I was burning the cast recording for somebody who had never heard it before..naturally, i was listening to a couple songs. IT just brings back one of the greatest nights of theater i've had. oy.
Oh what a show this was. Such a jolly old time! July 15th, 2004 won't forget it. Thursday before the show closed and the cast was overall one of the kindest I ever encountered
I felt the exact same way... They all were exceptional, but having met Marc and Denis at several other stage doors.. I have grown to respect both them for more than just talent.
Last summer I discovered the cast recording. I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never see the show, at least not in the immediate future. However, it was then announced the my college was producing it. I had to be in it!
Now, every show I had been in before, I had grown incredibly bored with and sick of the material by the time we opened. With Assassins, however, I kept finding new things to love, be it in the music or in the script. Amazing score, amazing book, amazing cast on both recordings... love it.
Marc was so faithful to the show and really repected it as a great work. At the chitty stagedoor, I asked him to sign it and help me complete my quest of getting all the autographs on the cd cause it came out after the show closed. Thus far I have Michael, Marc, Denis, and Jeffrey. Anyway when I went up to him he whispered to me, with an annoyed look on his face "t h i s :points to cd: is better than t h i s :points to chitty stagedoor:" lol funny guy
The revival was absolutely fantastic and should not have closed as fast as it did.
It was the first Sondheim show I saw live and made me realize how intense theatre can be. I'll never forget the gunshot going off for Kennedy and "Hail to the Chief" filling the absolute silence in the theatre as the Zapruder video played across Oswald's white T-shirt. Just wow.
"The sense that everything's going right is a sure sense that everything's going wrong."
-The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
I agree. I miss it too. Studio 54 was simply the BEST choice for the show and Mr. Mantello was a perfect choice for director. The cast was top notch and tight, and we could tell how well they meshed from the audience. I realized I'm just rambling on how much I adored the revival, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.
Variations on a Theme blog: http://panekattack.blogspot.com/
Assassins is certainly one of the best shows written for the stage and there is nothing that can even compare to it. Probably one of the best productions in many years and in my opinion the best production of 2004.
Oh man. What I wouldn't GIVE to be able to go back and see the revival onstage! I picked up the CD on a whim one day when I was looking for the cast recording of 'Anyone Can Whistle' that Barnes and Noble didn't have and it has hardly ever left my CD player since. And that was in April. Normally I get bored with cast recordings after a month of obsession or so but not this one. It is definitely one of my all-time favorite shows. I wish I had been able to see it onstage!
I'm making up for it by trying to see everyone who was a lead in it onstage in something else. I saw Sweet Charity and Sweeney Todd, so... 3 down! (I wore a shirt that said 'I am Going to the Lordy' when I saw Sweet Charity, by the way.)
I saw it on July 16th (matinee) & I was absolutely blown away. I went in knowing nothing except when I had seen at the Tony's & heard about it review-wise (which is why I chose to go) & hooooly cow, it is definitely one of the top performances I have ever seen. I did a Squeaky Fromme monologue & character analysis for a final last month, & I just keep getting more & more in love with this show. I'd love for it to open somewhere again, like Off-Broadway or something for a short period of time, then open in a year or so after. I know that's not normal for theatre, but I do feel that Assassins is one of those shows that people discover as they come across it, not like Wicked or something where there are lots of fans who have never seen the show before.
I saw it the day before it closed. I had just gotten tickets the day before that and all that was left was the very last row (the barstools). It was just, incredible. Second greatest show I've seen (Sweeney is first).
David walked into the valley
With a stone clutched in his hand
He was only a boy
But he knew someone must take a stand
There will always be a valley
Always mountains one must scale
There will always be perilous waters
Which someone must sail
-Into the Fire
Scarlet Pimpernel
I too, seriously regret not seeing the show. Granted I was kind of young but after discovering the cast recording last summer I adore it! I propose they do a one-night performance of the revival so I can see it.
Why did it have to close TWO WEEKS before I got to New York?!?! Oh well, I'm going to see a college production of it in April. I love both cast recordings, escpecially the Off-Broadway one.
If Percy Blakeney were in Les Mis....
Percy: Sink me! If it isn't Javvurt!
Javert: Zsah-vair, it's pronounced Zsah-vair.
Pecry: But it's spelled J-A-V-E-R-T Javvurt.
Javert: Repeat after me Zsah...Zsah....
Percy: Oh! Zsa-Zsa! Like the Gabor sister! Well I personally have always prefered Eva.
Javert: (Looks for gun)
