Bare LA/Bare Sampler/Bare Closing Questions — Page 2

"No, it's only Michael Arden. What tracks are you hearing this "other" Peter?"

ha sorry, forgive me. i must have been dazed when i posted this/listened to the sampler. it was around 1 or 2 AM. just listened to the whole thing again, and you're right, it's all michael. i guess he was just maturer in some songs during the actual run.

Are the changes that you mentioned things that would have changed for the Dogers re-opening or have they been done since?

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I was a little taken back by the original posters comment about the cast not being that great. I really think the cast was perfect for the show.

I think the poster was referring to the LA cast, which really does pale in comparison to the NYC cast. The NYC cast was one of the most talented ensembles I've ever enjoyed seeing in one show.

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Yes Footlooser, it sounds like the changes are the ones they were planning for the re-opening. Sevral cast members had heard a new Opening number, so it sounds correct.

My friend said it best about BARE:

"Misery does not equal conflict."

The show was a big hormonal mess. One solid message wasn't being sent. It was trying to cover too many stereotypically done issues at once. "Boo hoo! I'm pregnant and Catholic! I'm gay and Catholic!" I went to a private Catholic elementary, middle, and High School (two of which were ironically called St. Cecelia's)in the suburbs of southern Florida and I can tell you right now, that's not how the story goes.

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I think the strong point of this show was always its heartbreaking melodies and harmonies, combined with Michael Arden's powerful performance. Michael's a ham but in BARE, his over-the-top characterization of Peter worked perfectly. Peter was dramatic - hey, he was in the closet. Peter's lovably doom-and-gloom personality kept the show slightly more afloat than it might have been.

I couldn't understand any of the loud rock numbers, such as the one where Adam Fleming's character described the drugs. And theatreboi, that cast member you referred to as being hard to understand? She was actually let go from the production prior to the (eventually shot down) Dodger Stages return of BARE - due to the exact problems you had with her.

Some songs I remember as being lush, evocative and gloriously orchestrated: "Confession," in which Matt and Peter harmonize; the absolutely gorgeous title song, in which Peter and Jason converge emotionally for the first time, and the stunning finale, "No Voice." Theatreboi, I love that the last note left you feeling unsettled - that's precisely the point!

I agree that, regarding the material, the authors could have risked a few more atypical characterizations that might have set the show apart from more cliche'd tragedies and teen dramas. Peter strikes me quite like Elphaba - as Ben Brantley described her, "Elphaba is a bizarrely colorless role, all furrowed-brow sincerity and expansive power ballads."

Still, the show stays alive in me in its astonishingly moving tunes, which I always come back to.

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i love the song "once upon a time" :)

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The show was a big hormonal mess. One solid message wasn't being sent. It was trying to cover too many stereotypically done issues at once. "Boo hoo! I'm pregnant and Catholic! I'm gay and Catholic!" I went to a private Catholic elementary, middle, and High School (two of which were ironically called St. Cecelia's)in the suburbs of southern Florida and I can tell you right now, that's not how the story goes.

Well, I attended Catholic school for 13 years, and I recognized A LOT of the situations in BARE - drugs, pregnancy, homosexuality...

The thing is, I think it's hard to come up with new teenage plots because all the really shocking stuff has been covered. So now it's up to people to make the same stuff interesting.

That all being said, I love BARE =)

The thing is, I think it's hard to come up with new teenage plots because all the really shocking stuff has been covered. So now it's up to people to make the same stuff interesting.

As long as you remain honest to your audience, I don't think it's hard to come up with fresh material. I loved BARE, but the biggest problem I had with it was it was just so goddamn predictable. Both occasions on which I saw it, all the audience members around me could guess, at intermission, how the show was going to end. The story is both too contrived and too similar to what has been told a thousand times; for example, doesn't BARE remind you of the movie GET REAL?

I think it would have been more interesting (and daring) had BARE not mirrored ROMEO & JULIET so much, and actually ended with Jason being alive and the four lead characters (Peter, Jason, Ivy, Matt) actually having to deal with their problems and find a solution.

Having said that, it's still a highly enjoyable night of theatre.

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Yeah,

Jason's death has always been an issue with me. Sometimes I find it contrived and very rushed and just an easy way to end the show and pull emotions out of the audience. Other times I think it is a good symbol for how two different people deal with their problems and where it leads them. Peter allows himself to deal with his issues and begins to tell people, most importantly his mother, no matter how tough it is. Jason wants to just ignore his problem and hope it goes away, at least until he does. But penting up your problems can cause the kettle to boil over and explode eventually...so I do see some validity in it.

I think the thing that, for me at least, prevents BARE from becoming an after school special is that it doesn't provide solutions, but raises a lot of questions. Nadia doesn't necessarily learn to love her body, Ivy doesn't find any closure with Jason or her pregnancy. I also love that two side of the church are shown...as represented by The Preist and Sister Chantelle, and that they dont just write off the church as evil.

Gah...I love this peice, and although it definitely has it's faults I would LOVE to tackle it. I hope this deal works out (we have a very important meeting about it this week, so my fingers are crossed). One issue I am dealing with now that I would love to hear your guys's take on is I have come across a brilliant young actress who would knock the socks off of Nadia's part, but the only problem is...she isn't fat at all. She is not even pudgy. I don't know how convincing a fat suit would be in a low budget show...do you think a more frumpy, punky Nadia would work, even if she wasn't fat? Her body image stuff could be all in her head?

Akiva

Good luck with our meeting, Akiva! If the deal becomes a reality, you'll know I'll be front row centre to see it!

I think we've had a discussion of Nadia's weight before....I think it would be a very interesting take to have her played by a thin actress. Since "Plain Jane Fat Ass" is no longer a part of the score, then there really aren't that many acute references to Nadia's weight anymore; most people probably won't notice the references, and will just understand that she's different.

Hey, you could just make her really tall, to bring home the "big girl, big...girl" line!

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The only thing that really concerns me is that there is new dialogue added after the auditions that goes:

NADIA: Why can't the fat girl play Juliet?
JASON: Stuctural concerns about the balconey?

Jason's response and the fact that he isn't telling her that she isn't fat kind of implies that she has to be. I suppose that the dialogue can be spoken in a way that he is almost mocking her false image of her own body, but we shall see.

Akiva