BARE cast- Page 5

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 2:19pm

YAY, 100 posts! This is now a true thread to be reckoned with.

I love the show, obviously, but if I were to nitpick it, I found another thing that bugged me:

I don't necessarily blame Jason for what happens, but I do think they need to buff up his characterization. I found it really difficult sympathizing for him until that scene he has with the Priest, but by that time it's too late. Jason's whole character seems to be constructed by other people: Peter's descriptions of him in 'Role of a Lifetime', Ivy's songs, etc. This may be on purpose - Jason's identity is a product of what others think of him, his "persona" - but it doesn't quite work dramatically.

I guess what I'm saying is, although I understand why Jason refuses to come out, I felt they could taken some time to make his case stronger, as he seemed quite a jerk about it. For example, why would he care so much about what his parents think about his "sexual identity crisis" if his parents are so incompetent and he hates them so much?

Also: Although I believe Peter and Jason's love was very well established, I still think they need a good, positive love song (not a "problematic" one like the stunning 'Best Kept Secret'). 'You & I' is great, but something more ballad-y as well - they ARE the show's lovers, after all. If Ivy can have three of her own solos, then Peter and Jason can have another love ballad!

Updated On: 6/19/04 at 02:19 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:13pm

I AGREE! And I included those same commenst in my email to the creative team. I think that Peter and Jason need a few more intimate moments.. especially ones in the dorm room.. that IS thier sanctuary after all. Nadia's room is well established as her safe haven, but you don't get that for Peter and Jason...

I also commented on including SOMETHING in the first act to really show us Jason's torment and the confusion and pressure he feels around him rather than waiting until the second act.. after the fact. I think a scene where the priest says something to the students against homosexuality in the presence of jason would work.. and then including the Priest in "One" as sort of a "devil on jason's shoulder", with his words running through Jason's head.......

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:24pm

i havent seen the show, and when reading the synopsis i was looking for a happy moment between peter and jason (ie. a love song/ballad) "you and i" is hilarious on the cd sampler, but i thought they'd have a happier song somewhere in there. this is just from reading the synopsis and listening to the sampler so a very far stretched IMO Updated On: 6/19/04 at 04:24 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:27pm

"Best Kept Secret" is sort of a love balled.. as is "bare" I guess...... I mean both songs have tender moments between the two.... LOL. But yeah, they need a pure "i love you and I want to be with you" song...

and we see breeder sex.. where are the homos?? Shhot.. BOTH times I saw teh show, the "gay" stuff was getting better reactions than the "straight" stuff.. ie "massachusetts", "it ain't a rainbow without the pink", "there's a black woman inside the soul of every gay man".....

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:38pm

hahaha! yeah maybe that's a new "change" to the show for september, broadwayguy2 may get a wish
the sex is between ivy and jason i assume?

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:39pm

yeah double post i know lol...
but do jason and peter have any tender moments that are not interupted by conflict?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:43pm

LOL. It isn't that I want to see them get it on.. which I do.. but that connection was never esrablished for them..

Not really..

You and I -- they keep getting interupted by student
Best Kept secret -- KINDA... not directly, but Matt sees them kiss...
Bare -- Jason is drugged up and it's during Romeo and Juliet....

They need "Peter/Jason" time.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 4:56pm

i agree, i think one on one time would help fully establish the feelings, because from the synopsis and correct me if i'm wrong, jason always is reassuring peter that he loves him blah blah and i think that they need a moment of being fully open then just reassuring

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 6:35pm

All great comments!

One reason they might have resisted having a love song between the two is because the show climaxes with the song 'Bare', when Jason tells Peter that he has always loved him (right before he croaks ). This might not be the first time he ever said it to Peter (considering the extent of their relationship), but it is the first time it's ever heard ONSTAGE, which in itself possesses great power. The creators probably wanted to build up to Jason finally "baring" his feelings to Peter, rather than have a love declaration in the first act that is simply reiterated in the second.

