CSC’s ASSASSINS Revival - Previews- Page 7

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 8:51am

I was also there last night, and was similarly blown away by the production and happy to see all the principals in! I haven't seen a live professional Sondheim since the 2017 Assassins at City Center, and I don't remember Steven Pasquale being nearly as wonderful in that production. For me, though, the standout in this iteration is Tavi Gevinson. I've never really cared about Squeaky before, but she was facing my side of the audience during both Unworthy of Your Love and Another National Anthem (for the record, my favorite Sondheim song) and the deranged flintiness in her eyes was absolutely chilling.

I love Assassins, I love this production, and this, more than any show I've seen since we've been back, made me remember how much I love the theatre.

*Edit:* On my way out, the guy behind me was talking about how he'd spent the whole performance wondering why Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't there. As someone who was familiar with the show before ever seeing a live production, it never occurred to me the effect his initial absence might have on the uninitiated. Just an obvious thing I thought was cool and worth mentioning.*

Updated On: 1/5/22 at 08:51 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 11:00am

I woke up this morning with snippets of songs from the show playing in my head. I so hope we get a cast recording! And I do hope this gets a transfer to Circle In The Square. Both so it can be experienced by more people, but also selfishly because I would love to see it again.  

[adotburr]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 11:14am

GlindatheGood22 said: "I was also there last night, and was similarly blown away by the production and happy to see all the principals in! I haven't seen a live professional Sondheim since the 2017 Assassins at City Center, and I don't remember Steven Pasquale being nearly as wonderful in that production. For me, though, the standout in this iteration is Tavi Gevinson. I've never really cared about Squeaky before, but she was facing my side of the audience during both Unworthy of Your Love and Another National Anthem (for the record, my favorite Sondheim song) and the deranged flintiness in her eyes was absolutely chilling.

I love Assassins, I love this production, and this, more than any show I've seen since we've been back, made me remember how much I love the theatre.

*Edit:* On my way out, the guy behind me was talking about how he'd spent the whole performance wondering why Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't there. As someone who was familiar with the show before ever seeing a live production, it never occurred to me the effect his initial absence might have on the uninitiated. Just an obvious thing I thought was cool and worth mentioning.*"

Can you explain your *edit a little more? I'm not too familiar with the show and won't be seeing it. 

[adotburr]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 11:16am

Miles2Go2 said: "I woke up this morning with snippets of songs from the show playing in my head. I so hope we get a cast recording! And I do hope this gets a transfer to Circle In The Square. Both so it can be experienced by more people, but also selfishly because I would love to see it again."

I love Circle in the Square so much. Easily my favorite theatre in NYC. I too hope this transfers! 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 11:57am

adotburr said: "Can you explain your *edit a little more? I'm not too familiar with the show and won't be seeing it."

Spoiler, I guess:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The character of Lee Harvey Oswald doesn't appear until close to the end of the show. It's a big, climactic scene (for my money, it's one of the best non-musical scenes in the musical theatre cannon). It's not technically a "secret" because the actor is credited in the program accordingly, but it's very easy to miss. And the way the show is written and structured, it's easy to forget while you're watching the show if you don't see it coming. So you're either wondering "where's Oswald?" and you get a big payoff. Or you're so focused on the other Assassins that you think "Oh yeah! I forgot about the most important one!" which is also a great payoff. 

 

[adotburr]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 12:03pm

JBroadway said: "adotburr said: "Can you explain your *edit a little more? I'm not too familiar with the show and won't be seeing it."

Spoiler, I guess:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The character of Lee Harvey Oswald doesn't appear until close to the end of the show. It's a big, climactic scene (for my money, it's one of the best non-musical scenes in the musical theatre cannon). It's not technically a "secret" because the actor is credited in the program accordingly, but it's very easy to miss. And the way the show is written and structured, it's easy to forget while you're watching the show if you don't see it coming. So you're either wondering "where's Oswald?" and you get a big payoff. Or you're so focused on the other Assassins that you think "Oh yeah! I forgot about the most important one!" which is also a great payoff.

"

Oohh whoa!! I love that. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 12:43pm

This scene is so chilling on the original recording. How often do non-musical scenes this length get recorded, especially when the original album came out? Anyway, it’s highly recommended, adotburr.

[adotburr]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 12:50pm

HeyMrMusic said: "This scene is so chilling on the original recording. How often do non-musical scenes this length get recorded, especially when the original album came out? Anyway, it’s highly recommended, adotburr."

