"Nine" - original 1982 Production — Page 2

Oh, Bob... I've also seen every musical that opened on Broadway in the last 30 years, but that original production of "Nine" is my absolute favorite. It was stunning, in every sense of the word. I sat in the fourth row with my mouth hanging open for two hours.

Sadly never saw the original production, loved the Australian one. Saw a awful ( I left at intermission awful ) production in LA last year. They based the production on the mess that was the film.

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The original production was stunning. The Tony win was a surprise, mostly because the show had only opened a month before and Dreamgirls was already a big fat hit. The Dreamgirls cast album was played all over and "And I'm Telling You..." was a hit single.

Us theater folks fell in love with Nine too, but it didnt get anywhere near the exposure Dreamgirls did.

I'm amazed by the comparison to City of Angels/Grand Hotel. I know I'm biased because I HATED Grand Hotel. Angels got great reviews, and was actually anticipated. It was on the talk shows before it opened. A friend called from Philly wondering if I'd seen this cool new show yet. Grand Hotel opened and immediately was mocked for the staging with the chairs and the annoying clanging of silverware. A few performances were standouts, most especially Jeter. I love the film and found most of the characters annoying, and I'd have to fault the actors, most especially Krakowski and Akers...although Karen's Rafaella was so poorly written.

Funny, I also liked the revival of Nine, but my disappointment was Krakowski again, and Benanti. I thought Jane's entrance was phenominal, but will give Leveaux and the stagehands more credit for that.

And if you had seen Harney's performance, I'm not sure you'd be so surprised about his win. He was stunning.

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The original production was one of the most stunningly imaginative musicals I've ever seen. Easily one of the top musicals I've seen on Broadway. Does anyone remember the doves (homing pigeons?) flying from the balcony onto the stage and then off into the wings near the end of the show? There was one showstopper after another. Anita Morris' Call From the Vatican left me and my friends speechless. We could hardly applaud as we were so stunned with what we just witnessed. Simply fantastic. Karen Akers singing My Husband Makes Movies was a tour de force. And what can I say about Liliane Montevecchi's Folies Bergere? She had the audience eating out of her hands. In the middle of the number when she came to the front of the runway and spoke to the audience.... it seemed so impromtu and everyone in the audience felt like she was talking just to them. A magical intimate moment. I especially loved the black costumes and loved the way all the women wore all white copies of them at the end. I have so many specific memories that still to this day give me chills. A brilliant production. If I had a time machine I'd take you all back in time to witness for yourselves, or to relive what you already love.
NINE overture

The Overture Delle Donne is still my favorite overture.

I get chills every time I hear it, even after the hundreds of times I've listened to it.

Hell, even the movie couldn't ruin the overture. It was the best part of the whole film.

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Updated On: 3/14/14 at 12:17 PM

I bought the BD of the film just so I could watch the overture in HD sound.

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Don't wish to hijack this thread, but it was brought up and as someone who didn't love, Nine, but do admire Tommy Tune's body of work, Grand Hotel, is one of my most favorite musicals. IMHO Grand Hotel was far superior to, City of Angels. As I wrote earlier, Dreamgirls, was robbed by, Nine; Grand Hotel, was robbed by, City of Angels.

I miss David Carroll.

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Can you guys just imagine what Tommy Tune could do with a production of FOLLIES? I'll bet it would be amazing.

Speaking of Tommy Tune, whatever happened to his Studio 54 musical that played in Florida? I could have sworn that it got good reviews and was Broadway-bound.

I didn't see the original production of NINE, but I rank its Original Broadway Cast Recording as one of my all-time favorites. The cast is so great and the performances come through spectacularly on the recording. I purchased it on a whim after I heard about the film version and proceeded to become absolutely obsessed with what a wonderful score, cast and recording it was.

I've also always loved the scant footage that exists of the actual production, including those grainy YouTube clips, the Tony performance and a press reel that was used in a TV interview I saw once. I wish I could have seen it.

I do agree that the Overture was the best part of the film. It all went downhill from there.

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I would assume the locale (from spa to train station) was changed for the tour to reduce trucking and load-in/load-out times. Did Tune also direct the tour or did they bring somebody else in to start from scratch?

The tour set was changed to a train station because it was thought that it would be impossible to maintain the pristine cleanliness of the white tile spa set while touring. The staging was Tune's original. The floor plan was identical, with the white tile seats replaced by grey steamer trunks.

Liliane Montevecchi