On The Twentieth Century Previews- Page 5

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 11:18pm

A poster above kind of got their nose out of joint about song lyrics possibly being rewritten

How about when a show gets totally rewritten to become politically correct? That bothers me more than a few changed lyrics.

Kudos to Wilson who, at 83, mastered the art of doing cartwheels.

Updated On: 2/14/15 at 11:18 PM

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 11:21pm

Ljay889, Thank you for the review and including Andy Karl. Looking at the song list, it didn't look that Andy had too many scenes and was wondering how it could have won Kevin Kline a Tony Best Featured Actor in a Musical in the original. I am so looking forward to watch the show on 2/28! I have been listening to the OBCR to prep but haven't figured out the Bruce parts until I saw the song list on this thread. Hopefully Andy will also get a Tony nom for this role like the Kevin Kline did! I am watching this show primarily for Andy (loved him as Rocky) but my friends are watching for Kristin and Peter :)



Updated On: 2/14/15 at 11:21 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 11:28pm

Andy is great! And they show off his assets for an entire scene. Not sure if that's from the original production (assuming it's not).

Updated On: 2/15/15 at 11:28 PM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 11:46pm

I've never understood complaints about the score. It's by far my favorite of Cy Coleman's score, right before Sweet Charity. I think every song is a delight, except sometimes Our Private Word bores me with its literal lyrics. A director and actress say their private world is like a play about a pair of lovers? How inventive.
But songs like Babette, Together, I've Got It All, Repent and the title number are so funny and beautiful. Classic Comden & Green lyrics.
Can't wait to see this in May! I hope they record it.

[tazber]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 12:00am

I'm with you gypsy101.

I'm also a huge Cy Coleman fan though, so admittedly I'm not objective.

Can someone who's seen it explain how changing The Legacy worked and why you think they changed it?

Updated On: 2/15/15 at 12:00 AM

[NoName3]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 12:59am

Our Private World is a parody of the works of Ivor Novello, which I did not realize when I first heard it, partly because at the time I had never heard his music -- I knew him by name and reputation only. But I have always adored it even when I didn't realize what it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivor_Novello

Updated On: 2/15/15 at 12:59 AM

[A Director]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 1:13am

The first show I saw on Broadway was On The Twentieth Century and it was great fun. I love the score. It is not an opera.

Kevin Kline won the Tony because he was wonderful as Bruce.

Go to YouTube and watch scenes from the Actor Fund concert version of the show. Marin Mazzie is outstanding as Lily. Ms. Chenoweth can only hope to be as good.

[Metfan2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 7:46am

Did she really do cart wheels or is that a stunt double?
I never saw her face and I was right in the center of the Mezz. I think is a stunt double.

It would be funny, later in the run, if they promoted - no stunt doubles for a specific show. To watch her try to do it and.....

That would prove she really is a nut...

[mamaleh]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 8:27am

Saw the matinee yesterday and was thoroughly charmed, start to finish. Wilson, of course, is replaced by a stunt dancer/gymnast who does the cartwheels. It's a pretty obvious joke. I saw Kahn, Mazzie and now Chenoweth in the lead, and all three were on a par level--just brilliant. Vocally Gallagher is OK but not overly impressive as were Cullum and Sills, but he sounds fine and acts the fun role with brio. As to Andy Karl, I thought he was just as good, if not better, than Kevin Kline in what could be a thankless role with only a bit of a song or two. His physical comedy bits, mostly with Chenoweth and sometimes with Mark Linn-Baker and Michael McGrath, were priceless. One question: He appears to have very faint blue tattoo residue on his shoulders. Did he have a tattoo removed? Just curious. The sets and costumes were eye-popping. Let's see what THE KING AND I brings, but for now I'd say Best Revival is a two-way race between ON THE TOWN and OTTC, with a slight edge to the latter.

[Seperite]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 8:48am

Really well done show...funny, charming, engaging, and an interesting, fun story, which I was not familiar with ahead of time, and thus, was happily surprised. You don't get a lot of audible gasps from audience members at plot developments in musical theater, but this show had it. The acting is uniformly excellent...lots of laughs...the comedic timing is all on the money. Musically, not my favorite score...and I wasn't blown away by the voices of any of the principal actors (Chenoweth's singing style is operatic almost throughout, rather than musical theater-y; Gallagher has a decent voice but far from perfect, etc.) The costumes and set are colorful, loud, and gorgeous.

Make sure to arrive on time! I got to the entrance to the auditorium (not the entrance to the theater...but actually through the lobby and past the ticket-checkers) at 2:04 -- 2:04!! -- and even though the overture had not yet begun, I was not allowed into the auditorium for a good six or seven minutes. Once allowed in, instead of being ushered to my 4th row aisle seat, I got seated at the extreme side of the 15th or so row, where I had to stay for the duration of the first act.

Not cool. Concededly, arriving late is very discourteous -- I can't stand when latecomers waltz in and disturb everyone else's enjoyment of a performance, and always do my damnedest to arrive on time. But occasionally, things do happen, and people arrive late. Forcing them to wait outside and miss a chunk of the show (what's wrong with letting people stand in the back for a few minutes?) and then not finding an appropriate break in the performance to seat them in their correct aisle seat (there were many long ovations after songs that would have provided such an opportunity) is discourteous, too -- particularly when the latecomer arrives a mere 4 minutes after the posted time, and before the performance has actually begun. Seemed like rules just for the sake of enforcement of rules, and it marred my enjoyment of the performance.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 9:10am

"Let's see what THE KING AND I brings, but for now I'd say Best Revival is a two-way race between ON THE TOWN and OTTC, with a slight edge to the latter."

