Bare: A Pop Opera- Page 3

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/31/08 at 10:28pm

A friend of mine has the CD. I'm gonna ask him to burn it for me. I don't have my own credit card, my Dad won't buy it from the website, and after all the bull that everyone went through with the first pressing, I don't blame him.

[Kdog722]

Posted: 2/1/08 at 12:30am

to anyone in the NY area - bare is being done at the Bellmore Theatre on long island this march:
http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/140643


Updated On: 2/1/08 at 12:30 AM

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 2/1/08 at 3:06pm

I saw the Chicago premiere. It was a touching show with few weak links in terms of performances though I thought the girl who played Ivy had a weak voice and her acting could have been stronger. I really enjoyed it and hope it continues to have a good regional life.

Updated On: 2/1/08 at 03:06 PM

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 2/1/08 at 3:30pm

I saw the chicago show and loved it! I thought Ivy was good, if anything i think the weakest link in the cast was nadia. There was something about how she played it I just did like. I thought that the Ivy did a fine job. And seriously how good was the peter!

[boxboynyc]

Posted: 2/1/08 at 4:36pm

I saw the Chicago production as well. I have to say I thought the guy who played Matt was out of this world. Ivy was OK but definately lacked the sex appeal she was supposed to have.

[DaneSaw]

Posted: 2/1/08 at 6:14pm

I wish this production was popping up more around the country. The closest it's coming to me is at UDel in March, can't wait!

I also heard about the recent Chicago production's Ivy being lackluster. I think it's very tough to cast a role like Ivy. I think she not only has to be able to play sexy/slutty, but she also has to have a LOOK to her.

[crzyray]

Posted: 2/2/08 at 11:59am

there's more to ivy then just the sex appeal... i didn't really like the ivy in chicago I didn't feel any emotion in touch my soul which is a very amazing song. This girl is putting her emotions out there knowing that she may well be rejected, it's a difficult thing and i dunno i just wasn't feeling it from her. I loved peter though he did some really weird things with eyes, but besides that he was amazing. sister chantelle was def. the best in the cast in chicago she was better then stephanie and Romelda .. and i disagree with who didn't like nadia, i loved her!!

[NY_Broadway2]

Posted: 2/2/08 at 1:55pm

Here is the link for the Texas premiere of bare. http://www.uptownplayers.org/nowplaying.htm

I think the cast looks amazing and I can't wait to see the show! I know the girl who is playing Ivy and I think she has exactly what Ivy needs to be performed properly. I will post a review when I go see it.

[Jess1483]

Posted: 2/2/08 at 3:22pm

I saw closing night in Chicago. I actually like the girl playing Ivy, except that I think that was the problem. Not that I think you're ultimately supposed to hate her, but I think this production missed the aspect of Ivy that makes Nadia so appealing--otherwise she came off as way too jealous in a way that's not legitimate (no idea if that made sense.) She seemed almost innocent. I knew when I got the recorded version I didn't like the lyric (and tempo!) changes, but I think some of the changes really hurt the momentum of the show. I also had some troubles with the Chicago productions of the "kids" acting over-the-top.

I did enjoy the production though--just biased toward the NY version.

[crzyray]

Posted: 2/3/08 at 2:48pm

wow that ivy is hott!! haha omg i can't even get over it, I really want to go to texas now just to see if she can act and sing it. Ivy's my favorite character and this girl definitely has the look ivy needs... and jason looks really good too, the cast definitely has the looks hopefully they are good at it.

[snl89]

Posted: 2/3/08 at 2:54pm

so I just came across this survey on a Bare livejournal group, and I like it, so.. yeah. I wanted to fill it out for fun :P :
(I apologize in advance for the major rambling)

