Photo Coverage EXCLUSIVE: Signature Theatre's 'GIANT' Curtain Call

[EddieVarley]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 11:43am

Click Here to Read Photo Coverage EXCLUSIVE: Signature Theatre's 'GIANT' Curtain Call

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:18pm

Has anyone seen it? I thought Nick Spangler was suppose to be in this?

[Lefou]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:20pm

Spangler is in it, hes a small ensemble/featured role and covers. Betsy Morgan looks amazing!! I'm sure shes going to give one hell of a performance!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:21pm

I'm planning on seeing this mid month and will report back. I'm VERY excited as I love the composer, material and cast!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:25pm

Yeah, I think it could be kind of great, but hard to tell really.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 6:01pm

Has anyone seen it? Is it worth making the trip?

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 11:12am

No, it is not worth traveling for. LaChiusa's magnum opus (4 hours running time) just is not, IMHO, very good, despite the efforts of a superb cast. I expect a musical to touch me emotionally, intellectually, and, well, musically. Giant did none of those. At a minimum, one expects LaChiusa to be interesting musically. With the exception of 3 or 4 melodies, I thought the music came across as rather dull, repetitive, and derivative. One friend came out saying she didn't even feel that the show conveyed a clear point of view. Perhaps if pared to 2 hours there is enough here to salvage (I thought yes, my wife thought no). But it in present form it is simply long.

[morosco]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 12:11pm

Can anyone describe the set? From this photo it looks like 2 levels?

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 1:19pm

It is basicaly one level, with a raised platform in the middle used to represent higher ground (a hill, a tower, etc.). It is a very minimalist set.

[bwayrocks_ca]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 2:37pm

I will add to what has already been said - this show is in terrible shape right now. I saw it last Friday, and I was really at the theatre for 4 hrs - the 1st intermission was about 5 min and the 2nd one was 10-15 min. I had not seen the movie or read the book before seeing the musical, but I think the book adaption needs a lot of work. They focus on a few key moments in life span of the characters in each act, and then, using dialogue, skip 10-15 years at a time. This was not very effective in my opinion. For example, Act 2 starts with a line of dialogue like 'now, that my son is 15 years old' even though there was no mention of children in act 1.

The Story: Most of the story is VERY predictable (and this really annoys me). As I said, I don't know if this is the fault of the original book by Ferber or if it just the way the musical told the story. I could be more specific, but I don't want to give away the spoilers (which if you see the show, there are no spoilers because it's all so predictable). It seems to me that the major themes of the story were just glossed over instead of being the center of the story. For example (this is in the press release), the foundation of the story is a Texas cowboy/ranch owner marries a proper Southern/Virginia debutante, and they move to Texas to live. Thus, this implies a stark difference between the husband and his family and the wife. This theme was touched on in a couple of places in the show, but there were so many other things going on, that it was also forgotten in the show. And as regad said - I'm still not sure what the point of the story or the show is... what was I supposed to come away thinking about? It's just a blur at this point.

Act 1 introduces the main characters, and during most of the scenes, all of the other actors stand in the background of the set (providing backup singing, but not really doing much else). And since the 1st act was about 1 1/2 hrs, I can only imagine how bored the 20 actors in the background were. By act 3, I was staring more at the orchestra than the actors because I was quite bored.

The songs were not memorable and really did not move the story along nor did they help in telling the story except perhaps the 1st act song sung by Katie Thompson and the 3rd act song sung by Betsy Morgan. John Dossett had a couple of interesting songs that seemed to be important to the story, but I honestly could not follow the lyrics to even say what the songs were about (something about a coyote?). Also, there were several styles of songs represented in the show (country-western-ish, zoot suit riot style, jazzy, etc).... not sure if this adds or detracts to the overall score.

The song, "Aurelia Delores," was the opening number and the final, but the lyrics were not interesting. And there did not seem to be a strong message in the song that warranted it being sung at the beginning and the end of the show. If anyone else who sees this show can tell me the point of this song, I would love to hear any opinions.

The set: The stage is very big for the size of the theatre. It is on the same level as the front row seats, and the orchestra is on the 2nd level behind the set (not on top of the set). There is one small platform towards the center of the set (as seen in the photo above). And the light strip that you see in the photo seperates the 1st and 2nd levels and runs around the entire stage. I really liked this feature as it changed colors based on the scene (i.e. reds/oranges during a sunset). I'll add here that I thought the lighting of the show was amazingly beautiful!

