#1
Posted: 9/19/06 at 2:22am
Hellooo BWW-ers!
It's your old buddy the frequently-missing Broadway Matt! It's been quite some time since I've posted here, and I must say that I've missed (some of) you guys! I still think fondly back to the early days when an invigorating debate would go on well until the wee hours of the morning- a time when we were still relatively blind to the dangers of BWW addiction and when the message board community was still small enough where one could manage to be surpised by the inane and ridiculous assertions that have increasingly become the norm. We know now that it's just a part of life and can't be helped, but those were the days indeed!
Anyway, I've been taking some time off from posting on or even reading the boards. Sometimes a person just needs to take a break from musical theatre, and the relatively poor state of Broadway during the last year was an ideal time to do it. Now Fall has arrived, a great season of NYMF is in full swing, and this current crop of new/upcoming Broadway shows has made it impossible to remain dispassionate about the state of NY theatre. I figure it's foolish to avoid BWW any longer. So I'm hoping to start posting again on a semi-regular basis, but hopefully at a moderate and non-toxic level. On that tip, I really hope that some of you old members (pre-2005) are still here. It would be lovely to re-connect with you all. To anyone who sent one of the 23 new PM's I have, I'll get back to u soon.
Anyway with that long preface out of the way, I thought I'd post briefly on my new job. At the last point I was active here, I was still ushering the last days of CHITTY. After some months of partial or no employment I've landed on my feet at the beautiful Schoenfeld Theatre- with the extreme privilege of a steady gig ushering A CHORUS LINE!! This was the reason I changed theatres to begin with- I had simply hoped that CAINE MUTINY would keep everyone employed for a bit longer than it did.
CHORUS LINE THOUGHTS
So here I am, finally back to working a full 8 shows a week, in what feels like an ideal situation. To be any small part of this piece of Broadway history is an honor, and getting to watch it unfold night after night is a great privilege for me as a musical theatre nut. I've been able to see the show twice now- last night at the final dress rehearsal, then at tonight's 1st preview. By no means an expert on ACL, I'll post some of my inital reactions but will leave the real analysis for the people who know the show better than I.
I've only ever seen ACL staged in community theatres and have never been a huge fan of the original cast album or the film. Always had a great appreciation for the material and an underatanding of its importance in the history of the American musical, but it was never something I experienced firsthand. However, after preparing to start work by following the Cast Member blogs and starting to read Ken Mandelbaum's book on Michael Bennett- my level of regard for the show has increased exponentially. And now having seen the 1st 2 performances at the Schoenfeld, I feel my appreciation for the piece growing at a dangerous level. I understand more and more the reasons for the massive audience reactions it has been getting.
Indeed, the scene at the theatre has been electric and the crowd responses have been truly deafening. Granted, the people at the dress rehearsal were mostly connected in some way to the production or the industry, and the early preview audiences will consist mostly of true ACL fanatics- but the energy they are giving back to the performers is simply incredible. Their applause pervades the entire performance, not waiting for the ends of major monologues or musical numbers. Rather, ovations have been elicited by the simple presence of a certain character in a scene or the assumption of a particuarly historical bit of staging or execution of a memorable line or chunk of dialogue.
This is basically to say that I can't overemphasize the amount of love people clearly have for this piece and for its importance in their lives and theatre history as a whole. It's an amazing thing to be witnessing so far and it makes me wonder just how long these incredible audiences will sustain. With such excellent ticket sales, I'd think the groups of ACL lovers have it pretty well-booked for some months. There probably won't be significant full audiences of new viewers for quite some time, meaning people who have never seen or heard the show. That will be interesting to see when the time comes and how it is received by those with no concept of it's place or setting in history
As for the production itself, all I can say is that I approve! I have sincerely enjoyed these early days of "work"
Naturally this could fade to feeling more like a job after 20 or 30 viewings, but these 1st 2 have been great nights of theatre for me. This is a rare occassion where I feel like the majority of an audience knows the show better than I do, so it has been very easy (and a plearure) to get caught up in their enthusiasm and utter adoration for the work of the cast and creators. And it stands to reason that if the production is good enough for these super-fans, it must surely be doing a sufficient job of living up to its material and past. On a talent level, I think this group is- for the most part- oustanding. The dancing is exemplary and the level of voice talent is quite high. I can see where some of the characters could develop a little further, but I'm sure this will happen over time. I won't criticize anyone in particular, both because there really aren't any overt weak points and because I want to keep my job. The real vocal standouts to me are a powerful Mara Davi as Maggie and a silver-voice Tony Yazbeck as Al (the "Sing!" number is wonderfully-performed). Charlotte is great, as she always is, and Deirdre's "Sheila" is a strong standout presence throughout. The young woman who plays Diana is also excellent in a pivotal role- her acting in particular lends just the right motivation, sincerity, and edge to the character. As an ensemble, they dance and sing beautifully together. The vocals sound gorgeous when they all blend for "What I Did For Love", and the "One" finale creates a stage picture that is something to behold.
There's a lot more I could write on the many good qualities of the various performances, but it's late and this post is long enough. Just wanted to get back into BWW rhythm and share initial thoughts. I'm looking forward to hearing and discussing your various reactions/experiences as more and more of you get to see the show.
