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#26

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 6/25/11 at 9:13am

Oh, I'd said the same thing, so I was confused. Sorry!

"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#27

I also saw the original production w/ Zoe. There were quite a few laughs as I recall. I found Zoe very "actressy". I think Tyne has tremendous truth, passion and power as well as greater physical energy than Caldwell.

It put me off on first seeing the play that Callas' teachings (avaialable on recordings of the actual master classes) were subjugated to the opportunity for her to "reminisce" during the arias. The tenor in the first production was to put it kindly, mediocre and the fact that she had no comments after his singing was just a joke. Callas was all about the work - and not nearly so self indulgent as McNally renders her here - but there in lies the play.
Tyne is spectacular. I am going again.

#28

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 6/26/11 at 1:31pm

I also thought it was interesting to hear the monologues where Callas refers to herself as a fat, ugly girl and discusses her size and looks. Having Tyne, who is not a size zero, say these words brings a new depth and dimension to the role. As if we are seeing Callas when she was heavier and struggling with those demons in the present. I thought it added a new dimension.

"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

#29

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 6/26/11 at 1:41pm

Well- Tyne is significantly smaller than she has been in the past few years and i think her struggles brought a new depth.

I thought her earthiness was perfect for the role.

Updated On: 7/3/11 at 01:41 PM

#30

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 6/26/11 at 1:50pm

Tyne looked stunning. The last time I saw her was in Rabbit Hole and she was extremely overweight. She looked gorgeous in Master Class.

#31

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/1/11 at 11:43am

I saw it last night. It's okay. Tyne is wonderful, but the direction is sloppy and Sierra Boggess is just not right for Sharon, rendering the pivotal sting of the final moments nigh nonexistant. Still, the play has built-in charms.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

#32

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/14/11 at 1:18am

Saw it tonight.

TYNE IS BRILLIANT!

I think the play is a hot mess (which is what I think of most of McNally's work). They should cut her "flashbacks" and just keep it an actual Master Class. The Master Class interactions were the most interesting and entertaining parts of the evening. I actually wanted to hear her critique their voices.

The 3 singers were pretty bad. Their acting was just so amateurish. When the first girl cries and puts her hands over her face, I mean, c'mon. That's like Acting 101. This is Broadway folks. And when Callas says something mean to S.B. she hastily turns upstage. It was just so "actorey." I hated the direction. And the big column coming in was stupid. I wish they set would have just flown away and we had been left on an empty black stage with the back wall exposed. And maybe projections of the actual places she was describing.

But I honestly don't think we need all the background info on Callas to fully appreciate her. I liked just hearing her interact with the audience and with the characters on stage. You get enough of a portrait of her as you need to without going into all the background material that I'm sure is all beefed up anyway.

And I'm AMAZED that Audra won a Tony for that. I guess I could see how it could boil up to something. Sort of like Rose and Gypsy's scene in "Gypsy" where it's all building to a boil, but that was def. missing from tonight's performance. S.B. clipped her final line too much. It came off as "I. Hate. You." or whatever the line is. It seemed almost too premeditated.

Does the show really need opera singers anyway? It's a master class. They aren't suppose to be good, right? The only indication is that she likes the tenor's rendition of his song, but I think that's more because she goes into a flashback. She's not really listening to them anyway.

#33

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/14/11 at 4:34pm

When reading the play, it's hard to imagine someone winning a Tony for Sharon. I don't think it was written with that intent.

I did not see the original production, but I may have seen it through a less...a-hem...legal...way. Audra's Tony for the role is a testament to her unbelievable gifts as probably the greatest singing actress of the past twenty years. What she brought to Sharon was astounding, hence why she won.

I'm sad to hear Ms. Boggess (who I think is a great talent) does not measure up, but like Stephanie Umoh's performance in the revival of Ragtime, it's hard to follow in the shoes of one of the greatest actresses of all time, in a role that was tailored more to the talents of said brilliant actress.

#34

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/30/11 at 9:44pm

Saw it yesterday. Tyne is BRILLIANT. Seriously, one of the best performances I've seen on stage and like someone said before, you almost forget she's acting. She IS Callas. The tenor sang beautifully, and Sierra wasn't as bad as everyone says. She was actually pretty fair, but she's NO opera singer. (and either is Daily (I think she sings like one phrase)). Does Tyne have a chance at a Tony this season? She def. deserves a nom for this performance!

PS- I also don't know how the role of Sharon is a featured role. It seemed the first girl had a bigger role than Sierra.

#35

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:07pm

I think I can say with confidence that no one has played the role of Sharon Graham in quite the same way that Audra did. She was incredible--formidable, intimidating, funny, sexual, and certainly a match for Zoe Caldwell's Callas. I've never seen another actress come anywhere close to what she did with the role. If you saw her, you'd understand how she won a Tony.

Also, Audra was able to sing "Vieni t'affretta" like an opera singer. Boggess' voice is nowhere close; you never believe that Callas, upon hearing a student sing one of her signature arias, would understand that her career was essentially over and a new generation was coming to replace her.

That said, I actually found Boggess to be the most successful of the three students (not saying much, really). The other two were embarrassing.

