HARMONY previews- Page 4

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 9:16am

A 'coup de theatre' is generally defined as a totally inspired, unexpected and shocking piece of STAGING or DIRECTION.  It is not generally a script moment or plot twist.

When blood suddenly fell on the actors in Ivo Van Hove's A View from the Bridge - that was a coup de theatre.

When the house exploded and all its contents went scattering across the stage in Stephen Daldry's An Inspector Calls - that was a coup de theatre.

When Jessica Chastain opened the door of the theatre and walked into Times Square at the end of A Doll's House -- that was a (lesser) coup de theatre.

Please don't start overusing the term -- its very rare to see a show that has a real coup de theatre. Not all shows need or benefit from them. When they happen you will know it.

 

 

 

Updated On: 10/24/23 at 09:16 AM

[bekk99]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 12:54pm

bwaylyric said: "Anyone have success with rush or lottery for this? Where are the seats located?"

I did the $18 rush around 11 AM last week (maybe the last of those tickets). My seat was in Orch O on the left - slightly farther back than would be my preference, but an amazing price for a full view (there is a bit of business that occurs in the front of the house as well as the boxes).

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 2:56pm

For rush, do they have other rush tickets after the 18@18 or is it just done after 18 tickets have been sold?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 6:25am

This one is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The cast is great and the story is fascinating, but the writing and production are a bit lacking.

The six men are all phenomenal and have their own fleshed out characters to portray. Chip Zien proves once again that he’s a true Broadway legend. Sierra Boggess and Julie Benko are wonderful, and I’m glad we got a duet between them in the second act... Who doesn’t love an act 2 female duet - a la “In His Eyes” and “It Comes As No Surprise”?!

Manilow's score is passable, but never particularly special or memorable. It’s a bit monotonous and one note. The slower songs and ballads are better than the upbeat numbers. The book is rather choppy and jumpy. It feels like there are about four separate opening numbers and a few finales as well. I couldn’t help but think that Cabaret and the recent musical stage adaptations of Doctor Zhivago and Anastasia were all tossed into a blender and this was the output.

The set is pretty ugly. The black mirrored vortex studded with flashbulbs is cool for the first five minutes, then it just feels like an eyesore for the rest of the show.

I think what makes this show resonate is that it is so relevant and eerily timely. There are some deeply unsettling moments where you could feel the audience’s tension and discomfort and hear the shocked gasps with the relevance of some parts.

It’s interesting to me that this show has been kicking around in development for so long. It still feels like a show that could use another workshop or two. There’s no denying that there is a powerful and intriguing story at the heart of this show, but the individual elements just don’t do it justice.

Updated On: 10/25/23 at 06:25 AM

[gibsons2]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 9:15am

bwayphreak234 said: 
"The set is pretty ugly. The black mirrored vortex studded with flashbulbs is cool for the first five minutes, then it just feels like an eyesore for the rest of the show."

I though the set is remarkable. Black mirrors created the atmosphere and esthetics of a silent black and white movie of 1920s perfectly. You can always count on Boritt for a special set design, he never disappoints.

Updated On: 10/25/23 at 09:15 AM

[ELP]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 9:25am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Boy this show was BAD and just emotionally manipulative.

Certainly, there is a reason it kicked around for 25 years before finally getting to Broadway, shocked that the Times gave this a rave off-broadway.

The first act is boring and filled with very corny humor, the second act is slightly better but the emotional impact is only there because of the real-life story and Chip Zien performance"

Spot on!! Saw the show last night and couldn’t agree more!!!!!

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 11:22am

Reading the latter posts again, I reflected on the score.  The more I think about it, the more I am flabbergasted that, after almost 30 years, those are the best songs that Manilow could come up with.  I left the theatre not remembering even a snippet from a single song.  While I do feel there were a couple of songs that worked in the context of the show, particularly Zien's 11:00 o'clock number, some of them were truly awful, ones that could have been in almost any of the really bad musicals of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s in particular.  

I also still don't get the gushing over Sierra Boggess's and Julie Benko's performances.  They were both adequate.  I really believe that Boggess has zero charisma, albeit a good voice, but what was so special about her role or her performance?  I know that some of you want her Benko be placed on a pedestal because of FG, in which she was fine and, more importantly, proved to be a trooper.  If I was not aware of the FG link, I don't think I would have given her performance a second thought.  Because of FG, I sat there thinking that it was a shame that that was the best role she could get after all the solid publicity, etc.