"The last train out of any station will not be full of nice guys." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
It's your old buddy the frequently-missing Broadway Matt! It's been quite some time since I've posted here, and I must say that I've missed (some of) you guys! I still think fondly back to the early days when an invigorating debate would go on well until the wee hours of the morning- a time when we were still relatively blind to the dangers of BWW addiction and when the message board community was still small enough where one could manage to be surpised by the inane and ridiculous assertions that have increasingly become the norm. We know now that it's just a part of life and can't be helped, but those were the days indeed!
Anyway, I've been taking some time off from posting on or even reading the boards. Sometimes a person just needs to take a break from musical theatre, and the relatively poor state of Broadway during the last year was an ideal time to do it. Now Fall has arrived, a great season of NYMF is in full swing, and this current crop of new/upcoming Broadway shows has made it impossible to remain dispassionate about the state of NY theatre. I figure it's foolish to avoid BWW any longer. So I'm hoping to start posting again on a semi-regular basis, but hopefully at a moderate and non-toxic level. On that tip, I really hope that some of you old members (pre-2005) are still here. It would be lovely to re-connect with you all. To anyone who sent one of the 23 new PM's I have, I'll get back to u soon.
Anyway with that long preface out of the way, I thought I'd post briefly on my new job. At the last point I was active here, I was still ushering the last days of CHITTY. After some months of partial or no employment I've landed on my feet at the beautiful Schoenfeld Theatre- with the extreme privilege of a steady gig ushering A CHORUS LINE!! This was the reason I changed theatres to begin with- I had simply hoped that CAINE MUTINY would keep everyone employed for a bit longer than it did.
CHORUS LINE THOUGHTS
So here I am, finally back to working a full 8 shows a week, in what feels like an ideal situation. To be any small part of this piece of Broadway history is an honor, and getting to watch it unfold night after night is a great privilege for me as a musical theatre nut. I've been able to see the show twice now- last night at the final dress rehearsal, then at tonight's 1st preview. By no means an expert on ACL, I'll post some of my inital reactions but will leave the real analysis for the people who know the show better than I.
I've only ever seen ACL staged in community theatres and have never been a huge fan of the original cast album or the film. Always had a great appreciation for the material and an underatanding of its importance in the history of the American musical, but it was never something I experienced firsthand. However, after preparing to start work by following the Cast Member blogs and starting to read Ken Mandelbaum's book on Michael Bennett- my level of regard for the show has increased exponentially. And now having seen the 1st 2 performances at the Schoenfeld, I feel my appreciation for the piece growing at a dangerous level. I understand more and more the reasons for the massive audience reactions it has been getting.
Indeed, the scene at the theatre has been electric and the crowd responses have been truly deafening. Granted, the people at the dress rehearsal were mostly connected in some way to the production or the industry, and the early preview audiences will consist mostly of true ACL fanatics- but the energy they are giving back to the performers is simply incredible. Their applause pervades the entire performance, not waiting for the ends of major monologues or musical numbers. Rather, ovations have been elicited by the simple presence of a certain character in a scene or the assumption of a particuarly historical bit of staging or execution of a memorable line or chunk of dialogue.
This is basically to say that I can't overemphasize the amount of love people clearly have for this piece and for its importance in their lives and theatre history as a whole. It's an amazing thing to be witnessing so far and it makes me wonder just how long these incredible audiences will sustain. With such excellent ticket sales, I'd think the groups of ACL lovers have it pretty well-booked for some months. There probably won't be significant full audiences of new viewers for quite some time, meaning people who have never seen or heard the show. That will be interesting to see when the time comes and how it is received by those with no concept of it's place or setting in history
As for the production itself, all I can say is that I approve! I have sincerely enjoyed these early days of "work"
Naturally this could fade to feeling more like a job after 20 or 30 viewings, but these 1st 2 have been great nights of theatre for me. This is a rare occassion where I feel like the majority of an audience knows the show better than I do, so it has been very easy (and a plearure) to get caught up in their enthusiasm and utter adoration for the work of the cast and creators. And it stands to reason that if the production is good enough for these super-fans, it must surely be doing a sufficient job of living up to its material and past. On a talent level, I think this group is- for the most part- oustanding. The dancing is exemplary and the level of voice talent is quite high. I can see where some of the characters could develop a little further, but I'm sure this will happen over time. I won't criticize anyone in particular, both because there really aren't any overt weak points and because I want to keep my job. The real vocal standouts to me are a powerful Mara Davi as Maggie and a silver-voice Tony Yazbeck as Al (the "Sing!" number is wonderfully-performed). Charlotte is great, as she always is, and Deirdre's "Sheila" is a strong standout presence throughout. The young woman who plays Diana is also excellent in a pivotal role- her acting in particular lends just the right motivation, sincerity, and edge to the character. As an ensemble, they dance and sing beautifully together. The vocals sound gorgeous when they all blend for "What I Did For Love", and the "One" finale creates a stage picture that is something to behold. There's a lot more I could write on the many good qualities of the various performances, but it's late and this post is long enough. Just wanted to get back into BWW rhythm and share initial thoughts. I'm looking forward to hearing and discussing your various reactions/experiences as more and more of you get to see the show.
"The last train out of any station will not be full of nice guys." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
"I wash my face, then drink beer, then I weep. Say a prayer and induce insincere self-abuse, till I'm fast asleep"- In Trousers
