#1
Posted: 1/16/05 at 10:11pm
It's crazy that I sat through yet another show wishing I had a pen and paper, thinking about what I was going to write when I got home. Crazy, I say. Anyway....
I'll start with my typical spill of sentiments and get that out of the way first. Studio 54 has a very special place in my heart, and going with TGIF was perfect, because it's been almost exactly a year since we first crossed paths, all because of Cabaret. We spent a while looking around at various things, reminiscing... so many memories there for both of us.
On a less sentimental note, it was great to be there with someone with whom I had concurring opinions of the show, and to find some of the same rather interesting parallels I'll talk about in a bit.
The theatre - as worried as I was for the protection of my beloved Studio 54 raunchiness - looks pretty good. The leopard print carpet is still there, but the couches are black now. *pouts*. The tables have be re-arranged, but it's still essentially the same. It just seems like it's not the right place for this show. It was all so perfect for Cabaret with the tables and the nightclub setting, but this show has no connection to the grit associated with Studio 54 that gives it its personality. They did do a nice job with the renovations, though, and we sat in the mezzanine anyway; from there it looks like a completely different theatre than from the orchestra, so I don't think it really mad either of us too terribly sad, even though I'm a pathetically sentimental idiot. I would, though, hate to see the layout change, even if there's not perfect correlation between future shows and the venue; it would lose its charm.
Now, moving on to the show. I had no prior knowledge of it, other than the very bare bones of the subject. I knew that it was about imperialism in Japan, but that's literally about it. I found the show a bit slow moving at first, but I liked it much better as it progressed. It's quite unlike any musical I've seen before in terms of subject matter; a bit of an odd one for a musical, I thought. Act I was very long, but the plot breakup worked. It was much more powerful by the end of the show, with themes that still ring true, in some ways.
I liked the score, but there were less musical numbers than I would've expected, which I thought made parts of the show drag. Not more than two or three of the songs really stuck or felt that unique or memorable, though.
The cast - I thought B.D. Wong would've had a bigger part, but again, I had no familiarity beforehand. He was great. The rest of the cast was very talented, as they must be to be on Broadway, but I didn't find any particular standouts.
TGIF and I actually found a couple of parallels between Pacific Overtures and Cabaret, strangely enough. I'd like to think that it's not simply because we were thinking about and missing Cabaret, but on the other hand, I'm not sure that had we not been thinking of it given the circumstances, we'd have thought this up. They aren't all that strong, but we had an interesting conversation about this, so I wanted to include it. We found a little bit of a correlation between the Reciter and the Emce - the narrator-type, watching everything, all-knowing, and representative of other characters' feelings. Also, each was absorbed into what he'd been watching at the end - the Reciter into his society's heirarchy and mission, and the Emcee into the downfall of his society. Both shows have a decently political nature, though Pacific Overtures is much more literal, and they're both about things falling apart. The beginning of the final scene (the part of it that was supposed to be war) reminded us a bit too much of Cabaret's finale. I don't really know how valid any of that is, but I figured I'd toss it out there...
B.D. Wong gave a beautiful speech at the end asking the audience to donate to the tsunami relief effort, too.
Anyway, overall, I'm glad I got to see this. Sorry this post is so long. If you stuck it out, you probably deserve and entire box of cookies.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
I'll start with my typical spill of sentiments and get that out of the way first. Studio 54 has a very special place in my heart, and going with TGIF was perfect, because it's been almost exactly a year since we first crossed paths, all because of Cabaret. We spent a while looking around at various things, reminiscing... so many memories there for both of us.
On a less sentimental note, it was great to be there with someone with whom I had concurring opinions of the show, and to find some of the same rather interesting parallels I'll talk about in a bit.
The theatre - as worried as I was for the protection of my beloved Studio 54 raunchiness - looks pretty good. The leopard print carpet is still there, but the couches are black now. *pouts*. The tables have be re-arranged, but it's still essentially the same. It just seems like it's not the right place for this show. It was all so perfect for Cabaret with the tables and the nightclub setting, but this show has no connection to the grit associated with Studio 54 that gives it its personality. They did do a nice job with the renovations, though, and we sat in the mezzanine anyway; from there it looks like a completely different theatre than from the orchestra, so I don't think it really mad either of us too terribly sad, even though I'm a pathetically sentimental idiot. I would, though, hate to see the layout change, even if there's not perfect correlation between future shows and the venue; it would lose its charm.
Now, moving on to the show. I had no prior knowledge of it, other than the very bare bones of the subject. I knew that it was about imperialism in Japan, but that's literally about it. I found the show a bit slow moving at first, but I liked it much better as it progressed. It's quite unlike any musical I've seen before in terms of subject matter; a bit of an odd one for a musical, I thought. Act I was very long, but the plot breakup worked. It was much more powerful by the end of the show, with themes that still ring true, in some ways.
I liked the score, but there were less musical numbers than I would've expected, which I thought made parts of the show drag. Not more than two or three of the songs really stuck or felt that unique or memorable, though.
The cast - I thought B.D. Wong would've had a bigger part, but again, I had no familiarity beforehand. He was great. The rest of the cast was very talented, as they must be to be on Broadway, but I didn't find any particular standouts.
TGIF and I actually found a couple of parallels between Pacific Overtures and Cabaret, strangely enough. I'd like to think that it's not simply because we were thinking about and missing Cabaret, but on the other hand, I'm not sure that had we not been thinking of it given the circumstances, we'd have thought this up. They aren't all that strong, but we had an interesting conversation about this, so I wanted to include it. We found a little bit of a correlation between the Reciter and the Emce - the narrator-type, watching everything, all-knowing, and representative of other characters' feelings. Also, each was absorbed into what he'd been watching at the end - the Reciter into his society's heirarchy and mission, and the Emcee into the downfall of his society. Both shows have a decently political nature, though Pacific Overtures is much more literal, and they're both about things falling apart. The beginning of the final scene (the part of it that was supposed to be war) reminded us a bit too much of Cabaret's finale. I don't really know how valid any of that is, but I figured I'd toss it out there...
B.D. Wong gave a beautiful speech at the end asking the audience to donate to the tsunami relief effort, too.
Anyway, overall, I'm glad I got to see this. Sorry this post is so long. If you stuck it out, you probably deserve and entire box of cookies.
*sniff*
