Anyone Can Whistle in 3 Acts?- Page 2

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 10:10pm

don't you have a Take Back the Night rally to got to?

Now THAT was funny!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 10:30pm

I think the reactions to this show will be vastly divided. Count me in the positive category. I thought the cast was wonderful and I'm looking forward to giving it a second look on Friday night.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 10:44pm

Does the book hold together in the second act in this version?

How did the Cookie Ballet go over?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:02pm

I don't know what the three act version is like...but for me, the book worked. Arthur Laurents was in the audience...apparently Sondheim will be in the audience tomorrow (and I assume Angela will be attending on Sunday night).

I did hear a few couples walking out saying things like "no wonder it only lasted 9 performances" and "you can't get them all right" so not everyone will like this show.

The Cookie Ballet was outstanding.

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:42pm

running time?? thanks...

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:47pm

i'd say about 2:15 including a 15 minute intermission. act 1 approximately 40 minutes. act 2 approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:48pm

Not to keep badgering you with questions, but was There Won't be Trumpets included in the show?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:55pm

Yes, in Act 1. And Sutton sounded great.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 12:39am

What about "There's Always a Woman"?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 12:45am

Not in the show.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 1:17am

Ah, what a shame.

[Pianist3912]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 12:16pm

I wonder what Arthur thought, seeing as he called this a "cockamamie production" in his recent OUT interview.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 12:24pm

^ on a similar note, I hope Arthur is at the talkback on Saturday. As mean as he is, I find him to be incredibly well spoken and interesting in the interviews I've seen and read.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 1:05pm

What a strange, strange show, but I had a lot of fun last night! I thought it was kind of lovely, in a wacky sort of way. I'm sad I won't be able to make it to the talkback. I bet it will be really interesting.

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 1:56pm

I hope someone who makes it to the Saturday matinee can give us a full report.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 11:48pm

Wow, that was interesting. I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. The score is an ABSOLUTE delight. What a great score. The book well....yeah it doesn't make sense.
The performances were pretty great. Donna Murphy walks away with the show. Raul was very quirky and very good.
Loved the staging and choreography.

But the rear gallery seats were ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE. Worst seats I've ever sat in anywhere. Truly horrendous view. The rear gallery should be completely removed from that theater.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 11:52pm

Ugh ljay, that makes me nervous...I'm in the very last row on Saturday night as rear gallery was all I could afford. Was there any room to move down at all?

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/8/10 at 11:54pm

No room to move down. I mean it's better than not being there at all. But I was shocked how awful they were. The last row actually might have a better view than the first few rows. I'm not sure.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 4/9/10 at 12:00am

I was in the last row of the gallery and it was horrible. There's a bar that obstructed part of my view and it didn't help that the guy who moved in front of me after intermission had really big hair. Before we got yelled at we sat on top of our seats and I sat on the edge of my chair most of the night.

Anyway, I loved the score, didn't really like the book.

[Jim3]

Posted: 4/9/10 at 12:04am

I was in row N, the second last row of the theater. I thought to myself that if this show isn't good, I'm leaving at intermission. Hey, it wasn't a great seat, but it was a great show. I've been listening to the cast album for years, so I love the music so much. Donna was really funny and manic. From where I was seated, she reminded me of Mary Martin. Sutton Foster's performance was perfect, and Raul is so talented. Wonderful ensemble performances. I want to see it again, but, I admit, a lot closer to the stage. But, I have no regrets seeing it in heaven for 20 bucks.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/9/10 at 12:17am

I'm very glad I saw this tonight. The score is fantastic, and the book, as people have said, is extremely problematic and literally all over the place.

I loved Donna Murphy- she was very funny, and I wasn't expecting her to play it as manic as she did. She threw herself into it with reckless abandon.

Esparza sounded great, and his acting was very good.

And then there's Sutton Foster, the chorus girl who got lucky. I still don't get the hoopla over her- her acting in this was typical Sutton- bland. Her voice is fine, but nothing spectacular- Anyone Can Whistle barely registers. She had absolutely zero chemistry with Raul and I never bought their relationship for a second, though it was through no fault of Esparza's.

The orchestra sounded great, as did the ensemble. Edward Hibbert was his typical funny self.

I also have to gripe about the hideous sightlines from the rear gallery. I get that they're the cheap seats, and I had no problem being high up. I did have an issue with the bar that obstructs your view, and the fact that I couldn't see the front and back of the stage. People had to lean over like crazy, and when one person does it, it sets off a chain reaction of "leaners." Very frustrating. I'd avoid the rear gallery if at all possible.
Updated On: 4/9/10 at 12:17 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 4/9/10 at 12:23am

Really wish I could see this. I am crossing all my fingers for a transfer, hopefully into the Sondheim. Wouldn't that be something? It's a magnificent score. The book has its issues, but I still like it. I'm loving the pictures, even if the townsfolk look a bit too clean-cut and prosperous.

[April Saul]

Posted: 4/9/10 at 2:15am

Sorry, I started another thread on this after seeing it tonight, not realizing that this was more of a review thread than a debate about two acts versus three! Anyway, I'm with Trace, Kad, and everybody who thoroughly enjoyed it...Adamgreer, I have to say I enjoyed Sutton as much as I did the other two. Really a lovely evening, and they were gracious at the stage door as well...not sure it could transfer with that book, but hey, stranger things have happened!

[anotherhundredpeople2]

Posted: 4/11/10 at 4:37pm

I saw the show last night! I sat in the top section (sorry for my lack of actual word for it...) in the middle, and the seats really were bad. the whole section was shifting right and left throughout the whole thing to see around the people's heads in front of us. but, as someone said, it was worth it just to be there. and it really was.
anyone know if there's a chance of them recording it? the cast was seriously phenomenal.
a woman I talked to at the stage door said she thought the show was weird and she didn't like it, but I disagree completely. I absolutely loved it...although I can definitely see why it failed in the 60s and why some people don't like it now.
people need to look beyond the surface of a musical...
oh, and people who were also there saturday night: how great was Donna's "my town!! my script!!!" ?

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 4/11/10 at 4:43pm

I sat in the very last row of the gallery last night off to the right side and for me the view wasn't horrendous...there was that weird bar in the way but other than that I didn't really miss anything.

That said, I LOVED the show. The book is...strange and really doesn't make any sense but the score is fantastic and Donna Murphy is an absolute goddess, she totally walked away with the show. Raul Esparza was great as well, very funny and quirky and I just love his voice. Sutton Foster surprised me...I'm usually pretty ambivalent about her but she sounded lovely and her comic timing is flawless. I also loved the Cookie Ballet and thought the whole thing was really well-staged.

I really can't say enough about how fantastic Donna Murphy was, everything she did was perfection.