GUYS & DOLLS, SPIDER WOMAN & Block in SUNSET BLVD at the Kennedy Center- Page 10

[yyys]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 11:47am

Loved Stephanie's performance but not Kenna's. He needs to sing his words. At times i couldn't understand the words coming out of his mouth.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 12:51pm

The whispered conversations
in the overcrowded lobby
were about SJB's Norma reminding us of Carol Burnett classic parody, but her star-quality "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye" (both of which earned her show-stopping standing ovations), and her bat-**** crazy meltdown finale were gripping and epic. 

Derek Klena and Nathan Gunn (Max) were vocally outstanding and whoever described Klena earlier in this conversation as a skinny white guy perhaps has not seen him lately. Gunn's mic went out for his entire second act number, but with a major opera star playing the role--no mike, no problem. In fact, it was thrilling to hear a gorgeous voice actually coming out of a gorgeous head.

And let's just stop this delusional talk about Glenn Close making the movie, because Cate Blanchett is ready for her closeup.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 1:48pm

In every photo and video I’ve seen, SJB is doing nothing for me. She seems to be capital P performing and not connecting with any of the vulnerability in the character. I loved her Trina on Broadway and have been waiting to connect with any of her performances in the same way. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 1:56pm

SisterGeorge said: "The whispered conversations
in the overcrowded lobby
were about SJB's Norma reminding us of Carol Burnett classic parody, but her star-quality "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye" (both of which earned her show-stopping standing ovations), and her bat-**** crazy meltdown finale were gripping and epic.

Derek Klena and Nathan Gunn (Max) were vocally outstanding and whoever described Klena earlier in this conversation as a skinny white guy perhaps has not seen him lately. Gunn's mic went out for his entire second act number, but with a major opera star playing the role--no mike, no problem. In fact, it was thrilling to hear a gorgeous voice actually coming out of a gorgeous head.

And let's just stop this delusional talk about Glenn Close making the movie, because Cate Blanchett is ready for her closeup."

I think Cate Blanchett has the vocal range of Paul Robeson, so I doubt she’d be considered for the role. I wonder if ALW is questioning whether he’d want Glenn to do this? No one is getting any younger, and he is notoriously fickle. He probably could have produced it himself by now if he wanted to get it made. If it was to happen any time soon, I would love to see Catherine Zeta Jones do it. It’s been 20 years since her win for Chicago, so it would almost be a Norma-like “return” to a starring role in a big movie musical. 

[David10086]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 2:01pm

On another message board, majority of posters have not liked this production. SJB is not right for the role ( so they say) and the best thing about Klena is he’s sexy in his swimming suit. 
 

That’s it!

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 2:25pm

Saw it yesterday and in a nutshell:

Block's performance is erratic and sings the hell out of the score but I felt she looked too young to play Norma and the maturity was not there and she really over acts it and does not own it like Betty Buckley and Glenn Close did on Broadway! I must say she does have a sexy swagger as she works the stage. 

Nathan Gunn stands out and his operatic voice is booming and is terrific as Max.

Klena looks handsome and sings well but swallows his words singing and acting wise once again just wooden and he's boring as Joe. Act 2 opener is eye candy.

The girl that plays Betty is sweet. 

Rest of supporting cast-ensemble is capable and good. 

Production designs looks cheap (staircases) not glamorous same for the costumes and the set cramped on stage shared with the orchestra tries to be elegant is utterly drab.

The onstage orchestra is solid and the score sounds beautifully lush.

Once again,not a fan of the Direction by Sammi Cannold (previously staged Evita at CC in NYC) this is just another disjointed staged concert version of a musical up a step and nothing compares to the stunning Broadway production. 

All around production is a grade: C

Updated On: 2/5/23 at 02:25 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 4:07pm

You have to be a very bad Norma Desmond for the crowd not to go crazy during With One Look and As If We Never Say Goodbye.  Every single production I've seen (including regionals) has led to some level of standing O and/or sustained applause.  It's built into the DNA of those songs.

