My Hollywood Bowl Review- Page 2

[Pinguin]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 12:23pm

His voice is so darn sexy I can't take it :0)

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 2:09pm

So Emmy Rossum was a no-show? I seem to recall reading somewhere that she was scheduled to be a part of this concert.

[show2n2]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 11:14pm

I just got back from a "Weekend in LA" The Sondheim fest was TREMENDOUS.

The highlights for me were:
Audra McDonald - That arrangement was amazing and her delivery breathtaking. I would love to see her in a concert.

Angela & Len - She had a small lyric flub but gosh was in she in good voice. He was a bit hoarse, but jeez, he did Sweeney 8 times a week for how long? Totally forgive that. It was a treat to see them together. I did get the feeling that at one point in the song, he really was cracked up by something Angela did "Pvts are extra".

Elaine Stritch - Bringing down the house without very little ampflification. LEGEND!!!!!

Barbra Streisand - Just seeing Barbra on stage. You can tell she is a huge fan of Mr. Sondheim as well as a good friend. We all know that she doesn't like to make "appearances" so for her to do this....WOW.

Stephanie D'Abruzzo - Everything she did. How good is she.

Jason Alexander - Free - Kewt. Small Lyric flub, but very funny.

Vanessa Williams - More - Sound issues, but Hello, Gorgeous.

Jason Danieley - Something's Comin'- What a voice. I swear he could sing me the Phone Book anytime. Wish he would have done Free w/Jason, Move On w/Barbara Cook & Paul in the Getting Married Sequence.

Barbara Cook - Losing My Mind - Flawless. For her to come out and give that kind of performance on a song that we all know she has done a gazillion times is AMAZING. True artist.

Carol Burnett - Getting Married - TOO FUNNY. Seemed under-rehearsed with the various sections, but she had me rolling. Totally carried it off.

The mini-movies - I saw several clips that I had never seen before. Like Sondheim in a movie. Not sure which movie it was but wow. Also the Evening Primrose clip and A Little Night Music.(Is it out on DVD?)

The rest of the evening was pretty kewl too, but those are the moments I will never forget.

I was a little disappointed in Marin Mazzie and Josh Grobin. It may have been me, but they were under pitch many, many, many times. Very musical, but under.

Eric McCormack's ending of Getting Married. Scary for him, I'm sure. It's a tough song. He was good in the Merrily Sequence at the beginning though.

Surprise of the night - Anne Hathaway -What More Do I Need. - Loved it. The guy next to me said he was most looking forward to seeing her in person. Guess he had just seen her movies. He was blown away that she could sing like that :)

The ASCAP Foundation Sondheim Program -What a gr8 idea. I'm a music teacher so I can't wait to hear how it takes shape.

I would have loved to hear Audra McDonald (Anne), Stephanie D'Abruzzo(Petra)(low for her I Know), Jason Danieley (Henrich), James Barbour (Frederik ),Vanessa Williams(Charlotte) do A Weekend In the Country
Strange casting, but might have been "Wonderful"

I loved the finale with the HS students. Can you imagine, getting to perform with that cast.

My heart stopped for a second when Angela Lansbury tripped. I think the entire audience held their breath. She got up like a trooper, thank god. Mama Rose 8 times a week I'm sure helped :)

This would have been plenty for me, but the next night I stumbled upon the 2nd show of the Gay Men's Chorus of LA production of They Had it Coming: The Songs of Kander & Ebb. Jane Lanier was the featured guest. I'd never seen her but she was gr8.

When the curtain opened and I saw the size of the chorus I was floored. 200 strong. WOW. Some awesome arrangements and a gr8 sound.

My faves were:
Don't Tell Mama
Coffee in a Cardboard Cup
Marriage Sequence:
Spider Woman
Anything for Him
Love and Love Alone (The VISIT)
Married
A Quiet Thing
Sara Lee
The Encore - World Goes 'Round - Jane Lanier ROCKED ON THIS w/the guys.

They had 3 hosts/emcees that provided dialogue and continuity that worked pretty good. Their opening number (Wilkommen) was excellent.

This was my first road trip to LA from Las Vegas and it was incredible. So many wonderful memories.

The Hollywood Bowl is a perfect setting for concerts. I plan to go back as often as I can.

Does anyone know if they taped the Sondheim Fest? Would be gr8 on PBS.