I still believe the show desperately needs a real love song between the two, though. I always felt the show kinda forgot about the fact that Peter and Jason are roommates, which is probably very advantageous to their relationship. The show really should have explored that a bit - after all, what's the point of making them roommates if you don't do anything with it? And it'd be a nice way of showing how the relationship functions without all that conflict threatening it. One of my favourite scenes is when Peter is borrowing Jason's shirt, and they share a kiss (a HOT kiss, BTW - I was sitting right in front of them, feelin' the heat!). Maybe they could include a love song there, about how they enjoy each other's company at night. Again, I don't know how they'd be able to put in a love song and still keep that dramatic revelation in the second act, but I'm sure the creative team can find a way.

And I would also love to see Michael Arden and John....I mean Peter and Jason, gettin' it on! I don't know how they could possibly work that in, though, without it seeming gratuitous. But hell, I love gratuitous!

Updated On: 6/19/04 at 06:35 PM

[Phantom2]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 6:37pm

Dream on...

Updated On: 6/19/04 at 06:37 PM

[Trina]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 9:50pm

Seems several of us got a chance to email similar thoughts before TPTB took down that suggestion link. I love the show, flaws and all and want it to be the best it can be. The one thing that is lacking is true happiness between Peter/Jason. It's so odd because I buy their love story so fully, even without it, but I think there would be double the emotional investment in their relationship with an Act 1 love song. There's never just a moment that's their own. Even Ivy/Jason get three of those moments and they're not the relationship you root for.

My other suggestion to them was to incorporate See Me/Warning into the story a bit more. 911 Emergency intimates that Peter telling his mother is an urgent thing. I was really left with the feeling it would be a major story point. As much as I find See Me/Warning to be a thing of a beauty, it doesn't really affect the rest of the story, nothing comes of it until the last three seconds of the show at which point it seems sort of tacked on. It just gets lost.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/19/04 at 10:23pm

agreed about the emotional investment, they need to have a moment where they don't have to worry about the hiding and just express a clear emotional investment. cant comment on the see me/warning thing cause i havent seen the show, all info is from a synopsis and the cd sampler, a very distant IMO lol

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/20/04 at 2:03pm

Most of the criticism directed at Bare is the show's predictable plot. I personally didn't have a problem with it, but I wonder how willing the creative team is about reworking entire parts of the show, and how drastic the changes will be.

LOL, maybe they'll pull an "Ang Lee's Wedding Banquet" ending: have Peter, Jason and Ivy all raise the child up together. Or instead, maybe Ivy lied about the child all this time, to get Jason to marry her! Or maybe the entire thing was all dreamed up by Peter!

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/20/04 at 2:18pm

hey bluewizard, check your pm's!!!
as for the probable predictable plot, i would have never guessed from reading the synopsis, maybe the show has subtle areas that lead you too obviously towards the ending. let me know if any1 noticed any.

[Trina]

Posted: 6/20/04 at 4:02pm

"Or instead, maybe Ivy lied about the child all this time, to get Jason to marry her!"

Funny! Though I do have to say, part of me kept wondering if we were supposed to take anything from the night at the rave and Ivy not remembering what happened and Matt's unrequited feelings. I kept wondering if something happened between them that we were supposed to wonder about. But then nothing came of it.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/20/04 at 6:33pm

That's true! But didn't Ivy have a drug overdose at the rave (and fell into a seizure)? I think I remember seeing it through my peripheral vision (I was focusing on Peter and Jason dancing ).

Updated On: 6/20/04 at 06:33 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/21/04 at 12:49pm

LOL> Me too BlueWizard. Yes she did, and Matt caries her off.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/22/04 at 2:13pm

Then why is she is cold to Matt? He saved her life. If it's because, "Oh, he reminds me of my own foolishness and saw me as I really am, therefore he must be ignored," then I have even less sympathy for Ivy.

