MASTER CLASS

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:48pm

Just got back from MASTER CLASS and still processing. I have never seen so great a performance in my entire life.

Now, I didn't see the original, so I really could care less how Tyne fares to the others. But what I saw tonight was EXTRAORDINARY.

There is a point in the evening where you have to remind yourself that you're watching an actor and NOT the real Maria Callas. Daly's performance is so thought-out, so complex and so mind-blowingly REAL that she ceases to be Tyne Daly and Callas consumes her.

The supporting cast is decent at best and Sierra just can't hold her own against Daly's Callas, but Wadsworth' direction is impeccable. The set is lovely with some very beautiful lighting surprises.

What's most successful is how incredibly like a master class it all feels. From my front row seat, I found myself nodding, responding, reacting to things and wishing I had a notepad to write down the kernel of wisdom McNally's Callas just gave me.

Truly extraordinary. Run! Don't walk!

[AAO26]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 2:22am

just saw it also.. saw the original production with several of the actors- dixie carter, zoe, faye dunaway..

tyne does a great job...but i feel the direction of this production weakens what i always thought were the strongest points-the monologues were callas goes back in time and takes us in a trip back to her days of glory and pain. in the previous productions the effect was stronger, hairs on the back of my neck stood up while being delivered...all they did was darkened the stage and a pin light on callas on stage, amazing projections of la scala gradually taking over the theater , as the actual voice of callas was heard singing in the background getting louder and louder as the actresses delivered their monologues you could sense the rage, anger, sadness callas was feeling..
in this production the monologues loose power #1 is performed in softer manner, the production elements are not as well synced as they should be-(lighting, projections, callas' actual voice in the background - with the monologue of the energy of the ways is being delivered...(in this production , they opted to use almost a painted impression of la scala, very dim and too very little effect, and they added whats suppose to be a column and a piece of curtain that come out to a side of the stage during the monologues.. - this option could have worked more effectively, (even thought i dont think was needed) - if the "la scala column and drapes were more realistic and elegant- ( the look cheap, poorly constructed (columns), adorned with plastic flowers and a very cheap looking fabric was use to represent the curtains a la scala... this really takes away from the moment...
i make this comments haven seen the original production-several times and always left the theater with the feeling having experienced the magic of the theater- and as i mentioned- production wise they used less props...i though direction wise the original was flawless both in artistic and acting..regardless if you liked the actresses playing the part...
this is one of my favorite all time plays...
i'd be happy if they just removed that cheap looking column with plastic flowers...and developed stronger or better projections for the monologues... as far as tyne - she has it down.. again the direction is where i think it fails.. at least B and it could easily be an A+ production

[AAO26]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 2:22am

just saw it also.. saw the original production with several of the actors- dixie carter, zoe, faye dunaway..

tyne does a great job...but i feel the direction of this production weakens what i always thought were the strongest points-the monologues were callas goes back in time and takes us in a trip back to her days of glory and pain. in the previous productions the effect was stronger, hairs on the back of my neck stood up while being delivered...all they did was darkened the stage and a pin light on callas on stage, amazing projections of la scala gradually taking over the theater , as the actual voice of callas was heard singing in the background getting louder and louder as the actresses delivered their monologues you could sense the rage, anger, sadness callas was feeling..
in this production the monologues loose power #1 is performed in softer manner, the production elements are not as well synced as they should be-(lighting, projections, callas' actual voice in the background - with the monologue of the energy of the ways is being delivered...(in this production , they opted to use almost a painted impression of la scala, very dim and too very little effect, and they added whats suppose to be a column and a piece of curtain that come out to a side of the stage during the monologues.. - this option could have worked more effectively, (even thought i dont think was needed) - if the "la scala column and drapes were more realistic and elegant- ( the look cheap, poorly constructed (columns), adorned with plastic flowers and a very cheap looking fabric was use to represent the curtains a la scala... this really takes away from the moment...
i make this comments haven seen the original production-several times and always left the theater with the feeling having experienced the magic of the theater- and as i mentioned- production wise they used less props...i though direction wise the original was flawless both in artistic and acting..regardless if you liked the actresses playing the part...
this is one of my favorite all time plays...
i'd be happy if they just removed that cheap looking column with plastic flowers...and developed stronger or better projections for the monologues... as far as tyne - she has it down.. again the direction is where i think it fails.. at least B and it could easily be an A+ production

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 9:17am

I saw last Saturday night's performance. I felt that Daly was quite good, although she didn't efface memories of Caldwell (who could?) and that she will have grown more into the role by the time of the official opening. However, Sierra just wasn't up to it -- Sharon is the only person in the play who stands up to Callas in the final blow-out and the tension just wasn't there. A nice touch was Daly's exit at the end of the play -- you can see a myriad of thoughts going through Callas' mind as she slowly and resignedly leaves the stage. Daly projects a twinge of self-doubt that I don[t recall having been the case with Caldwell. Daly is fine and will most likely get better as the previews continue.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/23/11 at 4:26pm

Sierra is an absolute let down. She plays the role like a petulant little girl. She just isn't up to it. Her final lines and exit have no impact.

Tyne does beautifully. However, this production seems to be getting more laughs than others if I remember correctly. I agree that the monologues were missing some of the intensity I have seen before.

I agree about getting rid of that cheap looking hideous column.

As for Tyne getting into the role more, I feel her performance is frozen since she is coming off another run.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/23/11 at 6:09pm

As I said in my original post, I have nothing to base it off of - so I could care less about the comparisons to the original production. What I saw from Tyne Daly was miraculous.

