Encore's God Bless You Mr Rosewater — Page 4

Now I have to pull out my Smile cd and give it a listen

Kurt is an acquired taste.

They def. attempted to hide the scripts, as the novels, which I thought was clever instead of having them walk around with binders. I liked when Santino came to the fire dept and the script was glued to the pizza box.

I just wonder why they needed them? Was the rehearsal process too rushed? Did they make cuts and therefore it was confusing at times? I mean Clark Johnson had moments as if this was his first time reading those lines. And it was Thursday, the second performance. As an actor, if there's a section I've stumbled over, I would probably go home and rehearse it over and over again. But alas.

Cesare2 said: "FWIW, here's the theater where Rosewater ran for 49 performances:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/290

"The Golden Apple," "Once Upon a Mattress," "Oh! Calcutta!" were some of the other shows that opened there.

I think I read that one of the problems with using the theater was that sections of the 1200-seat theater were roped off because the show was operating under an off-Broadway contract. Even if the show sold out, it was playing to more than a half empty house.



Talking about this theater brought back some childhood memories. I lived up the block from this theater, on 12th between 2nd and 1st Avenues in the early to mid '90s. It was already a multiplex by then but I also remember as a child when the theater played legitimate shows. I was born and grew up (before a move to Grand Street) on Rivington Street, so my family use to frequent the area during the early 1970s.

There were some great theaters down in that area. I also fondly remember the Jefferson and the Palladium theaters as well.

Sorry for the thread jack...just got a tad nostalgic.

Never seen that before, thanks Carlos!

Taryn said: "I'm surprised to hear people call Vonnegut an acquired taste. Maybe that's the more common reaction? Rosewater was my first of his novels and my love was pretty instantaneous. Breakfast of Champions might not be the best intro.



"

I agree there--though anyone would be a fool to judge it or him on the abortion of a movie that the movie version is.
I dunno--I see Vonnegut as kinda being a mainstream-cult author, if that makes sense. I do think he's an acquired taste but, at least for people of my generation (mid 30s) and older he's also pretty mainstream and known (ie, despite how strange some of his novels are, he's usually listed with other literary authors of his time and not genre writers).

It does seem like the people who haven't liked the musical primarily don't like it for the script which, as mentioned, is extremely faithful to the novel. That could just be them not liking Vonnegut's style (or the style of this novel) or perhaps there is an argument that it doesn't work on stage (there have been some changes--Diana Moon Glampers is rather cruelly depicted I think in the novel whereas, partly due of course to her big song, she's sympathetic in the musical).

Besides the NYT review I linked above, I've come across a number of theatre blog reviews (TheatreMania, etc) that have all mostly been praises, at least for the score, but in general more positive than I expected. Here's the only other mainstream media one I've found so far, from Newsday http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/god-bless-you-mr-rosewater-review-ending-series-run-with-dark-yet-oddly-sweet-show-1.12111462

RippedMan said: "They def. attempted to hide the scripts, as the novels, which I thought was clever instead of having them walk around with binders. I liked when Santino came to the fire dept and the script was glued to the pizza box.

I just wonder why they needed them? Was the rehearsal process too rushed? Did they make cuts and therefore it was confusing at times? I mean Clark Johnson had moments as if this was his first time reading those lines. And it was Thursday, the second performance. As an actor, if there's a section I've stumbled over, I would probably go home and rehearse it over and over again. But alas.

Encores actors are supposed to be on book. The rehearsal process is so abbreviated, and the actors aren't paid for adequate time to prepare. I believe it's a union requirement that the actors are not expected to have memorized their lines.

Yes, many times for past Encores the actors are NOT using scripts, but they're not required to do that. At least, that's my understanding of the situation.

Updated On: 7/29/16 at 11:06 PM

I understand they're on book and it's a concert staging, but the fact that they were sometimes nose-in-the-book reading the script was a little disheartening. I'd think after a week with the script you'd be a little more off-book.

EricMontreal22 said: "What do you mean, Smooth, about being too long for James Earl Jones?









I was repeating something I had heard from someone who works at the theatre. Now this does not mean it is the God's truth. The implication was that Jones's health was not strong enough and given that he is such a big name there was a willingness to accommodate him by making cuts. Perhaps it explains the nose in the books observations. Personally I think Jones's part was so small that he would have had plenty of time to take it easy back stage but perhaps he has health issues that we are not aware of.

I have seen tons of Encores shows as many of you have. There has been various degrees of script usage but I have never seen anyone so buried in their book until this show and I agree it was perplexing.























"

Thanks for the explanation! I don't know the show's script at all (though I did listen to a live recording of the original as a kid, it's on cassette and of course now I have no devices to play cassettes) but in the book his role is tiny, and only shows up at the end (as mentioned, he's a recurring figure in Vonnegut's works--probably an idealized image of what Kurt thinks he is, in fact). I was curious if the role was doubled when it first ran (of course, apparently Kurt played it at some performances himself), but the Lortel Archive has it listed on its own http://www.lortel.org/Archives/Production/2384

Saw it this afternoon -- it was thoroughly charming. Is the book odd...certainly....but no less peculiar than the vast majority of musicals out there. It's witty, heartwarming, and at points just plain silly. If you get a chance to go tonight - do. There were people handing out what I gather were discounted tickets at the matinee -- red envelopes marked today's tickets...don't know who they represented but there seemed to be plenty of available seats.

I saw the show for a second time at the matinee today. A last-minute purchase last night after I found a BroadwayBox code for the show. (BBXSUMMER!) You can get a great deal on the far orchestra sides for just $40 and the view is still good. (I'd recommend house left rather than house right.) If you're on the fence about going tonight, go!

Saw the show Saturday afternoon. Loved act one, act two less so, but I found the whole thing to be a delightful surprise. Refreshing, solid tuneful score, top notch lyrics and a perfect role for Santino

Is there any chance they will record this one?