"On the Town" Preview Thread- Page 13

[newintown]

Posted: 10/3/14 at 9:02am

I can't imagine Nancy Walker doing a beaver gag. But it's far from unusual for revivals to employ schtick that would have been beneath the aesthetic of the burlesque house - crude sex/scat jokes are what the Big Brother/Jersey Shore/Naked Dating-watching crowd want. And producers are trying really hard to recruit them into the Broadway audience.

[lynnetoomey]

Posted: 10/3/14 at 9:52am

On my second visit, that bit was no longer in the show. I agree, it was too much, and not needed in this really fine production.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/3/14 at 12:19pm

Funny thing about previews. Things are tried. Some things are kept, some things are dropped.

That's what professionals do.

[Tony2600]

Posted: 10/3/14 at 12:45pm

Saw the show last night. Something got lost in the journey from City Center to Barrington to Broadway.
Some of that may have to do with the fact that the productions at City Center are framed by the
understanding that we are entering a time machine of sorts that will take us to a time when the audience’s
sensibilities may have been different from ours. Also, most of the Encores audiences know the productions
are stripped down with just 10 days of rehearsal. That’s part of the charm. That charm can get lost when it move’s from a 500 seat summer stock theater in Pittsfield Massachusetts to a cavernous 1800 seat theater
on Broadway. This production is Encores/Barrington on steroids and that ain’t good.

The Pas de Deux by Yazbeck & Fairchild is beautifully executed buts lacks any heat. These two are the least interesting characters on that stage. The redhead selling ice cream in the orchestra section at intermission should have been Ivy Smith. What is wonderful though is that orchestra playing Bernstein’s brilliant music. That was worth the price of admission.

[newintown]

Posted: 10/3/14 at 3:25pm

Joey, have you seen the NY production yet? I'm guessing no, which surprises me, as you seem to be positively salivating over this show.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/4/14 at 8:50am

I have my tickets for the night after opening. I'm expecting it to be a very celebratory performance.

[jv92]

Posted: 10/4/14 at 6:50pm

Despite the length, and despite a little hamminess and broadness (Well, it is Musical COMEDY, so I guess that's to be expected), what a magical, moving production. I think ON THE TOWN, like the best of Comden and Green, is not just zany fun, but has a sweet sadness underneath its skin. I got choked up during "Some Other Time", and thought the "Lonely Town" sequence was dazzling, not to mention the Dream Ballet in Act 2. And what an orchestra!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/5/14 at 9:34pm

I'm really looking forward to seeing the ballets on that big stage. I'm also going to see the ABT Fancy Free later this month. In the past I've preferred the way that NYCB does it, but this year, I'm just happy to be seeing it the same month as On the Town.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 10/5/14 at 9:42pm

I wanted to love this, but there was something missing. Had tons of fun though. The dances are spectacular and hearing that beautiful score with the orchestra is worth the price alone.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 1:08pm

For those interested in "Fancy Free," the ballet precursor of On the Town, here is a 2 minute and 30 second featurette on it...




...and a 1986 television broadcast of the full 30-minute ballet:

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 3:58pm

Can anyone let me know what the run time currently is?

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 4:20pm

Jordan-it was 2:45 when I saw it. I am not sure if it's still that.

[South Florida]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 4:24pm

Is Pal Joey 90 or in the wrong era?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 4:26pm

Pal Joey will be 93 this year if you must know.

[South Florida]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 4:29pm

That is so cool, thanks.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 4:54pm

You wanna know if PalJoey is 90 or in the wrong era?

YOU WANNA KNOW IF PALJOEY IS 90 OR IN THE WRONG ERA?

PalJoey was born too soon and started too late, that's what.

With what I have in me, I could've been better than ANY OF YOU!

What I got in me--what I been holding down inside of me--if I ever let it out, there wouldn't be signs big enough! There wouldn't be lights bright enough!

HERE HE IS, BOYS!

HERE HE IS, WORLD!

HERE'S...JOEY!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 5:00pm

Calm down, Joey. You don't want to break another hip.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 5:02pm

Eh. I got more hips than Liza Minnelli combined.

[eperkins]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 5:16pm

...any more money than Calvin Coolidge - put together!

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 6:59pm

I saw the show this weekend. I loved it at Barrington. I mean, flat out, 100% show is a total revelation. I've been in On the Town twice and have seen 4 different companies do the show and this was just something amazing. Sadly, something wasn't there this time. I'm not sure if I went in expecting too much because I was so thrilled last time, but I just left feeling disappointed.

