Chess to be on pbs- Page 2
Chess to be on pbs
#25re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/6/08 at 9:29pmThis is the best news I have heard all day. I would like to know if anyone else thinks that Josh is a little miscast as the Russian. I wish there was someone in the role with a little more edge.
goober1632
Understudy Joined: 7/29/07
#26re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/6/08 at 10:14pmHmm, the news isn't altogether good news. While Groban and Pascal were vocally great in their roles, Menzel was miscast. The style didn't suit her well and her "Nobody's Side" was lackluster. I am a fan of Menzel and her voice, but I don't think that score suited her.
mauriposa
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/14/05
DG
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/05
#28re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 10:36am
"I guess you missed the part where her role is the main character"
I guess I did, too - I thought this was about CHESS.
sally1112
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/04
Muhlethaler
Featured Actor Joined: 10/13/06
#31re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 11:47am
sorry to pour cold water again, but Menzel was really nasal esp at the starting of her songs during the concert. Tho it gets better as she makes her way through it.
"She actually sounded like a young (and rockier) Elaine Paige."
really? i was actually listening to Paige in the run up to the concert and I heard idina and i was like, "god that sounds nothing like paige"
"While Groban and Pascal were vocally great in their roles, Menzel was miscast"
true, true. it was mentioned that Menzel and Ellis was cast because of the big Wicked following in London, so it kinda upstaged the true Chess lovers.
In Soviet Russia, Wicked hates you too!
#32re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 1:41pmSo Kerry Ellis sung "Someone Else's Story"? I don't know why I thought Idina Menzel was playing the Judy Kuhn part (Kuhn sings "Someone Else's Story" in the OBCR, right?) I'm not much of a CHESS expert.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#33re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 2:51pm
Ray, Florence (Kuhn's character) sang "Someone Else's Story" in the original Broadway production, but in the many rewrites since, the song is more often sung by the Russian's wife, Svetlana. Idina did play Florence, but Kerry Ellis as Svetlana had that song in this concert.
I would like to know if anyone else thinks that Josh is a little miscast as the Russian. I wish there was someone in the role with a little more edge.
I wouldn't say edge, per se, but I sort of wish that Josh had a little more passion as Anatoly. You don't really get a sense of how conflicted he is during his "Endgame," and he isn't especially emotive in general. He sings the part gorgeously, though, so I'm willing to make some allowances on the acting side of things. I wouldn't say he's miscast at all, except maybe in being pretty young for the role.
Idina sounds not the slightest bit like Elaine Paige. Her actual singing was often fine, but she has this childish edge to the way she sings (and speaks) that undermines Florence's strength.
#34re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 5:07pm
I guess you missed the part where her role is the main character
So is the Russian, and Josh Groban is the bigger star.
The concert already happened; it would make more sense to publicize the news with production pictures from the actual event instead of pictures from a photo shoot Idina Menzel did for Vogue last year.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Updated On: 6/7/08 at 05:07 PM
Wanting life but never knowing how
#35re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 5:25pmI’m really looking forward to this, regardless of whatever flaws it may suffer from. I really love the concert with Adam, Josh, and Julia and I’ll be thrilled to see a professionally filmed concert.
Leading Actor Joined: 12/31/69
#36re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/7/08 at 9:18pmooh I'm just interested to see it. It has an interesting cast. I don't like everyone involved but it'll be one to see regardless
#37re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/8/08 at 12:07am
Well, apparently Tim Rice is just crazy to get this on the West End and then Broadway. I'm not sure I like the whole score, but it sure has its gems.
Thanks for clarifying that out for me, sweetestsiren :)
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Muhlethaler
Featured Actor Joined: 10/13/06
Boq101
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/20/06
#39re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/8/08 at 3:23pmdamn, i prefer the cast of the concert here. Julia, Raul, Norm...it's a pity.
#40re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/8/08 at 4:43pmThe concert sounds design in the actual hall was terrible, but I'm hoping that it was due to the fact it was optimised for the recording and that it will sound fine on there. Though that won't change Idina Menzel's lifeless performance and screechy nasal vocals...
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#41re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/8/08 at 8:04pm
Ughhh, I'd be happy if Idina weren't Florence.
I also don't like Groban as Anatoly because I think of the character was older.
Pascal isn't ideal either, but he's okay.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
#43re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/9/08 at 12:31am
I just listened to the concert...I thought Menzel would do a good job with the few songs I enjoy...she didn't.
Kerry Ellis is pretty good though (I don't know the show so I'm not sure if she's right/wrong for her role).
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#45re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/9/08 at 1:31am
"The concert already happened; it would make more sense to publicize the news with production pictures from the actual event instead of pictures from a photo shoot Idina Menzel did for Vogue last year."
Who cares? It's just one article.
And if you read other Playbill articles, sometimes they only show a photo of one star or they don't have a photo at all.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#46re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/9/08 at 1:41amActually, it's two articles. BWW did the same thing with their coverage.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#47re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/9/08 at 1:54amStill, who cares? It's one picture. The show isn't even slated to air until 2009 - who knows what publicity this show will get and with what pictures.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#48re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/9/08 at 2:17am
Two pictures.
I don't know why you're flipping out over my comment, all I did was make an observation.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#49re: Chess to be on pbs
Posted: 6/9/08 at 2:49amI hate that we have to wait so long, like Cyrano de Bergerac - when is that going to air?
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