All that being said, I will reiterate what regad said again - the cast is quite good and, I think, do all they can with the material. I was not overly impressed with a lot of the singing, but I still liked most of the cast with notable standouts being Ashley Robinson (who plays the perfect sleazy character), Betsy Morgan (although I was not convinced by her act 1 acting), Judy Blazer, Lewis Cleale (whose acting I really liked, but his voice seems to have a narrow range), John Dossett, and Katie Thompson.

Hopefully, this review is somewhat coherent (it has turned out to be a much longer review than I planned)... as I'm still trying to process what I saw. I will consider re-visiting this show at the end of its run if there is any reason to believe there are changes made to make an interesting four hours in a theatre (like cutting the show down to 2 hours!).

[hubee]

Posted: 5/3/09 at 11:33pm

hmm... considering I usually don't like LaChiusa (I was meh on See What I Wanna See next door) and it's a mixed bag for me on these chamber musicals (bored by Grey Gardens act 1, loved act 2, loved A Catered Affair, etc).

I actually LOVED LOVED LOVED Giant. I could see it's not for all people (though the old ladies in front of me and behind me seemed to love it as much as I did) but I thought it got the whole feel of Texas and these epic Edna Ferber stories just right. I thought the 4 hours flew by (meanwhile, i thought the 90 min at Civil War felt longer than 4 hours).

The cast was AMAZING and I thought the sets, lights and direction were fantastic. The music isnt catchy like a pop score and usually I'm one that prefers catchy stuff, but I tohught it worked beautifully here. (Again, meanwhile, I was kinda bored nextdoor at See so it's not like Im a general fan of LaChiusa).

I think they will still have to make some cuts to make it more accessible but personally I loved it the way it was. (hey, if I sat throught 3hr45min for the mediocre Lord of the Rings, this seems like nothing).

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 5:10am

Holy crap a LaChiusa musical opens up and I had no idea. Not to mention it's an adaptation of a film I grew up on. Or at least the source material. Anyway I'm very interested to see how this turns out.

[wildparty20]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:00pm

I agree with you hubee...I loved it (but that's coming from a HUGE LaChiusa fan).

My one criticism of the show is that if you don't know the story, it may be easy to get lost. I read the book this summer and was able to follow the story line easily. I don't think that others were able to.

The criticism about plot focus and length I disagree with. The 4 hours flew by for me as well, and I found many moments in the score that were amazing.

If you're able to focus on different themes (as you must do in almost any epic) then I think you'll like Giant. It deals with many issues, Texas as a place with its sense of independent culture and heritage, an outsider learning to live in a different culture, the subjegation of Mexicans in Texas history, race relations, changing cultural values between generations, the rise of big oil, who gets to define the history of a people/land, death, family businesses and generational expectations (inheritance), interacial relationships/marriage, and the fantasy of a "perfect" father/son relationship.

That is a lot to take in, but I think they are all equally important pieces of the overall story. It's a truly American story. And I think LaChiusa has found a truely American sound for this show. Lush love ballads, Mexican influences, country-western twang, jazzy styles for the younger generation, political march/anthem sounds, blues, and operatic anthems and laments which demonstrate the love of the land and the pain of grief and loss which other cultures (Mexican in this instance) have no problem expressing and reveling in as opposed to American stoicism.

Beautiful music. An epic plot. A WONDERFUL cast (especially Blazer, Cleale, and Robinson). Beautiful and probing lyrics. For example:

I'm lost in her woods/and the light from the moon is her/it blinds and it stings/but it's soft and sings/like a dragonfly's wings/and I'm hunted by her eyes/I'm haunted by her voice

Your Texas/I don't have any interest in your Texas.../Your country...

What's that thing/What's that thing that you can't help but recognize/As clear as the shape of his nose or lips/Or color of his eyes/That thing you know right away/That thing that makes you say/That's my son/That's my son

Just a few examples of lyrics I can remember.

This show isn't for everyone, but if you are someone who can focus on a myriad of themes and connect them, it will be a rewarding experience.

[wildparty20]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:09pm

Oh, and hubee...I agree, the 90 minutes of Civil War did seem a lot longer than Giant's 4 hours!

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:16pm

That looks like one hell of a boring evening.

