#1
Posted: 7/14/10 at 2:41pm
Having seen the original production staged by Hal Prince but not having seen Ms. Zeta-Jones or Ms. Lansbury in the current revival, I went in with an open mind and was very much looking forward to it. I have always loved this show, in fact, it may be my favorite after Sweeney Todd when it comes to the Sondheim canon.
Well, for starters, I'd forgotten about the mezzanine at the Kerr, my right knee should be back to normal in a day or two. I swear those seats were designed for toddlers. That being said, I hated virtually every aspect of this production, from the concept to the design to the direction and the cast, with one exception. Also, it would be hard to know where the show was set considering every actor was using a different accent of some sort. Some should have stuck to standard American speech, regardless of what dialect they were attempting and failing at miserably.
I bolted at the intermission, I couldn't bare the thought of sitting through Act II, I'd endured enough, as had my right knee. I might add, I was not a solo "bolter" and the comments I overheard were essentially what I was feeling.
Now we all love Elaine Stritch, however, she looked petrified, like she'd never set foot on a stage in her life. She was being fed lines from the wings, got totally lost during Liaisons, the conductor had to "help" her, and that's being kind. So, she couldn't do her usual "Stritch schick" due her lack of command of the role. Her repeatedly crossing her legs while in a wheelchair was amusing, at one point I thought she was going to say "screw it" and get up and walk. Praise Jesus!!!! I may be naive, but I don't think people pay $140.00 per ticket to see such unpreparedness.
By now the shows rhythm was painfully out of sync, in fact, I venture to say molasses on a bitter cold January night could move faster. Bernadette Peters is well cast, she looks terrific and will probably grow in the role, assuming the show continues to run, which I seriously doubt. I'll have to catch her version of Send in the Clowns on YouTube.
I believe Mr. Nunn's intention was to recreate Bergman's film, which makes it very dark, as if it were in black and white, that is. There is virtually no color used on the stage, other than Ms. Peters hair, yes, she has her signature boopty-doopty red do, maybe there is some color in Act II, but I'll never know, somehow, I doubt it and I don’t care. Why these British directors think they can "improve" on vintage Sondheim is beyond me and I for one am sick of it!
The whole chamber music approach in lieu of a full orchestra just plain pissed me off, not nearly as much as actors playing the instruments, mind you. The original lush orchestrations and the opulence of the show are/were the glories of this piece, if you remove those elements from the equation, you may as well just stage this as a play and call it a day! This show does have one of the better books of a musical, but it is A MUSICAL, not a play with music, which is what this production has been reduced to. To sum up, I would have to call this A Little Night Torture, what a rollicking-frollicking BORE!
Well, for starters, I'd forgotten about the mezzanine at the Kerr, my right knee should be back to normal in a day or two. I swear those seats were designed for toddlers. That being said, I hated virtually every aspect of this production, from the concept to the design to the direction and the cast, with one exception. Also, it would be hard to know where the show was set considering every actor was using a different accent of some sort. Some should have stuck to standard American speech, regardless of what dialect they were attempting and failing at miserably.
I bolted at the intermission, I couldn't bare the thought of sitting through Act II, I'd endured enough, as had my right knee. I might add, I was not a solo "bolter" and the comments I overheard were essentially what I was feeling.
Now we all love Elaine Stritch, however, she looked petrified, like she'd never set foot on a stage in her life. She was being fed lines from the wings, got totally lost during Liaisons, the conductor had to "help" her, and that's being kind. So, she couldn't do her usual "Stritch schick" due her lack of command of the role. Her repeatedly crossing her legs while in a wheelchair was amusing, at one point I thought she was going to say "screw it" and get up and walk. Praise Jesus!!!! I may be naive, but I don't think people pay $140.00 per ticket to see such unpreparedness.
By now the shows rhythm was painfully out of sync, in fact, I venture to say molasses on a bitter cold January night could move faster. Bernadette Peters is well cast, she looks terrific and will probably grow in the role, assuming the show continues to run, which I seriously doubt. I'll have to catch her version of Send in the Clowns on YouTube.
I believe Mr. Nunn's intention was to recreate Bergman's film, which makes it very dark, as if it were in black and white, that is. There is virtually no color used on the stage, other than Ms. Peters hair, yes, she has her signature boopty-doopty red do, maybe there is some color in Act II, but I'll never know, somehow, I doubt it and I don’t care. Why these British directors think they can "improve" on vintage Sondheim is beyond me and I for one am sick of it!
The whole chamber music approach in lieu of a full orchestra just plain pissed me off, not nearly as much as actors playing the instruments, mind you. The original lush orchestrations and the opulence of the show are/were the glories of this piece, if you remove those elements from the equation, you may as well just stage this as a play and call it a day! This show does have one of the better books of a musical, but it is A MUSICAL, not a play with music, which is what this production has been reduced to. To sum up, I would have to call this A Little Night Torture, what a rollicking-frollicking BORE!