Part One: General Stuff
1. How did you first get into Bare?
-It was actually just a couple weeks ago. I stumbled upon the "Monday With Michael Arden" video on youtube (hehe), and thought to myself "hey, Michael Arden is rather adorable. I think I should continue youtubing him a bit". Sooo, basically I ended up finding.. certain Bare videos on youtube (the first of which, I believe, was "Are You There"), and I instantly loved the music and wanted to find out more. So I found the website for the recording that had the whole synopsis, and yeah, I've been obsessed ever since!
2. Which incarnation of Bare were you first introduced to? (LA, NYC casts)
-NYC cast :)
3. What exactly attracted you to Bare--the storyline, the fantabulous score, the idea of Michael Arden and John Hill making out, or something entirely different?
-um, all of the above? :P No, originally it was the music really, but then once I read the synopsis it was very much the storyline too. I just think it's such an incredibly important topic to adress, and the WAY that it adresses the whole "homosexuality in regards to religion" issue is so well done. I mean, "Absolution" is honestly the best argument I think I've ever heard for the claim that being gay goes against the Catholic religion. So yeah, it was the storyline, the writing, AND the music, all combined that did it for me. But Michael Arden and John Hill making out is certainly a nice little side perk

Part Two: Fandomy
1. Favorite/least favorite character and why?
Favorite: Peter! (and that's regardless of my Arden obsession lol). I just think that... for someone in that situation to be as confident and sure of themselves as Peter is, that's a pretty incredible thing. I would kill to have half the courage Peter as a character has.
Least favorite: the Father. He basically symbolizes the corruptness of the Church, and everything I dislike about organized religion in general
2. Favorite/least favorite pairing (canon or fanon) and why?
Favorite: Peter and Jason, duh
Least favorite: um... maybe Jason and Ivy, just because, well, obvious reasons
3. Favorite/least favorite song and why?
Favorite: hmm.. Are You There. But there's lots of close seconds. I LOVE the music
Least favorite: 911!Emergency. I understand why it's there, but as I've mentioned before, I just don't like the song much. haha (though it might be way better live)
4. Do you read/write Bare fanfiction?
-haha, nah, I'm not into the whole fanfiction thing
5. Do you draw Bare fanart?
-nope, but.. I kind of want to now, actually :P
6. The NYC cast--perfection? Or do you have a different dream cast?
-This is kind of hard. Because yes, essentially, NYC cast= major perfection. I think they ALL had AMAZING chemistry, they all worked and sounded SO good together, and they were all freakishly good actors. I DO sometimes think a younger cast might be good, but at the same time I worry that if it were a younger cast the vocals and acting wouldn't be as strong. Mainly, I'm very very attached to Michael!Peter. Although.. John was friggin amazing as Jason too, but I really like James Snyder's voice, and I'd be really interested in seeing him do it live. If James were to do Jason live, I'd want Lea Michelle to do Ivy. I think she'd be amazing. But then the problem is that Michael, despite the fact that he has a baby face, wouldn't so much fit with such a younger cast. If it were going to be younger, I guess I'd have to say Matt Doyle because he's adorable and I do love his voice :) But yeah, in general, NYC cast was perfection.

Part Three: Miscellaneous
1. What are your other favorite shows, as you are undoubtedly a Broadway nut?
hehe, 'course I am, and: (cliche though the first two may be) RENT, Spring Awakening, pretty much any show written by Jason Robert Brown, Next To Normal(/Feeling Electic), Aida, Wedding Singer (it was my happy drug of choice). Yeah, I'm a fan of more modern Broadway. I enjoy the classics, but I just don't have the same attachment to them as I do to modern shows.
2. Outside of the realm of theater, what are your other fandoms?
Hanson (hush, I have been a fan for ten years, and still going very strong. They're amazing, I swear, and YES they're still around! *g*), Grey's Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, American Idol, and I used to be majorly obsessed with Harry Potter. Still kind of am, but not quite to the same extent.
3. Any last words?
um.. I think that Michael Arden needs to get his butt back on Broadway, pronto, whether it be acting or composing :P



Not that ANYONE other than myself probably cares about any of that hahaha, but hey, it was fun :) If anyone else feels like doing it, feel free! lol

[crzyray]

Posted: 2/3/08 at 3:27pm

Part One: General Stuff
1. How did you first get into Bare?
-It was in like 2004? it was way back when the barees site excited, and the bare a pop opera site was amazing and had the 11 song sampler. I became obsessed with it while it was first opening in nyc and then bought tickets to see it that fall but then it had unfortunately closed. With the help of other barees i got the NYC and LA bootlegged cds and listened to them non-stop, got the dvd that year too. I have been in love ever sense.


