Donmar revival of Passion- Page 2
Donmar revival of Passion
#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.
#26Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:27pmI only see it transferring if Roundabout picks it up.
#27Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:30pm
Yes, it'd be great if the Roundabout decided to transfer this production or if LCT came up with one of their own. MichaelBennett, I'm not particularly opposed to star casting Fosca, Blanchett would be great actually! Of course I doubt she can actually sing the score. Penelope Cruz would also be interesting (based on her larger than life performance in VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA) playing against type but of course making Penelope Cruz look anything but ridiculously gorgeous is probably impossible.
I say just get Donna Murphy to reprise her Tony-winning turn!
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#28Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:38pm
I don't believe the Roundabout or Lincoln Center has a history with the Donmar. There are a few commercial American producers who do, so that's why my guess would be this would be a commercial transfer if it came over...
#29Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:39pmCan Cate sing? She can play ugly well...
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#30Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 5:57pmDidn't Roundabout's CABARET start at the Donmar?
#31Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 6:02pm
"Didn't Roundabout's CABARET start at the Donmar?"
Oh snap! It did.
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#32Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 6:19pm
"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."
The show that landed on Broadway had zero eroticism, Swedish or otherwise. There was some tasteless crotch-grabbing and hip-thrusting (Petra gives "The Miller's Son" the full Nomi Malone treatment) but it wasn't erotic at all.
"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
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#33Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 6:51pmWhoops - forgot about CABARET lol. Well then - sure I suppose its possible - anythings possible.
#34Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 7:12pm
Will this be another Brit-reduced production, with one violin and a casio keyboard? says Roscoe without being judgmental in any way.
A little bit of research would tell you that the tiny Donmar has a great track record with Sondheim shows (ask Sondheim). Similar research would have told you how many were in the (decent sized) cast and band. Passion, in case you hadn't noticed, isn't Will Rodgers Follies.
I'm glad the Brits seem to want to keep doing Sondheim productions, some of them in smaller than the original (some work, some don't). It is great that the shows are being revisited, which is something that we don't see a great deal of in New York.
I'd rather see a good, small scale production than no production.
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#35Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 9/22/10 at 9:38pm
Fair enough, I was blaming the sins of the Menier SH*T Factory on Donmar.
I think we all agree that a good production is better than no production, it's just that the most recent Reduced Sondheim Productions have been pathetic. I'd rather have seen no revival of SUNDAY IN THE PARK than that travesty a couple of years ago, and Nunn's appalling LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, well, if Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch hadn't come into the production, it would have been a total waste of resources.
"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/
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#36Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 9:04am
ellieptical said: "I didn't like David Thaxton when I saw him in Les Mis but he was an absolute wonder in this production."
Bumping this old thread because I was curious if anyone else saw this production and had opinions. Even with the Olivier win, there doesn't seem to be any promotional footage online. After seeing him in Sunset Boulevard, I'm very curious about Thaxton's take though, of course, he looks very different as Max than he did in 2010 playing Giorgio.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#37Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 9:16am
This production of Passion was my first Jamie Lloyd. It prepared me for his best ever productions of Urinetown and Assassins later on. Though it's not my favorite Passion (that would be the CSC version) Elena Rogers was the greatest Fosca I have seen to date. David Thaxton was wonderful, but it was just the beginning of the idea that this was Georgio's story, not Fosca's, which was certainly developed more intensely later in the CSC production.
#38Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 10:32am
VintageSnarker said: "ellieptical said: "I didn't like David Thaxton when I saw him in Les Mis but he was an absolute wonder in this production."
Bumping this old thread because I was curious if anyone else saw this production and had opinions. Even with the Olivier win, there doesn't seem to be any promotional footage online. After seeing him in Sunset Boulevard, I'm very curious about Thaxton's take though, of course, he looks very different as Max than he did in 2010 playing Giorgio."
Sondheim was a HUGE fan of this production. In "Look, I Made a Hat" he wrote that he "had never seen Passion come properly into focus until its 2010 revival at the Donmar Warehouse", adding that "what made the eye-opening difference was the presence of the leading actor, David Thaxton". He praised at length the innocence he brought to the role and said "not many performances refocus a work the way David Thaxton's did in Passion". A pro-shot is available at the Victorian & Album museums, and some audio clips can be found online (No One Has Ever Loved Me, Trio).
The Scorpion
Leading Actor Joined: 1/3/07
#39Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 10:50amThis was the only production by Jamie Lloyd that I've truly liked. The cast was great too, especially Thaxton (who deserved his Olivier for the role) and Elena Roger. I ought to have gone more than once, in retrospect.
#40Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 1:14pm
I’m super curious if there is anything recognisable in Passion or Assassins in terms of direction style that then came through in Sunset, R&J etc. or whether he only recently adapted his ‘style’.
"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
Georgeanddot2
Leading Actor Joined: 2/20/20
#42Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 1:25pm
Passion might be my favorite musical and I once dreamed of an apocalyptic sci-fi futuristic production that had rearranged the score for a new wave synth sound. If someone wants to steal this idea, go ahead. Might be fun.
Anyways, I would LOVE to see a Broadway revival of Passion. It would obviously need a huge star to sell and I don’t really know if there's anyone out there right now that would bring something new and interesting to Fosca. Gaga maybe if we're aiming for broad camp.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#43Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 5:23pmOwen22 said: "This production of Passion was my first Jamie Lloyd. It prepared me for his best ever productions of Urinetown and Assassins later on. Though it's not my favorite Passion (that would be the CSC version) Elena Rogers was the greatest Fosca I have seen to date. David Thaxton was wonderful, but it was just the beginning of the idea that this was Georgio's story, not Fosca's, which was certainly developed more intensely later in the CSC production."
Thank you! I love what I can glean about the CSC production from the album so it's interesting to hear someone say it was still a nascent idea in the Donmar production. Still, credit to Lloyd for bringing out that aspect of the show. Perhaps I will eventually be in London when the archives are open but I have no idea how I'd go about arranging that with a NYPL card.
#44Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/10/24 at 5:44pm
Georgeanddot2 said: "Passion might be my favorite musical and I once dreamed of an apocalyptic sci-fi futuristic production that had rearranged the score for a new wave synth sound. If someone wants to steal this idea, go ahead. Might be fun.
Anyways, I would LOVE to see a Broadway revival of Passion. It would obviously need a huge star to sell and I don’t really know if there's anyone out there right now that would bring something new and interesting to Fosca. Gaga maybe if we're aiming for broad camp."
I’ve always had a silly theory that there’s a demon inside Fosca who jumps from host to host through sex before slowly killing them and therefore needing a new body.
Gaga would be amazing with a strong director. Her “camp” aspect belongs on stage where I predict it will be a very good fit.
#45Donmar revival of Passion
Posted: 11/11/24 at 4:27pm
TotallyEffed said: "I love Elena Roger."
She was terrible as Eva in the last EVITA revival on Broadway! That voice - ugh...Minnie Mouse!
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