Company Previews Thread — Page 30

Rudy2 said: "I have been excited to see this show for months - just the thought of this particularly subject matter marking my first time at a Broadway show post-2020 was already an overwhelming prospect. Now, after Sondheim’s passing, it has a whole second level of importance.

I’m sure many can relate. This is just the show for the moment.


However, after reading some of the things people have said about the staging, I’m beginning to worry about whether this is worth a full price orchestra ticket. I’m bringing the man I love, and I know he’ll be shocked and spun out by this score being handled well…as long as the staging doesn’t make the cake fail to rise.

Also listened to a couple of selections from the 2018 London recording and was very dismayed at how abysmally cold and technical some of the performances (from actors who are not in this Broadway iteration, granted) are. The marks get hit, but sans gravitas or grit, which is precisely what I loathe about so much modern musical theater.

If I bring my guy to see this show, I want it to be an experience he will never get, that justifies the ticket price - certainly in his eyes. He just doesn’t go to Broadway shows, or musicals, or really know Sondheim. It’s so nice to have someone to bring to a show who will genuinely be surprised!

Do any of you know who have seen this in previews compare it favorably to the 2018 recording or production, if you got to see it in London?

Also, are seats in the first few rows too close for how this production looks, at least as of now?

Any advice would be much appreciated. I hate that I’m starting to have reservations about a show I am so excited to see that I have felt like I’m in high school again as I dream about the potential euphoria I’ll feel drinking it all in.

Sorry to be so scattered on this one!"

I prefer sitting up close for this production, because I enjoy seeing the intricacy in the acting, especially from Lenk. You will get a better view of the set from mid orchestra or the front mezzanine.

I will also say the London cast album is pretty much lifeless compared to this production. The performances are not only better, but the overall sound of the score is fuller and livelier. There are also several changes to the orchestrations for Broadway, and they are delightful.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 12:06 AM

Thank you! ^^

I'd avoid the sides. I was in second row 3 seats in from the aisle and missed a few moments of Bobbie in her kitchen (including her final bit at the end which I could hear but not see).

I loved the design and direction. I thought it consistently felt fresh and exciting. The one exception being the nightclub scene where I do wholeheartedly agree that Patti's blocking (or lack thereof) works against an incredible performance. I was sitting house left and questioned how Marianne Elliott decided to shaft half the audience by keeping Patti facing house right for the majority of the scene AND song.

I found Lenk mannered and miscast. She has an hauteur and aloofness that work against the part. I never believed she would be interested in the other couples, who look like they wandered in from Secaucus….

I believe Patti’s recent absences were due to chronic back problems. I don’t get to see the show until early January, but does anyone think this particular bit of staging could be a matter of necessity to spare Patti from having to worry about fighting her back issues at some performances while also giving an iconic performance? Or a way to allow her not to overstrain her back so to make it through repeated performances and her entire run? As someone who has battled sporadic back pain for years, I know how debilitating and unpredictable it can be.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 02:02 AM

Miles2Go2 said: "I believe Patti’s recent absences were due to chronic back problems. I don’t get to see the show until early January, but does anyone think this particular bit of staging could be a matter of necessity to spare Patti from having to worry about fighting her back issues at some performances while also giving an iconic performance? Or a way to allow her not to overstrain her back so to make it through repeated performances and her entire run? As someone who has battled sporadic back pain for years, I know how debilitating and unpredictable it can be."

I suppose it's not impossible. I recall observing how War Paint staged around her being in obvious pain before her hip surgery. (She was often seated on a wagon and pushed out, as opposed to walking on and sitting.)

But also, she walks all over the stage the throughout the night, and has plenty of downtime.

I'll also note a friend who saw the show last night remarked to me how incredible and daring it was she does the entire scene and song sitting. I completely agree.

Rudy2 said: "^^ If you’re right about this, it’s worth it to see her play this role, which is a gift we shouldn’t overlook, especially now

Can anyone share what the blocking was like for the London production?"

It was similarly seated. My personal take is it’s actually a dramatic choice because the director, who is a director of plays mainly not musicals, wanted to keep more honesty in the scene and do we really think Patti’s Joanne who screams seated for alcohol (one of my fav bits in terms of humour en she gets it!) and who loves to power play (see: her threatening to leave her husband) would be so desperate to stand to sell the number for us? No Patti’s Joanne demands that we come to her and meet her where she wants us to. Standing centre stage and pulling every trick to get the audience to give her attention would seem to be the kind of thing that the ‘Ladies Who Lunch’ do, not Patti’s Joanne.

I saw the original B'way cast (albeit Jane Russell for Stritch by that point) and the first national (end) with Julie Wilson as Joanne. Joanne always played the scene seated in the Prince staging.

If memory serves, Joanne never rose. The 4th wall is sufficiently broken by the song itself. To rise invites the audience to participate. I don't recall that in the staging. The number pulls Joanne out of the scene with Robert, but isn't "to" the audience per se. To my thinking it's ruminative -- a set of observations that annotate the scene and moment -- not an actual entreaty to a seated audience in X theater. Others may disagree but certainly Hal Prince was not fond of such concert-like behavior in his characters.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 10:39 AM

Alexis Smith was indeed seated for the entire "Could I Leave You?" I saw it twice.

Joanne doesn't need to rise. Her power is in the cynical entreaty to a sub-set of her generation, which is delivered from a woman sitting at a cocktail table, on a night out. I'd argue that the song works because of the incongruity of casual occasion vs gravity of sociological rumination.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 12:04 PM

SPOILERS



Instead of Joanne propositioning Bobby/ie, she offers Larry to Bobbie while Joanne is at the gym on Tuesday.

"You can take care of him."

"And who is going to take care of me?"

"Did you hear what you just said? Did you hear what you just said, kiddo?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"You just said you want someone to take care of you."

etc.

It definitely, to me, effectively brings her to the "what do you get" moment, but in a different way.

Hope that helps.

I do need to share my biggest nit pick with the show - why is the flight attendant dressed like a captain? He is wearing captain's stripes. We don't need him wearing a captain's uniform to signify he works on planes. Flight attendants don't wear stripes. I found that very strange and it actually took me out of it. When a woman plays the role, she does not wear a captain's uniform.

Flight Attendants do have stripes on their uniforms. I am one. Traditionally most airlines Flight Attendants have one or two stripes on their jackets. First Officers have three, and Captains have four.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 03:49 PM