1776 Previews Tonight- Page 3
1776 Previews Tonight
1776 Previews Tonight#50
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:10am
Those posters who are suggesting that gender-blind casting would have been interesting are right, and Garry Hynes would be the one to do it -- that's what she did with Druid Shakespeare at the Lincoln Center Festival. The problem is that it would require re-orchestration, as many of the keys would have to be changed, and it's hard to imagine Encores! agreeing to that, especially when they restored the originals. Plus, I think we would miss the few male choruses that the show features. In any case it's easier said than done.
1776 Previews Tonight#51
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:18am
Kad said: " The choice of Nikki Renee Daniels, who is thoroughly charming and lovely, as Martha Jefferson, has unfortunate implications. "
I actually wondered if this was one of the intentional choices? I don't remember anything about the role having seen the movie so long ago. (Frankly I don't even remember how the movie portrays Thomas Jefferson.) And I am a bit embarrassed to say I know very little about Martha Jefferson historically. I just know of all the founding fathers, Jefferson's history with his slaves is among the most well known and documented, and I wondered if there could've been some intentional implication or commentary they were making on purpose by casting a black actress in the role of his wife. (Not sure what it would be and I can't really provide an informed opinion until I see the show Sunday night, but it was an initial question I had.)
Looking forward to finally being introduced to 1776 on stage, especially after Whizzer's review!
1776 Previews Tonight#53
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:47am
I think I am in a minority here but I would have preferred seeing it with period costumes. I felt a bit detached emotionally watching it in modern dress and the ending tableau without the costumes did not have the usual effect. The staging was very straight forward and at times uninspired. Cool Cool Considerate men was void of any motivation thus looking robotic and He Plays the Violin looked constricted. Fontana was dependable as usual and Larroquette had the right sense of humor for Franklin although his vocals needed more work. Daniels had a lovely voice.
1776 Previews Tonight#54
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:53am
Yes it did...and deservedly so. The original production was a true gem.
I was there Wed night also..I agree that Santino did a wonderful job, even though I think he was a little young to be cast in the role (and maybe also not quite annoying enough) but those are casting/directing choices, not actor ones. I loved Christiane Noll and actually John Behlmann (who I had never heard of before) was an AMAZING Jefferson. I missed the full production element but for a "concert" production, it was well done and very moving.
I also agree that while the mixed cast worked just fine for the most part but a black Martha Jefferson was a little awkward given the history of Jefferson.
I found the orchestra to be the weakest link - too quiet, not bold enough, seemed a bit out of control at times - and I heard more than a few wrong notes (not choices - mistakes). It was a little distracting to me. Broadway orchestras are usually fabulous ..
1776 Previews Tonight#55
Posted: 3/31/16 at 6:50am
I played Rutledge ages ago, and one of the things I remember about the show was the ungodly keys. I think Molasses to Rum was in G-flat major or something ridiculous. I have no idea why they did that, but it makes it (and the rest of the score) extremely difficult to play at times. I'm not surprised you heard a few clunkers from the orchestra.
"1776" did win the Tony Award, and it beat out "Hair" for Best Musical. No small feat there. It also ran from 1969 to 1972, for a total of 1,217 performances (plus 5 previews). But for all the commotion about "Hair" being anti-establishment and anti-war, I still think "Mama, Look Sharp" is one of the most powerful anti-war songs, and in the era, anti-Vietnam War songs, ever written for the stage.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
1776 Previews Tonight#57
Posted: 3/31/16 at 7:02am
ChiTheaterFan said: "I actually wondered if this was one of the intentional choices? I don't remember anything about the role having seen the movie so long ago. (Frankly I don't even remember how the movie portrays Thomas Jefferson.) And I am a bit embarrassed to say I know very little about Martha Jefferson historically. I just know of all the founding fathers, Jefferson's history with his slaves is among the most well known and documented, and I wondered if there could've been some intentional implication or commentary they were making on purpose by casting a black actress in the role of his wife. (Not sure what it would be and I can't really provide an informed opinion until I see the show Sunday night, but it was an initial question I had.) "
It's certainly possible that it was an intentional choice. Matha Jefferson actually died quite young, and afterwards Jefferson had a somewhat well-known affair with a young slave named Sally Hemings.