Updated On: 2/5/23 at 04:07 PM

[SondheimTesori]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 4:46pm

I have so much love and admiration for SJB as a performer but she’s fascinating to examine as a musical theater performer. She has this stunning, rich musical theater voice reminiscent of the greats and such warmth and vitality in interviews. But her interpretive skills have always been hit and miss for me.  I think she sometimes gets lost in this very broad, generic over-emoting thing, especially when doing dramatic work. It’s as if she feels she has to drain her natural vibrancy to embody something serious.  As a result, her moments of deep emotion don’t always ring as true because they feel a little one-note. This is in great contrast to someone like Audra McDonald who lets the most organic, complex emotion emanate from her whenever she performs. I think Block’s three Tony nominated roles (Drood, Falsettos, and Cher) were each knockouts because she was able to infuse them with her natural humor and warmth (which balanced out her sometimes overwrought tendencies).

Anyway it’s that overwroughtness I’m seeing here.  She’s in fantastic voice but her interpretation feels lackluster. Even her big emoting feels very generalized and random and without a consistent through-line (it also leads to her delivering this song in bursts that affect the phrasing) It feels calculated rather than embodied, unlike some of the women who’ve played this role before. 
 

Yet at the same time, in a contradictory way, her Norma also feels frustratingly muted and without splendor. And it makes sense considering the direction they took.  I recognize what Block and Cannold were trying to do with this admirable  compassionate take on Norma as real person with mental health struggles- but I feel like it’s a little misguided. Close and Buckley both gave BIG performances with grandiose gestures but  to me they were also deeply moving (even in their mania) .I think there is a certain deep theatrical larger life than quality that is inherent to this character and doesn’t have to negate her being real (just look at our favorite broadway legends to see examples of real people who live very theatrically.) The key is find humanity within that largeness. 
 

Anyway, I say this all as a huge fan  and lover of SJB!  

Updated On: 2/5/23 at 04:46 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 5:27pm

Stephanie played her Norma differently than anyone else has done and I think that’s what’s not sitting well with people and I don’t know why. I’ve seen Glenn, Betty, Elaine, Patti (on tape) and God knows how many other great (and not great) actresses tackle the role to varying degrees of success. But this production decides to have a Norma  whose stone cold craziness isn’t front and center and she now even offers some humor in places I’ve never seen it along with a bit of a softer (in places) Norma. And sorry but it worked for me. And please remember this production, like Encores, is running for like a week so a character as BIG as Norma Desmond isn’t going to be the fully fleshed out character she’d be if this had a Broadway rehearsal/preview time. 
But yeah the whole thing worked for me. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 7:50pm

djjd007 said: "This was fantastic. Stephanie has found SO much to mine, acting and vocals, the role feels fresh. Her descent into madness is a slow burn, and it humanizes her. I actually think she might replace Buckley as my favorite Norma. I can’t believe I just said that. Rest of the cast is a dream. And Cravalho is going to be one to watch. Her voice is so effortless and she pulls off a sassier, wiser Betty."

 

LOL, give me a break! Block replace Buckley as your favorite Norma??? I don't think so...far from it!

[RW3]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 7:52pm

I saw the show this afternoon and these are my thoughts.

• Overall, I found it to be good. This was my first time seeing Sunset live so it was exciting for me in that aspect .
• I agree with Jordan about his assessment of Stephanie's Norma. Her Norma is very different than the others he mentioned. Also, the descent is a progression and I found that it tracked well through the show
• Derek was good. Though, I did prefer his performance in Moulin Rouge over his Joe Gillis. Sammi Cannold knew what she was doing when she stripped him down to a sleeveless shirt and blue boxers for 'The Lady's Paying' and blue swim trunks for 'Sunset Boulevard'. Lastly, someone else said on here that they though Derek read young for Joe and I can see where they were coming from.
• 'Let's Have Lunch' and 'The Lady's Paying' lacked some energy for me. For 'Let's Have Lunch', I think it was because of the lack of space on the stage. That number felt very congested.
• Nathan Gunn's Max made me wish I was old enough to see George Hearn's performance to see what he did to get the Tony Award.
• Auli'l was fine. This may sound crazy but I think that she has one of the hardest songs in the show with 'Too Much in Love to Care' because of the lack of the material for the Joe and Betty relationship. I appreciate Sammi trying to do something to help the song.
• The production design felt a lacking. Especially when you compare it to James Napier's set.
• The Sunset recording that I am most common with is the OLC so to hear lines delivered differently was jarring but also a pleasant surprise.
• I definitely see the vision that Cannold is going for and I would be open to seeing it in a production with a larger budget and longer rehearsal time.
• I saw Max von Essen in the lobby of the Kennedy Center so that was cool too.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 8:13pm

