Cradle Will Rock- Page 5

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 10:31am

Just another comment about the score. I rarely immediately love a song at the first listening. I usually have to hear them several times. But I liked these songs right away.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 11:25am

I cannot make the show tonight Friday 7/12 at 8pm and have 2 tickets CC 116,117. $35 for both. Below cost. PM if interested.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 11:18pm

Saw the show tonight and pretty much agree with everything most of you guys have said, so there's no real point in repeating it and beating a dead horse. A truly perplexing and odd show, with some confusing, perplexing direction, and a fantastic, fantastic cast. They really make it worthwhile, especially Randolph, Esparza, and Burstein.

That said, tonight, when Eisa Davis plays the professor, another one of the actors (not sure who) "arrests" her at the end of her speech, and she looked like she twisted her ankle and fell, nearly wiping out a chair or two in the process. The audience around me gasped and the action onstage halted for a few seconds, as everyone wanted to make sure she was okay, but she got up, collected herself and went on with the show. Followed by a joke or two from Danny Burstein, of course. Hope she's okay! Updated On: 7/15/13 at 11:18 PM

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 12:26am

Eisa Davis is okay, according to the house manager. She took quite a tumble. When Burstein (as Mister Mister) said that he didn't want her character, Prof. Smoot, for his Liberty Committee, he referred to her as "the one who fell." The audience laughed a little. But in the very next scene, she plays the Doctor, and the line is "This isn't going to hurt a bit." She said, "That didn't hurt a bit." The audience clapped (and Esparza struggled not to crack up). And then she moved smoothly back into the dialogue.

[toph509]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 8:34am

I will be there tonight. I'm a huge Raul fan and wouldn't miss this.

I will be going with someone who has absolutely no clue about Cradle Will Rock and will probably be lost the entire time.

This could be tragic.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 11:10am

The Cradle Will Rock isn't exactly a hard piece to "get." Most of its messages are played pretty firmly on the surface.

Updated On: 7/13/13 at 11:10 AM

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 11:30am

I went last night, knowing absolutely nothing about the show. I debated reading about it and downloading any CDs that may have come out, but decided to go into it completely ignorant. I was able to understand the messages in the piece, but I was sometimes confused with what was happening because of the double casting and some sound issues. The most problematic for me was I couldn't read most of what the actors had on the pieces of paper (spoiler?) from row G of the mezzanine, I also have pretty bad vision with my contacts in though.

I enjoyed it and thought everyone was fantastic! Perhaps after the run ends someone could better explain the ending? I'm not sure if I understand the purpose.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 1:07pm

After two viewings, I have to say that this cast could probably sell me the Brooklyn Bridge. The director's choices still bewilder me, but this is one of the most impressive groups of singers I have ever heard. And the music is sticking with me. I am finding it impossible to stop humming "Nickel under My foot" and, of course, "The Cradle Will Rock." As I was walking up 55th Street afterwards, I actually heard an audience member break into a loud but enthusiastic chorus of "That's lightning! That's thunder!" etc.

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 1:18pm

"The Cradle Will Rock isn't exactly a hard piece to "get." Most of its messages are played pretty firmly on the surface."


Condescending much?

Anyway, what are the chances of this being recorded. Anyone know?

Updated On: 7/13/13 at 01:18 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 1:40pm

I think it comes down to the fact that some shows just don't work well in this type of concert style reading, and CRADLE is one of them. But I'll never fault Encores for trying since they consistantly get the best talent to put these shows on and 9 1/2 out of 10 times, they produce AMAZING quality shows.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/13/13 at 2:25pm

I keep hoping that the recording rumors will be true, but I have not heard anything but wishful thinking so far.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 2:45pm

Any last thoughts on this? Five performances sure isn't much.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 2:50pm

Back. Really dug it. In terms of the level of staging, I knew what to expect, so I certainly had no problem with that. And the show itself is everything I'm into. I'm probably tired enough to be declared legally insane right now, though, so more later. Maybe.

Five performances sure isn't much.

That's Encores!.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 2:53pm

Interesting piece, but terribly terribly dated. Too gimmicky production (tacky drag, big irrelevant Diogenes quote and that kid playing the cop and the scientist) didn't do much to blow the cobwebs away. Mr. Mister has moved on from Steeltown to Washington DC, changed his name to Dick Cheney, and finds Larry Foreman and his agit-prop to be terribly droll.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 3:44pm

I don't think the piece was dated at all and is actually pretty relevant! I think the director just missed a lot of great opportunities.

[ken8631]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 4:19pm

So what's Raul doing next? (Besides the SVU stuff)

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 5:17pm

"The Cradle Will Rock isn't exactly a hard piece to "get." Most of its messages are played pretty firmly on the surface."


Condescending much?

Actually, no. It was condescending for the other poster to suggest his/her friend would probably be lost the entire time watching the show. Maybe you don't actually know the meaning of the word pretty well.

Anyway...saw the final performance. What a great cast.

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 5:29pm

See if you can understand the meaning of this pretty well:

When people comment that they didn't entirely "get" a piece of art, and you state there that "it wasn't exactly a hard piece to "get", you're being condescending to them.

In other words, in case you didn't get it pretty well, you have stated that we weren't even able to get something that for you was easy.

Updated On: 7/15/13 at 05:29 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 6:05pm

What was the point of the kid, anyway? I get that there is a scene with a little boy, but they could have easily had one of the adult actors play that part. On top of it being superfluous and distracting, the boy had very troubling diction and I couldn't understand most of what he was saying. Did anyone else feel the same way?

[macnyc]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 6:10pm

It distracted me a little to have the boy playing adult roles. I knew it must be a commentary on the police officer and his authority, but I wasn't sure what. I could understand him okay except for an occasional line that I couldn't make out.

And the drag role distracted me too, but I realize it was played for laughs, so I was okay with it.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/15/13 at 10:14pm

The part that I found most disturbing (after a second viewing) was the kid playing the college professor and pulling out a tommy gun. I'm sorry, but anything involving guns (especially in the hands of a child) just makes me uncomfortable at the moment. I also thought the drag scene was funny but then went on too long and too broadly. I guess I am just a stick in the mud on some of the risks taken.

[AndersonTours]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 9:20pm

I didn't think anything was particularly "risky" and that was the problem. Holding up pictures of Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, would be risky or having petitions to sign as the audience was leaving to support unions or certain measures supporting unions, civil liberties or personal freedoms (I'm just thinking off the top of my head) those might have been risky and proactive. Those choices would've crossed the line into activism, which, I think, was the point of the original play. Casting a child to play a policeman and a professor was just unnecessary and distracting. As were most of the director's choices for me.

[colby3]

Posted: 7/24/13 at 7:29pm

read somewhere else Raul came onstage in a dress and then stripped down...True? if so, WHERE ARE THE PICS????? lol

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/13 at 10:07pm

No. Someone mistook another actor for Raul, because reading a Playbill is too hard and Raul is SO brilliant, in fact, that he can grow a full beard in 25 minutes.

The kid seemed to me to be all (a pretty overt) part of the satire. I didn't have a problem with it.

Updated On: 7/24/13 at 10:07 PM

[colby3]

Posted: 7/25/13 at 6:08am

Thanks! Didn't think that was true. Cause it didn't make sense cause of his beard. Oh well. What was his big entrance? I was supposed to take a trip up there and see the show, but it fell through. Guess it was for the best since I read he didn't show up till 2/3 of the way through the show.

Anyone know if he's doing any Christmas shows in Dec? Planning on going then maybe.