Also, because it was mentioned on the other page, all I can think about is Mary Testa as Rutledge, which is kind of a brilliant choice and I'd love to see it.
1776 Previews Tonight#58
Posted: 3/31/16 at 7:31am
elmore3003 wrote "Suskin's book has a lot of errors, because he is not a trained musician, and this is one of them."
Wow, that's simultaneously fascinating and disappointing. Sad to find out that Suskin's book is less than reliable.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
1776 Previews Tonight#59
Posted: 3/31/16 at 8:10am
Damn! It upsets me that in no way can I get in the city for this. 1776 is one of my favorite musicals. Sigh...I will have to settle for living vicariously through all you lucky people.
Thanks for all the details!
Leading Actor Joined: 3/31/04
1776 Previews Tonight#60
Posted: 3/31/16 at 10:51am
KathyNYC2 wrote: and I heard more than a few wrong notes (not choices - mistakes). It was a little distracting to me.
The "wrong notes" are in Sauter's scores; don't blame the orchestra.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/31/04
1776 Previews Tonight#61
Posted: 3/31/16 at 10:53am
newintown wrote: Wow, that's simultaneously fascinating and disappointing. Sad to find out that Suskin's book is less than reliable.
There are many valuable things in Suskin's book and his enthusiasm for the art is one of the best things about the book. Ethan Mordden's books are full of clunkers as well.
1776 Previews Tonight#62
Posted: 3/31/16 at 10:58am
My opinion is usually pretty similar to Whizzer and a number of the early preview reviewers, but I did not come away last night with the same feelings. Perhaps since I was high up in the balcony I missed some of the nuance.
The "contemporary" dress missed, in my opinion. It looked like most of the actors were told to bring a suit from home to wear, and most looked ill-fitting. Combined with Abigail's mix of grunge rocker and Nantucket hiker, the whole thing felt very 90s. With few other directorial choices (that I noticed) designed to emphasize the modern parallels, it seemed sloppy and misguided. The inconsistent race-blind casting also felt more odd than poignant. As others addressed, a black Martha was an uncertain reference to Jefferson's mixed-race children. Rutledge's "Molasses to Rum" felt awkward to me given most of the black actors represented the southern delegation. Finally, the Trayvon Martin hoodie allusion drew a heavy-handed and poor parallel between police violence issues and war.
The performances were mostly able, if unpolished, though I realize Encores! is supposed to be rough, and I realize we've been spoiled lately. The main trio was engaging and enjoyable. Pinkham didn't land with me because he played everything down to the front of the orchestra. I felt that from the balcony I was looking at the top of his head 90% of the time.
Most importantly, I just don't think the piece lends itself to an Encores presentation. The long swaths of "straight play" text lacked the precision required to land properly. Awkward blocking, uneven pacing, and actors flipping through the script while being spoken to is fine for Encores's usual fare of older song-driven shows with a connecting book. It was insufficient here.
Also, I didn't realize there were so many 1776 superfans. I am far from old and appreciate enthusiasm, but the whooping and screaming after every song and boisterous laughing after every recognizable line evoked "I want everyone around me to know I'm enjoying myself" more than genuine appreciation for the performers.
1776 Previews Tonight#64
Posted: 3/31/16 at 11:27am
elmore3003 said: "KathyNYC2 wrote: and I heard more than a few wrong notes (not choices - mistakes). It was a little distracting to me.
The "wrong notes" are in Sauter's scores; don't blame the orchestra.
"
I don't understand that response. The (JUST an example) trumpets are told not to hit their notes and play them off key?
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
1776 Previews Tonight#65
Posted: 3/31/16 at 11:33am
does anyone know of any way to get a single non-wheelchair non-obstructed seat anymore? For tonight?
1776 Previews Tonight#66
Posted: 3/31/16 at 11:37am
elmore3003 said: "Sauter's full scores are in his collection at Yale. MTI has another set of Sauter's scores with missing pages completed in a copyist's hand. The scores show that a lot of work and adjusting was made during rehearsal and out-of-town trouts.
