Did Anyone See "A Bed & A Chair" At City Center Tonight?- Page 3

[Melissa25]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 1:18am

Whizzer -yes Bernadette was on fire tonight!!!

Indytallguy - you must not miss this if you are a Sondheim fan.

Had a wonderful time and agree with other positive comments about all performers. I liked the choreography and thought it added a lot to the show. Meg Gillentine was stunning and it was hard to keep your eyes off of her. I really liked the use of the NYC projections and felt they contributed to the mood. I sat in the Grand Tier so it was fun to be able look up to the side balcony walls to see the projections glowing. My partner was somewhat annoyed by the bed on the stage and felt it took away precious space from the dancers. It worked for me as it was used to help transition from song to song or song to dance.

Highlights for me included: Losing My Mind, I Remember, You Could Drive a Person Crazy, Loving You,
I Wish I Could Forget You and Ladies Who Lunch/Agony mashup.

I purchased another ticket to see this again on Saturday!!!

Here's the song list:
Merrily We Roll Along Overture
What More Do I Need?
Another Hundred People
So Many People
Broadway Baby
That Old Piano Roll
Live Alone and Like It
Who's That Woman?
Happily Ever after
I Remember
Everybody Says Don't
Someone Is Waiting
It Would Have Been Wonderful
You Could Drive a Person Crazy
Like It Was
Giants in the Sky
Isn't He Something
Buddy's Blues
With So Little To Be Sure Of
The Ladies Who Lunch / Agony /Can That Boy Foxtrot! / Uptown/ Downtown
Loving You
Send In The Clowns
Rainbows
I Wish I Could Forget You
What More Do I Need? (Reprise)
Broadway Baby (Reprise)

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 2:31am

The BWW preview video looks pretty great. I hate not being in NY! Hopefully Tommy Krasker sees the show and likes it enough to record it.

[VeraCharles3]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 7:07am

Whizzer - thanks for the report. Glad you enjoyed it and great Bernadette was in good voice and "f*ck me heels"

Melissa25 - thank you for the songlist.

I so wish I had just decided to come to New York to see this, on Bernadette's name alone. I just assumed it was a concert type event and really couldn't justify the trip but now, hearing all these reports, I regret I won't see the show.

Apologies if this is a silly question, but does anyone think this may transfer or play again after this limited run? Or is this strictly a one off event?

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 7:38am

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

Thank you, Jordan! I'm so looking forward to seeing Sunday's night performance.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 9:07am

Melissa- I liked the use of the bed too, and for obvious eponymous reasons they can't get rid of it!

This wouldn't have fit with the theme of the evening, but I really want to hear Cyrille record a jazzy version of Green Finch and Linnet Bird.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 9:24am

Buying tickets now...probably doesn't matter much, but better to sit stage left or right?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 9:25am

Almost everything is staged downstage center so I don't think it would make much of a difference!

[Kad]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 10:03am

God for them for using some different songs. Sondheim revues and concerts all seem to have had the same song list for the last decade or so.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 10:07am

I was very happy about that also, Kad.

Although I would have really liked to hear a jazzy version of "Worst Pies In London".

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 12:14pm

I'm in love with Sondheim. I'm so upset to miss this! Hoping they make some kind of recording out of it!

[SweetLips]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 5:58pm

There's a very good rehersal promo[too short] on Theatre Mania that I just saw-worth checking out---certainly hope there's a recording/DVD.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 6:12pm

I agree with everyone, what a wonderful show, Bernadette was just amazing, I thought the rest of the cast did a great job too.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 10:45pm

I read Bernadette's in pink. Was she still wearing red for the tech?

[PianoMann]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 11:44pm

I have to agree with everyone, A Bed and a Chair is simply marvelous!

The star of the show are the glorious orchestrations; they were true to the original Sondheim but were also truly jazz pieces. It will be a crime if these beautiful arrangements go unrecorded! Please, someone come through with a recording!

All four of the vocalists were great: Bernadette was having so much fun, and it was visible! The applause at the end of her Ladies Who Lunch was thunderous, and quite literally stopped the show! Norm is always in good voice, and such a pleasure to listen to. I have never been exposed to Cyrille, but was instantly smitten with her! I think I was most impressed, though, with Jeremy! The smooth-jazz rendition of Losing My Mind was beautiful, his Giants in the Sky thrilling, and Buddy's Blues equally exciting. His is a star performance.