I like ending on a high note, so I'll get my issues out first. Like many have said, it felt like it was dragging at times. I went in knowing the length of the show, but I felt like things weren't landing right and the flow of the show was off. Second, I vastly preferred Nancy Opal over Jackie Hoffman. I like Jackie. I like what she does. I just thought her Madame Dilly was wasn't quite right. I can't put my finger on what exactly didn't working other then Nancy Opal was more subtle. Finally, the show was drowning in the theater. There were many empty seats and combined with the fact that the Lyric is a barn, it felt like the cast was fighting the space to connect, which isn't necessarily an error from the cast or production. It's a problem of the theater. The show lost the intimacy and closeness it had at BSC.

The show's strong points, however, are quite strong. The dance...oh, the dance! I loved it and it made me remember why I tried to be a professional dancer. It's well executed and beautiful to watch. I could watch Megan Fairchild for days and the audience loves her. She's just great to watch. Thankfully, the orchestra is as great as everyone has said. It's probably the single thing about this show that is perfect. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Finally, most of the cast is really great. Of the men, Jay Armstrong Johnson was my favorite. I've been a fan of his since I saw him on the tour for A Chorus Line, but damn is he good! I liked Alves and Yazbeck, but I also found myself wondering what it would be liked if they had been cast in each other's roles. Allison Guinn cracked me up in a role that you might not typically remember. I personally loved the sets created by Beowulf Boritt. I felt they were clean, visually appealing, and let the emphasis be on the cast, which is how it should be in this show.

There's a lot to like about the show, but sadly, it's not what it was at BSC a summer ago and I fear we may hear a lot of that from critics. The show feels out of place in the venue and it just isn't hitting people the way they should. I think that's what caused so many problems for me. It was like expecting a steak and being given a nice hamburger. You can enjoy it still, but it wasn't what you planned on or were expecting.

[Movidude742]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 9:39pm

I got a balcony ticket Saturday night and was in Box B (audience right) I didn't miss much, even the music lesson at Carnegie that was downstage left and most likely to be obstructed.

The line for will call was so long that at 7:57 I was about 6 feet of being in front of PAX. FOH staff assured us they were holding the start until we were all seated. Even with the late start we were out by 1045, and I made it up to 54 Below by 11.

I liked a lot of the show. Am I totally wrong thinking they could lift the Presentation of Miss turnstiles completely out of the show and not lose anything of the plot?

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 12:34am

I saw the show tonight and absolutely loved it.

Gotta disagree with those who say it's not sexy. I found it VERY sexy, which IMHO, is very appropriate.

My father, who was stationed in Alameda during WWII, told me stories of being on shore patrol and hauling sailors out of bars and brothels in San Francisco. We have been fed 70 years of propaganda that these were wholesome, all-American boys just anxious to make the world safe for democracy and get back to their girls back home. Not necessarily true. These were horny men at their sexual peak, lonely and away from home for the first time.

Of course Chip and Hildy have sex, as do Claire and Ossie. What made 'Come Up To My Place' so much fun for me, was that Chip seems to be under Hildy's spell, having way more fun than I've seen in previous productions. (As previously mentioned Lea DeLaria and Jesse Tyler Ferguson generated about as much heat as a brother and sister)

And, while we're on the subject, am I the only one who found the whole cast to be hot as hell? Those men in sailor suits? Whew! (Christopher Vo, especially noteworthy, IMO).

Lastly, in the '98 revival, Lea DeLaria was given the star bow, here it goes to Tony Yazbeck, which I feel is more appropriate, since Gabey is the linchpin of the story. For me it was interesting that the curtain calls tonight were not overly choreographed, much in keeping with how they might've been in 1944.

Overall, I thought it was a solid hit. I just hope they can fill that barn of a theatre 8 times a week,

[NoName3]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 1:04am

It's been brought up several times in this thread that On The Town was based on Jerome Robbins' ballet Fancy Free, but I don't believe anyone has mentioned that Fancy Free was inspired by this rather notorious 1934 painting by Paul Cadmus, "The Fleet's In!" Created as part of a WPA work project, Navy brass were so upset by it that it was pulled from its first exhibition, at Washington's Corcoran Gallery, at the insistence of the Secretary of the Navy. A friend suggested it to Robbins, who wasn't enthusiastic due to the painting's homoerotic and licentious nature. Robbins finally decided to proceed but went out of his way to make sure the sailors in the ballet were presented as happy, clean-cut, all-American boys.

I'm not making this up.


Updated On: 10/7/14 at 01:04 AM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 1:53am

Thanks for the history lesson, NoName! Never knew this. Love the painting.

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 9:07am

Is the front row too close for this? I would prefer not to be in the dress circle or balcony as the person I am taking isn't great with steps. Where would be a good place in the orchestra?