Posted: 11/3/18 at 11:19am
Posted: 11/3/18 at 1:22pm
I did! Loooovved it -- thought it was grrrreat!!!
Posted: 11/3/18 at 2:10pm
Posted: 11/3/18 at 2:40pm
Posted: 11/3/18 at 11:52pm
Regretted not seeing it in NY and could not make it to the film capture of same, so was really excited when PBS announced it for GREAT PERFORMANCES, especially given all the praise heaped upon it.
So much good in the gorgeous dance, sets, costumes, staging, and (of course) music. Fairchild and Cope were stunners when dancing and this alone was worth a viewing. However, bad acting and a hideous book weighed down all that s'wonderfulness.
I could expect that professional ballet dancers would have a certain stiffness in the non-dance department in their first time out as leads, but what was everybody else's excuse? Cringe-y performances all-round. Wheeldon's weakness/lack of experience directing actors was apparent and not helped at all by Lucas' terrible dialogue. Pacing always seemed off in the book scenes. While watching, I was stunned that Uranowitz and Von Essen received Tony nominations.
If you go back and watch the movie--yes, I know, a classic-- but, if we are all honest, the dialogue in the movie does not wear well, Too bad Lucas could not improve upon it to match the other laudable components of the stage version. I so wanted to love it all.
Posted: 11/4/18 at 2:24am
I didn't love it on tour, as I thought the book's attempt at seriousness didn't work and was terribly clunky, but it had its moments. And sitting in the loge allowed me to enjoy the dance and some of the staging.
Seeing it on television only reminded me of what didn't work. But I'll stick up for the movie. It's a product of its time, and not as good as Singin' in the Rain, but the movie is a lot of fun and soars in a way the stage version simply couldn't replicate even when it tried.
Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:05am
Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:38am
Posted: 11/4/18 at 3:22pm
We luckily recorded it Friday night-- caught all of Act I then and watched Act II last night. It reminded us all over again how very much we loved Act I (maybe one of the best nights of pure musical theater we've seen in the last dozen years), and how very, very much we detested Act II. Seeing closeups of Leslie and Robby were a swell treat, though we sorely missed all the other stars of the original Bway company who were replaced by the time of this taping.
As a record of the most gorgeously conceived physical production of a musical in years (staging, sets, lighting, costumes, projections) this taping has no peer and will be rewatched again and again. The fact that they could never solve the impossible second act (and disastrously uninvolving final ballet) is easily ignored by switching the thing off at the Act I curtain.
Updated On: 11/4/18 at 03:22 PM
Posted: 11/4/18 at 7:03pm
Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:27pm
"I was stunned that Uranowitz and Von Essen received Tony nominations."
They were not in this broadcast so why were you stunned? You said you did not see this on Broadway, therefore did not see them. They were both amazing. You didn't see them on PBS since that was the London cast.
Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:31pm
Exactly. This is the original London cast and not the original Broadway cast. This was filmed in London, not Broadway.
Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:45pm
Agree w the physical production being gorgeous.
Songs are Top level Gershwin so fabulous.
The Dancing is sublime and the singing much better than I would have expected form ballet dancers.
The book still sucks gas and the whole gay sub-subplot STILL doesn't play well.
Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:48pm
LuPita2 said: ""I was stunned that Uranowitz and Von Essen received Tony nominations."
They were not in this broadcast so why were you stunned? You said you did not see this on Broadway, therefore did not see them. They were both amazing. You didn't see them on PBS since that was the London cast."
Absolutely my big mistake. Made a huge assumption it was the NY cast. Did not realize they filmed the London cast. Couldn't figure out why Uranowitz did not look like how I remembered him--but had only seen him if "Falsettos". So sure it was filmed in NY that did not even check the disconnect. Was not familiar with Von Essen so would never have noticed it was not him. The Tony noms now make sense. I deserve all swings taken at me.
Posted: 11/5/18 at 1:20am
Posted: 11/6/18 at 9:40am
I've seen both the original Broadway cast and the original national tour cast, and these actors on the London broadcast are far and away the dullest I've seen. Fairchild and Cope were exquisite, of course, and it reminded me of how much I loved all the physical/visual aspects of the production. But as for the Henri and the Adam - yikes. No charm, no humor.
