ASSASSINS LAST NIGHT

all right to the 5 or 6 of us who saw the show last night (friday).
let me hear what you thought!

i have to leave for work, so i can't post yet, but i will soon.

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I believe the poster was refering to the 5 or 6 from this board that were going.

thanks for the review.

the show was breathtaking.
if it doesn't win - and nothing surprises me these days,
the world is a crazy place :)

i'll give my review when i get some damn time

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yes, if anyone is coming to New York soon and needs a suggestion as to what show to see, SEE ASSASSINS!!! the way the Kennedy assassination sequence was staged brought tears to my eyes... and leo, we saw you and billy porter as you were taking your seats...

I looked for y'all, but didn't see any of ya (at least, I don't think I did). I was in the first row of the mezzanine, just right of center. FAAAAAABULOUS seats.

Yes yes yes...it's the best musical night of theatre in NYC right now (found it more satisfying than AVE. Q, which I did enjoy very much).

HOWEVER...'Something Just Broke' is completely unecessary. I could not get over how emotionally involved and moved I was by the assassains stories. When that gun went off in the depository, I was devastated. And then...out comes five people to tell me how they feel. And I just realized that what they feel is not important. It's what I was feeling that was the vital part of the night. Wonderfully performed by the group (especially Kendra Kassebaum), but ultimately it just took me out of it and slowed down the ending.

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"Something Just Broke" balances the piece-lets us see how the actions of the dissasociated affect the stable. Those of us who were alive will never forget where we were when we heard the news of the assassination. (If you want to associate the feeling, think 9/11/01).

Second, it an extremely fine piece of music.

Third, it gives the ensemble, something else to sing. The woman who starts this number (forgot name) gives one of the FINEST performances in the piece at this point (extrodinarly moving).

This is just my opinion, I may be wrong.

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Why didn't you say hi, red????

As for this particular piece of music, I think it will divide people sharply. Some will be moved, others will feel (like I did) that it was extraneous.

In the end, WHO CARES??? ASSASSAINS IS ON BROADWAY AND IT'S BRILLIANT AND I FEEL HONORED TO HAVE SEEN THIS SPECTACULAR PRODUCTION.

Whew...I feel much better now. Truly...run...do not walk.

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Robbie - we didn't mean to ignore you...we were already seated - (several rows behind you in the section above) and I wasn't sure if that was you or not - you've grown a goatee...anywhoo...I agree to, that its great to have Assassins on Brodway!

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Updated On: 4/26/04 at 11:49 AM

Congrats Robbie - and I don't blame you on the moustache question - I was home at my mom's place in Florida a few weeks back with joeyjoe and we watched some videos of me in the late '80s with a moustache and WHAT WAS I THINKING???? I looked hideous...LOL...big hair and all. Thank GOD I made it into my 40s....

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oh I had much worse than a mullet - at one point (around 83 or 84, I think) I had a tail - you know - short on the sides - long on the top and then this one long strand of hair down the middle of your back - yikes!...then in the later 80s I let it all grow out until I had this lion's mane which was down past my shoulders - very thick and curly...gee I miss my hair...LOL...but there are worse things I could have lost...LOL....

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i finally read all of these posts now, and all i have to say is that I am glad some of you people - who happen to be opinions i genuinely tend to agree with - were really mesmerized by the show like i was.
it is captivating and endearing (in it's own strange way).
billy and i were absolutely floored.
because i had heard mixed things during the previews, i was scared to see one of my favorite shows not up-to-par.
but it was everything i could have asked for and MORE.
mantello's direction and brill's set design were beatifully crafted and clean. cerveris was brilliant and very different from garber's original approach to the character. neil patrick harris sang the balladeer much better than i had planned, which made me extremely happy! cantone was hilarious, though probably unavoidably a little feminine for Byck - it worked in a way. Garrison (who apparently couldn't even sing the correct notes during previews) and Baker gave awesome performances - their scenes are so well-written. I liked the counterpoint relationship between the Proprietor and the Balladeer, though it has been criticized by many.
Although it's such a small role, I thought Barbour gave such an incredibly honest performance as the reserved Czolgosz. Fantastic work.
This is the kind of show you wish they had a Best Ensemble Tony for...

I must say however - like much of Sondheim's work - Assassins is not for everyone, which is why I think it was the bipolarity of the reviews were so evident. In addition, I must say that I felt reviewers didn't truly understand Assassins' intent. The vaudevilian vignettes, not a thru-book musical, etc. were taken out of context, or perhaps taken with TOO much regard for contextulization.

i hope that kinda made sense. it's late and i need to get this paper done.

i wish RedHot and Joey would have introduced themselves. :)

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Updated On: 4/28/04 at 01:44 AM

Jamie - I don't like to say a lot of negative things on here (I leave that to the usual bitter post-ers...LOL)...but I must say that I've NEVER heard Marc Kudish sing on pitch. I've seen him in several things now, the best of which was Millie, because I think inherently he's better at comedy, or maybe the over-the-top villians like Chauvelin (sp?) in Pumpernickel (LOL)...but even in cast recordings - he sings off key, CONSISTANTLY. Now, don't get me wrong - I think he's great looking and a good actor - but his vocal chops are not up to what I think a Broadway singer's should be. Hell - they make great money and are expected to give great performances for that money. (which I contribute to out of my own pocket). So for anywhere from 50 to 100 bucks a ticket, I expect Broadway performers to be on pitch -its NOT that difficult. I understand having an off night occasionally, but when someone is consistantly off pitch, I think there is a problem. Otherwise - I think he's great and gave a chilling performance in some of his acting moments in the show, and as I said before - I loved his performance in Millie.

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Well, all of the right people don't mind if he is, as you say "off key".
It seems if he were so bad as you say (not Millie) he wouldn't be so popular with the casting directors. He sounds great to them.