City Center's 24-25 Season: Ragtime, Urinetown, LaChiusa's Wild Party, Love Life- Page 18

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 2/15/25 at 4:55pm

ACL2006 said: "Jordan was out for the matinee today. Anyone know if he's out for tonight, too?"

I’m suprised he lasted that long 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/15/25 at 5:09pm

I thought Urinetown was a joy when I saw it a few days ago.

 

One thing that bugs me is when productions of this show (including the original) pronounce it as “you’re in town” in both book and lyrics. Why is that? It kind of ruins the joke and no one pronounces urine that way.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/15/25 at 5:16pm

TotallyEffed said: "One thing that bugs me is when productions of this show (including the original) pronounce it as “you’re in town” in both book and lyrics. Why is that? It kind of ruins the joke and no one pronounces urine that way."

I've never clocked that but my guess is that's a stylistic thing for singing, no? YOR sounds butter than YUR.

Similar to the choice in The Producers to stylize the pronunciation as BroadwayWAY instead of BROADway.

Updated On: 2/15/25 at 05:16 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/15/25 at 5:23pm

It’s definitely a more “pleasant” way to sing it but this isn’t The Sound of Music.

 

I always thought the way they said Broadway in The Producers was to make it more old school lol

[willep]

Posted: 2/15/25 at 8:16pm

ACL2006 said: "Jordan was out for the matinee today. Anyone know if he's out for tonight, too?"

I was at the matinee and the understudy was terrific. What a beautiful voice.

[Mickey3309]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 8:41am

willep said: "ACL2006 said: "Jordan was out for the matinee today. Anyone know if he's out for tonight, too?"

I was at the matinee and the understudy was terrific. What a beautiful voice."

willep said: "ACL2006 said: "Jordan was out for the matinee today. Anyone know if he's out for tonight, too?"

I was at the matinee and the understudy was terrific. What a beautiful voice."

Want to second this. Joshua Grosso was fantastic. If he's on again tonight, you're in for a treat. I'm glad to have attended and enjoyed the show, but it seemed like a lot of the book's comedy went unnoticed by the director or something? It was funny, but could have been funnier. Also, I have long felt and continue to feel puzzled by hype around Keala Settle. As others have mentioned, Stephanie Styles is particularly winning in this production. Imperfect and far from encore's strongest but still a great time. 

 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 9:02am

Mickey3309 said: "willep said: "ACL2006 said: "Jordan was out for the matinee today. Anyone know if he's out for tonight, too?"

I was at the matinee and the understudy was terrific. What a beautiful voice."

willep said: "ACL2006 said: "Jordan was out for the matinee today. Anyone know if he's out for tonight, too?"

I was at the matinee and the understudy was terrific. What a beautiful voice."

Want to second this. Joshua Grosso was fantastic. If he's on again tonight, you're in for a treat. I'm glad to have attended and enjoyed the show, but it seemed like a lot of the book's comedy went unnoticedby the director or something? It was funny, but could have been funnier. Also, I have long felt and continue to feel puzzled by hype around Keala Settle. As others have mentioned, Stephanie Styles is particularly winning in this production. Imperfect and far from encore's strongest but still a great time.

"

Settle's got amazing vocals but her acting choices are so limited. she uses the same two facial expressions for every show she's been in. People who saw Tiffany Mann on last week already said Mann was better than Settle.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 9:05am

Jordan Fisher missing shows?! No way…

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 1:20pm

We caught this again and much preferred Josh to Jordan.  He had a strong voice and better understanding of the comedy.  Great energy.

Mann sounded better on the upper notes (less on the lower) but Settle's gruff, heavier voice and embodiment worked better as the character.  She was more believable as an actress.

The direction again felt uneven, unsteady and lacked understanding of the show.  An average and typical production/concert of a great show.  Not a great production of a great show.

Updated On: 2/16/25 at 01:20 PM

[Dan6]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 6:57pm

Caught the final performance today (everyone was in), and generally agree with most of the previous postings, although my expectations were so significantly lowered that I enjoyed it a bit more than I expected. I saw the OBC a couple of times, and as others have noted, the biggest misfire here was casting a kid as Little Sally, which sacrificed so much of the humor in the character (I blame the director, not the actress, who is talented and gave it her all). Also agree that Styles was the clear standout. Looking forward to Wonderful Town! 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 7:35pm

Imagine how much more this production would have been elevated with Sarah Silverman as Little Sally. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 7:41pm

I kept imagining Sarah Stiles.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 7:46pm

Maybe any Sarah. 
 