Robbie2 said: "LOL, give me a break! Block replace Buckley as your favorite Norma??? I don't think so...far from it!"

 

NOBODY could ever top Betty’s Norma. 

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 8:44pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Robbie2 said: "LOL, give me a break! Block replace Buckley as your favorite Norma??? I don't think so...far from it!"



NOBODY could ever top Betty’s Norma.

"That's right Jordan! 

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 8:48pm

Betty has reigned supreme in my mind for almost 30 years, but I'd love to see Heather Headley take a stab at it.

[djjd007]

Posted: 2/5/23 at 9:10pm

I think Jordan hit the nail right: SJB is a new Norma that doesn’t fit the mold in any way. It felt ok to laugh with Norma, not just uneasily laugh at her. Her Norma was over the top, but blissfully relished her ridiculousness. Maybe I just related so strongly. Really hard to compare her to those in the Nunn production. So I shouldn’t really compare Buckley & Block. There’s room for both queens.

For anyone who hasn’t seen it - the interviews and videos don’t do any kind of justice, please don’t judge on those.

One thing I will say, not that this makes a show good, but this cast is having a ball up there, especially SJB. Haven’t seen a cast with this kind of energy since Mormon in early previews!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 1:00am

I haven’t seen this, but I think the criticism of the set is off base… it’s literally a concert. These shows have such tight turnarounds from rehearsals to closing night. I wouldn’t fault the director or performers if they didn’t do deeper dives into the material. 

If they were advertising this as a full pre Broadway production then I’d have some qualms.
 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 7:58am

Call_me_jorge said: "I haven’t seen this, but I think the criticism of the set is off base… it’s literally a concert. These shows have such tight turnarounds from rehearsals to closing night. I wouldn’t fault the director or performers if they didn’t do deeper dives into the material.

If they were advertising this as a full pre Broadway production then I’d have some qualms."

Jorge it's not a concert. It's being marketed as a fully staged production. Putting the orchestra on stage is not the definition of a concert. Scroll down to Broadway Center Stage description on this page from KCH, in case this image doesn't load on here.

Updated On: 2/6/23 at 07:58 AM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 8:42am

For those that have seen it, can someone explain the finale desent down the staircase, and the reprise of "With One Look?" From the curtain call videos, it looks like SJB's Norma doesn't go crazy lol

[Valentina3]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 8:59am

fashionguru_23 said: "For those that have seen it, can someone explain the finale desent down the staircase, and the reprise of "With One Look?" From the curtain call videos, it looks like SJB's Norma doesn't go crazy lol"

I think this is one scene where they needed some more time. Norma us absolutely having a full breakdown in that scene as written. SJB sings the reprise very strongly (worth another standing O), but the moment doesn't hit as strong because (imo) it looked like she was making sure to hit all the cues. That scene is very dense and the rhythmic patter kinda breaks if you don't hit those cues in order. Glenn was full on bonkers in that scene and I think SJB is either choosing not to do that, or is giving a "I can hold myself together because we're in middle of shooting my big return" but it doesn't fully translate because they have only been doing the show for a few days right now.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 9:08am

“ Jorge it's not a concert. It's being marketed as a fully staged production.“

 

the BCS series is literally marketed as a semi-staged concert series. That info is readily available. 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 9:31am

BroadwayNYC2 said: "“ Jorge it's not a concert. It's being marketed as a fully staged production.“

the BCS series is literally marketed as a semi-staged concert series. That info is readily available."