Some numbers, such as "Yours Yours Yours" are missing pages and the orchestrations were filled in using Mathilde pincus' Green Book for the show. Pincus was for around 30-40 years the doyenne of contemporary Broadway music copyists and she prepared a "Green Book" for opening night gifts for every show she copied. It is essentially the hand-written piano-conductor manuscript scores, kept up-to-date during the production process, bound into a beautiful green binding. The Green Book for 1776 shows that a lot of rewriting and revising was made to Sauter's orchestrations before the show opened."
Apologies for pestering you with questions (and to everybody else for flogging a subject not very interesting to most people, it seems), but may I ask where the Pincus score was found? I have wondered about her, and Chelsea Music, and where all that material wound up. It's one of the avenues Suskin doesn't go down in his book, so far as I recall.
By the way, I find I want to defend Suskin a little bit. If he didn't correctly report what the the complement of musicians was for the original Broadway production of this show, it had nothing to do with his not being a musician, it's just that in this particular instance he didn't go far enough in his research--completely understandable in a book that covers so much ground, most of it for the first time. I'm sure he'd be the first to admit there remains a lot to be done. Also, he does speak eloquently in his book about the revision process that happens not only up till opening night but even after, then the re-orchestration that happens for the tour or London production of a show, sometimes all written on the same score and parts, so that by the end it is difficult or impossible to establish what was played when and where, or say with any authority what the "definitive" text should be.
This to me is an exciting avenue of research!
1776 Previews Tonight#67
Posted: 3/31/16 at 11:48am
I agree with Whizzer that this is a beautifully acted and sung production of a classic musical. I was struck again by how unusual the structure of the musical is: the book is often more compelling than songs, the songs are often more like folk music than show tunes, there are very few choral numbers--and there's a 30-minute-long book scene in the middle of the first act with no songs. It is indeed a very unusual musical, an oddity, and surprisingly effective.
I didn't mind the modern dress--especially since Santino Fontana and Bryce Pinkham looked very dapper yelling at each other in their designer suits--but Abigail Adams did seem to be a bit oddly contemporary, stepping out from the wings periodically to do commercial spots for LL Bean.
As for the diverse casting, I prefer it to be truly racially blind (if such a thing is possible), where performers are cast simply because they communicate the essence of the role, without reference to race or the color of their skin. I always reference the very first color-blind casting I saw as a teenager in Central Park: Stacy Keach as Hamlet, Colleen Dewhurst as Gertrude, James Earl Jones as Claudius. No one in that Central Park audience thought about race for one moment. All we cared was that we were seeing three of the finest Shakespearean performances we would ever see.
This director, however, seemed to be making "comments" with the diverse casting, and they were unclear: Was Martha Jefferson played by a black actress (the divine Nikki Renee Daniels) because of something to do with Sally Hemmings? Was the courier wearing a hoodie because of something to do with Trayvon? Was Jubilant Sykes cast as Richard Henry Lee because Lee's song is based on minstrel numbers? The show itself makes powerful enough statements about race in the founding of the United States, without any added statements.
That said, the choreography for "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men" was stunning and chilling--a perfect directorial/choreographic layer.
And I have been a Santino Fontana fan for a long time, but he surpassed himself. He was commanding and arrogant and humble and he carried the evening perfectly. One of the true joys of Encores--in addition to rediscovering the material--is seeing performers in a new light. Santino put himself on my shortlist of the finest actors working in musical (and non-musical) theater today.
1776 Previews Tonight#68
Posted: 3/31/16 at 11:51am
Aaaaaand BWW's review contains only photos of the white folks!
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Review-Encores-Modern-Dress-Diversely-Cast-1776-Strikes-Contemporary-Chords-20160331
1776 Previews Tonight#69
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:01pm
That BWW review mentions "the numerous cuts" to the book. I don't believe there were many cuts at all- certainly nothing from the infamously long scene in act 1- and the show still easily ran 2.5 hours.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/31/04
1776 Previews Tonight#70
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:08pm
KathyNYC2 wrote:
I don't understand that response. The (JUST an example) trumpets are told not to hit their notes and play them off key?
