I fell asleep right as "Being Alive" started. Woke up and watched it and the interview with Sondheim (I taped it all). I enjoyed it minus the bleeps. I hope that the DVD has everything intact. I must say, that as much as I loved Mr. Esparza's performance, I can almost see why he lost to David Hyde Pierce. Now that I have seen the two performances, I like Pierce's just a tad bit better. But I am thrilled that this show is available on video and will own it when it is out on DVD. So upset I didn't get to NYC to see it. The final shot of Esparza exhaling was wonderful.
The main thing I don't understand is how any respectable musical theatre fan could say a musical would be better without [most of] the music.
First of all, if you REALLY want to look at it that way - all musicals can be made into something sans music. But they are in fact musicals, so this shouldn't even be mentioned. A musical can be horribly scored, but one should never try to suggest a musical would be better without the music. It would then not be a musical. So, it's moot. Just don't even say it. You know?
And as others have said, Sondheim is definitely someone that some people have to listen to more than once. Me? For some reason I only have to listen to him once to enjoy it, and dozens or hundreds to understand completely, naturally. And you mentioned Jason Robert Brown, I enjoy his music BUT...it takes me several listens. That is, for my favorite songs. The others, I'm STILL working on them. heh I don't know. Sondheim makes sense to me straight away, I'm humming the songs immediately. Not because they're necessarily hummable, because we all know Sondheim isn't - but, I don't know. They just latch onto me. And honestly, I was the opposite. I felt the plain dialogue got a bit stale. It was fantastically witty and all, but possibly because it was so monotone? But I know this quite fits the style and somewhat the purpose of this show. Or what have you. So, yes, I personally couldn't wait for the next song to shake things up and provide some insight. (Even though I was familiar with the songs' purposes.)
WELL! I loved being able to see this show on PBS tonight. About to go to bed and watch it again. :)
After seeing it three times from three completely different angles, there was admittedly little enlightenment in seeing it like this. But I definitely enjoyed watching it. Mostly, I'm incredibly grateful and sentimental that the one show I've managed to take my mom to has been preserved so aptly. If only she didn't know I could already order it (and expects us to get it ASAP), I'd get her the DVD for her birthday.
Well, goodness, why don't we just stone her? Seriously, people, tastes differ! I liked the music myself (though I was only able to catch bits of the show), but that doesn't mean everyone else has to like what I like.
the look on KATHY'S face when she realizes she & BOBBY were both thinking of marriage
when MARTA & BOBBY are laughing about her "ass" comment, as she's about to go into her "fist" story.
the close up of JENNY playing the bass @ the beginning of SIDE BY SIDE (and again i was thrilled with Lenya Rideout's playing, she stands out as a musician...& the music sounded *SOOOO GOOOD*)
the look on BOBBY'S face at the end of that number
when APRIL tucks her leg underneath her on the piano stool as she tells the butterfly story
when JOANNE stumbles drunkenly & tells LARRY that she wants to go home at the end of her scene
& EVERY TIME AMY is on screen!!! that Heather Laws is ****GORGEOUS**** and i hope we see more of her!!! and it was so exciting to see how much the audience loved her!
Surely cliché, but my favorite moment will always be:
"I'll take care of you." "But who will I take care of?"
Raul's delivery of that line tears me to pieces.
Otherwise, I love the scene between Bobby and Kathy (especially considering how much it evolved over the course of the run), and I always feel like that first scene with Sarah and Harry is the strongest of all the vignettes.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Raul. The voice melts buttuh, dah-ling. And he is spot on acting wise. BEING ALIVE is an amazing song and his version= chills, the good kind.
I realized that although I loved SWEENEY and COMPANY, I hope that John Doyle stays FAR AWAY from any more musicals. Not to say it's "bad,"... Just... Give me a traditional set and costumes anyday *lol* And no more of the actors/actresses playing the music. It's been done twice now to acclaim. Leave it be. Please? *bats eyes*
Heather Laws is/was amazing.
I want to play Marta- but only opposite Raul's Bobby *lol*
Enjoyed hearing Sondheim's interview
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
I love Sondheim's work, all of it,and love COMPANY as well. However, I dislike this production by John Doyle. Raul is/was amazing as Bobby. He is flawless. I feel the Acotrs playing instruments was pretentoous and distracting. But the basics of the show itself, the actors and Raul rise above Doyle's vision.
One of my favorite moments (like I said earlier, it's hard to choose a favorite from this show) is when Kathy tells Bobby she's moving up to Cape Cod and getting married. The look on his face when she says "Enjoy your party" made my heart break.
My friends loved the pot scene, as well as the wedding breakfast.
