Company Student Rush..- Page 4

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:14pm

I'm getting there around 1:30/2 on Tues. Hope that works out.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:21pm

I'm sure you'll be fine

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:24pm

How's the view from front row? Does it kill your neck or can you see everything fine?

[BillFinn]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:25pm

I did student rush today and got the box, but moved to center mezzanine. The cast was phenomenal. Raul- I can see how it's a two-sided coin. I mean, you can't deny that he has a powerhouse voice. But from center mezzanine, I couldn't get a feel for his acting. The book was weak. It's hard to get into a musical with so many complex relationships and then be asked to focus in on Bobby. The whole "gay scene" that was added in revival should have stayed out. The musical isn't about questioning your sexuality, it's about marriages at different levels and times of your life. The stages. Sexual Preference is left-field to the subject matter. If you had a gay character or gay couple, THEN I could buy it. But the one character hitting on Bobby? Eh. I could have done without.

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:31pm

Bill-what time did you get there?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:32pm

That scene has been in previous productions. It was not added to this revival. It was inserted to try and deter the assumption that Bobby is gay; and honestly, the presence of the scene doesn't try to make the musical ABOUT sexuality. It just adds another layer to the conflict. I agree that it's not imperative plot-wise, but I don't think it detracts and I understand why it was put there. Plus, I think that saying the show is ONLY about marriage is a little limiting, kind of like sticking it in a very confining box. I think it's about something bigger than that -- it's about figuring out who you are in relation to other people.

The front row isn't bad on your neck, IMO. The stage is relatively low.

Updated On: 6/17/07 at 11:32 PM

[misschung]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:38pm

what time did you buy your ticket?

That scene is in the libretto that I have, though, and its from the 1970 version, as far as I know. I think part of that was the time period in which the original production took place. And I think its also just another aspect of the "well why ARENT you married or with anyone?" conflict.

[mint0621]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 11:52pm

I was at the Company rush line last Friday and got in line at 3:50PM. We were 2nd in line. By 4:30PM, the line was really long. Tickets were sold at 5PM.

About the "gay" scene...I've talked at length with Matt Castle & Amy Justman about this scene. Both feel that Bobby is not gay, and neither is Peter. In Matt Castle's words, "Peter is so desperate he would sleep with anyone"...which is how (I feel) how Peter's character is portrayed on stage brilliantly by Castle. And I completely agree with Emcee, Company is not purely about marriage...this interesting scene just adds another layer of complexity between how Bobby relates to people in general. And while initially it feels very "out of the blue"...I mean, I had no idea it was coming...after the intial shock, it completely makes sense, given Bobby's confusion about personal relationships in general.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 12:03am

Me? Noon.

That scene has always fascinated me, because it changed so much throughout this revival's evolution. For a long while, it felt like Matt and Raul weren't really committing to pushing the audience one way or the other, and from an audience perspective, they felt for quite some time as though they were still feeling out how to navigate it. It seemed as though, in early previews, Raul hadn't really decided where he wanted to make us go with it, although I don't think I ever got the idea that Bobby was gay.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 12:05am

Thanks for the rush info, we appreciate all the updates we can get!

The more I see the show, the more I love Matt Castle in that scene. The look on his face when Bobby is laughing is just great, and I love the staging with Matt at the piano and Raul standing all the way at the corner.

It's one of those moments when you laugh, and then you're like "hey, wait..." I felt like it was, on the surface, supposed to be dealing with the elephant in the room regarding Bobby's sexuality. But when he denies being gay and laughs at Peter, I felt like the subject of homosexuality became irrelevant, and it became more about, the absence of something in Bobby's life. I dont know how to explain it. But I think Peter is almost as lonely as Bobby during that scene, and that his character is kind of a mirror for Bobby - but Bobby just uses the laughter as a defense.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 12:05am

Well, Sondheim and Furth have always insisted Bobby isn't gay. Wasn't there some rumor as well that they'd file a lawsuit against any production that attempted to portray Bobby as gay? I don't think there's any question about it, really.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 12:16am

There was one production that tried to make Marta a male character that they stopped, yeah. I'm thinking that's what you're thinking of? I'm not sure it was so much because it would make Bobby bisexual as because of the text changes, though. Updated On: 6/18/07 at 12:16 AM

[jochang621]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 9:59pm

How's the view from front row? Does it kill your neck or can you see everything fine?

I love sitting front row. The view is great and the stage is low, so you don't miss anything that's going on upstage. If you sit in seat 107, you can touch Raul if you wanted to, during "Being Alive".

ah I'm going to miss this show...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:04pm

... don't give anyone any ideas.

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:11pm

Ya, I was thinking about how I could touch his shoes if I wanted to. Well, it's more a matter of if I was ALLOWED to, but whatever.

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:14pm

I'm actually going on Sunday. I'm gonna go to the box office at 10, because I thought that's when it opens, but I heard that it opens at a different time on Sundays. Is it true or not? Sorry to keep asking questions, but I REALLY want to see it.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:17pm

It opens at 12 on Sundays

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:18pm

Thanks so much! Now I can sleep longer.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:23pm

Yeah, skittles, I didnt think there was ever a doubt, at least in my mind, that he WASNT gay, which is why I don't think that scene offers any real resolution, but instead only heightens the tension going into the scene with Joanne before everything kind of explodes.

And yeah, don't give anyone ideas about touching Raul during Being Alive...hehe. I was actually watching the expressions on the people in the front row's faces last time, and you could tell how intense it was being that close. I have to prepare myself for the possibility of that on Wednesday, lol.

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:29pm

Don't worry guys, I'm not actually going to touch him, hehe

[misschung]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:30pm

MIGHT ruin the moment

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 10:37pm

"Being alive, being alive....*big breath* BEING A-what the hell?!" *Raul kicks me in the face*

[BillFinn]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:26pm

I got there an hour and a half before curtain. so 1:30? 2ish? And they gave us box seats. There was a whole box behind us empty. Sunday was kind of empty.

[jochang621]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:27am

yeah, it's really powerful watching raul sing "being alive" up so close. i had forgotten how powerful it was every time i saw it, and was equally moved every time.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 9:14am

vfd - can you let us know about the rush line tonight?