Well, there you have me since i wasn't at the performance you attended. Things went fine at rehearsals, and there are many intentionally "wrong" notes and dissonances in Sauter's arrangements.
1776 Previews Tonight#71
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:10pm
PalJoey said: "
I didn't mind the modern dress--especially since Santino Fontana and Bryce Pinkham looked very dapper yelling at each other in their designer suits--but Abigail Adams did seem to be a bit oddly contemporary, stepping out from the wings periodically to do commercial spots for LL Bean.
YES. I agree totally.
As for the diverse casting, I prefer it to be truly racially blind (if such a thing is possible), where performers are cast simply because they communicate the essence of the role, without reference to race or the color...
This director, however, seemed to be making "comments" with the diverse casting, and they were unclear: Was Martha Jefferson played by a black actress (the divine Nikki Renee Daniels) because of something to do with Sally Hemmings? Was the courier wearing a hoodie because of something to do with Trayvon? Was Jubilant Sykes cast as Richard Henry Lee because Lee's song is based on minstrel numbers? The show itself makes powerful enough statements about race in the founding of the United States, without any added statements.
YES. Again. I was going to mention that I was feeling a little awkward to see a black actor playing Lee - because he is the clown, the one that the "pros' are able to connive to get him to do what they want, who is lovable yet a not the sharpest tack in the group. I know perhaps it shouldn't make a difference but it did to me. Maybe that's my problem and not the shows. Not sure.
That said, the choreography for "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men" was stunning and chilling--a perfect directorial/choreographic layer.
They sang however "confederate" men last night, didn't they? Or was my mind playing tricks? That was the original wording from the composers. I thought I heard it.
"
(Sorry I started to comment on this earlier but my phone died...so if partial my comments made no sense earlier, I apologize.)
1776 Previews Tonight#72
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:12pm
It's ghastly. And a sad stretch trying to make it soooooo contemporary. Ugh. Poorly cast, too.
1776 Previews Tonight#73
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:19pm
You know, I didn't even think of Trayvon Martin or police brutality with the Courier. What I thought about was the way the contemporary military particularly targets those in poverty to fill its ranks, which by virtue of their overrepresentation in the lower class means a higher concentration of minorities. So it seemed a pretty natural extension of how the role was presented originally: as the representation of these young kids who were the actual people going off to fight the war of these powerful men. I can certainly see the visual connection with Martin, and maybe that was the actual intention, it just didn't occur to me as much as how military recruitment tends to prey on the poor.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/31/04
1776 Previews Tonight#74
Posted: 3/31/16 at 12:46pm
Peter2 wrote: “Apologies for pestering you with questions (and to everybody else for flogging a subject not very interesting to most people, it seems), but may I ask where the Pincus score was found? I have wondered about her, and Chelsea Music, and where all that material wound up. It's one of the avenues Suskin doesn't go down in his book, so far as I recall.”
Occasionally I see one of the Green Books for sale on eBay, and the complete set that existed at Chelsea Music has dwindled from theft, unreturned loans, etc. Chelsea does still have quite a few in their office and gladly lends them to Encores! Mathilde was a wonderful lady, a violist from Philadelphia whom Don Walker discovered when he needed a copyist in Philadelphia on a show in which she was playing in the orchestra. He brought to New York and she set up shop. She established many rules on copying and worked with Walker and Frank Loesser on establishing Music Theatre International. She copies shows for George Abbott, Harold Prince, Meredith Willson, Frank Loesser, Stephen Sondheim, John Kander, and many others. By the time I met her, around 1984, she was the “earth mother” to all her clients and a wonderful friend.
“By the way, I find I want to defend Suskin a little bit. If he didn't correctly report what the the complement of musicians was for the original Broadway production of this show, it had nothing to do with his not being a musician, it's just that in this particular instance he didn't go far enough in his research”
Well, there we disagree. He’s an enthusiastic amateur whose heart is in the right place and there is much to value in the book. It’s his lack of musical scholarship that paints him into corners.
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