I forgot to bring my contacts with me. I only have a mild prescription.)

Derek Keeling (Charles Darnay)- I found him to be a very charming actor, but his vocals need a little work. While in some songs he sang beautifully, others sounded more unsure. Hopefully he will become stronger overall as the run progresses.

Michael Hayward-Jones (Jarvis Lorry) Very adept at playing the stiff, stoic banker, and also showing the characters soft inner side.

Katherine McGrath (Miss Pross)-Hilarious in her role! She is tough, and sarcastic, but also is great at showing her characters softer side.

Craig Bennett (Jerry Cruncher)-Another great actor here. He plays his role well.

Really a top notch job by everyone else in the cast. A few other standouts are Tim Hartman who is hilarious as the Attorney General and a cronie of Cruncher, Alex Howley as the Seamstress, and Bruce Merkle as The Boy.

One thing about this cast too is it is partially made up of students in FSU's Master of Theatre program which is housed at the Asolo. Many of them are not singers so I wanted to note that they do a wonderful job with the music.

I hope I didn't forget anything. The buzz in Florida is good and the run is officially sold out. If you have any additional questions feel free to ask.

Updated On: 11/15/07 at 01:34 PM

[sanda]

Posted: 10/30/07 at 3:26pm

Thank you so much for the detailed review. I truly hope James Barbour can played Sydney Carton on Broadway.

[anewday]

Posted: 10/30/07 at 11:47pm

Thank you for your thoughts on the show, and i agree with many of them,

i am curious what you thought could be cut out of the first act, i posted a thead a while ago when i saw the show, i feel that while it is a great number resurrection man could go, i feel there is enough in the first act to lend some levity with out deviating that far away from the plot,

also I think many of the shows issues could be solved by having a fresh ensamble, meaning, the leads are cast well for the most part, i must admit, I had a bigger issue with Derek than you did i found that he spends much time looking at the floor before he delivers a line... and he was shaky on the higher notes.

But overall the main issue to me was the ensamble, i noticed that half of them were not professional ... (non eq) and while i am not meaning to be talking down to preformers who happen to be non union, i feel numbers like no honest way would have been served wonderfully with an ensamble full of bold choices and crispness, things that a veteran ensamble cast would bring.

I cant wait to see the next incarnation of this show, when the whole cast is made up of industry pros, instead of half and half....


there is some pure gold in this show, i could see it time and time again and still get something from it, the story is purely human, there is not one person in the world who has not been in search of redemption at some point in their life.

and bravo to Mr Barbour, simply tremendous, words can not do his preformance justice



( forgive spelling errors i am awful with out spell check)

Updated On: 10/30/07 at 11:47 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/31/07 at 12:19am

Where is this show going to go if "Cry Baby" has the Marquee.

[musicman89]

Posted: 10/31/07 at 1:22am

Perhaps the St. James once GRINCH leaves.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 10/31/07 at 1:23am

I wouldn't be surprised if TALE OF TWO CITIES takes the Booth after THURGOOD finishes its run in summer '08.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/31/07 at 1:45am

The Booth is about half the size of what A Tale of Two Cities is going to need.

[anewday]

Posted: 10/31/07 at 3:06am

I guess the st. James is the best shot for this season, so son.of.a .gunn you may want to think about putting a hit on patty lupone.

if gypsy doesnt go, my bet is you will see tale this spring, if not, it may never go or it will have to wait till next season... who knows...

i wish it the best tho

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/31/07 at 11:35am

anewday, if you would like to discuss the show let's take it to PMs. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who wants to see it.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/1/07 at 10:44pm

I saw the show yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I'll post more about my thoughts later on though. I got home from Florida five hours later than I was supposed to.

[johnnyg]

Posted: 11/1/07 at 11:49pm

re: changing last line of show - i believe that once you've seen it you'll probably agree that, in context, it's the best way to end the show and not like Les Miz. It's also not exactly "tomorrow comes" from Les Miz at all - unless you're suggesting that it has a four syllable phrase in the same rythmic pattern? they aren't the same musical notes and they aren't the same words. if you take a listen to the last syllables of the finale of CA-ME-LOT or WALK A-LONE (from Carousel) you'll notice the identical held rhythmic pattern that you find at the end of LES MIZ or TALE. it's not anybody copying anyone else - it's just the nature of holding the final notes of a phrase twice as long in the grand chorale manner of big musical endings. If you see the show I think you'll also agree that the song reprised at the end of Tale, "i can't recall" bears no melodic similarity at all to "do you hear the people sing" from Les Miz. the same cannot be said, however, of "do you hear the people sing" and "do you hear the cuckoo sing" from La Mancha!

[johnnyg]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 5:29pm

You're right Melody - it is inevitable that it will be compared with Les Miz - which is a shame. The two books were published within 3 years of each other (Tale was first - interestingly) and even with similar themes they certainly have managed to co-exist beautifully for the past 150 years. Why the success of one epic adaptation of a classic novel should be seen as a deterrent or negative for any other adaptations of classic novels is beyond me! But the bottom line should be whether the show is good and whether it moves and entertains people. Beyond that basic requirement (which would be a considerable accomplishment) i believe all other comparisons are moot.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:29am

Marjory and I had a bit of a shock when we got to the theatre. Not only were we the only "young" people there we were also the only ones who bothered to dress for the theatre. Lots of shorts, tee shirts, etc. The show was great - I really enjoyed it. There are a few moments that still need to be ironed out before the show moves to Broadway. But I think there's definitely a hit here. The costumes and sets were amazing and so were many of the performances. James Barbour (Sydney) and Natalie Toro (Mdm Defarge) are wonderful. Jessica Rush (Lucie) seemed to take some time to get into character and I hope she gets better before the show opens. Her voice is beautiful but there were times I felt she was emotionally absent. And Derek. Well, he's come a long way since the show ended. Since I'm so unbiased I won't say much about his performance other than I enjoyed it. To anewday - I did not see Derek looking at the floor much at all. If it was something he did often I would have noticed. He did seem to lose his accent once or twice but did not have the vocal issues he had during G: YTOTIW. He did seem more sure of himself. Both he and Kevin have come such a long way. While the show was on I used to, jokingly, call Kevin "Frankenstein's Monster" because of how stiff he appeared on camera. There was no such stiffness in his performance.

