Dessa Rose

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Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 10:56pm

Worth getting? Discuss!

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

Yes.

I was fortunate enough to catch the final performance of the show at Lincoln Center. By far one of the most emotional experiences I have ever had in a theatre. The score is uniformly solid, and La Chanze and Rachel York gave astonishing performances, and the rest of the cast is pretty solid.

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:00pm

Absolutely worht it! I didn't see the show, but I have the recording and I love it. The music and story are very powerful.

http://www.beintheheights.com/katnicole1 (Please click and help me win!) I chose, and my world was shaken- So what?
The choice may have been mistaken, The choosing was not... "Every day has the potential to be the greatest day of your life." - Lin-Manuel Miranda "And when Idina Menzel is singing, I'm always slightly worried that her teeth are going to jump out of her mouth and chase me." - Schmerg_the_Impaler

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:02pm

I keep holding off buying it because I am scared I am going to spend all that money and be disappointed (which happens every now and then). I LOVE RAGTIME and I hear it's the closest that the writing duo has gotten to that. But, for some reason I remain skeptical. Please convince me to either buy it or leave it alone before I go insane.

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:04pm

Yes. Gorgeous music and thrilling star turns from LaChanze and York.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:06pm

So far, it's leaning towards buying it. Will it stay that way? We shall have to wait and see.

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:06pm

Buy it!

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:07pm

It's probably tied with as my third fave Ahrens/Flaherty score with Ragtime tops and Man of No Importance (not a popular choice I know but...--and it shares Ragtime's bookwriter) as second.

It's a flawed show, and the CD I think records if anythign too much of the show but it has moments that are absolutely breathtaking and I wish it would get a second look. (it doesn't help that the CD is rather expensive)

Their new show Glorious Ones opens this week right? In Detroit? Any info?

E

Updated On: 4/13/07 at 11:07 PM

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:07pm

It's a very strong score. there are at least two incredibly powerful ballads, one for each of the ladies. (At The Glenn, Twelve Children) and the story is super. The cd includes a lot of the dialogue, so you get the whole story, and the libretto is a hardcover book (!!)

....but the world goes 'round

#10

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:22pm

The opening and closing moments of the show are just fantastic. I'd comment more on the middle, but I enjoy the bookends too much!

#11

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:25pm

Yes, yes, 1000 times yes!

The recording captures every beautiful moment of the show. It's deeply moving, and as others have said, the performances by LaChanze and Rachel York are exquisite. The supporting cast is terrific, too - there isn't a weak link. And the music is very rich. It's not your typical show by any means, as much of it is sung through and songs aren't necessarily stand-alone. But the orchestrations are haunting - gospel, blues, folk, and a couple of power ballads. There's humor in the show, too, and the ensemble numbers are incredibly powerful. This show had some of the strongest voices on Broadway assembled in one cast.

I think Dessa Rose got lost in a season that included Spamalot, DRS, Spelling Bee, and Light in the Piazza. It deserved much more attention than it got, as did the performances by the leads. The cast recording makes it very evident why LaChanze and Rachel were nominated for Drama Desk Awards.

Stop waffling. Just buy it already.

#12

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:25pm

There's several brand new sealed ones in the used section on amazon.com for $26 plus $2.59 shipping.

It is kind of pricy, even still.
Dessa Rose CDs

#13

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:26pm

on iTunes, it's on $19.99. If I get it, that is where I would buy it.

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

#14

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:30pm

Ok, you talked me into it. I am downloading it right now from iTunes.

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

#15

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:31pm

Eric, "Glorious Ones" opens the 19th in Pittsburgh.

Jenny Powers and John Kassir are both in it, but I can't think of the rest of the cast. Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens gave a talk about the show that I attended and they talked about the show briefly. They were such nice people, I loved meeting them.

Link: http://www.ppt.org/content/showstickets.cfm?showId=2

Some people paint, some people sew, I meddle.

#16

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:57pm

Verdict, spiderdj82, when you get around to it.