[magruder]

Posted: 6/22/04 at 2:22pm

She's cold to Matt because she's focused on attaining the unattainable, Jason. The point is that we often love the wrong people, and ignore the person who may be best for us.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/22/04 at 2:49pm

Exactly. As it is pointed out to her by Nadia, Ivy has a " Me me me" attitude. She only seems to care about getting what SHE wants.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/22/04 at 11:22pm

Someone requested a complete synopsis of BARE, so I wrote one. It's really detailed and all song titles are in CAPITALS. I hope you enjoy it!


SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
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BARE

Setting: St. Cecilia’s, a Catholic co-ed boarding school; the present.

ACT I
Peter is a sensitive gay senior who is closeted and trying to reconcile his faith with his sexuality. During mass, he is outed and condemned by his friends and the Church, but wakes up and realizes it was all a dream (EPIPHANY). Later in the school hallways, he bumps into Jason, his roommate and secret boyfriend. Jason is the most popular guy in school but is also closeted, and the two lovers find it hard hiding their relationship within the public space of the school (YOU & I). Peter convinces Jason to try out for the school play, Romeo & Juliet. After Jason leaves, Peter sings about his inner turmoil, having to keep their love secret and wondering about their future together (ROLE OF A LIFETIME).

At the AUDITIONS for the play, directed by the dynamic Sister Chantelle, Jason wins the role of Romeo. Peter gets the role of Mercutio, their friend Matt is Tibalt, and Ivy, the most popular girl in school, gets the role of Juliet. After receiving a package from their father, Nadia – Jason’s chubby sister and Ivy’s roommate – laughs with her brother over their distant parents’ lack of parenting (LOVE, DAD).

Later that night, the group of friends – Jason, Peter, Ivy, Matt and their classmate and drug dealer, Lucas – decide to go to WONDERLAND, a rave. Lucas supplies them with a powerful new drug that could be lethal if taken in large doses. Uninterested in the rave, Nadia decides to stay home (A QUIET NIGHT AT HOME).

At the rave, Peter and Jason dance together. Peter tries to kiss him, but Jason backs away, and the two run out and quarrel over their relationship. Peter wants to come out and tell the world about them, but Jason wants to keep their love secret (BEST KEPT SECRET). Peter tells Jason he loves him. The two kiss, not knowing that Matt sees them. Meanwhile, Ivy suffers an overdose in the club and is taken away.

The next day, the students of St. Cecilia’s begrudgingly go to CONFESSION, calling it a “poor man’s therapy session.” Peter and Matt go into their confession booths and they each ask the Priest what they should do. Ivy, having returned shaken but not harmed by her drug incident, receives sketches of her Juliet costume and reminisces about her image (PORTRAIT OF A GIRL). Matt, in love with Ivy, watches her from afar.

On her birthday, Ivy is brought drunk to her surprise birthday party and everyone serenades her with a crass tribute (BIRTHDAY, BITCH!). Peter accidentally eats some pot brownies and leaves the party after Jason intentionally ignores him. In a drunken stupor, Ivy turns away a lovelorn Matt and tries to seduce Jason (ONE KISS). Having left the party, Peter and Matt express their frustration over the insensitivity of their beloveds (ARE YOU THERE?). Drunk and high, Peter tells Matt his secret and Matt leaves. Peter then has a vision of the Virgin Mary who, looking remarkably like a Motown-singing Sister Chapelle, urges Peter to call his mother and tell her he’s gay (911! EMERGENCY).

Peter tells Jason that they should come out to their parents, but Jason refuses because his future is on the line (REPUTATION STAIN’D). As their argument builds, Jason pushes Peter down. Peter, hurt and in disbelief, wonders if this is the boy he thought he’d “always follow,” and how they ever lost their future together (EVER AFTER). He leaves, but Jason tells him not to tell anyone about them. As SPRING approaches, the students get ready to go home for the break. After Peter leaves, Ivy visits Jason and tells him about her feelings for him. Confused between what he wants in life, he gives in to her sexual advances as a last attempt to be “fit in” (ONE).


