ASSASSINS at Encores Off-Center- Page 9

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 2:34pm

I think it was definitely a choice to play Squeaky especially droll. For me, it worked. In that barn of a theater, it might not have played as well to seats further away from the stage. 

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 5:34pm

Her Valley Girl voice and phrasing were spot on. Hard to believe that young girls actually spoke that way but when they did, they were immediately recognizable as lost children, looking for someone to make them feel emotionally whole. I imagine that many of Manson's "girls" were like that - needy and irrational.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 6:16pm

I didn't realize that the doubling in the last production was Mantello's choice, but of course it was. 

I really appreciated Kauffman's idea to cast a young black man as the Balladeer, but it wasn't a full formed idea. It was just there. I wish they had done more with it.

I also thought Something Just Broke felt unnecessary- I've seen productions before where it felt earned but it didn't quite land for me.

Otherwise, I thought everyone was great and well cast, especially Pasquale, Conlee, and Hensley. 

Updated On: 7/16/17 at 06:16 PM

Posted: 7/16/17 at 6:52pm

I was at the matinee, too.  It seemed like someone missed a cue in Another National Anthem...did you think the same thing?

Updated On: 7/16/17 at 06:52 PM

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 7:18pm

I saw the show this weekend and wow. The performance was not perfect, but it was such an enjoyable evening. I love this show and this brought back memories from fabulous Roundabout revival.

My biggest issue was Ethan Lipton. I totally, 100% "got" what he was doing with interpretation of the proprietor, but I just didn't like it, mainly because I didn't like his voice. That sounds petty, but it just didn't work for me. However, the strong performances from the rest of the cast more then made up for it. Victoria Clark was a riot; Erin Markey's droll and flakey Fromme felt perfect; and Shuler Hensley, Steven Pasquale, and John Ellison Conlee were standouts.

At times it felt slightly unsteady, almost as if the cast had not rehearsed much together. The individual performances shined very brightly, but the scenes with multiple cast members just felt a step away from ideal. Regardless, it was a great concert performance that could be easily worked into a full fledged show.

Unrelated: I was seated behind Josh Groban. I mustered up a ton of courage before the show to tell him how much I enjoyed him as Pierre. He was very friendly and gracious. He said he really couldn't even begin to explain how great his time with the show was and how accepted he felt as part of theater community.

[3NU]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:07pm

I was at the matinee yesterday (actually, two rows behind BroadwayBeebe), but I'm just getting the chance to express my views now.  Overall, I felt the production was good, but not great.  I understand (and am fine with) the fact that this was a concert presentation, but I think I've been spoiled by how polished other Encores! shows have been lately, even with the short rehearsal period (1776, It's a Bird..., Merrily We Roll Along, to name a few).  The concert nature of Assassins really showed in "Another National Anthem".

This was my first time seeing an Encores! show from the orchestra (I'm usually in the cheap seats in the balcony), so I had to adjust to the fact that most of the sound was coming from the stage and not some elevated speakers.  That, and the fact that I could see the actors up-close, I think, affected my overall view of the show.

To start with, I thought Ethan Lipton's performance was really as poor as others said it was.  It was as if he was painfully aware that he wasn't the strongest singer and, as such, sang in a conspicuously diffident, uncommitted manner.  That carried through to his acting, as well, which made him cringeworthy to watch.  It looked like he felt deeply uncomfortable with the fact that he had been cast in the role and carried that discomfort onto the stage with him.

The standouts for me were Shuler Hensley as Czolgosz and Danny Wolohan as Byck.  Both seemed to really get at the depths of their characters (Side note: Did Wolohan remind anyone else of Andrew Scott from Sherlock?). Steven Pasquale was beautiful in voice, as usual (as was Clifton Duncan), though I'm not sure he had the time to really immerse himself into Booth, which is too bad, given Booth's presence throughout the show.  I love Victoria Clark, and I thought she was quite funny as Moore, though I wouldn't lay on the lauds as others have on this board.  Everyone else was just fine, though I didn't feel the ensemble provided the undergirding support the show needed.

