Capeman memories question

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/19/06 at 6:08pm

Slap my wrist if this is opening up old wounds, but who has memories of the show?

I listen to the cast recording regularly and it sounds really dramatic and bold, and the designs I have seen seem very creative. What was so wrong?

(PS I realize the subject matter offended some people without them even having to see it, so I'm asking about other reasons)

[temms]

Posted: 9/19/06 at 6:43pm

Some fanatstic music, very good performances, but the whole piece didn't really hang together dramatically. After the first act, I and the people in the audience sitting around me (all complete strangers) began talking amongst one another trying to decipher what we had just seen. The consensus was that it was flawed, but if it could be brought into focus, there would be a great show, just on the basis of the music (it was in previews, Jerry Zaks and Joey McKneeley had just "taken over" and were supposedly going to "fix" the show - so the version I saw was pretty much the final version that Mark Morris had staged).

But then the second act petered out into nothing. I don't recall much, other than there was the Bob Crowley set of the prison cafeteria which was designed to look like you were watching the scene from overhead, and the miniature Trailways Bus that took the entire song to travel across the front of the stage.

It was a mess, dramatically, you didn't really have much of a sense of cause and effect and who the characters were. They made the mistake of showing video footage of the real Salvador Agron being interviewed after the murder, and those forty-five seconds of video were a million times more riveting than the story being told onstage. Sara Ramirez showed up in the second act to play a character that vanished without explanation, and there was a long "drunk trip" sequence (including the song "You F*CKed Up My Life" for which, for some reason, I recall the set consisting of a drawing of a single giant eye.)

But the score was thrilling in the theatre - I still get chills imagining "Adios, Hermanos" at the end of the first act, which was the entire company (huge, it must have been a cast of about 35 or so) standing and singing that doo-wop chorus, with Marc Anthony downstage singing lead. Had the whole show had the life that number had, and numbers like "Born In Puerto Rico", "Satin Summer Nights" (another Bob Crowley forced perspective set, this time looking at the rooftops from up above), "The Vampires" and some others, it would have been a thrilling show. Unfortunately, those moments, strong as they were, were very few and far between.

At the end of the show I and those around me agreed that it was pretty much a lost cause - that despite the great music and the interesting idea, there simply wasn't any sort of drama happening on the stage. It kind of sat there and went through the paces. But of all the flops I've seen (I only started seeing Broadway shows in 1993) it ranks as one of the most interesting, and the one I'm probably happiest I actually saw.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/19/06 at 8:19pm

Thanks very much for your insight. It just gets more and more intriguing!

It seems to have strong similarities to Carrie- off-beat subject matter; flashes of brilliance but deep flaws. And some fantastic music.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 9/20/06 at 2:23pm

One of the things I remember most is how completely devoid of charisma was Marc Anthony. He pretty much had a vacant expression on his face the entire time. You didn't really feel like his character was growing or bettering himself. I can understand an anti-hero, but he was pretty off-putting. Musicals, even the darkest of them, are ultimately hopeful creations. You see humanity. I felt nothing at the end of the show because the lead didn't seem to be feeling anything at all.

The music from what I remember was pretty interesting and scenically, moments were stunning. I also remember thinking that the women in the show were far more interesting. Sara's brief Act 2 appearance was most welcome. There was a Mother's duet that was nice as well. I haven't downloaded the score yet, but I'd be interested to hear it now and see if what I remember holds true.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 9/20/06 at 2:32pm

The Capeman committed the ultimate theatrical sin. It was dull.

"Thou shalt not bore."

It didn't matter about how good the songs were since they did not work theatrically as a whole. The production design was impressive, but a good show can be done on a bare stage and the scenery not missed. What was the conflict? I don't remember a gripping one.

There was no there there.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/20/06 at 2:43pm

I agree with pretty much everything that was said.

It was a boring musical, especially Act 2. The storyline didn't really come together. I do remember the song that the mothers sang being very moving.

Updated On: 9/20/06 at 02:43 PM

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/20/06 at 6:16pm

Thanks for those memories!

Listening to the cd, (again), it strikes me that the show was aiming to chart one man's redemption. Clearly it didn't manage it!

I think the duet is 'Can I Forgive Him?' It is heart-rending.