Dessa Rose 4/24

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 6:54pm

La Chanze was out but her understudy was great.Rachel York was there. The show itself was quite good. Look forward to the cast album

An interesting note re Light in The Piazza. Both female leads were out today. No idea if it due to passover or another reason

[jmnpublications]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 6:58pm

Will you be giving us your review? I look forward to your more detailed thoughts.

lc

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 7:10pm

Well written. The score is not going to produce any song hits but it is well tailored to the story.

The set in not much. The players, especially Rachel York, Norm Lewis & the understudy, Kenita Miller, were very good

Mr & Mrs Roxy give it a 9 out of 10

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 7:21pm

Roxy I also saw Dessa Rose today. I was so disappointed when I learned LaChanze was out. Much to my delight, the understudy Kenita R. Miller, was perfect and I was completely happy. The whole cast was fantastic. I loved Norm Lewis and Rachel York is beyond wonderful. I am so glad I saw Dessa Rose, thank you Corine!!

[Pinky]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 7:27pm

Dying to see this show!!!! How big is Norm Lewis's part? I love him!!!!

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 8:02pm

I guess if you're seeing Dessa Rose in the next few weeks, expect La Chanze to be out.

[Corine2]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 9:20pm

Glad you liked it.
I went again tonight. Kenita is very good but her voice is not as strong as La Chanze. I adore this show. Rachel York shined tonight I was just exhausted.
I will go again when La Chanze returns.
Updated On: 4/24/05 at 09:20 PM

[jmnpublications]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 9:38pm

I wonder if LaChanze will be able to do the cast recording on May 2. It sounds like she has something pretty serious. I hope she gets well soon.

I plan to see the show again, too, on May 29. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to experience this wonderful production again.

lc

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 10:00pm

By the way, there were many empty seats today. Some were due to Passover but the show has been heavily discounted for quite sometime. I joined Lincoln Center to get tickets to this & Piazza . When I bought these tickets I was told most of the good tickets for weekends were already gone. What a crock. I will not renew Lincoln Center membership when it expires as my 2 membershipas were like flushing $ 80 down the toilet

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 10:17pm

Roxy I was miffed to see the person sitting next to me paid $40.00 for her ticket.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 10:22pm

I paid $ 40 per ticket. Try Broadway Box.com next time

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 10:27pm

Thank you for the information Roxy. I paid $75.

[Chip1012]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 10:43pm

Norm should have had a bigger role in this!

[MusicMan]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 12:25am

That question kept ringing through my mind while watching this half-baked show this evening. Why did the authors think this property stageworthy and suitable for lyrical treatment? Why is the titular lead supposed to be of compelling interest to an audience? Why are we meant to assume her enslaved status an automatic badge of heroic status? Why is her establishing number (SOMETHING OF MY OWN) allowed to fritter away to nothing before it develops into a statement or sentiment in which an audience can invest? If the score is meant to engage the audience by concretizing the story through musical and lyrical means, why is the result a musical wallpaper that dulls the senses with its monotony and poor judgement in its 'spotting'? Why is Michael Hayden's character in this show? Why are the lead actors regularly missing performances? (That only begs more questions.) Why have the director and producers allowed these questions to remain unaddressed?
Too many 'whys' and not enough 'wise.'

Updated On: 4/25/05 at 12:25 AM

[jmnpublications]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 1:00am

MusicMan,

Sorry you didn't find DESSA ROSE compelling. A lot of folks disagree with you, myself included. It seems that people are either touched by the story and its musical treatment or not. I was very moved by the material and the performances, so much so that I plan to see it again.

Regarding the "absences" you mention, LaChanze is the only one who has been out a lot, and it has been said here and elsewhere that she is quite ill. The reports of other cast members being MIA have been grossly exaggerated. I know for a fact that Rachel York performed for close to a month while dealing with a sinus infection. She didn't miss a show because of it.

DESSA ROSE is not your typical musical, but it certainly seeped into my pores.

lc

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 1:37am

Actually, most people disagree with you MusicMan. From reading most of your posts you dont' really seem to like anything. It sounds liek you went to the theatre and decided to sit and try to pick apart everything without really sitting back and taking the story in. It's one thing if you don't like it, but to say that this story doesn't sing isn't thinking or listening very dramatically. And if LaChanze has got something serious, humanity would be a nice trait to have about now. Before anyone gets on the soapbox and starts talking about the ability to do 8 shows a week, consider this...No one knows what LaChanze is going through except her, so don't start judging her yet.
Also, I don't know how you can listen to African drums and 6 singing actors belting and say that one's senses were dulled. Secondly, Dessa Rose isn't a hero because she was a slave. As a matter of fact no one makes Dessa out to be a hero at all. You get a bit of a nasty spirit from her. The show comments on 2 women and how they deal with each other and slavery around them. It's about 2 strong spirits trying to beat a corrupt system. The things that Dessa went through were typical of any slave of the time. Come to think of it, the fact that she and countless other slaves went through slavery and survived makes them a hero in my book. I can't address spotting because I don't know what that is theatrically.

PS Both leads weren't out today. It was just Vikki Clark. I assume she's taking a day off to record tomorrow. Patti Cohenour (who's usually Fabrizzio's mother) played Margret today, so someone had to cover her role.

[hannahshule]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 5:05am

BOTH leads were out?

anyway, I'm going May 14, so I guess I won't see laChaze (what a cool name) but hopefully I'll see York. She's beena real trouper throughout the show.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 6:37am

The two female leads were out of PIAZZA because the cast album is being recorded today.

[hannahshule]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 6:49am

wait, confused here.
were the two leads from PIAZZA out, or the ones from DESSA out?

[Corine2]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 7:36am

Well Musicman,
I was there last night and it was not the same.
I have seen the show before and yesterday it was not as compelling as when La Chanze was in it.
I left in intermission but I left because I was exhausted.
Hopefully La Chanze will feel better soon and return to the show.

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 9:44am

I was at the matinee and I was thrilled by the show. "Why was the Michael Hayden's character in the show?" How can you ask that question? He has an integral role in the show.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 12:01pm

Umm I was at Light in the Piazza yesterday and I def saw Kelli O'hara and Sarah. Both leads weren't out of Piazza it was just Vikki. As a matter of fact she was the only one that was gone.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 12:42pm

Most people here may disagree with MusicMan, but that doesn't constitute most people generally. Even on the chatter boards, there is a significant minority that has serious problems with the show, myself included.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 1:24pm

I wasn't talking about the boards actually. There's a buzz around NY about this show. Most people I've talked to who've seen it seem to love it and get hit by it hard.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 1:25pm

I loved this show so much. Am aching for the cast recording.