I guess part of my problem is that I dislike this show more as time goes by.  I just thought that Act 1 was pretty lame and that Act 2 didn't really earn the emotion that it wrung.  I suspect that, were Manilow not involved, it would probably have been forgotten years (decades?) ago.  Nevertheless, I am more convinced that the story of the Harmonists would make a great movie in the right hands.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 12:17pm

The more I mull over this show, the less I like it... I give it an A for effort and for telling an important and timely story, but I feel like it could have been so much better (especially considering the insanely long development period/road to Broadway). This is very similar to how I felt about Allegiance back in 2015 - a very noble effort to explore an important part of history and tell a truly fascinating story, but despite the best of intentions, it just didn't really work for me.

[ardiem]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 12:32pm

Saw this last night and I mostly agree with BoringBoredBoard40 & bwayphreak234. There's a great story here, but as presented it wasn't done justice. One song's melody stuck with me, though, for the wrong reason - the duet between the wives seemed to be lifted verbatim from Chopin's Prelude Op.28 No.4.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 12:39pm

Barry has described the Harmonists as "Manhattan Transfer meets the Marx Brothers," but these guys don’t sound as good as MT and they’re not as funny as the Marxes. It achieves Wikipedia's description of the Hamonists ("the hallmark was its members' ability to blend their voices together so that the individual singers could appear and disappear back into the vocal texture" ) but that's tricky to dramatize as a musical. Some of them are close to anonymous as human individuals. The lack of sharpness in the writing might have been combated by diversifying the look of the guys in casting (height, body size, facial hair, head-hair, etc) and in the acting/directing.

This show is an interesting companion piece to SHUFFLE ALONG (2016) but what made that show more impactful is that when the white producer says "they won't remember you," we're imagining people forgetting Audra and Billy Porter and BVD and those dazzling tappers. The theme hits harder, and the characters they play are in dialog with the actors' personas. Harmony tells us is that these guys made a modest cultural impact, but unfortunately the most interesting part of the legacy is them being broken up by the Nazis. FULL MONTY also successfully sustains 6 unique characters, but it has the benefit of gradual intros over the course of the first act. Harmony tries to get through a ton of shoe leather in 15 minutes AND introduce Ruth and Mary. It's a poorly-set-up first act that causes problems later.

Julie's role has that "male writer doing yas queen feminism" vibe that feels inauthentic here because Ruth's throughline isn't properly woven in to the full story. Sierra has a little more material but the impact is similar. But when we have trouble grasping the characters of the six main people, it's tough to justify fleshing out tertiary parts.

This for me is the most interesting type of show to analyze: it's good, but has elements of unrealized potential. It’s why we go to the theatre and return to imperfect shows. That HARMONY's second act is as impactful as it is is a testament to the power of their real-life story, Chip's performance, and Barry/Bruce knowing when to crank up the sentiment.

Updated On: 10/25/23 at 12:39 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 1:29pm

I’m looking forward to going back to this in a couple weeks to see if my opinion has changed. They’d done so much work on it since it was downtown and curious how much more they’re still doing. It’s still such a surprise to me that a show I felt was SO flawed had done this much to improve it (so far).

[ELP]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 3:12pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Yes, it feels like they are trying to emulate what CABARET did (SLAVE PLAY also did it), except here it somehow feels both heavy-handed but thematically less relevant. But on a whole I feel like this show has more in common with SOUND OF MUSIC or SHUFFLE ALONG OR THE MAKING OF... than with the bleak satirical brilliance of CABARET."

And, if I may, musically - a few solo piano interludes appear to be directly influenced by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Ragtime, final scene . I found myself humming the lyrics "the skies were blue and hazy, rarely a storm, barley a chill" during one of those. And they fit!!

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 5:52pm

ardiem said: "Saw this last night and I mostly agree with BoringBoredBoard40 & bwayphreak234. There's a great story here, but as presented it wasn't done justice. One song's melody stuck with me, though, for the wrong reason - the duet between the wives seemed to be lifted verbatim from Chopin's Prelude Op.28 No.4."

