Octet to Berkeley Rep Spring 2021

Me to my fiance, who has been playing Octet pretty much non-stop since the cast recording came out*: "Well, looks like we'll be living at Berkeley Rep next year. Luckily they have good drinks and chocolate."

*Seriously, there have been moments in which we're both playing the OBC recording in different parts of the house.

Now here's just hoping that Gecko Gecko (Thai place across the street) is still open by then!

schubox said: "Speaking of, they just released this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0XGfo0qXGA"

This is honestly brilliant. I have a family member that's in AA, and they've been doing their meetings over Zoom.

The "Epstein Didn't Kill Himself" sticker over Toby's webcam was icing on the cake.

bear88 said: "As with everything these days, I hope it’s not too soon.

And Kitsune, congrats on your engagement."

Thank you!!! Happened a few months ago right after Shelter in Place started, but it's been a long time in the works. We're aiming for next year, when hopefully the world is a little more "normal", and the theaters are open!

Looks like the majority of the Signature cast will come out to Berkeley Rep, with the exception of Starr Busby being replaced by Isabel Santiago.

Got tickets for the first preview. The entirety of the cast album is basically a meme in my household.

Went to the first preview tonight, having seen the Signature production back in 2019.

The Peet's Theater at Berkeley Rep feels even more intimate. We sat in second row center. With the "chairs in a circle" configuration there were some awkward moments of performers with their backs to us, but it's a first preview and I figure that's when these kinks will be worked out. The lobby outside was decorated with flyers and signs for the E Goostman Faith Center, similar to the Signature production.

The time is updated to the present and there are a few references to the pandemic. For example: Velma mentioning that she hadn't been out in two years, and Karly paraphrasing a conversation with her mom about "Things are starting to open up again!" Regardless, the material still felt timely, maybe even moreso now then when I first saw it in 2019.

Some small moments I really enjoyed: 1) Henry reaching out to give Velma a handshake, and Velma deciding she's more comfortable with an elbow bump. 2) Toby coming entering the church with his mask below his nose (because of course Toby is that kind of person. 3) When Marvin starts naming off things that don't make sense, he includes the CDC. Yours truly, the local public health worker, may have been the only one who guffawed, but I did so loudly.

Isabel Santiago as Paula is the one new cast member. She played the role with more anger at her husband than Starr Busby, who was largely sorrowful. She has a lovely voice.

Dave Malloy's scores tend to be more challenging than some more pop-ish musical theater composers, but I really hope Octet finds an audience in the Bay Area. My husband and I have listened to the cast recording non-stop for the last three years, and a lot of the ideas feel more important than ever.

Kitsune said: "Went to the first preview tonight, having seen the Signature production back in 2019.

The Peet's Theater at Berkeley Rep feels even more intimate. We sat in second row center. With the "chairs in a circle" configuration there were some awkward moments of performers with their backs to us, but it's a first preview and I figure that's when these kinks will be worked out. The lobby outside was decorated with flyers and signs for the E Goostman Faith Center, similar to the Signature production.

The time is updated to the present and there are a few references to the pandemic. For example:Velma mentioning that she hadn't been out in two years, and Karly paraphrasing a conversation with her mom about "Things are starting to open up again!" Regardless, the material still felt timely, maybe even moreso now then when I first saw it in 2019.

Some small moments I really enjoyed: 1) Henry reaching out to give Velma a handshake, and Velma deciding she's more comfortable with an elbow bump. 2) Toby coming entering the church with his mask below his nose (because of course Toby is that kind of person. 3) When Marvin starts naming off things that don't make sense, he includes the CDC. Yours truly, the local public health worker, may have been the only one who guffawed, but I did so loudly.

Isabel Santiago as Paula is the one new cast member. She played the role with more anger at her husband than Starr Busby, who was largely sorrowful. She has a lovely voice.

Dave Malloy's scores tend to be more challenging than some more pop-ish musical theater composers, but I really hope Octet finds an audience in the Bay Area. My husband and I have listened to the cast recording non-stop for the last three years, and a lot of the ideas feel more important than ever."

Thanks for the review. Is the Berkeley Rep still requiring masks and vaccine checks? They did for Swept Away a few weeks ago, but I have learned not to count on anything these days.

Just for clarification, I believe Diana D. was a co-producer on those two shows. Matt Ross was the lead.

bear88 said: "I didn't agree with some of the commenters on the original thread for the show who thought Malloy was lecturing the audience about the stupid people who do dumb stuff on the internet. His goals seem far less simplistic, and the characters, by and large, are portrayed sympathetically even when they're a little crazy. My primary problem, as someone who tried to go in pretty cold, is that I felt like Malloy got a little self-indulgent, requiring the audience member to do some research afterward to grasp all of the ideas he was throwing out."

My husband and I were debating this after we saw the show the other day - what concepts did you think required more research? He made the observation that the crowd at Berkeley Rep seemed older than that at the Signature, and he wasn't sure if they would get some of the references. My response was that regardless of age, just about anyone who uses the internet is going to run into at least some of these issues.

That being said, I've been listening to this show long enough that I'll be the first to admit I've probably lost track of the forest for the trees!

ETA: Also, I don't think it's entirely age. I love this show, *but* I'm also sure I qualify for Friends of Saul based on the amount of time I spend on the internet!

Updated On: 4/25/22 at 03:56 PM

Saw this Off-Broadway and absolutely loved it. Have tickets for this Saturday at Berkley. Glad to hear good things, but with almost the same cast I expected it.

AndreyIsntHere said: "Not to look ahead too much when it's still in previews at BRT, but I'm so curious as to where it will transfer to when it moves to Broadway. I know they wanted CITS, which is not available this season. It'd have to go to a small theatre. Comet works great both as an intimate black-box show AND as a spectacle. Octet would not.

Anyway, mild spoiler-y question about this run! Are any of the songs changed/updated, or just the spoken scenes? I'm curious if there are any new lyrics, if any music has been updated, etc."

Any changes are pretty minor. There's a line at the end of "Refresh" that's sung instead of spoken like on the cast recording, and Marvin has one or two line tweaks in Little God.

I went again last night, and found out about the "secret" door. If you go in Door 1 (the entrance farthest to the right when facing the theater), it's also the entrance to the "E Goostman Faith Center", aka the show's setting. This is also how the actors enter.

Lin-Manuel Miranda was in the audience tonight (wearing a Ghost Quartet shirt, at that!)