A Wonderful CAN CAN

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 11:47pm

I saw this afternoon's performance of CAN CAN at City Center. It was far superior to the mediocre offerings of last season, and the primary reason is the presence of the Magnificent Patti LuPone as Mme. Pistache. What a splendid performance she gave! She had a marvelous time acting the role and stopped the show cold when she sang "Allez Vous En". "C'est Magnifique" and "I Love Paris". She is an incredible force when onstage and the show lags when she's off. Perhaps Ms LuPone should be declared one of America's theatrical treasures! However, all afternoon I kept thinking to myself that this role was originally intended for Carol Channing, who turned it down because she was already committed to the London production of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES.
I could only imagine what it would have been like if TGC had played the role!

This was not a perfect production because the secondary plots really struggle to be funny and Michael Nouri is a wooden actor with faulty pitch--a bit of a disappointment. The choreography really seemed cramped and uninspired--and there's plenty of dancing in this show. Eli Wallach was a delight in his brief role as a judge.

At the talk-back after the performance, Ms LuPone appeared in a t-shirt, jeans, cowboy boots and a red bandana covering her hair. She spoke out about amplification in the theater, claiming that when she did ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, no mikes were needed because the orchestrations were written with an understanding of the human voice. That's not so in today's musicals. She also spoke out about how stupid it was to ask Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake to partake in the SuperBowl Half-Time show. She said they were rock performers and by nature of that were anti-establishment. The two rock performers were only doing what anti-establishment people would do: mock everything our country stands for. Needless to say, this was a very animated talk-back.

It was a very nice afternoon in the theater, howver my date and I both wished that the City Center ushering staff knew where and how to seat an audience. They didn't even know what level we were supposed to be sitting in!

Updated On: 2/15/04 at 11:47 PM

[cmleidi]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 12:02am

Are these talk-backs after each of the performances?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 1:03am

I love Patti. Her Matters of the Heart concert was the highlight of my year a while back. All these articles in which the writers are astounded to discover that Patti is a good singer make me wonder, "Where have they been?"

Everybody hates Nouri, but that wouldn't stop me from making sweet sweet love to him ANY Valentine's Day.

And finally, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson ARE so establishment, they're practically Republicans.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 7:03am

I have very little to add to Dolly & Namo's assesments, which totally jibe with mine.

If anything, the audience wanted MORE Patti than the show allows for. The secondary 'comic' sub-plot was painful. And I never really 'got' Nouri until I saw him at the Q&A. Mmmm, yes.

The Q&A featured 92-year old Cy Feurer who was fairly sprightly. He shared some Cole Porter anecdotes, being most surprised that this incredibly sophiticated and urbane gentleman had a weakness for Philadelphia scrapple.

Lupone was very funny and passionately articulate on the subject of miking (she is very much against them...but then, she doesn't NEED them!) She was warm and gracious, and gave full credit to the shows sucess to director Lonny Price.

Updated On: 2/15/04 at 07:03 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 11:00am

I also saw the Saturday afternoon performance. In addition to Dollypop's comments, I have to add that Patti gave a powerhouse performance on the song "Live & Let Live".

I'd like to know what Patti was doing in the wings while Nouri was singing "I Am In Love". At certain points you could see the hem of her skirt.

Also Paul Schoeffler has a wonderful voice.

There is always a talk after the Saturday afternoon performance of an Encores show. Unfortunately all the cranky, insipid people show up for it. You have the great Patti LuPone sitting there willing to answer questions and people whine about the over-amplification of the music. I wanted to scream shup up and let Patti talk. She did give high praise to Lonnie Price for his grace under pressure.

Updated On: 2/15/04 at 11:00 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 12:31pm

The talk-backs are only after the Saturday matinee.

Yes, there were plenty of cranky people there and they were walking in and out throughout the Q&A. It was very annoying, and I don't think I've ever seen so many PBS tote bags in the same place at the same time!

I don't know how that Timberlake/Jackson question came. It was from someone in the 1st mezz and I was under the overhang in the orchestra section. I only heard the cast's response to the question.

Did anyone else notice how fascinated Patti seemed to be of the theater's architecture and decoration? She seemed to be in awe of the ceiling while she was sitting on the stage.

I must say that the NY City Center is a beautiful theater, but it's one of the most uncomfortable places in the city.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 12:47pm

Sounds like a wonderful evening in the theatre. It is very strange. The original production canonized Gwen Verdon. This production focuses on Lupone and rightly, as she is the main character.

I hope they make a recording!!!!

Miriam

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 12:53pm

A recording of this production would truly be something to treasure.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 1:07pm

Oh yeah, Patti's son, Josh, was in the cast.

[Rusty]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 1:08pm

My wife and I were at the Saturday matinee performance. Patti was awesome. BUT-City Center has to be the worst place to see live theater. Sightlines are horrible, seating is cramped. As for the question about the miking of the show: It was stated that they added mikes in 1943 and that a place like City Center needs them. I still remember seeing the NYC Opera perform there and of course no mikes were needed. The answer should have been: Ther are very few actors who can project their voice past the first few rows and are so used to being miked that there is no longer a need to be a LuPone/Merman, etc. The question/comment was: Why was the ORCHESTRA so overly miked ? In my opinion the sound from the orchestra and actors was perefect for this show.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/16/04 at 9:36am

One other thing I remember Patti saying at the talk afterward was that the lighting had been set to show off the legs of the Can-Can dancers, but that it made it hard to read from their scripts. She had said this in reference to the fact that the show really had to be memorized.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/16/04 at 1:13pm

Patti was off script in many scenes. She really didn't need to hold her script, but under the special EQUITY contract the actores HAD to carry their scripts.

[beacon1]

Posted: 2/16/04 at 1:21pm

Is requiring actors to carry scripts a common thing? How often have you seen them refer to them?

[GladysBumps]

Posted: 2/16/04 at 1:52pm

Yes. It's an Equity rule. If it's a under a staged reading contract, the actors have to carry a script or it becomes something else, a showcase code or a tierd code production. I used to direct staged readings at The New Dramatists and I remember one occasion in a Jack Heifner play, a major actress--well okay, it was Kathy Bates--was on one side of the stage and her script was on the other. The head of the organization went ballistic. I had to tell Kathy, who of course knew all her lines,
"Jesus Kathy, try to remember to flip a few pages every once in awhile, will ya?"

I might add, that was the only direction I had to give the brilliant lady.

How they get away with the costumes at Encores, I don't know. That had had always been a major no no for staged readings. We used to show up in tuxedos at New Dramtists and have to pretend we had just come from an extra call or something.

My revelation about my Patti, who I thought could no longer surprise me, was the completley new lower register, the Eartha Kitt gowl, and her impeccible French accent. It wasn't just Patti doing Pistache just so she could sing those glorious songs, she really committed to the character. What a freakin' pro. That final phrase in "I Lover Paris:" "Because my love, Because my love, Because my love is near." What the hell did she do on that final "Because my love is near?" Did she change keys? Did she go from chest to head? Is she a witch? The sound produced such excitement in the pit of my stomach, which shot right up to my throat and exploded (along with everyone else in the place) in shrieks of extacy. Who the hell else, since the days of Judy, could pull off something like that? What the hell did she do?
Delighted not to be so jaded as not to be delighted,
Gladys