'GIANT' first preview — Page 2

I like his song a lot too, and he wasn't featured much more in DC than he is now.

I forgot to say I do think the book is much stronger now. The dialogue was better and it supported the songs more. Maybe with the tighter book the cut songs felt extraneous, but they were so good and added to the epic feel.

"A Stranger" really has a nice melody and lyric. It is a shame it's gone.

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I saw the show both last night and tonight with the free tickets offered. Really an incredible production.

I know this is early in its Public run, but does anyone think this has the potential to transfer to Broadway? It would be great to have it seen by larger audiences.

I had heard Lazar wasn't offered the part again, so I'm assuming his take on the character wasn't what was wanted.

And Giant has always been intended for an eventual Broadway transfer. We'll see if the notices enable it.

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I was there last night, as well. I liked the show well enough. Although it's long, I didn't find it dragging too much- though in an attempt to cram an epic novel into a palatable theatre length, things sort of happen quickly without believable build up in the first act.

The score is very sweeping. Which sounds great at first, but then... it seems every other song is a sweeping ballad. And although LaChiusa indulges in some different styles, it's all sung the same way, making everything sort of sound similar. The few uptempo numbers ("My Texas" and "Jump" in particular) are much appreciated.

That being said: Kate Baldwin is fantastic and looks stunning in those really beautiful period dresses from the 20s, 40s, and 50s.

The rest of the cast is pretty swell, too- Natalie Cortez makes the most of a small role, as does Bobby Steggert. Katie Thompson as Vashti makes a good impression- even if I feel her first act solo is completely unnecessary despite being one of the best songs in the show (it reminded me of "Doatsy Mae"). PJ Griffith, though no James Dean, is fine. Brian D'Arcy James sounds great, but for me was outshone by Baldwin and many around him.

Although this is, I suppose, LaChiusa's most "accessible" score and show, it still won't find mainstream success. It's too long and lacks memorable numbers.

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Whizzer--thanks for your review, and everyone else's. I'm still very excited to hear this score (the fact that LaChiusa's work has been regularly recorded in the past few years, makes me suspect we will get a CD). I was on a Ferber kick after reading Show Boat a couple of years back--and I think Giant *does* suit three acts more than two. But perhaps the three act musical curse made them condense it to two.

I thought this was god-awful, and I consider myself a pretty big fan of LaChiusa. There are some great melodies in the score, and the acting is wonderful but it was far too long. There are so many unnecessary songs, and yet, I didn't feel like anything was resolved or really fleshed out. Such a disappointment.

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I just couldn't figure out what they wanted us to get out of it. newintown is right; there is no focus.

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I think one of the main issues is that LaChiusa treats the story as if it's a true ensemble piece. We have minor characters given major songs shortly after they're introduced. But really, the piece focuses on Kate Baldwin, PJ Griffith and Brian D'Arcy James. I think of those three, Kate Baldwin's character is the richest and clearest- she's real 'giant' here. Brian D'Arcy James goes from a stubborn traditionalist to... a stubborn traditionalist. Griffith's character should have an arc, but doesn't. We don't learn much of him except "he got rich". So we've got three characters, two of which are as fleshed out as any of the supporting ones.

Katie Thompson's Vashti has one of the best songs of the show in her introductory solo, "He Wanted a Girl".

It is also one of the most irrelevant moments in the show.

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I agree that Bick doesn't really change at all...but that is completely within his character. That's how Bick is, and that's how he always will be.

Jett got the short end of the stick, definitely, though whether it's because the role was underwritten from the start of a victim of the cuts, I don't know.

I think there was a need to introduce that Vashti was hopelessly in love with Bick, otherwise her marriage to Pinky would have been way way way out of left field. At least this way, I can see why she would feel the need to jump on the first man she could, though we could have benefited from a little more space separating "He Wanted a Girl" and the wedding announcement.

Yeah, I would have cut Other Lady Friend out of "Midnight Blues" altogether.

Vashti would have been better served had her storyline been more spread out, yeah. I think it's interesting fodder for a plot, but they crammed it all into about 10 minutes, which was a little foolish. I might have even moved "He Wanted a Girl" to later in the show, after Vashti marries Pinky.

I get why they won't cut it- and I think it's been with the show since the beginning. It's a great song. At my performance, it was a crowd-pleaser. But sometimes you have to knife the baby.

I'm all for a musical ensemble piece, and that song would fit in a different version of this show very well, I think.

But, as it is now, that's not the show I feel Giant is. It's pretty heavily weighted toward the Benedicts... and by extension, Jett. The lack of focus must be a remnant from its three-act incarnation, which could take time to say, "Here's some other people that live in this world, let's get to know them! Because it's four hours and you know that, so let's take our time!" But now it's been restructured to Standard Two-Act Musical Drama, and it can't afford that leisure anymore.

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I generally like it, too- but in this sense, I don't think it was done successfully.

I keep comparing this show, stylistically, to Best Little Whorehouse in Texas... oddly enough.

Whorehouse can afford to have songs sung by secondary and tertiary characters because A) its story is simpler and B) the main characters are largely explored in its book. So while Miss Mona has a few songs, most of her action is in book scenes- leaving us with time to hear "The Sidestep", "Doatsy Mae", "24 Hours of Lovin'", "The Aggie Song", etc.

But Giant has a large story to tell, and one that is focused on a set of characters. So it can't really afford time to say, "Meanwhile, here's what someone irrelevant thinks!" anymore.

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That's true, too. Whorehouse is able to take advantage of its time in a better way, which lets it do more.

While I think Giant is a more complex and ultimately different piece than Whorehouse, it could certainly benefit from the latter's structure.

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