LESTAT Preview Yesteray

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:24am

I attended a preview of LESTAT yesterday and have to say that I think this show is going to be pretty incredible. The entire cast and creative team were on hand to talk about the process of creating the show and sang five songs from throughout, including a very haunting song that will be the shows finale.

The set designer showed sketches from what the set will look like and it looks gorgeous. It uses a lot of photographs projected on the set in order to let the audience travel over 200 years with the characters and not have to make elaborate set changes. Not like what WOMAN IN WHITE is doing at all, this is very new and different. We were told the stage would be surrounded by what will look like "crumpled red construction paper" coming out (I believe) 13 feet into the audience, so that we will be taken completely into this world.

I also found out (which I didn't know) that Act 1 will be based on the book LESTAT and Act 2 will be based on INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. This makes sense since we start the show with Lestat as a human and follow his journey, from unwillingly becoming a vampire all the way to the end of INTERVIEW.

Miss Carmello and the rest of the cast including Hugh Panaro and Jack Noseworthy were in great voice. This was the first time they had ever performed any of these songs in public, and they still had the music in front of them but they all sounded glorious. Elton John and Bernie Taupin said the score is very operatic and you could certanly tell that from the sampling we got yesterday. Elton did say that this score took him longer to write than anything he'd ever done before - 11 days. But he did say he considers it to be the finest music he and Bernie have ever collaborated on. And considering the music these two have put out in the past 30+ years, that's really saying something.

[CaroleeFan]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:26am

Thanks for the preview. How big is Carolee's role?

Updated On: 11/2/05 at 08:26 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:32am

From what we were told she appears to be more of a character in the show than Louis so it's a pretty large role.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:43am

Yay! More sets with projections!

[AlixEG1]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:36am

Thanks for the preview - how fun to be able to see the show that early in its production! Can't wait to hear more...

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 10:14am

I was there and yes, this show looks like it will be very very good. Only low point was the little girl who was there seemed either sick or lacking of breath control and tecnique, and she cracked several times in her song.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 10:20am

that sounds really cool. i can't wait til this comes to broadway.

[BluCat500]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 10:21am

Wow thats alot of plot to cover...

I'm excited!!

[Gingersnap]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 7:42pm

Many thanks for sharing that...I've got my tickets for March 11 and April 13...and my level of excitement for this just keeps growing.

[Phantom05]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:01pm

Thank you so much for sharing this, I am very excited! I hope that a demo for several of the songs will be available on the website, etc. I look forward to hearing the score! I am glad there has been more of a classical approach to this music, it will be interesting to see what Elton John and the rest of the team have done with the storyline!

Phantom05

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:40pm

I'm so pissed that the preview tickets are so expensive!!

[Phantom05]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:48pm

How much are preview tickets, I haven't even looked?!?

[Atrias]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:50pm

*shivers in anticipation*

[Gingersnap]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:05pm

Phantom05...off the top of my head, $60 - 100, I think.

[Phantom05]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:34pm

Thanks Gingersnap!

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:53pm

Thanks for that preview! I can't wait for this show! It sounds great.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 10:50pm

is there any type of rush or anything? I might wanna see this on springbreak if i go up to NYC. This and WiW - that will be a spooky week haha. I'm curious about the red construction paper, dont really get that.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 12:19am

The great thing about the whole "Lestat" saga is that it never loses it's timing and it moves and flows well, It seems they are following Ms. Rice's ideas well - also with Lestat being so into the classical genre of music it seems obvious to me the music tone would reflect that - I imagine nocturnes & an eerie melancholy-esque sound. Thanks for the great review!

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 12:19am

Elton John has really grown a lot as a theatre composer. When you compare the mediocre score he wrote for Aida with the amazing score for Billy Elliott, it's hard to believe they were written by the same person.

I am not particularly thrilled with the choice of director or book writer for this show, but I could be pleasantly surprised.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 12:32am

Rentboy, according to what we were told yesterday there will be no rush and they are not even going to sell tickets in the balcony of the Palace because from what they said, the view isn't that great from up there. There will not be any discounts either, except for group sales.

It bothered me to hear that and than hear the producers urge sales people to sell to the 16-25 age group. Since we all know that 16-25 year olds have a hundred bucks to blow on a show.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 2:09am

The 16-25 crowd has kept Rent in business for years and the under 16 crowd has been doing well for Wicked. There are a lot of spoiled kids out there. How else would you explain the teenagers who saw Rent 50 times?

[exedore]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 8:28am

1. Parents
2. Rush tickets

[anybodyelse]

Posted: 12/5/05 at 2:32am

::excitement builds::

[Urban]

Posted: 12/5/05 at 4:24am

Hot dog. This is exciting.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 12/5/05 at 6:21am

I really hope this succeeds. I really really hope it does