Donmar revival of Passion
Donmar revival of Passion
#1Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 2:01am
Been listening to the BBC3 broadcast with the leads of the revival of Passion, and I can't help but think that Elena Roger brings a beauty to Fosca's songs, that I hadn't heard before. Revelatory.
Anyone seen it?
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#2Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 2:18amShould Fosca's songs be sung with beauty (whatever that really means anyways)?
#3Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 5:43amJust because Fosca is not physically beautiful doesn't mean she shouldn't sing beautifully. I loved Donna Murphy's voice in the part.
Faced with these Loreleis, what man can moralize!
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#4Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 5:59amListening to her singing on BBC3 the word that came to mind was vulnerable which to me indicates Fosca's inner beauty.
#5Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 6:36amIs there a way we can hear this? What songs did she sing? (BBC iPlayer link, or something?)
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#6Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 7:03am
I would also love to listen to this, if it's available.
Should Fosca's songs be sung with beauty (whatever that really means anyways)?
Why do you think they shouldn't be?
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#7Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 6:07pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tmj5w
This is the link to the BBC iPlayer - the interview with the 3 main characters and the director starts at about 1:08:00 - Elena sings a song and so do the other two. It actually opens tonight so there should be reviews on the West End Message Board soon.
#8Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 6:09pmSo according to the listing she sang "I wish I could forget you". But it's no longer available. Did anyone record it?
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#9Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 7:02pmUm... did you get my message, qolbinau?
"Are we being attacked or entertained?" - MST3K
My theatre poster/logo portfolio: http://www.listenterprises.com/
#10Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 7:05pm
No I didn't 
.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#11Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/21/10 at 9:26pm
Let's try that again... 
"Are we being attacked or entertained?" - MST3K
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#12Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 7:10am
https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?page=2&thread=1019909&boardid=3
reviews posted on the West End board
#13Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 11:38am
Thanks for the heads up, Buddy's blue!
Reading those reviews - and I'm not talking about this production, as I haven't seen it - show how some theatre critics know absolutely nothing about music. (The one who said Sondheim didn't know how to write romance shows like R&H or Lloyd Webber (!) do, seriously, why does this guy have a job critiquing anything beyond TV shows?)
To call the show "flat" and dissonant, is indeed a high insult to this work. It also shows they don't understand it; it was written not as sung-through, but as one long (a 1 hour, 45 minute) love song. The critic that complains that the music isn't hummable - what an idiot!
At any rate, I hope they record this for posterity. I won't be making it to London in the near future, and I'm dying to hear the new Tunick orchs.
"Are we being attacked or entertained?" - MST3K
My theatre poster/logo portfolio: http://www.listenterprises.com/
#14Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 11:40amI would love to see/hear Elena Roger as Fosca. I've actually never seen her in anything, but there's something about her that I really like, and I think she'd work wonderfully in the part. (and apparently she does!)
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#15Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 12:13pmWill this be another Brit-reduced production, with one violin and a casio keyboard?
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
#16Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 12:14pmYou forgot the comb and wax paper.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#17Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 1:20pm
Big isn't always beautiful - I haven't seen this production and unfortunately won't be able to but a choice between seeing some of the big Broadway productions and this - my choice would be very clear. The London Times has given Ms Roger her very own star and the WOS critic is being slapped down right left and centre.
http://www.whatsonstage.com/reviews/theatre/london/E8831285111116/Passion.html
#18Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 1:30pm
"Will this be another Brit-reduced production, with one violin and a casio keyboard?"
If it transfers, we'll make it even more crass: just wait 'til you see Georgio "sit bolt upright and scream... and grab his crotch".
#19Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 1:35pmI would be very surprised if this transfered, though I'd certainly love to see it
ellieptical
Swing Joined: 7/12/08
#20Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 3:59pm
The night I saw it, 3rd performance, I think. There was a producer in the audience - I don't know who but he said he had Memphis, ALNM & La Cage on Broadway. He was there to check out the show for a transfer, I think.
Also in the audience was Sondheim who looked like he was loving the production and just seemed so enraptured by it. It was sweet to watch him actually.
I have never liked the score for Passion until I saw this production, it's stunning. I love Jamie Lloyd's work anyway but this was prob the best thing I've seen him direct. I didn't like David Thaxton when I saw him in Les Mis but he was an absolute wonder in this production.
Updated On: 9/22/10 at 03:59 PM
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#21Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 4:30pm
"If it transfers, we'll make it even more crass: just wait 'til you see Georgio "sit bolt upright and scream... and grab his crotch".
The current British school of musical theatre direction: when in doubt, emulate Benny Hill.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
#22Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:01pmNeither Memphis, La Cage or Night Music has turned a profit in NYC so that producer needs to be carful. The production sounds wonderful and I'd love to see a revival - but its VERY risky to try to move it.
#23Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:08pm
The reviews say a 9 piece band, and the radio interview says the musical director conducts from the piano.
But this score doesn't need much, and Sondheim also said the original production was overblown.
I hate to gush, but it may be my favorite Sondheim score, specifically for "Loving You".
"Are we being attacked or entertained?" - MST3K
My theatre poster/logo portfolio: http://www.listenterprises.com/
#24Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:19pm
"The current British school of musical theatre direction: when in doubt, emulate Benny Hill."
C'mon Roscoe - this isn't that British Comedy thread on the Off-Topic board. Benny Hill has been banned from UK terrestrial TV for 20 years. The way you describe the Broadway production of ALNM makes it sound more like Trainspotting.
But who knows? Maybe the Broadway production is more like Trainspotting. Another thing I liked about the current production of ALNM at the Menier was the way it avoided the coy, nudge-nudge, wink-wink humour that was written into the book by British-born Hugh Wheeler (who would definitely know who Benny Hill was).
Nunn (who I am not usually a fan of, as my posts on the West End board bear witness) got rid of it and brought a very matter-of-fact Swedish eroticism to the show: since I haven't seen anyone on the Broadway board comment on this I can only assume it too has been jettisoned on the journey across the Atlantic.
#25Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:22pmI love PASSION and I'd love to see it back on Broadway but I'm not sure this is going to be the production that makes it New York as a revival. To produce it as a commercial theatre piece would be unbelievably challenging - unless they got Cate Blanchett to play Fosca.
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