BRIGHT STAR Previews- Page 6

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 1:40am

Where are the rush seats located?

[SLSigafoos]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 5:46am

bwayphreak234 said: "Where are the rush seats located?

 

When I was there Saturday, rush seats were front row. I have no idea if that was just for previews, though. I saw people walk up and buy them, even, just before curtain.

[Eliva1]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 5:56am

Didn't Dianne get panned and laughed at for directing the horrific career destroying FN. I think she cannot direct new works

Updated On: 2/29/16 at 05:56 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 7:10am

Career destroying??? Oh, please.  It's a financial success...or seems like it will be. Those Tony awards on her shelf go a long way. 

 

 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 9:12am

Diane Paulus only has ONE Tony Award...

[SLSigafoos]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 10:35am

FYI, in case anyone was wondering if Bright Star is getting a cast recording, Paul Alexander Nolan answered someone on twitter and said looks like the cast album will come out in late March. 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 10:40am

Handy link: 

https://twitter.com/_PaulNolan/status/704079938127843330

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 10:41am

I personally prioritize seeing new shows over revivals, because I want to "be in the room when it happened"-- there is nothing more exciting to me than to see a new production taking life with its original cast. 

 

I loved She Loves Me, but it has had great revivals before and will have great revivals in the future. I would pick Bright Star and Waitress if I had to chose two of the three.

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 2/29/16 at 11:38am

The cast is on Fallon tonight! Wonder what they're going to perform.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 10:10am

They performed "Sun is Gonna Shine" and I loved it!

 

Carmen Cusack looks fabulous. I hope she's able to nab a Tony nomination in the crowded field.

Updated On: 3/1/16 at 10:10 AM

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 8:37pm

I REALLY wanted to follow this one, perhaps even see it, but I don't like bluegrass AT ALL. Still, I hope it does well because Steve Martin is a great talent and Ms. Cusack (if she is this good) deserves a big break. Hamilton has made this such a rough year for new musicals...

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 9:10pm

I think Carmen deserves a tony just for her career.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 9:14pm

Saw the show last night and loved it. Once I got into the rhythm of the music, I was hooked. A production full of love and life and warmth, was charmed. Music was lush in its own way, lyrics compelling. Strangely enough the only song I didn't like was Carmen's big 11 o'clock number, it felt a little me me me even though the reveal leading up to it was a big moment for everyone else, who disappeared so she could sing. Beautifully staged and fabulously cast, it moved quick and easy on the eyes and the ears. 

[mc1227]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 9:39pm

I'm so looking forward to seeing this is a couple of weeks.  Very encouraged by most of the feedback from early previews. 

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 9:43pm

My rush seat was 6th row orchestra all the way on the side.

It was a great seat.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 10:17pm

I hope the Jimmy Fallon appearance helped them see an uptick in sales.

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 11:33pm

Call_me_jorge said: "I think Carmen deserves a tony just for her career.

 

"

I was totally charmed by her in the tour of South Pacific when it came to SF a decade ago. Glad to hear the glowing reports.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 11:40pm

I think i just saw a Tony-winning performance. Cusack is a revelation. I was with her from beginning to end. She is just such a joy to watch, and her voice is flawless. I was just graveling at her feet for 2 1/2 hours. Wow. Just beautiful. 

Nolan gave a awesome performance as well, and their voices mixed beautifully. 

Shively, and the rest of the cast, were all just wonderful. Excellently cast. 

Bobbie did such a beautiful job directing. THIS is how you do minimal and THIS is how you have your cast moving the set around. Take note Sher. THIS is how it's done. It happens so quickly and fluidly that at times I didn't even realize it happened. 

The music is beautiful and catchy and interesting and everyone's voice is suited for that style. My only quibble is Cusack's 11 O'clock number is not what it should be. It's the most lacking of all the tunes. Between Cusack and the bookstore girl, I just loved all the voices. And her "When you get back from Ashville" was just gorgeous. I didn't love how Act 1 ended though. It's odd to end the act without any of the major players, and with a reprise of a song from a minor character. I understand it storywise, but eh. I think that could be cleaner. 

As for the story. Sure, I guessed the twist early on, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of HOW it was all played out. And watching Alice's journey to finding that information. It's like Titanic. Sure, we know what's going to happen, but how it happens is what is riveting. And, most of the audience gasped at the twist, so I don't think everyone was thinking ahead. 

My only major quibble was the set. I loved the actual design, I just wish it looked more like the actual Court backstage. It felt very much like a "set." The brick should have been distressed, and should have gone all the way to the ceiling, instead, it stops and so we know it's just a set and not actually part of the theater. That seems like a half assed design. Same with the big barn/house set piece. The wood needs to be distressed. It seems a little too "Broadway does poor Appalachian chic." 

For those interested, I rushed around 12:00 and got second row center. Perfect seat. Although I do want to go back so I can see more of the stage pictures as there are some gorgeous haunting moments. 

Oh! And the choreography is awesome and inventive. 

I kind of wish Hamilton would take itself out of the running for the Tonys cause it makes the whole awards season so ho-hum. I mean, I think the music here is really great and on-par with a lot of Tony winning scores. And sure, It'll be nominated, but it won't win, obviously. Same for directing/choreographing. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 11:43pm

RippedMan said: "I kind of wish Hamilton would take itself out of the running for the Tonys"

 

I thoroughly enjoyed your review (and I'm glad you enjoyed the show!) until this part. Like...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 11:48pm

well, full disclosure, I haven't seen, read, heard, or anything in regards to Hamilton. But, we know it's going to win everything, which makes the awards season so boring. That's all. No discredit to it. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 12:29am

And to me the lyrics felt very much in character with the time and place. 

Sure Alice is smart, but, she's the editor at a very-small regional magazine. In Ashville, NC. in the 40s. So, it makes sense. 

My real problem was when he was like "Come to my hometown" and she's like "okay" - it felt very forced. 

[hamiltonboys]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 1:25am

I just watched the Jimmy Fallon performance and WOW. That was stunning. I really hope this show finds an audience, because Bluegrass music is rare on Broadway.

Quick question: I fold this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWUsNKIB014 and was wondering if the set design is the same, with the brick wall in the shape of mountains, or if the Broadway set is just a brick wall.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 1:33am

Looks like the same. Back is a brick wall, but the mountains are flown in from time to time.

 

[SLSigafoos]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 4:39am

It's interesting to me that two people have now said that Cusack's big number in Act 2 didn't do much for them. That was finally the part of the show that really tugged at my emotions. Alice certainly breaks your heart in the scene where 

 

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.her baby is taken away from her and physically ripped from her hands...

....but I felt like the big 11 o'clock number was a culmination of every emotion Alice had been feeling for 23 long years.

On a note about set design, sitting in row 2, I had to crane my neck to see any of the train over the stage. Thus, it didn't work for me as part of the set design. 

Updated On: 3/2/16 at 04:39 AM

[little_sally]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 9:33am

RippedMan, I also thought the whole "hey, wanna come visit my hometown" thing was very forced. There's got to be a better way to get from point A to point B.