[hubee]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:42pm

and again, to show where I'm coming from, I'm NOT a LaChiusa fan and I've never seen the movie or read the book (though I for reason liken them to Steinbeck stuff which I love, even though I'm not sure that's a correct correlation or not).

but I LOVED this and seriously initially thought going in that i was going to be super bored but loved every moment. (I had even snuck in provisions like chocolate and caffeine in my bag to keep me awake but i never needed it! Ha! i know, why did I see it in the first place? I'm one of those that believes I should see it first before I criticize it)

As for the staging to answer someones previous question, loved the length and width of the stage which reminded me of the flat lands of texas. and the actors standing at the back through act 1 was like those mural paintings from the west you see on stucco and stuff.

it's kinda like an olden days "Friday Night Lights" (if I must relate it to TV), the way with sprawling stories of regular life in Texas.

[MeganW]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:43pm

bwayrocks_ca, I have to disagree that the plot was predictable. Maybe I'm just not good at seeing where a story is going, but I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen and instead a completely boring alternative took place. That said I enjoyed the show, and felt that after the first act it didn't feel long (though I second that it might have for the cast having to stand in the back and do nothing!). I wasn't in love with any of the songs, and had difficulty hearing some of the actors over the orchestra. I really enjoyed the scenery and costumes and thought the cast did a great job.
And while most of the plot didn't resonate with me, the old man sitting in front of me and the old woman to my right both cried at the end.

[matty159]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:48pm

Thanks for the reviews!

To those that have been - What have the houses looked like? Pretty full or sparse? I am really wanting to see it, but am going to have to rely upon rush or hope it pops up for a weekend performance on Goldstar. Thanks in advance!

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 1:49pm

Obviously, opinions can differ. But I must say that I find Wildparty20's statement that "If you're able to focus on different themes (as you must do in almost any epic) then I think you'll like Giant" is as untrue as it is condesending. The problem is not that Giant addresses various themes. The problem is that it does so in a way that lacks depth or texture. Similarly, while LaChiusa's score draws from several American musical influences, it does so in a way that, at least to me, results in a pallid mash of unmemorable melodies. Tastes vary, and you may or may not like this show, but whether you do or not has absolutely nothing to do with your "ability to focus on different themes."

[MeganW]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 2:07pm

@matty159 - I saw it this past Sunday at 1 and the theatre was about 80% full.

[hubee]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 2:30pm

Oh, I was at the same perf. as MeganW!

I rushed it no prob. I think I was the only one. everytime I've rushed Signature, i'm the only one (though I only do weekend mats and Ive never had a problem). they gave me second row centre this time around (!!!) and there were about 8 seats to my right that were empty, though from what I could tell, most of the rest of the theatre was full (I guess those were VIP seats beside me that weren't used?)

though it was fuller than i thought it would be considering the day before, (when i rushed See What...) they took a look at the seats for Giant's sunday show and told me i would have no problem getting rush. Usually I find they're cautionary but this time they didn't have to be.

i dont thik wildparty was being condescending though in his comment. i just think its a certain style of storytelling that some love and some don't.

[bwayrocks_ca]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 4:24pm

It seems like we have 2 for it and 2 against it so far...

And I will have to agree with regnad kcin again, the problem for me was that the story superficially touched on many large themes, which in my opinion made for an uninteresting plot. I really enjoy reading a good epic book, but making a musical (or play) out of one really takes a good balance of story and time frame (in reference to spanning about 40 years) in order to draw me into the story on a stage. But that's just me.

Edited to add: Last Friday, the theatre was at least 80% full. Most of the performances have been on goldstarevents if you want to get tickets ahead of time.
Updated On: 5/4/09 at 04:24 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 4:40pm

If it's 4 hours are they doing a matinee and an evening performance? I think I want to make a day or a weekend of seeing both "See What I Wanna See" and "Giant." I have the movie, so should I watch it first? It was one of those $10 pics at Virgin, and I love James Dean, so I bought it, but I haven't watch it yet.

How much is rush?

[hubee]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 4:54pm

Rush is 1 hour before the show (but since it's 4 hours long, shows are at 1pm and 7pm) for $30 (and they do take credit card too). not sure if its 2 per person since I've always had both of us there to buy tickets anyways.

they had both mat and evening on Sunday this past weekend and i believe sat mats start this coming weekend too. crazy!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/09 at 5:02pm

Good to know. So $60 for both shows? That's not bad.