I am learning more and more about this show and I am very interested in it. I unfortunately won't be able to get to NYC before it closes so I am wishing for a transfer! 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 1:32pm

This production doesn’t do anything radically different, so if you purely want to learn the show, the existing recordings are good representations of the show.

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 3:05pm

How much are tickets if you wait in the cancellation line?

 

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 3:05pm

How much are tickets if you wait in the cancellation line?

 

[yyys]

Posted: 1/5/22 at 4:47pm

they just released tickets for this saturday!  

 

nativenewyorker2 said: "How much are tickets if you wait in the cancellation line?

"

 

[benfox2]

Posted: 1/6/22 at 9:12pm

I was able to get a ticket for the 21st! My relentless website watching finally paid off lol. This will be my first live NY/Professional Sondheim production, so I'm really really excited. Watching the Broadway bootleg to get myself acquainted, as this is one of Sondheim's shows I'm least familiar with.

 

Does anyone have an opinion on the best cast recording? And can anyone comment on the attendance of the leads? I have no qualms with understudies, but I always love to see full original cast. 

Thanks! 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/6/22 at 9:48pm

^IMHO, the original album is better overall. But the revival album has its advantages. The tracks are more split up, so it's easier to go back and listen to individual songs. Plus it has the added "Something Just Broke," which is currently in the show, but was not in the original. 

Consider going in blind, if you feel up for it. It might be very rewarding. If you want to do pre-show research, your time might be better spent getting a Wikipedia overview of the real-life people featured in the show (that's not necessary either, but might give you a deeper appreciation for the show). 

[benfox2]

Posted: 1/6/22 at 10:09pm

JBroadway said: "^IMHO, the original album is better overall. But the revival album has its advantages. The tracks are more split up, so it's easier to go back and listen to individual songs. Plus it has the added "Something Just Broke," which is currently in the show, but was not in the original.

Consider going in blind, if you feel up for it. It might be very rewarding. If you want to do pre-show research, your time might be better spent getting a Wikipedia overview of the real-life people featured in the show (that's not necessary either, but might give you a deeper appreciation for the show)."

Yeah - I'm considering going blind. Unfortunately I've already seen/heard some of the songs and watched the first half-ish of the show, as well as know the final big reveal(the one mentioned earlier in the thread). I figure with this knowledge I might as well just fully indulge myself? That way I have more of a handle of it all rather than only knowing bits and pieces? We'll see! My watch of the bootleg got cut off only halfway through so I still have many surprises if I decide to take them. Thanks for the advice!

[Thomas Jefferson]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 3:25am

benfox2 said: "JBroadway said: "^IMHO, the original album is better overall. But the revival album has its advantages. The tracks are more split up, so it's easier to go back and listen to individual songs. Plus it has the added "Something Just Broke," which is currently in the show, but was not in the original.

Consider going in blind, if you feel up for it. It might be very rewarding. If you want to do pre-show research, your time might be better spent getting a Wikipedia overview of the real-life people featured in the show (that's not necessary either, but might give you a deeper appreciation for the show)."

Yeah - I'm considering going blind. Unfortunately I've already seen/heard some of the songs and watched the first half-ish of the show, as well as know the final big reveal(the one mentioned earlier in the thread). I figure with this knowledge I might as well just fully indulge myself? That way I have more of a handle of it all rather than only knowing bits and pieces? We'll see! My watch of the bootleg got cut off only halfway through so I still have many surprises if I decide to take them. Thanks for the advice!"

You’ll probably enjoy the show no matter what, but I have a genuine question.  If you have a chance to see a show without having prior knowledge of what happens in the plot and what the characters are like and the jokes etc, why wouldn’t you take that chance?  Do you think you have something to gain by completely familiarizing yourself with the contents of a musical before seeing it?  For me, that just makes a show less enjoyable if it’s my first time seeing it live.  I personally like to discover a musical or play for the first time when I’m seeing it live and form my analysis/opinion of it that way.

 

Of course, there are plenty of shows I haven’t seen live but I’ve seen proshots of or listened to the cast recordings of.  Still, I probably wouldn’t do that if I was preparing to see a show live.

 

I don’t mean to criticize so I apologize if my tone is off.  How do you feel about going into a musical blind vs. doing a lot of prior research and listening?

[benfox2]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 2:08pm

Your Tone came off perfectly fine, thanks for the question. 

