Did Anyone See "A Bed & A Chair" At City Center Tonight?- Page 2

[tazber]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 2:19pm

I think After Eight should start a kickstarter campaign to get this recorded.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 2:20pm

I think he could do it, man, and I'm almost not even kidding.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 2:23pm

I can't imagine no one would record this. It's Sondheim.
And Marsalis is equally revered in Jazz circles.
Maybe a Jazz label live Verve will foot the bill.

I agree, and I think the addition of Bernadette Peters helps. There is (in additional to Sondheim fans and Marsalis fans) a fan base that would buy the recording based on her participation alone.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 2:32pm

Does anyone who was there know what the run time was?

[binau]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 2:35pm

Does Bernadtte sing anything she hasn't sung before?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 2:36pm

Never mind I called the box office and found out. 90 minutes, no intermission.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 4:29pm

WickedBeast, thanks for your more detailed write up. I look forward to reading Whizzer, and others' reactions. Personally, it certainly seems more interesting than, say, Sondheim on Sondheim...

"You get to hear the new song "Rainbows" written for the Into the Woods movie "

It's strange that this song seems to be popping up all of a sudden. I've heard the original demo for the originally planned ITW movie (it's not in the currently filming one, is it?) and it on the new Marry Me a Little cast album with all the song changes, and... The song really doesn't do much of anything for me. It's pleasant, but it hardly seems memorable. Maybe I just need to listen to it a few more times -- or hear a different version of it, since it seems that Sondheim, or someone, has suddenly been quite taken with it.

[SidebySidebyLogan]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 6:42pm

Is there dialogue? I assume it would be very minimal if any at all but the songs seem a little disjointed for a coherent story

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 9:37pm

Pretty fantastic. Marsalis has done some amazing things here. Just left the theater, but the first thing that came to mind was that he took a mild song like Isn't He Something and morphed it into a rich ballad along the lines of The Music That Makes Me Dance.

Whole thing was far more detailed and layered than I expected.

Thinking about it...will check back in with more thoughts later.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 9:53pm

Just bought tickets for tomorrow night; it's the only day I can go and did not want to miss this! If the orchestrations are as good as people seem to be saying they are, I'd hate to see this go unrecorded... Didn't PS announced they were recording the Encores' Merrily very late?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 9:55pm

I just got home from seeing it.

I liked it. I mean, when you get down to it, it's another Sondheim review with songs done in a "cool jazzy style" you see people do them downtown at little nightclubs. I'll never be upset seeing anything Bernadette did but on my way home I kind of realized that if she wasn't in this, I might have been really bored with some of it. Jeremy Jordan had some great numbers and Norm Lewis (of Sondheim on Sondheim) sang some good songs he didn't get to sing in Sondheim on Sondheim.

As for the question asked above, there was no dialogue. I felt as though they really wanted to try to tell a little story with the staging and the bed and the chair but nothing cohesive came across as far as that went. I was up in the balcony and the projections on the side of the theater were nice, I suppose. I never really looked at them since I was looking at the stage and forgot they were there for 98% of the show.

But the show was fine. I'm glad I went. I had a good time with friends and encourage others to see it if they get the chance.

Updated On: 11/13/13 at 09:55 PM

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:13pm

Just purchased tickets for Sunday evening. Have not been to NY City Center before. Can anyone tell me how the seats are in the Grand Tier Right? Specifically, I'm in seat E-12.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:16pm

They'll be great. Since they redid the theater, seating is MUCH better!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:25pm

If someone committed crime after going to A Bed and A Chair, a jury would be forced to acquit on the grounds of temporary insanity because no otherwise rational human being should be expected to act in his or her right mind after witnessing the brilliance that is taking place at City Center!!

If you go only to see Bernadette strut out in her hot pink dress and F*CK me now heels, it's worth the price of admission. Of course she then opens her mouth and knocks Broadway Baby all the up to Washington Heights before slinking off the stage like a lioness coming home triumphant from the hunt.

The show is 90 minutes without and intermission. There's no dialogue and there aren't even applause breaks between the songs; the orchestrations just seamlessly marry the melodies together. (Of course that didn't stop the audience from causing some applause breaks when absolutely necessary!)

The orchestrations are marvelous. Songs that we have played on cast recordings to death are reincarnated into jazzy delights. Loved You Could Drive a Person Crazy, Buddy's Blues, Isn't He Something! and a KNOCKOUT quartet version of I Wish I Could Forget You.

The pinnacle of the evening is a glorious medley, led by Bernadette singing The Ladies Who Lunch. Intertwined are Agony, Can That Boy Foxtrot and Uptown/Downtown (she dreams of The Ritz, oh it's so schizo IS sung in duet by Jeremy and Norm!). This is how medleys should be made.

I think Jeremy Jordan is giving the best performance I've ever seen him give, and for the first time I felt his star quality. There was a note he sustained in the middle of Losing My Mind that near made me lose my own mind.

Norm mostly was given tender moments, and scored well with Someone Is Waiting. He also duets with Bernadette on Loving You which I liked a lot.

Cyrille Aimee is such a breath of fresh air on the New York scene. She needs to do a Birdland concert the minute she's done with this run. Her scatting in You Could Drive a Person Crazy was so fun.

This is what Sondheim on Sondheim should have been.

I'm so happy right now.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:31pm

Oh there were applause breaks after Beenie's big numbers! :)

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:33pm

Wasn't Bernadette on fire tonight?!

[PianoMann]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:39pm

I was tempted to wait to buy tickets until after you reviewed it, Whizzer, but your praise makes me so very happy I wasn't hesitant! Extremely excited to go now :)

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:42pm

She was stunning.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:47pm

Did Grasan Kingsberry dance or sing (or both)?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 10:55pm

Whizzer, or anyone else, any opinions on the choreography?

[WhizzerMarvin]

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

PianoMann- I hope you enjoy!

Dottie- He danced. He was the Follies ghost/dream ballet Norm.

Eric- Each of the singers had a Follies dancing double. They weren't necessarily "younger selves," but rather extensions of the singers. If there was a slight weak link in program it would be the choreography. Part of the problem was that the orchestra was so far downstage that there wasn't a lot of room for the dancers to move around. Who's That Woman was the most elaborately staged sequence and I liked Send in the Clowns. I think if this continues the dancing element is something they can play with and tweak.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 11:40pm

Seeing this on Friday! Thanks for the reports, guys!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 11:46pm

WHY THE F*CK MUST I BE IN ARIZONA?!?! I would KILL to see this.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/13/13 at 11:51pm

Would someone be so kind as to post a complete song list, if possible?

[Hest882]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 12:28am

Ugh, this sounds amazing. How I wish I were in NY!