2. Which incarnation of Bare were you first introduced to? (LA, NYC casts)

-NYC cast and then the LA cast like 2 weeks after hearing the nyc cast sampler

3. What exactly attracted you to Bare--the storyline, the fantabulous score, the idea of Michael Arden and John Hill making out, or something entirely different?
- haha all of the above!! more so the fantabulous music was what really got me into bare, but then i just fell in love with it completely after that!
Part Two: Fandomy

1. Favorite/least favorite character and why?
Favorite: Ivy. Just because she is so mis-understood, and i just really connect with her. When she puts her whole heart on the line during touch my soul it's just so emotional, i feel so bad for her because she finally has found love and yet she can't have him. I cry so much during all grown up! i just love her... but my dream role is definitely between jason and peter, both roles are so amazing.


Least favorite: The priest, i blame him for jason's suicide so the priest can suck it.

2. Favorite/least favorite pairing (canon or fanon) and why?
Favorite: Peter and Jason

Least favorite: Lucas and Tanya Just because Adam flemming and the guy from chicago who played lucas were so hott and i think they should be dating me


3. Favorite/least favorite song and why?


Favorite: Once upon a time... that song depresses me yet it's so beautiful... I really couldn't choose a favorite so i just picked that one.
Least favorite: I love all of them... really can't choose a least favorite, but if i really had too i'd say... ok yeah couldn't think of one
4. Do you read/write Bare fanfiction?
-No, can't say that i have.
5. Do you draw Bare fanart?
-um... i've drawn set designs and some costumes for it (just in case some place in cleveland does the show) that's about it.
6. The NYC cast--perfection? Or do you have a different dream cast?
- Yes they are perfect... but i'd perfer a younger cast actual 17-21 year olds to do it

Part Three: Miscellaneous
1. What are your other favorite shows, as you are undoubtedly a Broadway nut?
Spring Awakening, Sweet Charity, Xanadu, Wedding singer, so many otheres
2. Outside of the realm of theater, what are your other fandoms?
Harry Potter is pretty much the only man i need in my life.
3. Any last words?
Bare should take over rent's theatre...

[snl89]

Posted: 2/3/08 at 4:14pm

3. Any last words?
Bare should take over rent's theatre...

AGREED. :)

[NY_Broadway2]

Posted: 2/3/08 at 5:12pm

crzyray - I will have to tell Ivy that you gave her some mad props. She definitely will be able to make a great Ivy for the show and she's such a sweet person too. And, btw, she said that they are taking several inches off of that skirt for the actual performances. The show is being done by a very well known Dallas theatre so they are only going to have the best they can get. And Jason is also a very well known actor around here so he will be amazing too! But you should definitely come check it out if you can. It will be worth it!

[East Village]

Posted: 2/3/08 at 5:21pm

>>3. Any last words?
>>Bare should take over rent's theatre...
>>
>>AGREED. :)

SO THERE!

[NY_Broadway2]

Posted: 2/5/08 at 11:33pm

This is mainly for you crzyray since you were talking about it but everyone is more than welcome to take a peek but they added another new picture to the Texas premiere's website. Here is the link http://www.uptownplayers.org/nowplaying.htm Let me know what you think. I like this picture even better than the other one. It captures the essence of bare.

[snl89]

Posted: 2/5/08 at 11:41pm

^That's a REALLY cool picture, actually. I like!


OH and I'd just like to mention that after recent... discoveris (*cough*youtube*cough*), I am now as much a fan of John Hill as I am of Michael Arden. Holy shiiiiiz his "Once Upon a Time" into "Cross". I don't think I've ever even KNOWN of anything so emotiontastic before. It's truly, truly insane. I don't even get how he could have possibly pulled out that kind of emotion 8 times a week- and twice a DAY sometimes.

Really though, there was not a SINGLE weak link in the NYC cast. Had it moved to Broadway, they would have ALL deserved Tonys (though technically I'm not sure that would have been possible, as Michael and John would have had to be in the same catagory probably, but still). All amazing vocals aside, it was some of the most intense, brilliant acting ever.

[DaneSaw]

Posted: 2/7/08 at 1:45pm

I may have said this earlier, but bare is one show that, no matter what, always makes me cry at the drop of a hat. There's just no way I can get through the whole thing without shedding a tear, which I think says a lot about the power of the musical.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 2/7/08 at 3:18pm

I'm ordering the cast recording today! YAY!

I've only heard some things on the internet, but I really love "You and I" and "One" is absolutely chillingly phenomenal.