I also very much enjoy going into things fully blind, knowing nothing or very little, and then forming my analysis and opinion off of that. However I think I robbed myself of that opportunity for Assassins? I already know a few of the songs, I know many of the characters, I know the big twist at the end, etc. My mindset for delving deeper into it before I go is the same one a person has before a concert ie familiarizing oneself with the songs and the themes that way you can maximize your enjoyment. This is also a different point, but I ushered plays for many years and the ones that stuck with me most were the ones I watched the most, and had many different opportunities to enjoy and revel in it. That's why I usually lean towards knowing more rather than less. 

I suppose to answer your question: the thing I gain is to be excited and enjoy a lot of the show before I even see it: cast recordings, watching clips, all with the excitement of seeing it live soon. I'm more inclined to do this for Assassins considering I already have seen a lot of this media and I'm not really 'spoiling' myself by doing it now. In a perfect world I won the lottery the day before and was able to walk in knowing almost nothing, but I don't think prior knowledge makes or breaks a theater experience for me.

I'm also only college aged, and don't have much experience seeing shows blind/not blind, so perhaps that plays a role. I will the responses I've gotten have encouraged me to not do all the normal fanfare I tend to engage in. I think I will do my best to forget as much as I can, and see how it goes. 

 

Cheers!

[Thomas Jefferson]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 2:49pm

I understand that completely.  Enjoy the show!

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 4:02pm

I wrote a lengthy post (shocker!) with my experiences with various levels of familiarity before seeing different shows for this first time. It’s probably a blessing to everyone that my phone (or the app) froze and I lost the entire post. Lol

So I’ll just say that for me overall a vague familiarity with a show and its score works best. If a show is less plot-driven (i.e. Assassins, Company, etc), more familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing (although I didn’t know all the “assassins”, I did listen to the 2004 Assassins OBCR a few times). Also, if a show is more lyrically-dense (I’m looking at you Caroline, or Change), being more familiar with the music ahead of time can be helpful. Of course, that’s just me. Everyone is different. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 5:17pm

With this show, unless you read the script beforehand, there are aspects that you will experience only by seeing the show. The scenes are lengthy when compared to most musicals; they hold equal weight to the score and sometimes even more. The songs are used very specifically and for specific moments. So whether or not you listen to the cast recordings, you will probably still get to experience some things with fresh eyes and ears, and it’s a great cast to do that with. Enjoy!

[Square Peg2]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 7:59pm

I also think, as with many Sondheim shows but Assassins in particular, the score rewards multiple listens. Having listened to it numerous times before seeing it, there are still constantly many discoveries to be made while seeing the show in person. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/7/22 at 9:00pm

On the other side of that argument, due to the pastiche nature of the score, it’s one of Sondheim’s more accessible scores. I think it’s easily digestible on first listen.

[clever2]

Posted: 1/8/22 at 2:39am

benfox2 said: "Does anyone have an opinion on the best cast recording? And can anyone comment on the attendance of the leads? I have no qualms with understudies, but I always love to see full original cast.

Thanks!"

Hey there! The original cast album is definitive. The revival cast album sounds like they’re doing a lot of ACTING! and SINGING! with insufferably perfect diction. The original is so damn honest and pure and, overall, masterfully produced. One of the best cast albums of all time, in my opinion. 

I pray to God this new cast gets an album. I do know there are conversations about it but I’m on vacation and not paying attention to much, so I can’t say what’s resulting from that. 

Way way way back in the beginning of this thread, I responded to the CSC production in a pretty negative post. Then I saw it two more times. It’s far and wide not only the best thing I’ve seen John Doyle do, the show is breathtaking. It’s so bloody good. Everyone, every single person in it is perfect. 

I couldn’t be happier for you that you’re getting to see it. Whether or not you memorize every song beforehand or go into it blind as a bat, it doesn’t matter. I know Assassins like the back of my hand and the experience of this production is so special, it might as well be a world premiere. 

I officially retract all negative judgment from my first impression of this production. I’m lucky I was able to go back. 

General advice from someone who saw it from all three angles, sitting directly in front of it is where you want to be. 

[Alex M]

Posted: 1/8/22 at 3:11pm

Saw the show last week. It's one of my favorite musicals so it was wonderful to see it on stage with such a great cast but as the old women behind me said after the show "It was great until the director got in the way of the material". Still enjoyed the show quite a bit. Has anyone heard rumblings about a transfer. Maybe next season at the Booth...I feel that would be a good marketing ploy lol.

[multimattvids]

Posted: 1/8/22 at 3:46pm

Was in line for today's 2 PM matinee and the show was canceled around 1:40 due to COVID-19. Really hoping for a Broadway transfer.