FIRST DAUGHTER SUITE Previews

I am seeing it on Saturday night. The cast is pretty flawless.

I'm going tonight. Sounds very much like First Lady Suite - the surreal aspect, one more dramatic scene, ect. I think it'll be interesting if the scores are in the same vein. First Lady Suite has some gorgeous stuff in it and I hope over the 20 years since that piece he has learned to cut some of the more repetitive and less engaging scenes. I'm very excited for the cast and can't wait for the cast recording. And Mary Testa is one of my favorite actresses, so I can't imagine her being anything but stunning.

I'm stoked to see this. I love a small scale musical. Hopefully going this week. Was it pretty packed?

I was at the second preview last night. I found it breathtaking.

It's as if Michael John wrote First Daughter Suite as a response to all he has learned since writing First Lady Suite. The show still has surreal aspects, but they are refined and used to exciting effect, except for one scene that is a dream and therefore goes way over the top.

"Happy Pat" is a nuanced look at the Nixon family on Tricia's wedding day - which may or may not be on this day to overshadow the brewing Watergate scandal. It looks at the relationship between sisters, mothers and daughters, and how to survive. Barbara Walsh is gorgeously subtle as Pat Nixon, who is haunted by a berating Hannah Nixon . This section is almost sung-though with beautiful, swirling music. However, by the end of the show, this section is the most forgettable, simply because all the power lies in its soft-spokeness.

"Amy Carter's Fabulous Dream Adventure" finds the Ford and Carter mother-daughters trapped in Amy Carter's crazy dream on the presidential yacht. Alison Fraiser is hysterical as a drunk yet caring Betty Ford and Betsy Morgan is appropriately wicked as Susan Ford. As the group goes along with Amy, danger strikes in Iran, where they have wound up as a manipulation by Susan. Throughout the section, Amy longs for fun and adventure, and the contrast between fun Betty Ford and the seemingly "boring" Rosalynn Carter. This section focus on "normality" and being content. It is also the most outrageous, with some bouncy and jazzy songs for the group and little Amy. Mrs. Carter gets a wonderful ballad to Amy about what its like to be in the public eye. The biggest problem is length (it is about 40 minutes now and could use 7-10 minutes of trimming) and tone (some dark things happen very suddenly and that seems very out of place with the tone and the resurrection scene was verging on camp).

"Patti By the Pool" shows Nancy Reagan attempting to convince her daughter Patti, whose first book has just been published, to come to family Thanksgiving after not speaking to her for six months. The foul mouthed Patti has some funny one-liners and a song that verges on rap in a section. Isabel Santiago is hilarious as the maid and one wishes she had more to do, although her song is wonderful. This was probably my least favorite section, but it is still very good. There is more dialogue in this scene and it really allows the "class" of Nancy Reagan and the barbed jabs by Patti to land. The end is funny, even if it is unbelievable, and Santiago's song is the perfect closer.

The best section has to be "In the Deep Bosom of Oceans Buried" starring the incomparable Mary Testa (and it really is all hers). Barbara Bush refuses to help her "mediocre" son in his re-election campaign and Laura attempts to get her to reconsider. However, Barbara is spending the day with Robin (a fabulous Theresa McCarthy), her first daughter who died of Leukemia 50 years prior. This section features swirling introspective ballads of longing and letting go, as well as the feeling of a lost child. The complicated relationship of Laura and Barbara is explored to moving effect, and Robin's stunted growth in her mother's mind serve as the emotional core of the piece, and it is from that which Testa gives such a beautiful performance, at times funny and at others heart-wrenching.

The show opens with a homage to First Lady Suite - "Do you know what I wished for?" that transforms into a completely different song and lyric. The ladies close the show with a very short closing song focusing on Barbara (maybe it should close with a more open ended song) but the Testa piece was so powerful it felt earned. The show is in very good shape and the entire cast is wonderful. The mixing could be a little better, as sometimes I couldn't understand the actresses, in particular Alison Fraiser as Betty Carter. I could understand the frustration with the plexiglass over the "Grounded" sand, but it worked for me. I really loved this show and look forward to revisiting it later.

I talked to many actresses after and they said there were a lot of changes in last night's performance. Mary Testa said she was "sick as a dog", but you couldn't tell onstage. I was able to talk to Michael John before the show and he was very kind and even signed my Wild Party vocal selections. The entire show is wonderful, but it is not for everyone. I almost thought I was sitting next to After Eight, but he left at intermission. However, for those who go in for something gorgeous and moving (and intimate), this is the show for you. I wish all the best for the cast and show. It truly is something special.

little_sally said: "Thanks, Sally, for such a well-written, detailed review!

Yes indeed! Made me want to see the show sooner rather than later. So glad to have found it on TDF after your review. Looking forward to it!

"

When you sit on the sides, it is very easy to see the audience on the other side. I sat int he first row on the right side of theater. I could see most of the nuances in characters, but my experience was diminished by the audience on the other side, a couple of whom (in the front row) were making ghastly faces - they seemed to want the audience to pay attention to them rather than what was occurring onstage. So be mindful of that when buying tickets.

Okay, thank you kind ClydeBarrow. It must be that I'm rude, immature, uneducated, nonsensical and everything went over my head. You know me so well.