If Side Show was still running, this would've been the most interesting Tony race for Best Revival of a Musical in a while! Here's hoping that production will at least be remembered with the nominations. Updated On: 2/15/15 at 09:10 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 12:35pm

Andy's tats are covered with make-up, you can see them a bit (one of the reasons I would tell an Actor to think before Ink).

I was right that people are enjoying this more than I did, I totally understand that but I am also glad to see not everyone loves this score. It is a Musical Comedy, not an Opera or Operetta (It has too much dialogue and plot(s) for that). It may reference to them a bit but it ain't operetta. Who would parody Novello? Like 2 people get that? Sorry Cy, Betty and Adolph, I love you guys but this is not one of your best.

If Sher does with KING AND I any where near what he did with SOUTH PACIFIC there should be NO competition.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 12:46pm

Since I did not recall if the dancing porters were in the original production , I checked you tube. They were there.The original was not nominated for choreography nor should this one be. A best director nod is possible however

1978 was a weak year for musicals. This & Runaways were the only 2 original musicals nominated. Dancing & Ain't Misbehavin were the other 2 nominees with the Tony going to Ain't

I remember nothing of Runaways & Swados came & went quickly. The Playbill however was a color one which I still have .

[Cesare2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 2:34pm

Diane Lane, who's now in a play at the LTC Newhouse, was in "Runaways." Let's just say the show was earnest. It transferred from the Public's Martinson Hall (when it was a cabaret theater) after getting a rave from Mel Gussow of the NYT. It closed pretty quickly at the Plymouth. I think Liz Swados recently had a show off-Broadway.
In the original "On the Twentieth Century," the porters were all African-American (appropriate for a show set in the 1930s), and they were terrific.
Sorry to hear that the original opening scene (with the song "Stranded Again) was cut for this production. It was a crazy way to begin a pretty crazy show.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 3:16pm

I'm confused. What amazed you? That she is 46 and can do it? That she is tiny and can pull it off? Not trying to be snarky, but what do either of those have to do with the ability to sing and dance? 46 is not old at all.

Agree in general, but Kristin in her interview here last week made it clear that this run will not be easy for her.

It's all going to be hard. I'm going to have to live like a nun, which I do anyway, so it's not going to be that big of a change. The key will be sleeping a lot, resting my voice, and staying in physical therapy. I have previous injuries, and I have to take care of my body so that I can get through the run. But I'm going to do it because I'm ready."

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Interview-with-Actress-Kristin-Chenoweth-20150210

Maybe that's why they go to the west coast, for some R&R with a nice paycheck. Audra went there for a role in some medical drama, I think. Seems like a waste.

But eight shows a week must be brutal if you're in a starring role. I wonder why that number has remained so inviolate over so many decades. They sure don't do eight shows at the Met.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 3:37pm

How many are playing in the orchestra and what is the orchestration?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 5:04pm

I believe the orchestra numbers 13 or 14

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 5:49pm

From CPU:

"I am also glad to see not everyone loves this score"

Now THAT is inane. So you find something 2nd rate that the vast majority of theater lovers think is 1st rate, and then find solace that a small minority of people share your opinion? Guess what?

I'm thrilled that (almost) everyone loves this score as much as I do!

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 6:01pm

What was the original opening scene? Stranded Again wasn't cut.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 6:59pm

The "vast" makority of theatre lovers never heard this score.
All I said is that others (beside me) don't like it. That's all.

Read the posts, not everyone agrees with you either. Different strokes.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 7:07pm

Was it a great score that would become a CD one repeatedly listened to? No

It was a score that perfectly fit the story.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 7:14pm

Was it a great score that would become a CD one repeatedly listened to? No

Or "Yes", in my case. Love it. Mystified how anybody could mistake it for anything other than magnificent.

Updated On: 2/15/15 at 07:14 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 7:23pm

People have different tastes. That is the long and the short of it. Glad you enjoy it. I like it though not as much as you.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 7:24pm

I agree Jay! I think it's one of the only cast recordings where I don't skip any of the numbers.

[Cesare2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 8:24pm

Someone posted a song list that didn't include "Stranded Again." I had read elsewhere that the original scene was dropped, and just assumed that included "Stranded Again." I think the licensed version had dropped the original first scene, probably because it required an additional setting and costumes.
The original production's first scene was the final scene of "The French Girl," Oscar's awful Joan of Arc verse play. Just as Joan is about to be burned at the stake, the stage manager comes out and announces that the last audience member had just left the theater and that the production has closed. The house lights then go up. They start striking the sets. The "bishop" peers out into the auditorium and say, "there's nobody out there." Learning that Oscar has disappeared, the company sings "Stranded Again." They leave to find Oscar. One of the cast members, a knight in armor, gives Owen and Oliver a note telling them to be on the Twentieth Century Ltd. in Drawing Room A. Owen and Oliver sing "Saddle Up," as the set morphs into Chicago's Union Station.