A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN Previews

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 9/18/13 at 2:44pm

I know previews don't start until Friday but TDF has tickets available for 1st one. What's the pre-preview buzz on this show? Thanks.

Updated On: 9/18/13 at 02:44 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/18/13 at 3:47pm

There really hasn't been much buzz about this one.

I'm excited to see de'Adre Aziza, who will be playing Nina Simone(!) among other characters. (How many times do you get to see Nina Simone appear in two musicals in the same season?)

Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith and Etta James are also characters in the show, which might make for an overstuffed evening, but we shall see.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 12:50am

It just sounds like such a boring show. But I'm excited to hear about it. My friend is the alternate.

[Wickedmonkey332]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 10:53am

Saw the show in DC. One of the most enjoyable nights I have ever had at the theater. The best concert musical I have ever experienced. Pure joy. Suprisingly gripping and exciting. Definitely not boring. Completely recommend it!

The whole time I was thinking: "There is no where else I would rather be in this moment than right here."

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 11:08am

But does it look like a concert? That commercial I've been seeing looks like it's just a band on stage, like it's a shoddy presentation performance, not the best representation of the show.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 2:16pm

I grabbed a ticket on Audience Rewards for a Wed. Matinee early Oct., it was a Special Limited Time Offer, just saw this note on TDF:

Alison Cusano will perform the role of “Janis Joplin” at Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Beginning 10/12, the role of "Janis Joplin" will be played by Kacee Clanton at Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Mary Bridget Davies is scheduled to perform the rest of the performances.

Guess I will be seeing the understudy, Alison Cusano. Really wanted to see Mary Bridget Davies who I heard plays an excellent Janis Joplin. Well if I love the show I just have to go back. : )

[Wickedmonkey332]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 5:20pm

It is a concert with a few moments of storytelling regarding Joplin's early life and influences. And Luv2giToShows- I saw Alison Cusano in DC- she was phenomenal- can't believe anyone could be better!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 8:51pm

Mary Bridget is a phenomenal Janis. I worked on a production of Love, Janis with her a few years back (I know, different show, but same songs). Kacee, who will be taking on the alternate spot soon, it seems, is also quite good, but there is something about Mary Bridget's voice that just sets her on this whole other level.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 10:15pm

The clips of Mary Bridget I've seen on YouTube have me surprisingly excited for this show. I'm hoping it's more like FELA!, a concert with biographical details, though of course tailored to the one-of-a-kind life and voice of Janis.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 9/19/13 at 10:51pm

Thanks Wickedmonkey332, that is good to hear. I've always like Joplin's music so I am really looking forward to this show. If it does not disappoint I will want to go back and check out Mary Bridget's Joplin as well.

[broadwayrocks2]

Posted: 9/20/13 at 7:39pm

I saw the invited dress . It was great . I too thought it was gonna be boring but I was def wrong. lots of audience interaction. fun night !

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 9/20/13 at 10:29pm

Wow the audience LOVED it tonight at the first preview! And I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it too, as I am not a fan of concet shows and neither was I all that familiar with Janis's music! There were FOUR standing ovations during show! I have never seen that before.

[broadwayrocks2]

Posted: 9/20/13 at 11:04pm

Rockin the hundred year old plaster of the walls at the Lyceum!!!!

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 9/20/13 at 11:13pm

Love and music was in the air tonight. I have never seen a Broadway audience leap to its feet as many times as they did tonight. The singers, the band, and music are of course all phenomenal. It's a shame that the shows' book isn't stronger, but show really showcases Mary Bridget Davies ability to connect with the audience. de'Adre Aziza, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Nikki Kimbrough, and Taprena Michelle Augustine are all showcased in their respective roles in musical flashbacks. I really enjoyed myself, but it is defiantly more of a concert than a musical biopic.

Updated On: 9/21/13 at 11:13 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/21/13 at 11:19pm

I was there tonight and feel mixed about the evening. A Night With Janis Joplin falls somewhere between Let It Be and Fela. It's much more professional and has better performances than the former, but it lacks the strong book and creativity of the latter.

As others have said the show is more of a concert, and although Mary Bridget Davies is electric in the title role, the performance is more of an impersonation or tribute than a fully-drawn character in a book show. Janis Joplin is also very sanitized; this is the Disney version of her life. Drugs are never even mentioned- I'm not lying. Janis might have the blues, but don't look for any substance abuse here.