"I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and dreamer of improbable dreams." - Doctor Who
"Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over, men recognize that the human race has been harshly treated but it has moved forward." - Les Miserables
First of all, the cast is AMAZING. I truly loved Esparza, although I thought some of his reactions were a little sit-com like. The music, for the most part, is great. The book is laugh out loud funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I was blown away by all of those things (well except Raul's fake drinking, which kind of drove me crazy)
Let me preface this by saying that I loved Doyle's Sweeney. I saw it twice in one week (which I never do). Interestingly, the things that really struck me at that show were some of the same things that irritated me here. I didn't like the actor/instrument thing at all. In the numbers where everyone was involved in the action it was just choatic. It just seemed like more of a distraction than an inhancement. Having the actor's facing the audience a lot of the time when talking just seems ike a cop-out. It's Doyle's answer to not being sure what to do. There is a huge difference between having a signature style and just using the exact same direction, just changing the situation.
I really loved watching this, but I think the direction was the weak link for me. I do wish that I saw it live though.
when APRIL tucks her leg underneath her on the piano stool as she tells the butterfly story
It would have been a more subtle moment had the camera not done a close up of her legs. For filmed stage shows I hate being told by the camera where I should look. Would love to have an angle option on the DVD that offers the option to watch a wide shot of the entire stage without any cuts or edits.
morosco -- that is a GENIUS idea about these 'filmed' Broadway shows. A DVD option to watch the entire film with a static full stage shot would be a gem and its not a difficult thing for them to do... just film a full performance with that static camera setup.
Too bad this wasn't done for this one -- those full stage shots they did do looked amazing in widescreen HD. I have a 60-inch widescreen Sony HD TV and I could have watched the entire show this way -- just a full stage shot. The HD image was so sharp and crisp you could see every detail. Nothing was missed.
I am so jealous of everyone who got to see it in HD. I called home to have my stepmom tape it and what is the one channel we don't get in HD... PBS. Go figure!
Either way, it is just so great to be able to see this again!
What's funny about the whole comment about Company's score and the responses is that I feel that Company is one of Sondheim's most accessible scores. I think it's one of the few you can really enjoy on the first listen. I mean, how can anyone not find the title song "hummable?" I was humming it for the rest of last night. "Little Things You Do Together" has such funny and clever rhyme schemes, "Sorry/Grateful" is pretty, "You Could Drive A Person Crazy" is just plain catchy, "Another Hundred People" is a fantastic song, I always wish I knew the words to be able to sing "Getting Married Today" word for word, etc. I first heard bits of these songs on "Broadway the American musical" and really enjoyed the few parts I heard. I guess the only thing I can think of is maybe the songs in this context than the OBC? In terms of general sound and instruments, I definitely prefer the OBC, but still...I could see the songs of "Sunday in the Park With George" much harder to get into and appreciate than "Company."
For the record, loved the broadcast and direction, especially some shots of Bobby's face over his friends at the beginning and such. There are still nitpicks I have about this production, but knowing what to expect allowed me to enjoy it more, like the second time I saw it on Broadway. (And being able to sing along when I felt like it in my living room was fun too!)
"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli
WOW....so glad I saw this on broadway and I am glad it was beautifully filmed...at 11:25 my cell phone got alot of texts from all of my drama students that were watching it and they basically all said that they have listened to Being Alive on the cast recording and loved it, but seeing it in context was so emotional and so much more greater....they all loved the interview at the end wih Sondheim....they are now asking me to suggest other Sondheim shows(besides Company and Sweeney) to listen to (they want me to take them to see Sunday, if I can work it out I might)
Even co workers of mine watched it last night and thought it was great (and most of them have never seen a broadway show before)....THANK YOU PBS FOR BROADCASTING IT AND THANK YOU TO THE PRODUCTION COMPANY WHO FILMED IT
"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life. Define yourself"
Dolly_Levi --- It wasn't filmed for or by PBS -- if you paid attention to the 'brought to you by...' credits before the actual program, you'd hear clearly the names and companies that filmed this. PBS only aired this with the funds provided by others.
I hate having to bring up this point continuously but I just want the proper parties to get credit for actually taking it upon themselves (and their pockets) to have these filmed as PBS does not. PBS does not have the funds to film anything, hence their continual pledge drives ("...if you love to see more programming like this show you're watching"). Seems this notion evades people's little feeble brains.
Give credit where its due... and thank you PBS for allowing these shows to find an outlet to be seen and for distributing the program on DVD, which you'll in turn get a nice chunk of the profits.
These are the conditions between both parties and part of the "...you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" motif.
The show is not complete without the Tick Tock Dance.
The balance is off when it is cut. April has the butterfly monologue, Marta has "Another Hundred People" and Kathy has the dance. Without it, Kathy becomes unimportant to Bobby's story.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
I thought the whole thing was excellent. Easily the best of the live recordings of Broadway shows that PBS has aired. Infinitely more interesting production from every standpoint than that ghastly SUNDAY IN THE FRIDGE WITH GEORGE that Roundabout has perpetrated upon us.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
"Wow.... I never knew how sad and powerful the end of "side by side/what would we do without you" was.."
T me, whether in the original version (where they tapped for each other) or this version (with the musical responses), this is the turning point for Bobby. this is where he finally realizes how much he's missing and how much he needs that in his life.
