Assassins

[Ruffian]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 10:43am

Saw it this weekend....was expecting zero interest as friends saw it & REALLLLY loathed it...however, I thought Cerveris was outstanding as well as O'Hare

Was the role of "Zangara" the role Esparza was slated for awhile back? That part was not impressive at all....I would see him in the role of "Guiteau"

I think I liked the performers much much more than their actual material.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 10:18pm

yes, Raul was to be Zangara.

d.b.j

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 10:44pm

I saw it this weekend as well and was thoroughly impressed. I am not a Sondheim fan AT ALL but I really enjoyed the staging of this production. I can't recall one single tune from the show which is usually a sign that I'll hate it walking out, but I enjoyed the history and the incredible performance by an amazing cast....even Doogie :)

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 10:54pm

wow. no offense, but how can you not be a fan os Sondheim's AT ALL?

im confused as to how that's humanly possible...

d.b.j

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 1:28am

To Broadwaylilhead "that's just not a huma-mummum-a-mum-mumamum-mumable tune"

It says a lot about her taste in theater. You can tell a lot about a person. If they don't like Sondheim than they obviously don't care for truly dramatic work. All they want is a cheep thrill and a song they can go out humming. How anyone can leave Assasins and not have the songs embedded into their brain is beyond me. Another National Anthem was stuck in my head for days after I first saw a production of Assassins.

Sorry- this is going to seem so wrong but- if you don't like Sondheim than you don't know what a musical is. You couldn't possibly understand the pinacle of musical theater. I'm guessing that you are between 14 or 16 years old Broadwaylilhead. Believe me if you truly love musical theater than one of these days you will come to the realization that nothing even compares to the genius that is Sondheim.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 6:47am

well said, BofB!!! Sondheim is to what other writers should aspire...

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 7:01pm

BEST OF BROADWAY IS RIGHT.


d.b.j

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 7:05pm

oh, and i am 14 years old.

and I LOVE SONDHEIM.


hooray for not being a teenybopper!

d.b.j

[DAME]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 9:50pm

Sondheim is not for everyone. Period. That doesn't make him any less of a genius. I personally couldn't stand Passion. But loved Sweeney Todd and Sunday In The Park. And I only loved Sunday after my second viewing and learned to appreciate it more the older I got.

[johny0828]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 12:03am

i saw it last week. i enjoyed the show and thought the cast made the entire show. i really liked the two women they added some much need comic relief.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 12:58am

Sondheim writes in such different styles in each musical it's perfectly understandable if you don't like some of them. Try comparing something like A Little Night Music to Pacific Overtures- they're completely different. But if you can't at least appreciate the man's lyrics you probably aren't listening hard enough.

[etoile]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 1:10am

Because one genuflects at the alter of Sondheim does that mean all should? Or should one view each show in its own right. Not all of his shows appeal to all people. Granted there is genius in his works, but what's so wrong with wanting to leave a show humming a song sometime?

To believe that one is lesser a musical theater fan because they don't enjoy all of Sondheim or appreciate all his works is as narrow minded a point of view as those that discount all of Wildhorn as loathsome and see ALW as the devil incarnate.

And yes, age can make a difference. Sometimes one needs to have lived life a little to fully savor his works.

[innocentchoirboy]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 11:45am

i disagree, many of sondheim's tunes are totally hummable. in fact, i found myself frequently humming songs from into the woods....during Bounce, because the songs were pretty much exactly the same. but sondheim is a musical genious, and any scrutany of his lyrics will show how amazingly he connects the show and the music from the begining to the end. Into the Woods is a marvelous example of how he can take completely isolated stories and tunes and lyrics and play them off of each other to potray a completely different, yet still relevent message. god he's good.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 12:29pm

I don't think you need to love Sondheim to be a 'good' musical theater fan, or even to like all his shows. Like anyone else, he has his ups and downs as a writer. But I can't conceive of how someone can't at least appreciate him and all he's done for the art form.

Nowadays, some people don't like R&H because they're too "corny." But does anyone deny that they are giants of musical theater? Of course not (I hope). Sondheim is on the same level.

[Ruffian]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 1:38pm

Plum, you said it all

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 1:40pm

It's a matter of personal taste and opinion. There is no Musical Theatre Rulebook that states "Thou shalt love Sondheim". If you don't like Sondheim, it's no big deal. I was once reviled for wearing a Beautiful Game cap in a shop by one of the employees. He told me it was impossible to like both Sondheim and Lloyd Webber and that I was a bitch. It's just musical theatre snobbery. While Sondheim's shows are usually critically acclaimed, many of them were financial failures and suffered very short runs, so you're not the only one who doesn't like him. I like most of his shows, but not all of them and I don't have to like them all. I am equally baffled by those who think Aida is the best musical on Broadway.

And it is possible not to like Sondheim material and know what a musical is. Sheesh!