[snl89]

Posted: 2/7/08 at 3:43pm

I may have said this earlier, but bare is one show that, no matter what, always makes me cry at the drop of a hat. There's just no way I can get through the whole thing without shedding a tear, which I think says a lot about the power of the musical.

Same here, for sure. and I NEVER cry at shows. Like.. not at RENT, not at Spring Awakening, not anything. And I have DEFINITELY never cried just listening to a recording before. But yeah, this show brings about the tears like THAT. And I also kind of hate it for the fact that it makes me really sad and kinda depressed just thinking about it. And yet.. I listen to act 2 more than I listen to act 1. I swear I think I actually LIKE destroying myself sometimes. haha


I think that what I love most about the show is how flawlessly and straight-fowardly it adresses the issue of homosexuality, and yet it really doesn't feel like it's ABOUT homosexuality if that makes any sense. Like, it's not a "show about gay people". It's a show about two people who are deeply in love, who happen to be the same gender. And it's just very very refreshingly real it seems like (I'm not gay, so I can't say I really personally know haha).

Oh and also it's one of the few stories I know of that REALLY confronts the idea of homosexuality in relation to relation. Most of the time it seems like, if there are gay people in a story, the story will just imply that they're not religious, or that if they were they've gotten away from it because "being gay is not okay in the Catholic religion". But I happen to know gay people who ARE deeply religious, and so it's always kind of bugged me that so often the implication is that that cannot be. But I think Peter puts it in the most perfect way possible in Absolution: "Father, we were so in love, and that's what I find so odd. Our love was pure and nothing else brought me closer to God". SUCH an unbelievably powerful message.

[snl89]

Posted: 2/8/08 at 3:51pm

ahem. Sorry. Just had to post that, because seriously, why are they so adorable? <33

(I want a Michael Arden!! *tries to control fangirling*)

[East Village]

Posted: 2/9/08 at 3:53pm

It's so time for someone to realize that a full-scale, off-broadway production would be profitable. Bare could easily fill one of the downtown houses like the Minetta Lane, Lortel, Union Square -- or dare the Orpheum ever open up.

Having just watched the bootleg at a friend's house, I still have to say that Bare has its weak spots -- I was constantly pushing my friends to stick with. It's strongest when the staging is environmental. Kristin Hanggi's direction and stage movement is genius during You and I. I love the way the actors are constantly moving the lockers around -- and how Peter and Jason step out of the action into the lighting. Those are goosebump moments.

And the way she stages the scenes with Kaitlin Hoptkins during See Me and Warning are chilling. (For that matter, isn't it time for a Kaitlin Hopkins love thread? That woman's voice is incredible. If I could change history, I'd love to go back in time and put her Grey Gardens!)

To me, Bare is weakest during more traditional, musical theater scenes -- I can't stand the transitions to literal spaces like Ivy and Nadia's room with the fake walls in the background. They're far too flat.

I love Bare -- but it kills me that I'm forcing myself to forgive it during its weaker moments.

I'd think it'd be interesting to see it staged first and foremost as a rock performance...with the music and performers brought out front and center. Yah, it would still have a multi-tiered, environmental set...and it would certainly be theatrical... but more like the set peices you see during some rock performances rather than in the theater.

When Hanggi does that, Bare comes across as more multi-layered. I'd love to see her run with more of that -- and a budget to realize it. Bare needs that extra edge and layer. For that matter, rock and pop scores always impress me as more powerful when they aren't grounded with too much literal interpretation.

Anyways, so much for dreaming. I just watched the bootleg and am totally high on that. There are folks who always try to re-write musicals in their minds. I'm always trying to re-design them.

[Tiff]

Posted: 2/10/08 at 1:55am

Obviously so many people love this musical and want it to come back. Are the chances of Bare ever coming back to broadway or off-broadway really all that slim? It's shame if it never does. I think it's clear that over the past few years, Bare has gained more and more fans even after it closed. Here we are still talking about it and wondering what's next for the show...or if anything will happen for the show at all. I certainly want to see it come back.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 2/10/08 at 12:33pm

any word of a nyc revival?

[NY_Broadway2]

Posted: 2/10/08 at 12:47pm

I don't think it will ever be revived but I could be wrong. I think now it will live on through community and regional productions which is good because that can give more people the chance to see it.