A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC'S reopening tonight...(review updates here)- Page 16

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 7:29pm

triple post!
Updated On: 8/1/10 at 07:29 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 7:32pm

Yikes. Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal is mixed-to-negative. Says Leigh Ann Larkin is now the best part of the show.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704702304575403073840625174.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 7:39pm

Having seen both casts of this production, I can honestly say that Peters and Stritch make it feel like a whole new show. I don't know if it was the two-week hiatus or the vibe that the two new leading ladies bring to the cast, but everyone has stepped up their game. The performances now overshadow Nunn's horrific direction and the production's rather dreary feel. Not to mention that Peters and Stritch are giving two of the best performances I've ever seen.

I'm hoping and praying we get at LEAST a new recording. If even of just the ladies' songs. A film recording, however, would make me die of a heart attack.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 7:51pm

I new recording would be silly to me. Neither of them are the most pleasant to listen to. Not to say I don't like their voices it's just that is not their best asset. Filming it will do them justice.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 7:54pm

^ speak for yourself.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:03pm

Terry Teachout has a problem with Sondheim shows, so I really don't take this review that seriously. He actually liked the Philadelphia production of Sunday in the Park with George better than the recent and exquisite NY revival, which put him into an extremely tiny minority. This is the link that documents my point.

http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704312104575298500532410056.html

Updated On: 8/1/10 at 08:03 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:04pm

New Jersey Newsroom is a total RAVE.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/elaine-stritch-and-bernadette-peters-make-beautiful-night-music-together
Updated On: 8/1/10 at 08:04 PM

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:08pm

No offense to Leigh Ann Larkin, who I enjoyed much more than many people on this board, but anyone who thinks she's the best thing about this cast (or this show, for that matter) should have their head examined.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:38pm

He calls them bewitching. So, can I say, "Bestritching"? Give a listen:

(the end is better than the beginning)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdxfoZYPso

Updated On: 8/1/10 at 08:38 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:44pm

Teachout seems to have a problem with any Sondheim show that isn't originating in Chicago or DC; his taste, to quote Madam Armfeldt, to put it mildly is 'peculiar...'

[iabwayfan]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:51pm

I saw the show July 21 and I have to say... it was not a really enjoyable experience for me. For sure the cast had talent - no doubt about it. Maybe some of it was the length of the show and me being tired, but I also felt that many of the songs did not relate well to the storyline. I don't know. Unfortunately, It wouldn't be a show I'd recommend to a friend, but I know a lot of people really, really like this show. I guess that's why it's an art, we all see things we enjoy and some things we don't.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:55pm

but I also felt that many of the songs did not relate well to the storyline.

I respect your opinion, but REALLY? Maybe you unfortunately just missed the meaning/context of certain songs.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:59pm

If you are a human and you have a regular IQ level and you have ever had a smidgen of a sexual feeling or reminiscence, you should find something to relate to in the show.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:28pm

"^ speak for yourself."


I did. "A new recording would be silly to me. Neither of them are the most pleasant to listen to. Not to say I don't like their voices it's just that is not their best asset. Filming it will do them justice."

Updated On: 8/1/10 at 09:28 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:37pm

I new recording would be silly to me. Neither of them are the most pleasant to listen to.

I would prefer Peters and Stritch on a recording of Night Music to Douglas Hodge croaking his way through a La Cage Aux Folles recording any day of the week. Not THAT'S a voice that is "not the most pleasant to listen to."

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:38pm

^^ Did I ever say I wanted a recording of Doug Hodge in La Cage?

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:40pm

We're waiting on theater reviews for two theater legends...perhaps the bickering can be done via PMs?

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:55pm

Speaking of which, where the hell are they?

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:57pm

Steven Suskin Variety is a HUGE RAVE for Peters. Comparing her to when Reba replaced her in Annie Get Your Gun. Very positive for Stritch and the rest of the cast sans Larkin's Miller's Son. Call it a "fine production on all levels."

https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117943265.html?categoryId=33&cs=1
Updated On: 8/1/10 at 09:57 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:09pm

Murray is extremely Negative. Says "Peters is playing Peters." Same for Stritch. He definitely preferred CZJ and Angela.

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/LittleNightMusic2.html

[illuminate the night]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:13pm

Isherwood calls it, "an indelible moment in the history of musical theater."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/theater/02night.html?_r=1

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:15pm

^ Yeah, and the review is pretty mixed. Poor production cannot catch a break with the Times.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:17pm

I can't figure out if Murray's opinions are his actual views, which would be fine even if I don't agree with them, or just him making a scene like Riedel. If that's the case, than I have very little respect.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:23pm

Theatermania is Very Positive.

http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/08-2010/a-little-night-music_29204.html

[moljul]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:25pm

Yeah but Isherwood's problems do seem to be production focused. His issues with the two new leading ladies seem minor and his raves of them long and numerous. I think they can get a lot of positive comments out of the overall review.