Davies is great. She looks and sounds like Joplin and she has boundless energy. The other four actresses don't get any of the book, and instead are tasked with performing "Little Do They Know" type numbers while Davies gets a breather off stage. The second act is stronger than the first, and that's mostly because most of it is simply Davies and the band.

This concert was fine, but I think her life story could be told more effectively with a biopic.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 9/21/13 at 11:24pm

Is the volume at a normal Broadway-musical level, rather than the super-amplified Let It Be (where earplugs were needed)?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/21/13 at 11:36pm

It is louder than a normal Broadway show, and for a more sustained period of time, but I don't you'll need ear plugs or anything.

In terms of balancing the singers with the band the sound design was excellent.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/21/13 at 11:39pm

What's the design like? I know this show has been through the regional circuit. I wonder why. Doesn't sound like there's much to flesh out or whatnot.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/22/13 at 12:13am

The design is very simple and is of the recent Barry Manilow ilk.

When I walked into the theater I immediately thought of Passing Strange because there were fluorescent pipe lights emanating from the proscenium with oversize light bulbs on the outer end.

The stage is set up just like Fela. There is a performance space and then the band in behind that on a slightly raised platform. An upper level runs across the musicians, but it is rarely used. Projections are shown on the back wall.

The show would be very easy to tour, and I think it would do well on the road.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/22/13 at 4:31pm

Sounds like a Broadway run of Love, Janis might have been a better bet.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/22/13 at 4:45pm

I'm sure it's the same set they used in DC, Pasdena, etc.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 12:14am

I saw this tonight. Davies was out, Alison Cusano was on, and I was disappointed at first, but boy what a performance Cusano gave. It is a true, honest to goodness, exhaustingly powerhouse performance and if Davies is even half as good, she deserves all the raves in the world. Her voice is towering, her stage presence is completely magnetic, and her energy is seemingly inexhaustible. There were three full standing ovations, mid-show tonight, and two of them were for Cusano. The other was for the "I Shall Be Released" medley. (Random side note...there was a slip in the Playbill saying the roles usually played by Natasha Yvette Williams would be played by Allison Blackwell. But Williams isn't even in the Playbill. Did I miss something...?)

The level of talent on the stage is simply astounding, in every sense of the word. The other four women in the show are just fantastic. It's also nicely-mounted, particularly the suitably bold lighting design. Now, as a piece of theater, this is no great shakes. The book starts off as a rote, linear biography, and by time the second act rolls around, we've lost all sense of time and place and we're basically just watching a concert. The latter approach works much better with this piece, as I left knowing no more and no less about Joplin than I did walking in. But as a piece of entertainment, you certainly get quite the show. There are moments here, particularly "Piece of My Heart" and "Ball & Chain," where I got goosebumps and truly felt electrified by what I was watching and hearing. Cusano is an absolute knockout and delivers the songs better than one could imagine. Oh, and the band is phenomenal.

The songs sang by "other characters" are basically just an excuse to give Janis a break, which is understandable. That's not to say they aren't entertaining or exciting to listen to, because they are, but they're also shoe-horned into the show. This could have, and should have, been a 100-minute "concert," instead of being a full two hour and twenty minutes long. But for all of the show's shortcomings, it's got a sensational cast, great music, and it's a really good time overall.

Side-note: If I'm not mistaken, this is being considered in the "play" categories at the Tonys, correct? How is that possible...? There are more songs in the show than most musicals on Broadway now. It definitely is stretching the definition of a "play" to pretty extreme lengths.

And if anyone is wondering, I rushed the show. I got there around 6ish and was seated in Row E of the Orchestra, on the extreme side (partial view). I missed a bit of the stuff on the second tier, as well as some of Janis' moments that took place far stage left, but 80% of the show is staged front and center, so it wasn't anything detrimental. Updated On: 10/1/13 at 12:14 AM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 12:26am

she should be:
A Night With Janis Joplin Playbill

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 12:29am

My Playbill lists Cusano as the only swing and Alison Blackwell as Blues Woman/Aretha Franklin. Williams' name and headshot are nowhere to be found. Weird.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 9:28am

Wickedrocks, I haven't seen anyone refer to this as a play for Awards consideration besides you just there, so while I won't dispute if you've heard something, I will at least attest I have seen no evidence to suggest that.