John Doyle is at it again! — Page 4

Fire Diane Paulus, and hire John Doyle to direct Porgy and Bess.

He can strap a xylophonbe to Porgy's donkey cart, and let Bess mouth an oboe while she sings.

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Updated On: 8/11/11 at 01:35 AM

I wonder when people will see the true function behind this actor/musician nonsense lies in undermining music and musicians for the sake of saving a few bucks and making a couple more?

I will never be convinced that it's a legitimate artistic application. It's a stealthy move towards eradication of the live orchestra that begins with denying 20 musicians possible jobs, butchering the orchestrations and calling them "updated" when they've merely been reduced and slimmed to practically nothing, and shoving a handful of instruments that now double as props and personalities on the actors' laps, when musicians should be providing the music as intended by the composer and orchestrator that is so integral to and a unique aspect of the live musical.

The actors should be doing their thing without taking a musician's job. I don't want to see what is essentially multitasking double as a supposedly groundbreaking concept on Broadway.

I want the standard 20 piece with human musicians playing a score as orchestrated, not compromised and reduced to a flute and fiddle played by an actor who should be acting not fumbling with an instrument/prop/supposed personality!

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Updated On: 8/11/11 at 11:35 AM

My Oh My- The problem is that almost every producer out there will never give you the full orchestra. Thinking of the Sweeney revival (musically, not in terms of performances), I would prefer the actor-musician revival where we got something interesting musically to one that only uses a handful of instruments in the pit, such as the Circle in the Square revival where the music suffered.

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I thought parts of Company were brilliant, and parts were just good (nothing sucked, in my opinion). What made that show be one of the most powerful things I've ever seen was Raul's performance, it completely blew me away. In fact, I'd say all of the performers were so strong in that show that they made the actor-musician concept work, though it wasn't as seamless as Sweeney.

And re: Patti's tuba- If Patti's Lovett was going to play an instrument it would be a tuba. It was the perfect choice for her take on the character.

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I think he has a beautiful eye for design and interesting direction. I'd actually like to see him take on a straight play and see what happens.

I think he has great design ideas that don't work well in a standard Broadway theater. Sweeny was intended for a thrust stage, so some of the stage pictures, etc. were a little awkward. As was Company. It was weird to have that big pole in the middle of the set.

I think he has a beautiful eye for design and interesting direction. I'd actually like to see him take on a straight play and see what happens.

He directed Wings at Second Stage last year (starring Jan Maxwell). She was brilliant, but the direction was...odd.

@ History Boy, I'm curious how the Road Show you saw at the Menier compared to Doyle's production of it last year Off-Broadway. Physically the set consisted of one brass bed and a wall of stacked crates and file cabinets. Key props and furniture pieces (and a few actor entrances) came out of the crates. An elegant start to the night that got old pretty quickly. Otherwise, Doyle provided nearly a concert reading of the show, punctuated by snorts of white powder and endless stacks of dollars being flung about the stage over and over again. I still can't tell if there's a there there with Road Show because I don't feel we've seen a proper production yet. Your take?

Brantley's rave:
http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/theater/reviews/ten-cents-a-dance-at-williamstown-theater-festival-review.html?hpw

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