Sorry this is so long, but it's everthing that stands out in my pea-brain :)

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/10/05 at 11:30pm

Finally getting around to writing my thoughts. I'll be brief. I basically agree with the posts that say that this was a good though not great evening. Too much lesser Sondheim. Too many numbers that failed to make an impact.

I agree with the post that says that a lot of the evening was misconceived. I personally would have preferred something that was more of a chronology of Sondheim's major works. The Hollywood Bowl isn't really the right venue to pull out Sondheim trunk songs...

Best of the evening for me was Audra McDonald's medley and of course, Len and Angela.

Biggest disappointment was Bernadette, who I adore, but who was not in good voice, and Carol Burnett who just didn't nail the song.

The finale with the kids was great but not a rousing finish to the show. They really needed something like a "Side by Side" to end the evening.

For the record, Donna Murphy and Emmy Rossum pulled out a long time ago. The bowl should really have removed Murphy's bio from the lineup.

[krispy kreme]

Posted: 7/11/05 at 12:27am

A few of the clips with Sondheim in it were from the movie "Camp" based on Stagedoor Manor. And to bring up Stagedoor one more time (groans from the French Woods alumni), the last song, "Our Time", was pretty poignant if you attended camp there as a kid. It was the last song from the camp's Our Time Cabaret.

[CaTheatreGirl]

Posted: 7/11/05 at 1:36am

Though the evening had its flaws and there were songs I'd like to have heard, my friends and I enjoyed the evening immensely. Loved the video clips, even the favorites of the residents of that average neighborhood (Wisteria Lane). I was horrified when Angela fell and didn't that silence the audience. So glad she seemed OK. The only person missing from the list in the program was Donna Murphy.

[got-a-light]

Posted: 7/11/05 at 1:48am

i went to the dress rehersal and while it seemed like it would be a good show that night, i was left with a feeling of... "that's it" i just thought there would be more "wow" moments!

this man is musical theater and i felt he deserved better or just more. not that it was bad, just not great. i also do realize it was just a dress rehersal, but i am talking about content.

and where was "send in the clowns." how could they not do that song!

[bk]

Posted: 7/11/05 at 4:08am

For those who might be interested:

Emmy Rossum was going to do Goodbye for Now from Reds. Paul Lazarus called me and asked if I could supply the chart we used for Unsung Sonheim (orchestrated beautifully by Larry Moore), which I did.

I don't know what else Donna would have done, but she was definitely doing There's Always a Woman - I also provided a chart for that, although it didn't sound like Larry Moore's to me - so either it WAS Larry's chart ineptly played, or it was a much inferior chart.

I will not comment on the show, but I'll only say that the LA Phil (or the half LA Phil) was, as has been mentioned, extrememly ragged throughout. It was actually shocking.

I will also say that when I chatted with Mr. S at intermission he seemed happy that the evening was "swift" and he told me to get ready to be blown away by Audra. And, though I had qualms with the orchestration, for the first time I really WAS blown away by Audra.

And the most magical moment: Len and Angela doing A Little Priest. As soon as Mr. Cariou opened his mouth and said his first line, it brought back instantly why he was and most likely always will be the definitive Sweeney Todd. His voice is fairly shot, but it mattered not one whit. He and Miss Lansbury were brilliant.

Having directed a couple of these "all-star" tribute thingees, I can only tell you that a director of this sort of event should never ever be the producer as well.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 7/11/05 at 4:14am

My friend did all the video clips! Some are from his "Private" collection

[HorseTears]

Posted: 7/13/05 at 3:37am

bk:
Thank you for your insight. You've "spoken" much more concisely than I did. I would love to hear any further thoughts you have on the evening or perhaps some thoughts on your work on previous tributes.

emo_geek:
Tell your friend that he/she did an excellent job. It's unfortunate that in a live concert venue the video clips were perhaps the most well conceived part.

re: Barbara Cook:
I hope I didn't come across too harshly with Barbara Cook's performance. I was not complaining about an older performer potentially losing the luster of her voice. I'm hardly familiar with her ingénue days. I just felt that her voice was too "light" and "bright" for Losing My Mind - an absolutely wrenching torch song in the right hands can be unbelievably dramatic and moving but, as performed by Ms. Cook on Saturday, came off just a tad sad. I also think that she was horribly mismatched with Josh Groban for "Move On” This was not a criticism of her voice, but on on how well her voice served the material. Obviously, I'm in the minority in that one.

Well, I hope Mr. Sondheim stays vital and healthy so that we can give him a much better conceived birthday concert for his 80th!

Updated On: 7/13/05 at 03:37 AM