A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC'S reopening tonight...(review updates here)- Page 17

[ljay889]

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

The AP is also Very Positive.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=11302213

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:27pm

"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."

He raved over her Clowns. He wasn't completely sold on the rest of her performance.

Still more disappointing is that Ms. Peters, gorgeous though her “Send In the Clowns” certainly is, does not always inflect her performance with glinting suggestions of the real depths in Desirée’s heart. The odd, quasi-British accent — fundamentally pointless since the characters are supposedly Swedish — adds a layer of artifice to the performance that is only entirely discarded when Ms. Peters sings. (Ms. Mallory also employs an accent, to still more arch effect.)

That's not really great.
Updated On: 8/1/10 at 10:27 PM

[moljul]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:46pm

Well most of that seems focused on her accent which seems like a minor quip to me but you are right that first sentence is not great.

EDIT: what other reviews are to come? Updated On: 8/1/10 at 10:46 PM

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:30pm

(Finally) got home from the show today, notes:
-Rush went very well, I got front row seat
-Bernadette looked BEAUTIFUL. Gave a very hard-hitting performance, and she brought me to tears during Clowns. She received almost a standing ovation at her entrance in Glamourous Life.
-Elaine caught up on her lines, only missed 2 and mixed one up. Got huge laughs and thunderous applause, very on the ball.
-Bradley Dean was on for Carl-Magnus and was very funny and frightening.
-Erin Davie performed the role of Charlotte wonderfully, she's got GREAT comedic timing and has really come into the role well.
-Ramona Mallory was still a little shrill, but she performed fine and you have to respect her
-Leigh Ann Larkin: Hilarious.
-I found the production to actually be...bigger than I expected. Many more set pieces than I thought and it's a very well crafted production.

3 cheers for opinions that dont matter!!

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:35pm

Thanks aasjb4ever for the review, but I must ask what is "almost a standing ovation?" A squat?

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:39pm

With an apology to Lorenz Hart:

She's cast again, a blast again
Her Madame a grand slam, unsurpassed again
BeStritched, boggled and bedazzled, are we.

You rock, Elaine!

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:50pm

Haha. She kindof cut everyone off after a minute or so of applause and people began to stand up but they quickly went back down.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:54pm

John Simon is very Positive. He admits that he is finally coming to enjoy the actual show/material. He is known for disliking Wheeler's book.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-02/sondheim-s-music-shimmers-with-peters-stritch-john-simon.html

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 12:38am

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.

So what you're saying is that Terry Teachout is neither human nor in possession of a regular IQ level and that he does not have a "smidgen of a sexual feeling or reminiscence"?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 12:39am

Her Madame a grand slam, unsurpassed again

You have one syllable too man in that line.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 1:12am

Elide it to "M'dame" and it works...

With that, I think it's time to go to bed.


EDIT: But on the Isherwood review, even if the whole thing is mixed, having that pull quote ("an indelible moment in the history of musical theater") will still look really, really good.

Updated On: 8/2/10 at 01:12 AM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 1:36am

The reviewers are saying the things I said.

Bernadette LOOKS great. But this is not about looking great, it's about the acting...and the depth just wasn't there.
Peter's "Clowns" is her best effort in the show, yet, she was playing Bernadette Peters, just like Stritch was playing herself.
Leigh Ann stole the show as I also mentioned.
Glad to hear realistic opinions of people who are not biased like the people on this board.
I truly went to see the show with an open mind, despite not being a fan of the new leading ladies...or of some of the other cast members.
I'm a Ramona fan though for sure. She is a wonderful soprano with strong vocals.
A critic said: "Desiree and Fredrik, now middle-aged, who rekindle their romance in spite of other attachments". I wonder, how many people of 124yo do we know exactly?
Bernadette looks younger than her age, and she is a very pretty woman, yet, I feel like the role was meant to be for an actress in her 40's or even in her mid 30's. But that's just me and I don't expect anyone to agree. The story was written in the old age, and people didn't live that long back then. So for an actress to be in her 30's or 40's was considered "old" back then.

Yet, I will return to see if they got any better. So as much as I criticize them, I support them ALOT. I don't think the casting was great...but oh well.
And I think this production is a winner! Too scaled down at times...but I like the wonderful score and its story.

Updated On: 8/2/10 at 01:36 AM

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 1:43am

"Lee Ann stole the show as I also mentioned"

It's LEIGH ANN, and as much as I enjoy her Petra and 'Miller's Son', that is not true.

So sorry.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 2:49am

NY Post is a big Rave for the new stars and production. Though I do not like the CZJ dig.

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/send_in_the_substitutes_UyJILYURqUn7QMH2irKjAK

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 2:58am

Great review from the Post! But it's Vincentelli, I expected a dig or snide comment.