#17

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 2:17am

I usually listen to my iPod when I fall asleep and I put DESSA ROSE on just to get an idea of how the music was before I fell asleep. Well, that was around midnight and it is now 2:17am. I have yet to fall asleep because I was captivated by this story and music. I just had to finish hearing the story of these two women and their friends and not even sleep was going to stop me. The cast recording ended about 10 minutes ago and I am no longer tired because all these emotions are running through me.

FINAL VERDICT--One of the BEST cast recordings I own and I have no clue why it didn't last longer than it did. I will venture to say that the music is better than LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. I mean, PIAZZA has really good music, but I wasn't so involved in it like I was this music. In my opinion, it *almost* equals RAGTIME's brilliance and I am so glad that I bought it. Everyone who hasn't gotten it yet needs to grab it ASAP!

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

#18

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 2:18am

I love this as well! I really splurged when I bought it (at Colony)!

#19

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 2:29am

I'm glad you wound up allowing yourself to ultimately be convinced to make the purchase. Dare I say that F&A are pro's at making some of the best theatrical openings ever?

#20

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 2:33am

^^YES!

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

#21

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 10:39am

spider,

I'm so glad that you agree. I'd feel bad if you took our advice and then didn't love it. Dessa Rose is one of my favorites, as well.

lc

#22

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 10:51am

I never got to see the show as it closed before I got back up to NY but I adore the cast recording. Seems to me this show has much more heart than The Color Purple- at least as conceived as a theatrical performance. It is my favorite A&F score, with Man of No Importance being second.

I hope someone does a regional production down here at some point.

"Why do you care what people might say? Why try to fit into their design?" (Side Show)

#23

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 11:00am

I hated the show. Thought it was a boring mess. Played the disc once. I think the main problem is they reveal the ending in the first song, so there is no suspense.

#24

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 11:36am

Once again, I feel I should chime in here, as the webmaster (mistress?)of the A&F site. I'm so thrilled to read so many wonderful opinions of the DESSA cd, because I really feel that the show was so unjustly dismissed when it opened. I also felt like some of the criticisms were just downright unfair. I NEVER, not even for a second, had any trouble following the storyline. I think it's always very clear, and I felt this way before I ever saw the show, just listening to a workshop recording. Critics clamor for shows that are intelligent and force you to pay attention, and yet, when someone does it, they trash it anyway!

It's possible that the CD has too much dialog, but I know that this was done partly in an effort to ensure that the show could have a life regionally. There was talk of a "highlights" disc, but it never came to pass.

I LOVE this score. "We are Descended", "Twelve Children", "Fly Away", "Just Over The Line", "10 Petticoats" "Capture the Girl".... These are all distinct songs, which was another unfair criticism of the show; that the songs all blended together. Not in my ear, or in my heart.

Steven Suskin wrote an amazing review of the CD for Playbill.com
The kind of reviews the show should have gotten when it opened.

Two other notes: The first time I heard the very end of the show, I just lost it. I think Dessa's final speech is proof of Lynn's brilliance. In the original book, the baby Dessa has is a boy. Lynn made the baby a girl and gave the story whole new layers of power and heart. I think she is amazing.

Lastly, I am glad you decided to download the CD, but I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that the packaging of the CD is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It's really lovingly and expertly done, just like the show itself.

Wow-- this turned out to be a lot longer than I intended, but I wanted to give everyone a bit more of the story and maybe convince others to purchase the recording as well.

Ronni
The Ahrens & Flaherty website

#25

re: Dessa Rose

Posted: 4/14/07 at 12:36pm

I'm so happy you love the recording, Spider. I bought it on a whim a year ago because I had a gift certicfate to Tower records. (no way was I going to spend $35 of my own cash on a cd.) But I was pleasantly surprised, and it would've been worth the price. I love the score, the story, which I think plays out better on the cd, becuase you don't have to see the two main characters constantly changing from old to young, you can imagine it however you want to.

In regional productions, Ronnik, would a director be able to double cast the part, meaning two ladies for the narrators, and two ingenues for thier younger selves? That's how I would want to see it done. Any details on Graciela's decision to do that?

"I'm an American, Damnit!!! And if it's three things I don't believe in, it's quitting and math."

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