Yeah. The column needs to go. As does Sierra.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/23/11 at 11:58pm

Sierra is not great in the part, but she is not bad either. I think she's in a tough position because she's playing a role originated by Audra MacDonald (who won a Tony for it). I saw the show last Sunday on my NYC trip and I thought Sierra's acting was actually very good and that her final confrontation with Daly was great. The problem with her performance is, in my opinion, is that she is not an opera singer. She has a very good musical theatre voice but it is too "small" to effectively do that Lady Macbeth scene, giving Callas' line about Sharon's "limitations" more truth than I think McNally intended.

Daly is fantastic, obviously, which is why this production transferred to Broadway. She doesn't look anything like Maria Callas but made up for it by being such a master at her craft.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 7:28am

Interesting, do you think Callas is intended to be unfair in her criticism? It's been years since I saw the play but I had the impression that Callas was presented as a fair and honest master.

[mallardo]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 9:09am

I take the point about Sierra Boggess but what Broadway soprano COULD sing Lady Macbeth? Audra's voice, being slightly richer, would be more appropriate but still, basically, inappropriate.

The role calls for power, not beauty, as Verdi himself specified.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 9:15am

Why don't they cast actual opera singers then as opposed to "Broadway Sopranos?" The director works in the voice department of Julliard, and there definitely are no shortages of young opera singers in the city who could also handle the acting requirements of the smaller supporting roles in MASTER CLASS.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 9:47am

Audra MacDonald projected a strong, operatic-like voice in the original that was totally believable as a budding opera singer.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 9:56am

I have a copy of the video that was made for Kennedy Center archives of the original production with Caldwell /McDonald. At some point this weekend, I'll try to post their scene on youtube - so that all of you can see what we're talking about. McDonald was definitely convincing as an opera singer. Watching it again after seeing the revival, I so think the original (especially that pivotal scene between Callas/Sharon)was also just better directed.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 11:00am

MB, I will be looking for that. After hearing so much about it, it will be nice to see it.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 11:19am

Thank you so much, Michael Bennett. Let me know when you've posted it, okay?

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 9:32pm

I have to wonder what people would say if they knew Sierra was reading this. I just went to see the show a few nights ago, and I loved it. I had nothing to compare it to - I was five or six when the original production opened - but I thought the production was total quality. Was Sierra perfect? No. But she was damned good.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 9:59pm

"I have to wonder what people would say if they knew Sierra was reading this"

She's a big girl and she knows the ropes. I think she sleeps fine at night knowing a few people don't like her performance. She's been in two hugely anticipated productions that tanked-Im sure the woman has a good sense of herself and a thick skin. I never said she wasn't talented, just not right for the role IMO. Relax.

"I had nothing to compare it to - I was five or six when the original production opened"

Then keep your mouth shut and respect those who have seen both and know the difference, They have a very valid right to say what what they think, just as you do.

There is often a belief that if you can't do something better or reinvent it, then why revive it. Tyne's Callas is a stunning re-invention, a new interpretation. Those who saw Audra (including the reviewers who will see it opening night) will have reactions to Sierra based on having seen Audra. It's just how things work.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 10:21pm

I fully respect other people's opinions. I do NOT, however, respect, blind bashing of a performer.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 10:23pm

The performances may not be all the actors fault. Back in Seattle, Stephen Wadsworth had a reputation of being a very "You lifted your arm 90 degrees on 'but', when I wanted you to lift it 45 degrees on 'and'! And where was the lifting of the ring finger at the end?" type director. He's from opera.

[jwsel]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 10:25pm

"I have a copy of the video that was made for Kennedy Center archives of the original production with Caldwell /McDonald. At some point this weekend, I'll try to post their scene on youtube - so that all of you can see what we're talking about. McDonald was definitely convincing as an opera singer. Watching it again after seeing the revival, I so think the original (especially that pivotal scene between Callas/Sharon)was also just better directed."

-----

I can't wait to watch that. When I saw Master Class in Los Angeles during its pre-Broadway run, I did not know Audra McDonald and had no idea that she was not an opera singer. When she sang the piece from Verdi's "Macbeth," the audience was utterly blown away. It was an absolutely electric moment.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 10:57pm

Isn't Audra doing PORGY AND BESS next season? As Maestro Keith Lockhart mentioned to me, "If that ain't the great American opera, then what is--although SWEENEY TODD would be a close second!)

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 11:07pm

I've read a lot comparing/contrasting Tyne Daly to Zoe Caldwell - but how does she compare to Maria Callas herself? May be a silly question, but is this a fictional/somewhat caricatured version of Maria or is it grounded in reality?

[broadwaybaby086]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 11:24pm

I've not seen the production, nor did I see the first, but for what it's worth, Audra did study classical voice at Juilliard (and she was 2 years out of college at the time). It's not as if she was just a theatre singer with a great range and power; she was most believable as an opera singer because she'd been in a rigorous program that is intended to produce opera singers.

Looking forward to this, though!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/25/11 at 12:11am

BettyBoy, it's got nothing to do with RESPECTING you. How about you respect my opinion?

I posted this thread as a way to rave about Tyne without having to go on and on about the people who played the role before. We've already done that. And frankly, I'm tired of it.

Give Tyne the credit for her miraculous performance. She blew me away.

'nuff said.

[sopranobiz]

Posted: 6/25/11 at 1:10am

"I have to wonder what people would say if they knew Sierra was reading this"

OMG! Are you serious? I doubt that any actor or director or producer cares about the opinions of people on the Broadway World message board! (No offense)

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/25/11 at 1:34am

Theatretrash, i was responding to Reggie, not you. Didn't you see I was quoting their post. I agreed with you. I was only responding to Reggie acting as though no one had the right to say Sierra was miscast and not great in the role.