It's absolutely my prerogative to exit a show because I find it distasteful/uncritical. We didn't make a scene, we left unobtrusively. Am I obligated to just love every show I see? Am I obligated to sit there and lap up the problematic racial implications?

"You're also very rude to leave abruptly because of something that offended you"? Don't make me laugh.

Updated On: 10/8/15 at 07:31 PM

The only LaChiusa show I know well is The Wild Party (which I have never seen, though I adore the recording), so I knew virtually nothing going into the show tonight other than the basic premise and the fabulous cast. Fortunately, the material this cast is working with more than lived up to their considerable talent. It's nearly entirely sung-through, and though the tone of each piece verges pretty wildly, each is in its own way a moving look at the toll that comes from having to simultaneously live in the public eye and in the often toxic world of politics.

As the individual segments go, I enjoyed Amy Carter's the most- it's very, very funny, largely due to the hysterical work of Alison Fraser as Betty Ford. Everyone in this segment is wonderful, and Rachel Bay Jones has the best song of the evening as Rosalynn Carter. As far as the treatment of the "Iranian" characters, while it could border on the offensive, it's very clearly occurring in the dream of a young girl in the late 70s- it's not exactly a place for nuanced character, and it made perfect sense. In a way, I actually found it quite sad- that this otherwise ordinary girl was having a dream about something so terrible by virtue of her father's position. The Barbara Bush segment is also lovely- the writing for me was a little too flowery for me, but Mary Testa absolutely sells every single second she has. She is very funny, as anyone could expect, but her performance has a considerable amount of quiet, sad dignity and makes the entire piece work beautifully.

As for the other two segments, I found the Nixon one lovely, though it's the most restrained of the four. The only one to fall somewhat flat was the Reagan segment- Levy and Fraser do great work as, respectively, Patti Davis and Nancy Reagan, but the whole piece took a while to get going and the ending was lackluster. The actress playing their maid was very good, but I found her song unnecessary. Still, it's a fascinating, entertaining show and a worthwhile evening. I can't wait to take a listen to First Lady Suite to see how it compares.

Was lucky enough to see this the first night, from front row center. Now I'll admit, I'm not a big LaChuisa fan. I'd seen Queen of the Mist and listened to bits of Wild Party and Giant, but overall, this piece impressed me the most out of the others I've been familiar with.

To echo previous posters: yes, the Bush section was the best, and imo was the piece that really convinced me of Lachuisa's style. I also happened to deeply enjoy the Carter/ Ford section (though I think the belly dancing section in the middle can be trimmed a bit). It was weird and shocking, but given that it's from the perspective of a girl realizing the power within her, it works.

I agree that the other two weren't nearly as strong, though each had incredibly admirable qualities. Absolutely loved Allison Fraser/ Cassie Levy, though the end of this scene honestly had me more confused than anything in the dream sequence.

But on the whole, given that it was a first preview of (what very well may be) the only successful sequel a musical's ever had, it works.

I'd say it's a little late in the day to take aim at such easy and timeworn targets as Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, and Nancy Reagan, especially if you have nothing fresh or interesting to say. Unfortunately, the creator of this piece has done it nonetheless. The result is an airless, flatfooted affair. The first piece is a bore; the second, fatuous and jejune; the third, trite and inert; and the fourth, bilious, lugubrious, and noisome.

Meanwhile, the turgid score roils and recedes like a muddy river in a rainstorm, striving to hit as many wrong notes as possible --- and, alas, succeeding only too well. The lyrics are at times embarrassingly bad: "You pick, you choose/You win or lose." Huh? And people here were complaining about the lyrics to Allegiance?

There's a dreary, pretentious "art-song" at the end of the show that ruminates on the ocean, life, what not. Nothing like ending a show with a state-of-the-art-house soporific!

The performers are expert, and do a great deal to help matters.

For those who don't know the name of Amy Carter's cat, the show hammers it home for us several times: Misty Malarky Ying Yang.

The cat's name pretty much sums up the show.

Updated On: 10/15/15 at 12:22 AM

Lovely music, some smart, funny, touching lyrics and--across the board--wonderful performances.

What, though, is the point of this show? What is the coherent message? What deeper truth--about Mothers & Daughters, Childhood, Motherhood, life in the wings of the White House--is explored, illuminated, amplified or even raised in any thoughtful, consistent way?

The song about 'daughters of Presidents & Kings...Gods & Demigods' seemed to me like a good starting place, but it is lost in the middle of the show, and none of what comes before or after reflects or touches on the issues in any way that coheres into a big idea. Similarly, Isabel Santiago's song is a beautiful--and beautifully sung--parable/lament about parenthood, but the intelligence and insight found in those songs does not--in my opinion--carry over to the very unsatisfying narratives of the 4 scenes.

As others have said--the Bush family scene was the most successful. Mary Testa is magnificent and she gets strong support from Theresa McCarthy and Rachel Bay Jones. I was particularly gratified to see Barbara Bush's (in)famous reference to her "Beautiful Mind" play such an important role in this scene. The late--and so lamented--David Rakoff would be thrilled.

ClydeBarrow said: "The set design is very minimal. For some reason they left the sand on the floor from GROUNDED and covered it with some clear plexiglass which at time was supposed to mimic water."

It was actually screen/mesh material under the panels. Although it did look like the sand from the last show...