I said the same thing, but couldn’t remember the name of the piece.  I also said that I occasionally got Bring Him Home (or whatever it is called) from Les Mis.  Nice to know I was not hearing things that weren’t there.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 7:14pm

So, it appears this is following the standard Broadway World pattern where the first set of people who see it love it and then a few pages later, everyone hates it. Knowing for a fact that the first group are longtime Broadway World posters and not shills, now I don’t know what to think. I was ready to buy tickets based in the first posts but after these recent ones, I may have to wait to see if they release a discount code. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 7:20pm

Discount code BARRYMORE has been active on Telecharge Offers since the day tickets went on sale.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 7:26pm

Matt Rogers said: "So, it appears this is following the standard Broadway World pattern where the first set of people who see it love it and then a few pages later, everyone hates it. Knowing for a fact that the first group are longtime Broadway World posters and not shills, now I don’t know what to think. I was ready to buy tickets based in the first posts but after these recent ones, I may have to wait to see if they release a discount code."

 

Everyone has different tastes and enjoys things for different reasons. I’d be lying if I said said I know one of the reasons I enjoyed this is because it’s great to have a new Jewish musical and one that I’ve seen improved so much. Was my opinion clouded by my exposure to the show previously? Maybe. That’s why I’m looking forward to going back and seeing it again. 

 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 7:30pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Discount code BARRYMORE has been active on Telecharge Offers since the day tickets went on sale."

Was unaware of that. Thanks for posting. 

[stlrod]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 8:08pm

Barrymore doesn’t always work so try Regular or Economy if not.

[inception]

Posted: 10/25/23 at 10:24pm

Plenty of people liked this off-Broadway last year.  I have already purchased a ticket for my trip in December,  based on what people said about it last year.  These last few posts did get me thinking, " Did I make a mistake?"  But I got a ticket for a Thursday matinee with few other options at that time, and I spent the money already, so I don't think I will change my plans.  

Matt Rogers said: "So, it appears this is following the standard Broadway World pattern where the first set of people who see it love it and then a few pages later, everyone hates it. Knowing for a fact that the first group are longtime Broadway World posters and not shills, now I don’t know what to think. I was ready to buy tickets based in the first posts but after these recent ones, I may have to wait to see if they release a discount code."

 

[martinsmithfan]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 7:34am

This show has been showing up on TDF intermittently so grabbed a ticket for tonight’s performance after seeing the initial positive reviews here. Still optimistic despite the slight shift in opinion recently haha. Haven’t had a good cry in the theatre since Phantom closed so wondering if that part will ring true for me.

Has anyone else here seen the show through TDF yet and can report on what kind of seats you got?

[ardiem]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 9:30am

martinsmithfan said: "Has anyone else here seen the show through TDF yet and can report on what kind of seats you got?"

I wound up in row D of the mezzanine, about a half dozen seats in from house left. 

The view from the mezzanine isn't ideal IMO - with the stark black/mirrored set you get to stare at a lot of tape marks on the stage that remind you that the stage is empty.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 11:08am

I was B1 in the mezzanine and thought the seat was great. Perhaps seeing it from a bit of an angle was a factor.  I remember the row B in the Barrymore seems closer to the stage than other theatres (not thinking about the newer barns).

[Damiensta]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 10:19pm

I had TDF Orchestra M . Great view.

i loved the show. Time flew by for me didn’t feel the 2.5 hours at all. Everyone had a time to shine . Chip has the role of a lifetime there . 
only part that was iffy for me was act 2 opener eventhough I see what they were going for . Just didn’t mesh with rest of show 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/27/23 at 10:24am

Saw the show last night after having seen it last year at NYTF, where I quite enjoyed it, but particularly Chip Zien, who I thought was a stunner. After seeing it again, I'll say the show itself is good, not great, but Chip's performance in act 2 remains a must-see. I think it's clear that he'll be Tony-nominated, but, if the show can stay open until June, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he won. 

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 10/27/23 at 11:20pm

Saw the show tonight. The cast is amazing, especially Chip. I like that each singer has a story and character development. It’s a shame that Julie and Sierra are not used more in the show. I wish the show didn’t go so dark so early on.