#1301
Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:14am
Um...hi.
I just have a few random musings, a semi-review of sorts in my own haphazard style. I'm not used to this, because I'm rarely in the postition where I'm one of the first people to see something and people are expecting something. So don't expect any brilliance here, this is just as it comes to me.
I loved the show. It was amazing. John Doyle is a genius and I just love how he's found a new way of creating theatre, but from interviews with him, seems shocked about it. I'm still amazed at how *not* distracting the instrument playing is. I'm ADHD, so little things like a chorus boy on in the far background giggling when he's supposed to be frozen in place are usually magnets for my attention as opposed to the central action, but in Sweeney and in this show, they just make it seem so natural. The only times I really noticed it were when, like Leenya Rideout- who plays Jenny- bust out with her third, fourth and possibly fifth-plus instruments- I lost count.
The whole cast was just great and so talented, Barbara Walsh and Angel Desai in particular. It's kind of hard to "play favorites" I guess, but the characters just stood out more as being different, so their performances were that much more distinctive. I just felt like many of the other wives/girlfriends just kind of blended together, but Joanne and Marta seem to have much stronger personalities. Heather Laws was hilarious as Amy- that scene I think got some of the biggest laughs- but the ending of the scene was kind of jarring to me. Not dramatic, just that I thought it was kind of awkward and didn't really fit with how the character was during the entire rest of the scene. I guess I just thought there should be a bit more transition between the two personalities she was presenting.
Anyway. Raul. He was amazing. I've technically only seen him onstage in Chitty before, but this was miles beyond that, so I'll just spare you from lots of related gushing. He is onstage most of the time- I'm trying to remember the parts where he leaves the stage and I'm not coming up with anything, other than when he leaves to go pick up the cymbals. Which was great. Side by Side by Side was really made to stand out- from the kickline of sorts (which was applauded, but...let's just say the Rockettes don't have to worry) to the lights, and everyone onstage at once, dancing around with instruments, it was just a great second act opening. His expressions during that scene while playing the cymbals were just priceless.
I think I was mostly surprised at how much presence he can maintain have with just one look ("She was the wounded butterfly!") or in a moment of silence. In Chitty, a lot of his subtly was lost on that huge stage in the massive theater, so I'm so glad I finally got to witness it firsthand. Since everyone else has mentioned it, Being Alive was amazing and beautiful and powerful and a bunch of other adjectives I'm too tired to come up with. I kind of wish I was on the other side of the theater to see his face during that song, but it didn't make a difference in the performance. And all that piano practice definitely paid off- you wouldn't have guessed he was any less experienced of a musician than the rest of them.
Since I was the only other witness to this event which resulted in a 3-page argument, I feel like I should say something, but I really don't want to. I just don't think he was as bad as how Emcee's comments were interpreted as. He was very polite, definitely more than he needed to be, and I wasn't disappointed. Considering my stagedoor track record with him, the fact that he even came out, let alone spoke with us for a few minutes, was more than enough for me. I'm still a bumbling, babbling idiot around him, but maybe around the time he receives his Lifetime Achievement Tony, doing the Chitty rival as Caractucus Potts the Goodlooking, I'll finally be able to pretend I'm normal when speaking with him. But until then, baby steps.
I just have a few random musings, a semi-review of sorts in my own haphazard style. I'm not used to this, because I'm rarely in the postition where I'm one of the first people to see something and people are expecting something. So don't expect any brilliance here, this is just as it comes to me.
I loved the show. It was amazing. John Doyle is a genius and I just love how he's found a new way of creating theatre, but from interviews with him, seems shocked about it. I'm still amazed at how *not* distracting the instrument playing is. I'm ADHD, so little things like a chorus boy on in the far background giggling when he's supposed to be frozen in place are usually magnets for my attention as opposed to the central action, but in Sweeney and in this show, they just make it seem so natural. The only times I really noticed it were when, like Leenya Rideout- who plays Jenny- bust out with her third, fourth and possibly fifth-plus instruments- I lost count.
The whole cast was just great and so talented, Barbara Walsh and Angel Desai in particular. It's kind of hard to "play favorites" I guess, but the characters just stood out more as being different, so their performances were that much more distinctive. I just felt like many of the other wives/girlfriends just kind of blended together, but Joanne and Marta seem to have much stronger personalities. Heather Laws was hilarious as Amy- that scene I think got some of the biggest laughs- but the ending of the scene was kind of jarring to me. Not dramatic, just that I thought it was kind of awkward and didn't really fit with how the character was during the entire rest of the scene. I guess I just thought there should be a bit more transition between the two personalities she was presenting.
Anyway. Raul. He was amazing. I've technically only seen him onstage in Chitty before, but this was miles beyond that, so I'll just spare you from lots of related gushing. He is onstage most of the time- I'm trying to remember the parts where he leaves the stage and I'm not coming up with anything, other than when he leaves to go pick up the cymbals. Which was great. Side by Side by Side was really made to stand out- from the kickline of sorts (which was applauded, but...let's just say the Rockettes don't have to worry) to the lights, and everyone onstage at once, dancing around with instruments, it was just a great second act opening. His expressions during that scene while playing the cymbals were just priceless.
I think I was mostly surprised at how much presence he can maintain have with just one look ("She was the wounded butterfly!") or in a moment of silence. In Chitty, a lot of his subtly was lost on that huge stage in the massive theater, so I'm so glad I finally got to witness it firsthand. Since everyone else has mentioned it, Being Alive was amazing and beautiful and powerful and a bunch of other adjectives I'm too tired to come up with. I kind of wish I was on the other side of the theater to see his face during that song, but it didn't make a difference in the performance. And all that piano practice definitely paid off- you wouldn't have guessed he was any less experienced of a musician than the rest of them.
Since I was the only other witness to this event which resulted in a 3-page argument, I feel like I should say something, but I really don't want to. I just don't think he was as bad as how Emcee's comments were interpreted as. He was very polite, definitely more than he needed to be, and I wasn't disappointed. Considering my stagedoor track record with him, the fact that he even came out, let alone spoke with us for a few minutes, was more than enough for me. I'm still a bumbling, babbling idiot around him, but maybe around the time he receives his Lifetime Achievement Tony, doing the Chitty rival as Caractucus Potts the Goodlooking, I'll finally be able to pretend I'm normal when speaking with him. But until then, baby steps.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
Updated On: 3/19/06 at 03:14 AM
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