Lost in the Stars: Thoughts?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/3/11 at 11:17pm

Did anyone else go tonight?

I was way up in the nosebleeds. The music is gorgeous! "Cry, Beloved Country" was outstanding. I thought all the songs were pretty great and memorable. The guy played Coalhouse in the recent revival of Ragtime (I forgot his name) has such a beautiful voice.

That said, I didn't quite understand the story. I think a lot of it had to do with the direction. There was basically no sense of "place." I had no clue where they were in the world. Granted, I knew WHERE they were, but I mean specifics, like if this scene is in the house, or outside, etc. I didn't understand what was going on for most of the show. Patina Miller's character has a song, and then is never mentioned or seen again. Daniel Breaker is barely in the show, and some of the moments in Act II are done on the top level of the set, which can't be sen from the balcony.

I kind of wish Patina had been the love interest so she could have sang "Troubled Man." It's a great song, and the woman's version wasn't awful, it just was lacking some vocal power that I think it could have used.

Anyone else? Thoughts? Comments?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/3/11 at 11:35pm

I was at the show tonight. I enjoyed it quite a bit but I do agree that it was very poorly directed. I really had to keep looking through the program at the scene listing to remember where the action was taking place. The show itself isn't perfect and I too was confused by Miller's one song and why she was never heard from again. I am glad they did this show though because I've always been curious about it. The cast is all top notch and if you get the chance to go and hear this score performed live, I definitely think you should.

Also, I was sitting on the left of the front balcony and a lot of action was completely blocked to the entire left side of the theater up there that didn't need to be. Directors need to realize that the action needs to play to everyone in the house and not just those in the front of the orchestra. I'm REALLY getting sick of these shows there having so much needless obstruction. It's no secret that if you place action at the entrance of the wings, PEOPLE WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE IT. Updated On: 2/3/11 at 11:35 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/3/11 at 11:41pm

Exactly. I heard someone saying "The music was great, and I think that's what it was about." And I have to agree. The songs are beautiful, and the orchestra sounds great. It's a very stylized production, which I enjoyed, but the book was weak. But I think totally worth a visit.

[yankee_fan907]

Posted: 2/5/11 at 6:56pm

Let's be honest here; the book was not "weak." It was literally the worst book of a musical I have EVER seen performed. Cooper's acting was cringe-worthy, even if his singing was good. Darrington also has an excellent voice, but I was confused as to why he was on stage the whole production. The direction, as others have said, was very lackluster. I had no idea what was happening the entire first act. I don't know who to blame, but I couldn't have disliked it more. I paid $0.00, and I still feel like it wasn't worth my time/transportation costs. If you think you might have something better to do, I encourage you to skip this one.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 12:31am

I thought the book was the weakest part of the show, but if you couldn't follow the storyline at all, then I suspect you weren't paying attention.

I would really love a recording of every song Chuck Cooper sang. I love that man's voice.


Also, was anyone at this afternoon's talkback? I usually stay for those, but my friend and I had to head to BAM for John Gabriel Borkman (which was incredible), and didn't stick around.

Updated On: 2/6/11 at 12:31 AM

[temms]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 9:37am

It was really interesting to hear the score all the way through in context. I feel like there are two tiers of Encores shows, and I like them both. On the one hand, there have been things like "Wonderful Town" and "Promises, Promises" and "Follies" that were absolutely wonderful, fully realized evenings at the theatre seeing a wonderful old show given a great musical treatment. Those were as magical and fulfilling as any full Broadway production.

Then there are shows I've seen at Encores like "Tenderloin" and "Pardon My English" and "Lost In The Stars" where the appeal is getting to see/hear a fully realized version of a show that you're never going to see any other way. "Lost In The Stars" is definitely one of those - I've known about it forever but never seen/heard it and I've always been curious. Having seen it, I understand why it's not revived very often.

I'm glad they do both types of shows. If "Lost In The Stars" isn't the best-written or most engaging show I've ever seen, I at least get to add one more classic show to my "I know that one" column. And with voices/instrumentalists like that, I felt like it was a real treat.