Also, to the question of Tyne not sounding like an opera singer--by the time Callas conducted her master classes, her voice was almost completely diminished. Listen to some of her late career recital recordings. Her voice was gone. She knew it. And she knew that there was a new generation of singers coming down the pike to take up her mantle. That's what should come across in McNally's plan, but really doesn't in this production.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

Updated On: 7/30/11 at 10:07 PM

#36

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:12pm

I thought the male had the best voice of the 3 students and I agree that Boggess' voice is not right. Can anyone tell me the 2 other arias sung in the play?

#37

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:18pm

Tony (Garrett Sorenson) sings "Recondita armonia," from Puccini's TOSCA.

Sophie (Alexandra Silber) sings "Come per me sereno" from Bellini's LA SONNAMBULA.

Sorenson is an actual operatic tenor--he has performed at The Met in multiple smaller roles and at other major houses--but he absolutely cannot act. And he sings "Recondita armonia" as if he's never heard it before.

#38

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/31/11 at 7:49am

I saw it yesterday, and I'm going back today. Tyne Daly was marvelous, and I enjoyed the performances of the students. They certainly weren't close to the same level as Daly, but I thought they handled themselves well. Granted, I've never seen another performance.

There was also a talkback after the matinee with Alexandra Silber, Garrett Sorenson, and the guy who plays the Stage Manager. Tyne Daly came out for 2 questions before taking a nap.

"I've never encountered such religiously, you know, loyal fans as Broadway musical theater fans. It's amazing." --Allison Janney

#39

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 7/31/11 at 10:14am

I saw the matinee yesterday, and was blown away by Daly. I had never seen the show before, and I wasn't expecting all the humor. The supporting cast was not equal to her, which was unfortunate, but it did nothing to diminish Daly's performance. She should certainly be remembered when the Tonys come around.

"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson

#40

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 8/1/11 at 2:05pm

I actually have a question for anyone who has seen both the original production and the current revival. Has McNally made significant changes to the text? I saw the original when I was very young, and aside from being amazed by Caldwell and Audra, I don't recall very much. Seeing the revival recently and rereading the first published edition, I seem to note some things missing and others added. Can anyone share some insight?

#41

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 8/25/11 at 7:51pm

Quick question, did Tyne Daly wear a Mic? I remember in the text Callas says that she doesn't like microphones and I was sitting in the front row and couldn't see a microphone under her wig lining...

#42

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 9:41pm

The only signifigant change I can detect is a paragraph of the final monologue being moved to the first act. If you check out the highlights video at broadway.com or youtube, you will note the speech about Callas walking over to the general manager's box and yelling "Il palco funesto" (The fatal scaffold). (This really happened, by the way.) In the printed edition, this was positioned right before Callas says "Ho datto tutto a te!" to Ari. In this revival, Callas says it during her act one lesson with Sophie. I don't know why this was changed, but I do think it works better in its new place. Also, Callas has a line about "Tony-tight pants" that was eliminated, probably becase Garrett wasn't wearing tight pants.

Updated On: 9/2/11 at 09:41 PM

#43

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 10:06pm

I really liked Alexandra Silber. I thought she held her own on stage with Daly. She was the only one IMO who didn't blend into the background.

#44

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 10:14pm

I love Alexandra-I follow her on twitter now and her blog- she is smart as a whip with a great since of humour, but I found her performance too broad and "cartoonish". Maybe it would have been better viewed from the balcony. She really surprised me with her beautiful voice though. She sounded credible as an opera student.

#45

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 10:15pm

aasjb, I was there Tuesday night, also didn't see a body mic. I think they have a few on the floor to pick her up when the recording's play, though. It also didn't sound like her voice was being amplified for most of the play, if that makes any sense...

Some people paint, some people sew, I meddle.

#46

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 10:50pm

Alexandra was incredible in "Hello Again." I was so happy to see her in Master Class.

#47

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 11:06pm

I saw this show last night (9/1).

It was everything I thought it would be: funny, gripping, and an altogether amazing production.

Tyne Daly (if this show gets remembered, as it should) is definitely a force to be reckoned with this coming Tony season. It's was surreal how, on stage, I couldn't really tell where Maria Callas ended and Tyne Daly began. I also loved the supporting players, with Garrett Sorenson being my favorite, Sierra Boggess being OK (since I really expected her to blow Callas out of the water, and I didn't entirely feel that), and Alexandra Silber, albeit funny, began to cross into hamminess at many points...

...AND WHY DIDN'T SHE TAKE THE ORANGE!!!!!!!

The cast was probably the best group of actors I have ever met. Sierra, Garrett, and Alex were all such nice people and chatted with us for a good long while. Tyne was beyond sweet. After I told her I was a theatre person, she gave me a little nudge on the shoulder and said "Good luck, and that's not a Maria Callas good luck, that's a Tyne Daly good luck". It was such an indelible moment that I almost hit the sidewalk in shock and awe.

Frank Langella, Amy Brenneman (Private Pratice), and Barbara Cook were all at the show last night.

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#48

MASTER CLASS

Posted: 9/2/11 at 11:26pm

There are definitely some sort of mics, because when we saw the show, my wife used the listening device.

"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson

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