ACT II
In another dream, an ecstatic Peter and Jason are getting married…in Massachusetts, with go-go boys dancing and Sister Chappelle presiding (WEDDING BELLS). Unfortunately, the wedding is interrupted by another bride, Ivy, and Peter is barred from the ceremony. He wakes up from the nightmare scared and alone. Spring break is now over, and IN THE HALLWAY of St. Cecilia’s, Peter runs into Jason. The two try to talk but are interrupted by Ivy. After Peter leaves, Ivy confesses to Jason her love (TOUCH MY SOUL), but Jason rejects her, saying their night together was a mistake, and that he’s not interested.

Peter, no longer able to live in the closet, calls home and desperately tries to come out to his mother, who is unwilling to listen (SEE ME). After the phonecall, she wonders when she ever went wrong, and if she ever knew her son at all (WARNING). At the play rehearsals, Ivy is missing. They try to continue with her inept understudy, but instead Peter steps forward and eloquently acts as Juliet to Jason’s Romeo, and the two have noticeable chemistry together (PILGRIM’S HANDS). After rehearsals, Sister Chantelle makes Peter stay behind. Saying that “it ain’t a rainbow without the pink” and that “there’s a black woman inside the soul of every gay man,” she also tells him that GOD DON’T MAKE NO TRASH – which is exactly what Peter needs to hear.

Ivy discovers she is pregnant (ALL GROWN UP) and tries to find Jason. She meets him before the next rehearsals, and he is taken aback by the news. Matt walks in, and as the cast members arrive – Peter, Nadia, and the other students – Matt angrily reveals all. Sickened and appalled, Peter storms out. Ivy slaps Matt and also leaves. Left alone, afraid and aware of the mess he has caused, Jason goes to confession to seek help; however, while Jason grows in desperation, the Priest just tells him to suppress his feelings and focus on other things (CROSS).

On the night of the performance, the cast does final preparations (TWO HOUSEHOLDS). Jason arrives and asks Peter if they could run away together and forget everything, but Peter tells him that he’s tired of hiding. The performance begins, and Jason takes a fatal dose of the drug that Lucas gave him. As the night progresses, Peter notices that Jason is getting more and more disoriented (QUEEN MAB), and takes him backstage. There, Jason finally confesses to Peter that he is sorry, and that he has always loved him (BARE). As they are hurried back out into the spotlight, Jason stumbles and falls onstage. He is carried away and dies.

Peter, in mourning (A GLOOMING PEACE), goes to the confession booth to speak with the Priest. Peter tells him that Jason had looked to the Priest and the Church for guidance in a time of need, but that they failed him. Peter tells the Priest that he and Jason were in love, and that when Jason loved him, he never felt so close to God (ABSOLUTION). “I’m sorry, Peter,” says the Priest, to which Peter replies, “And I forgive you, Father.”

At graduation, each of character – Nadia, Ivy, Matt – tries to cope with their loss. Peter, reconciled with his mother, finally says good-bye to Jason. As he and the others graduate from St. Cecilia’s, Peter tosses up his hat in one final release (NO VOICE).

- Synopsis written by BlueWizard ([e-mail]). Distribute ONLY with permission.

Updated On: 9/2/04 at 11:22 PM

[PrivateUniverse]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 2:56pm

Not sure but I think you and I should camp out aspiringguy715!

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 3:50pm

hahaha i'd definitly camp out for this one, the sampler is the new resident of my cd player
i cant wait for it!!!!

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 2:20pm

The cast of BARE will be marching alongside VW Beetles in the Pride Parade. Someone bring a camera!

[midtowngym]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 2:56pm

The plot is in fact derivitive. You will think 'where have i seen this before?', and then you will remember-oh yeah, in about 20 other shows, films and afterschool tv specials.
Having said that,the cast is amazing, the music is melodic and (even if you have a teensy weensy heart, which i'm sure you don't!), you will cry buckets. I cry listening to the CD--walking down the street, on the train, shopping-cry! cry! cry!