Sarah Brightman. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 7:50pm

Just don’t let Annaleigh Ashford even pick up a script.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 8:00pm

TotallyEffed said: "I kept imagining Sarah Stiles."

She'd be amazing.

Or Julia Lester.

Or Ali Stroker.

Or Gabby Beans.

Or Kara Young.

Or any number of SNL Ladies (Melissa Villaseñor? Jenny Slate?)

Or the girl from that college production I saw.

Hell, let Spencer Kayden play her again.

This was such a missed opportunity and a misguided directorial choice. It's not the kid's fault, it's all on the director.

Updated On: 2/16/25 at 08:00 PM

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 2/25/25 at 4:33am

darquegk said: "I have always suspected that Urinetown is a bigger and more deliberate homage to The Simpsons than Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play ever was. The writing for it, the tropes used, the rhythms of the dialogue, even certain characters are pulled almost piecemeal from classic Season 2-9 Simpsons. I'm not accusing plagiarism or anything, as it's clearly being done with a big of a wink, but the parallels are difficult to ignore: among others, Cladwell and McQueen are pretty blatantly Mr. Burns and Smithers, just like Lockstock's stilted and patronizing narration to Little Sally is a Troy McClure and Jimmy homage as much as a real reference to midcentury educational films.

The pastiche is just dead-on: Urinetown, when it's done well, feels like a top 10 Simpsons episode. That's both a blessing and a curse, because instead of feeling fresh and new, it feels like pastiche, a deliberate throwback to a cult favorite comedy from thirty years ago."

I'd argue it's more South Park than The Simpsons. It's more South Park than The Book of Mormon! Put aside the toilet humor, it also a satire that takes on both sides, the megacorps and the people trying to rebel. 
 

Oh, and The Simpsons' classic age is usually interpreted around seasons 3-8. Season 9 is where the quality really dropped off with episodes like Miracle on Evergreen Terrace, Lisa the Simpson, The Principal & the Pauper, etc. 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 12:22pm

LOVE LIFE complete casting (and change) : 

Nicholas Christopher, previously announced as Sam, is no longer able to appear due to personal conflicts.

Brian Stokes Mitchell (Ragtime, OBC) returns to the role of Sam Cooper, reuniting with cast members Kate Baldwin (Susan Cooper), John Edwards (Hobo), Sara Jean Ford (Miss Ideal Man), and Clarke Thorell (Mr. Cynic), who were all part of the originally scheduled 2020 Encores! production.

Joining the production are Andrea Rosa Guzman and Christopher Jordan as siblings Elizabeth and Johnny Cooper.

Complete cast: https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2024-2025/love-life/#CastCredits .  March 26-30.

Updated On: 3/3/25 at 12:22 PM

[mrshowbiz90210]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 12:24pm

  Can’t get enough Ragtine! Yay! 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 12:28pm

mrshowbiz90210 said: " Can’t get enough Ragtine! Yay!"

 

They're not doing RAGTIME again -- they're doing LOVE LIFE.  

Go see BOOP!

 

 

[mrshowbiz90210]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 12:42pm

JSquared2 said: "mrshowbiz90210 said: " Can’t get enough Ragtine! Yay!"



They're not doing RAGTIME again -- they're doing LOVE LIFE.

Go see BOOP!

 

maybe ! We shall see what fixes they out in from Chicago!  But  thanks for the suggestion J! 



"

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 2:50pm

Damn. I’m bummed. I was looking forward to Nicholas Christopher.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 3:12pm

mrshowbiz90210 said: " Can’t get enough Ragtine! Yay!"

Ragtine sounds like an ointment. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 7:27pm

Or a pasta. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/4/25 at 11:21am

New York City Center sent a discount code yesterday for its shows: SAVE30 for 30% off

[MezzA101]

Posted: 3/22/25 at 8:27pm

The Lost Great American Musical Returns, Over 75 Years Later

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/theater/love-life-weill-lerner-encores-off-broadway.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6E4.GOM8.EyFfTMEee9xp&smid=nytcore-android-share