As has been mentioned before, the staging was a bit stilted and some of the book scenes really dragged, but I enjoyed Sondheim's music and would be interested in exploring the cast albums of the show's earlier incarnations (the Encores! production was my first exposure to the show).  I'd also love to dig into the the two Byck monologues, which I feel are far denser thematically than they may appear on the surface.

[smidge]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:16pm

oncemorewithfeeling2 said: "I saw the show this weekend and wow. The performance was not perfect, but it was such an enjoyable evening. I love this show and this brought back memories from fabulous Roundabout revival.

My biggest issue was Ethan Lipton. I totally, 100% "got" what he was doing with interpretation of the proprietor, but I just didn't like it, mainly because I didn't like his voice. That sounds petty, but it just didn't work for me. However, the strong performances from the rest of the cast more then made up for it. Victoria Clark was a riot; Erin Markey's droll and flakey Fromme felt perfect; and Shuler Hensley, Steven Pasquale, and John Ellison Conlee were standouts.

At times it felt slightly unsteady, almost as if the cast had not rehearsed much together. The individual performances shined very brightly, but the scenes with multiple cast members just felt a step away from ideal. Regardless, it was a great concert performance that could be easily worked into a full fledged show.

Unrelated: I was seated behind Josh Groban. I mustered up a ton of courage before the show to tell him how much I enjoyed him as Pierre. He was very friendly and gracious. He said he really couldn't even begin to explain how great his time with the show was and how accepted he felt as part of theater community.

Can I ask where you were sitting. Totally missed seeing Groban. 

Do you feel people's experiences with past productions colored their response to this performance. None of the issues brought up really seemed to bother me. But this was my first exposure to the work.

 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:18pm

It seems like a lot of people are complaining about the cast being underrehearsed/it not being a full production. This is Encores. You should not expect that. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:21pm

AND it's not even the regular Encores! This is off-center with a different artistic director. 

I went in not expecting much from the staging and set and I left quite impressed with what was accomplished. I would love to see  what Kauffman could do with a full scale production. 

Updated On: 7/16/17 at 08:21 PM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:22pm

^ Agreed.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:43pm

It strikes me that this show in particular must be immensely difficult to rehearse in such a limited time, due to the vignette setup of the piece. 

[h6p8gv]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 8:54pm

TO anyone that went did they include something just broke

[JBC3]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 9:09pm

Yes and it is discussed about 10-15 posts prior to yours.

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 11:03pm

I was sitting center orchestra section, can't remember the row, but I'll look in my bag for my ticket.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 11:08pm

My agent friend with actors in the show said as for now it's not transferring to Broadway as nothing has been discussed about a move.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 11:10pm

It took a few months for Sunday to get a transfer together, but I'm not holding my breath for a transfer of this, though it would be very nice. 

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 12:46am

YoungSally said: "I was at the matinee, too.  It seemed like someone missed a cue in Another National Anthem...did you think the same thing?

 

"

I was also at the Sat matinee (and also in the front row!) and I thought that as well. 

I agree with all the comments about Ethan Lipton's singing in the opening number, but I'll say I didn't really notice him much after that, maybe because I was so close I didn't really see him off to the side.

I do wish they had the Balladeer/Oswald concept, but then we wouldn't have had Clifton Duncan as the Balladeer so that was a treat.

A big standout was John Ellison Conlee as Guiteau. I did not realize he was such a great singer having only seen him in plays (and on TV in Boardwalk Empire) so that was a very nice surprise!

[godlessondheimite]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 7:17am

Kad said: "Having the Balladeer double as Oswald and playing the Zapruder film were Mantello's directorial choices for the revival. They are not written into the show at all and no one should expect any other production to go in that direction. 

"

Actually Sondheim mentioned that he and Weidman toyed with the idea of doubling the Balladeer and LHO. It's in this video, I can't remember when, but the whole thing is worth a listen.

[Mr. Musical]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 8:48am

YoungSally said: "I was at the matinee, too.  It seemed like someone missed a cue in Another National Anthem...did you think the same thing?

 

"

They definitely missed a cue - having done a production of this show previously, that number is very difficult and getting off by even half a beat can totally mess it up. There's no wiggle room. They saved themselves pretty well I thought though.