[binau]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 4:19am

>"The reviewers are saying the things I said.

Bernadette LOOKS great. But this is not about looking great, it's about the acting...and the depth just wasn't there.
Peter's "Clowns" is her best effort in the show, yet, she was playing Bernadette Peters, just like Stritch was playing herself."
>

No, SOME reviewers are saying similar things to you. Don't pretend it's a consensus.

Have you missed these comments?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/a-little-night-music-theater-review-1004107085.story

"Peters also displays an aching vulnerability that the younger, stunningly beautiful Zeta-Jones couldn't quite convey"


"Stritch, too, manages to bring shadings to her role that eluded even the great Lansbury.....though her turn does indeed generate huge laughs, they are well earned and strictly in character"


http://www.backstage.com/bso/content_display/reviews/ny-theatre-reviews/e3i397236cd72a25e4865c1e58ef43788cd

"The unquestionable highlight of the evening is Peters. This is without doubt one of her finest stage performances. Impetuous, delicate, earthy, sardonic, willful, sensual, loving, and shatteringly vulnerable, her Desiree is endlessly enchanting and completely believable as a combination of scattered diva, caring mother, battling daughter, and enthusiastic lover. Peters does bring some of her trademark mannerisms to the table, particularly some kewpie-doll line readings, but they are always used organically, in service to character....Her playing of Desiree’s reunion scene with Fredrik is remarkably layered "

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/elaine-stritch-and-bernadette-peters-make-beautiful-night-music-together



"stage-seasoned Peters effortlessly imbues Desiree with a glow that warms the cool nature of Hugh Wheeler's story. She's exquisite in every radiant way."

"What a difference a diva makes. Bernadette Peters steps into the six-month-old revival of "A Little Night Music" with a transfixing performance, playing it as if she realizes her character's onstage billing -- "the one and only Desiree Armfeldt" -- is cliched hyperbole. By figuratively rolling her eyes at the hype, Peters gives us a rich, warm and comedically human Desiree,"

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117943265.html?categoryId=33&cs=1#ixzz0vQyjV6JU




"Peters, absent from the Broadway stage since the 2003 Gypsy revival, makes a triumphal return as Desiree Armfeldt, the actress wearying of playing Ibsen on the road. She brilliantly shows the signs of that gathering tedium -- just as she conveys Desiree's ironic view of everyone with whom she comes in contact, including herself."

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

""Isn't it rich?" she asks as the actress Desiree Armfeldt in "A Little Night Music," her sarcasm dampened by deep sorrow at the realization that in life and love, timing is everything. "Isn't it queer? Losing my timing this late in my career?"

Well, maybe Desiree has lost her timing. But not Peters."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=11302213&page=1


Peters creates a multifaceted woman strong enough to anchor Sondheim's bittersweet comedy about romantic entanglements. She is the axle around which the show rotates, and her presence is felt even when she isn't onstage.

"

Updated On: 8/2/10 at 04:19 AM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 5:13am

Q, you are totally right~!

Let's add "some" to my comment, there are some raves too.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 11:37am

"You have one syllable too man in that line."

And you have one too few in yours. LOL


Actually, you're 100% correct and I knew it, but it sings fine with the extra syllable. And thanks for reading it, at least.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 4:26pm

And the pull quotes are...

http://bbbblogger.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/a-little-night-music-starring-peters-stritch-opens-to-critical-acclaim/

[jnthnxlent]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 11:39pm

No mention of Bernadette for some reason, but Will Ferrel did his own rendition of Send in the Clowns for todays Late Show

http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=gdQ_vztkFrJl1gCJiHyYBNSywVwAlwME&vs=Default&play=true
Will Ferrel Send in the Clowns

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/3/10 at 1:34pm

Can anyone say if the rush was more competitive than usual today in the wake of the reviews?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/3/10 at 2:20pm

I don't think it was posted here -- the NY DAILY NEWS REVIEW was also a rave.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/3/10 at 2:24pm

Anyone else think if Erin Davie opened to these reviews she would have easily scored a Tony nomination? Such a shame. Hanson, Lazar, and Davie all deserved nominations.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/3/10 at 2:30pm

I agree they all deserved noms - if NIGHT MUSIC with this cast had opened in April - I think they all would have been nominated. Stritch would likely would have won (as she's never actually won in a performance catagory) over Finneran and Peters would have easily taken the lead as Zeta did over Montego Gloever.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/3/10 at 2:42pm

So true. I totally agree. I also think if it opened in April with this cast, it would have given LA CAGE much more competition. Funny how thinks work out. But I am glad the production is finally getting the praise it deserves.