The KCH Sunset Boulevard page does not mention the word concert once. I'm not trying to be a pill here, but the marketing you're referring to is either misleading, or dishonest. The words "fully staged" is from the page I linked above, so it is literally being marketed as a fully staged production. Anyone who actually watched the show and understands how these designations work can also confirm that there is nothing semi-staged about this production. It is fully staged, with complete costumes, extensive props, backdrops (via projections).

Updated On: 2/6/23 at 09:31 AM

[somecheapfrenchthing]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 10:40am

Valentina3 said: "BroadwayNYC2 said: "“ Jorge it's not a concert. It's being marketed as a fully staged production.“

the BCS series is literally marketed as a semi-staged concert series. That info is readily available."

The KCH Sunset Boulevard page does not mention the word concert once. I'm not trying to be a pill here, but the marketing you're referring to is either misleading, or dishonest. The words "fully staged" is from the page I linked above, so it is literally being marketed as a fully staged production. Anyone who actually watched the show and understands how these designations work can also confirm that there is nothing semi-staged about this production. It is fully staged, with complete costumes, extensive props, backdrops (via projections)."

@Valentina3 is correct - - - I believe the BCC series is no longer marketed as a concert series - KC promotes this programming as fully-staged. The first season was promoted as a concert series (similar to early Encores) but there was even a note in the Guys & Dolls playbill from Jeffrey Finn talking about how the series is now considered fully-staged (albeit pared down due to time/$). I've been to most of them and Chess is the only performance that leaned "concert" - and that was the very first in the series. The rest have had pretty full sets, costumes, and no use of books/binders. N2N was basically a replica revival and Guys & Dolls was especially lush. Seems people's definitions of "concert" really vary. But I wouldn't call these concerts. 

 

Updated On: 2/6/23 at 10:40 AM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 10:41am

I don't know what the Kennedy Center was thinking when it released those videos. The performances from Block and Klena that I saw yesterday were leagues better than that.

I'm with Jordan and the others who appreciated Block's new approach to Norma. She was just so funny and lovable in the first act, and that added some real pathos to her decline in the second act. It was Klena, though, who really surprised me. It seems like he's played a lot of joyless, unsmiling characters, and he really showed that he can do more than that here.

In the supporting roles, Gunn was the vocal powerhouse you'd expect. I didn't love Cravalho's performance; her relative lack of stage experience definitely stood out to me. In particular, her spoken dialogue didn't come across as very natural. Of course, the talent is undeniable, and perhaps her performance would be more fully realized if she had more time to work on it.

The set, I thought, really was poorly designed. Not because it wasn't fancy enough, but because it blocked parts of the stage for probably half of the orchestra section. The two staircases would only be fully visible from near the center of the auditorium, as would the area behind the orchestra where some scenes took place. 

Finally, despite what Block said in the interview I posted the other day, there was no discernible "concept" imposed on this production. It was a very straightforward presentation of the material. The only thing I noticed was that Betty jotted things down in a notebook throughout the show. I don't know what that was supposed to mean, or if this was indeed part of the director's concept, but it was completely unobtrusive.

[somecheapfrenchthing]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 10:56am

I felt the same way about the apparent "concept." For the most part it felt to me like your standard Sunset Boulevard. The one touch I noticed was the inclusion of young Norma in the New Ways to Dream section while they watch Joan of Ark. I'd never seen that before - - putting her on the scale, messing with her looks etc. Felt sort of reminiscent of young Eva in Cannold's Evita. But I didn't feel it was part of any sort of overarching "concept." Other than that everything seemed familiar. 

Updated On: 2/6/23 at 10:56 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/6/23 at 11:24am

There was something else I really enjoyed. It was a small detail so not sure if it read beyond the first few rows or not but Norma's wig was not very well fitted. At first I thought it was a mistake but no, it wasn't fixed when she left the stage or in act two or whenever her headpieces changed. You could always see her dark hair coming out in front - I really did love that.