Broadway Abridged: Rock n' Roll

That was fun. And I'm sure it was better than the show.

Favorite part:

PLAYWRIGHT TOM STOPPARD
(gloating)
Who said I couldn't make you feel as guilty about your lack of knowledge of Rock and Roll as I did with your lack of
knowledge of Russian Philosophy?

Mr. Abridged, you are my third God (after the actual God and Raul Esparza).

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Who said I couldn't make you feel as guilty about your lack
of knowledge of Rock and Roll as I did with your lack of
knowledge of Russian Philosophy?


and

Why do I keep subjecting myself to feeling so intellectually
inferior?

^^^^

Disco Music & Roller Skates, anyone?

J*

Updated On: 10/25/07 at 12:11 PM

I was toying with the idea of buying tickets...am I ever glad I read this first!

Thanks for the great laugh!

Wow... When I saw it in London I was told that this play would never go to Broadway because Americans "just wouldn't get it". I begged to differ. I said Americans know what's going on in the world. We're not all idiots, just because we have an idiot for a president.

But when I read threads like this I wonder... Can you people really not look beyond your own borders and feel some empathy for the spiritual and political journies of other peoples? I am amazed and disappointed.

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I have great sympathy for other peoples journeys and problems. The point I was making that it's difficult to understand; also, I agree with the comment that Stoppard's plays tend to lack emotional involvement with the characters therein.

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"Wasn't Utopia was more critically acclaimed and successful here than in the UK?"

Well, yes and no. The critical reception in London was somewhat mixed, but part of the reason for its improved reception here was that Stoppard spent two years rewriting and editing the plays, largely in response to the London critical reception. And to be fair, what went on stage at the National was far from a final draft anyway -- the ink wasn't dry on several scenes from Parts Two and Three when the actors finally got their hands on it (and he was rewriting those scenes at the same time they were rehearsing them). That's why Lincoln Center's staging of the trilogy was postposned almost two years from the time it was originally announced -- Jack O'Brien wanted to give Stoppard all the time he needed to revise and edit the plays as he saw fit (and O'Brien worked hand in hand with him clarifying the play moment to moment). There's a reason the overal trilogy ended up running a good deal shorter by the time Lincoln center staged it. Stoppard realized he'd overwritten several sections, had too much extraneous material and hadn't been clear enough throughout, so he did a lot of cutting and editing to improve the play.

So, yes, it was better received here, but a lot of that has do to two years of rewrites, tweaks and improvements to the original manuscript.

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Updated On: 10/25/07 at 01:10 PM

"But secondly, it was more about the construction of this particular play than the spiritual/political journeys of others. The same sorts of journeys exist in the Utopia trilogy, and I connected to those much more strongly. Whereas this play made it much more difficult to connect to the story."

I definitely agree. I saw Rock n Roll twice in London. I found it intriguing, but was unable to connect to it on the same forceful emotional level that I connected to Coast of Utopia. That said, I love Stoppard and I discovered many new thoughts and ideas the SECOND time I saw Rock 'n' Roll. (Especially after learning some more about the ties between politics and music in Czechoslovakia.) I'm seeing the Broadway production in mid- November, and I am looking forward to it. I think it's interesting to see how Nunn and O'Brien take completely different approaches to staging Stoppard.

Also, I love Broadway Abridged, but I don't understand why people think that he who parodies definitely dislikes what they are making fun of. That's like saying that Gerard Alessandrini must hate all musicals that have opened since 1981, when Forbidden Broadway began. No; in fact, a more pointed parody may just mean that the person had more details to work with, or that they know and like the work well enough to understand how to lampoon it clearly and skillfully.

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"You do realize that the Broadway production is being re-staged by Nunn, right (and O'Brien is not involved here -- he'll be busy re-staging THE GRINCH)? "

Yes, I just meant to compare the direction of Coast with the direction of Rock 'n' Roll, although I know it can't be a direct comparison. I should've worded that more clearly. Also, while I didn't see Nunn's Coast of Utopia, I've read a lot of reviews, and it seems like a completely different vision than O'Brien's version.

Concerning all of the Broadway/ West End productions of Stoppard I HAVE seen (and some, admittedly, were at the Lincoln Center library), I just feel that O'Brien brings a level of emotional attachment to the characters that no other director puts forth.

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This is hilarious.

I am planning to see Rock n' Roll mainly because I love Trevor Nunn and want to see his new work. However, I just start to appreciate straight play and did not see as many plays as musicals. I know little about Stoppard. I enjoyed "Doubt", "Frost/Nixon", and hated "History boys".

Your words kind scared me a little. I wonder whether my inferior intellect can swarllow this piece.

I enjoyed the read, I did...

I am GREATLY looking forward to seeing the show on 11.24.

Best,
- Mike

I know he doesn't ACTUALLY feel that way about the shows he lampoons (otherwise he'd hate everything). I was just lampooning him! Gotta expect it when you put yourself out there.

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