I've mentioned some highlights above, but nothing thrilled me more than the exceptionally-crafted Ladies Who Lunch / Agony / Foxtrot / Uptown medley. I agree, Whizzer, this is what a medley is supposed to be! I never could have imagined it working as well as it did.

I thought the choreography worked quite well in the space, it didn't seem restricted at all! The instrumental versions of classics like Send In The Clowns suited the concept quite well!

I couldn't recommend this more to a Sondheim fan, it's a must-see! Even for those who aren't as familiar with Sondheim's catalogue, it's a lovely evening of live music!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/14/13 at 11:56pm

"God for them for using some different songs. Sondheim revues and concerts all seem to have had the same song list for the last decade or so."

Sondheim chose the song list with Marsalis, so maybe that played a part (the majority of his concerts and revues have not had Sondheim's input in song choices.

[eponine88]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 12:05am

Went tonight and it was a truly a delightful experience! Most of my favorite moments have already been mentioned but the overall treatment of the music was just perfect for me. Bernadette just looked like she was having a blast, and add me to the camp of those who were really impressed with Jeremy. This was my first exposure to Cyrille but her voice was a delight as well. I'd definitely recommend snagging a ticket if you haven't done so already. I was shocked to see just how empty it was tonight, especially since it was the gala performance. I had a ticket in the last row (its tradition for me and my friend to sit there at this point since its where we sat for our first friend date years ago) and there was not a single person seated for 6 or so rows ahead of us in the balcony. Right before the show started some of the folks in the lighting booth popped out to tell us not to expect anyone else in the rear balcony and to feel free to move wherever we wanted.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 2:24am

Man, sometimes NY audiences don't realize how lucky they have it. Shame to hear that such a limited run which combines the talents of Sondheim and Marsalis and which features one of the most beloved Broadway stars of our time is failing to sell. Is this bad marketing or is there just too much competition right now?

[binau]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 2:58am

There are open seats but assuming they haven't comped any seats it is selling pretty well. I don't think those cheap $30 rows of seats at the rear balcony are going to make a massive difference to the financial success of the show.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 5:11am

I think Jordan mentioned this before, but the marketing for this seemed pretty iffy. You never really knew what it was going to be. And then "a bed and a chair" had to make some people go WTF?

Seems like they thought the names involved alone would pull folks in. I'm about as big a Sondheim and Bernadette fan as there is, but I wasn't going to come to NYC and plunk down $200 for 90 minutes of something without having a bit more understanding of what I am purchasing. I can seen BP a few times in concert for that price. And yes, I know there are cheaper seats available.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 10:22am

I really wish they put out some last-minute discounts to see this show. Even though I'm just in Queens, I agree with indytallguy - it's pretty pricey for a 90-minute show. I spent so much less on my Merrily ticket for the kind of seat I like, comparatively.

(And yes, I also know I can get cheaper.)

Updated On: 11/15/13 at 10:22 AM

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 10:42am

Everythingtaboo, I live in Queens too and highly suggest the $30 seats. I agree that everything else is too pricey(except the $70 seats) but the balcony isn't bad and its too wonderful of a show to miss!

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 10:44am

I'm sitting in the $30 balcony seats for this, and I sat there for Superman and loved the view. Honestly, it's better to be in the theater in a $30 seat than not in the theater at all!

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 11:12am

Brantley seems far more mixed on this than most people here. I'm seeing it Sunday night, so I'll be curious to see with whom I agree more.

"In general, the mission of this diverting but very awkward special Encores! production, a collaboration between Encores! at City Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center, seems to be to unbutton and unbend the work of the greatest precisionist of all Broadway songwriters. And while I’ve heard individual cabaret performers successfully take a similar approach, this particular meeting of great talents rarely finds compelling common ground."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/theater/reviews/sondheim-revue-bed-and-a-chair-at-city-center.html?hpw&rref=theater



Updated On: 11/15/13 at 11:12 AM

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 11:14am

Agreed on the lack of marketing. I just told someone that Jeremy Jordan was fantastic in A Bed and a Chair. The person I was talking to did a double take.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 11:19am

Brantley pretty much said what I wrote on Wednesday.