After the show my friend and I actually had a very long talk about the show with one of the producers about the show. He's also in the show and had spotted us from the stage (seeing as how we were sitting second row center). He wanted to know our opinion of the show because we're the people who would be going to see it in NYC rather than the crowds they've been attracting so far (mostly retirees). He really wanted to know what we thought. We gave him an earful too. He seemed surprised that neither of us are working in the arts in some capacity. We told him it's not from lack of desire just lack of many other things!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/3/07 at 5:38pm

I got a friend request from this page today. Thought I'd share it with anyone here who might be interested.
Tale of Two Cities Myspace

[johnnyg]

Posted: 11/3/07 at 8:44pm

Eris -
having seen the show a couple of times i would love to hear your thoughts on the things that needed ironing out and any other comments you might have about the production. I'm curious which producer did you talk to after - was it Ron?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/3/07 at 9:13pm

Johnny, it was Walter we spoke to at length.

There were three main things that struck me as needing to be fixed before the show moves to Broadway. Two of them have already been mentioned here. Jessica Rush's vacantness and the "Resurrection Man" number.

While I enjoyed the prologue behind the scrim at the beginning of the show I felt that projecting the name of the show on the black scrim is not something to be desired. It comes off as cheesy and not something one would see in a Broadway production. I would look into leaving that part out. The audience knows what show they're there to see. Walter felt this was important to be left in because it gave the show a cool "Kill Bill" feel. But this isn't "Kill Bill"; it's "Tale of Two Cities". I think the work speaks for itself without this added theatrical maneuver.

Secondly, while the song Resurrection Man is fun and very well performed it also seems jarring and an ill fit with the rest of the show. I completely understand the desire for a touch of levity in an otherwise heavy show but the number almost pops in out of nowhere. If you want to keep the song I would not only look into changing the design of the headstones (they appear almost cartoonish - especially when they begin to "dance") and bring Mrs. Cruncher into the story some more. She's in that number and then she's gone. She's never mentioned before the number and never mentioned after it's over. She just pops in for a cameo appearance. A few lines of dialogue could easily rectify this. Have Jerry mention her once or twice. Just so that she doesn't seem to appear out of nowhere. It could help if the audience already knows that Jerry has a wife who pesters him before the number begins.

Lastly, I felt that Jessica Rush took a bit too long to get into her character. While she is beautiful and has a voice to match there were many times I felt she was emotionally absent. The emotions of the songs were not being fully conveyed through the expressions on her face.

Those were the only negatives I was able to pick up on. Otherwise I was completely caught up in the show and completely enchanted with the production. I wish I could head down to Florida to see the show again.

Also, the dancing scene that is in the video here on BWW and has been pictured is no longer in the show. I was a bit disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing them all waltzing around the stage.

Updated On: 11/3/07 at 09:13 PM

[johnnyg]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 1:14am

Eris - i really agree with your comments. I felt the same way about most of the things you mention. But, for a first production out of town i do think they're in great shape. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that they make it to NY this season.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/4/07 at 1:22am

They absolutely are in great shape. Walter urged me to email the producers with my thoughts and I wrote a rather long email with what I didn't like but also what I did like. Which was most of the show! *s*

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 11/6/07 at 6:33pm

So I saw the show last weekend and loved it. It definitely needs a bit of tweeking (more so in the first act than the second) but I think it is in great shape. But the more important thing. When I saw the show I was surrounded by the backers of the show. And the very sweet and bubbly lady sitting next to me (one of the main backers) promised me that it is going to broadway and soon. The money is in place and they are just negotiating with a theatre. She mentioned 3 that were coming down (representatives not the whole theatre) next week to see the show and make the final decisions. I was slightly shocked with the list (as there are tentants in two of the theatres) but think that they will definitely be on broadway soon. So hopefully it will be a spring opening (she did not tell me when it was opening though).

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/6/07 at 11:06pm

When I was down there last week I was told March but not in time for my birthday (which is early March).

umgeoboy, do they still have the name of the show projected on the scrim? *prays*

Updated On: 11/6/07 at 11:06 PM

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 11/7/07 at 1:32am

I believe the show is pretty much frozen at the moment. I don't believe they are planning on changing anything more on stage during this run.

Updated On: 11/19/07 at 01:32 AM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/7/07 at 1:34am

A girl can hope though *s*

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 11/7/07 at 1:47am

LOL. I personally like the effect, but am not a big fan of the current logo. Was there applause when the logo appeared when you saw the show? I didn't even realize the scrim was down when I saw it. I thought it was just haze at first.

Updated On: 11/14/07 at 01:47 AM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/7/07 at 3:40am

Nope, no applause. I think it took them by surprise. It certainly surprised me because it's not something you generally see in a Broadway-type show. I just found it to be a bit overly theatrical and not overly necessary.

And yeah..it was the scrim. I was second row center and I had my contacts in *w*

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 11/7/07 at 11:32am

From what I was told the show is not completely frozen. I got the impression that rewrites are still happening but I'm not sure if they are being implemented there or in the processes of getting it to broadway.