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 10:35am

Well said, temms. I feel exactly the same way.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 11:18am

I've never seen that many people walk out of a show. I'm with everyone that didn't understand what was happening. Lovely score though.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 12:19pm

It's not that I didn't get what was happening, but just that a lot of it wasn't explained. I understood the OVERALL idea of what was going on, but there was just nothing going on. Cooper was just looking for his son, and then he finds him, and then his son kills someone, etc. But why did Patina's character sing one song and that's it? She didn't even have a line? Why was Moses basically there throughout the whole show? Why was Breaker's "brother" introduced, then never heard of again?

[temms]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 12:47pm

The "Who'll Buy" singer is obviously not meant to be a full character. It was a scene setting song - I felt like that was the flip side to the choral numbers and was just an atmospheric way of setting up Shantytown and how it was different from Johannesburg proper and the small city the Kumalos are from.

The African Greek chorus was a device, and that's why "Moses" was there. The piece is as much an oratorio as a book show. It felt like an earlier incarnation of the Leader from "Zorba".

And I'm not sure what you mean by Breaker's "brother" - do you mean his cousin, Matthew? He's one of the other two who go on the robbery. He's obviously there to highlight the contrast between Stephen the preacher and his brother who owns the tobacco store. Matthew and his friend convinced Absalom to come along on the robbery, convinced him to bring the gun, and then were ones who got off completely when they lied on the stand while Absalom was executed for being truthful.

Plus, Cooper was not just randomly looking for his son. He was asked to come to J'burg by his brother to deal with his niece (the mother of the boy who sings the Mole song). His wife convinces him to use the trip as an opportunity to check in on their son who has cut off communication, and that's when he discovers there's a lot more going on than he thought.

Whatever problems I had, I didn't have any problem following the plot and I didn't know it going in, save for the bare bones.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 2:47pm

You obviously got a lot more out of it than I, which is fine. I still enjoyed hearing the music, just didn't think the story was all that thrilling or interesting. I found myself daydreaming during most of the book scenes.

"The "Who'll Buy" singer is obviously not meant to be a full character. It was a scene setting song - I felt like that was the flip side to the choral numbers and was just an atmospheric way of setting up Shantytown and how it was different from Johannesburg proper and the small city the Kumalos are from."
-----> I think a set would have helped me here because I had no idea that all of this was going on. The costumes didn't reflect a change in place either.

And the brother I was talking about was Christian Dante White. He had a moment where they called him out of the chorus then he exits the stage House Right in the front.... but nothing was ever mentioned again?

[Noel&Cole]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 4:22pm

I saw Lost in the Stars this weekend as well. I had problems with the direction and it was not as fully realized as some Encores productions are however I thought it was a wonderful night at the theatre. It did the kind of thing that only Encores can do. It let us hear this full lush score with a complete orchestra and top Broadway talent. For that it was a fantastic evening. I would not want to see this show beyond on Encores but for one weekend it was great to hear this score come back to life.

[TheatreDork3]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 8:44pm

I agree - this was a production that only Encores could do. I actually enjoyed the show. By the end almost everyone in my section was crying. The friend I went with wasn't as thrilled. He found the whole ordeal very boring (but he also loved Spiderman - had to get a Spidey jab in here).

Overall, my biggest problem with the production was that the lead was still a little too-on book for his dialogue sequences. I get it, it's Encores, you're allowed scripts, but at least try to know some of your dialogue.

TD

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 2/6/11 at 9:38pm

I saw it on Friday night and I agree with everything that's been said re: the direction and the show itself. The score is beautiful but the book and the show as a whole aren't very good. I found myself struggling to understand what was going on at some points, but it really was about the music.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 12:45pm

Loved the score. The storytelling was clear as a bell to me, I was never confused about who was who, or what was happening.

Unlike everyone else who has posted thus far, I found the book (adapted and abbreviated as it was) to be interesting and ultimately very, very moving. It may reflect a different time (not really all THAT long ago), but I wouldn't call it dated or confusing.

Really enjoyed this one.

[fitzykatebaldwinfan]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 8:40pm

I would like to see this show. I'm hoping that it gets to be revived on Broadway soon with Chuck Cooper.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 8:43pm

Yeah...I'm gonna say that's not gonna be happening.