"On the Town" Preview Thread- Page 3

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 10:52am

For the person who asked about the balcony boxes, we sat in the two seats in the box closest to the first row of the balcony, and the view was fantastic!

The orchestra, as mentioned, was a total delight. Being able to hear and see all 28 pieces clear as a bell from the back of that theater was magical. The music really is the star of the show and they're being highlighted appropriately.

Last night's performance felt tight for a first preview - yes, there were some muddled lines throughout - but I imagine it will settle in quite nicely.

I didn't find all of the projections to be too much or out of place - the taxi ride felt like an excellent use of them, at least from where I was sitting. I thought it was necessary to fill the space, while not actually having the taxi move about the stage.

Right now the dancing > singing > acting, and hopefully it was first night jitters that will allow the acting to settle in over the next few weeks. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to a friend or out of towner visiting. Hope to head back in a month or so and see how it's evolved - I can't imagine it's going to do anything but improve.

[lynnetoomey]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 11:26am

Had a fantastic time last evening. John Rando has found the perfect tone for the show, and everyone seems to be on the same page. The cast is uniformly first-rate, and the orchestra was perhaps the finest thing I have ever heard in a Broadway theatre. Yes, it sounds that good. I was sitting in the dress circle, and thought the production filled the large house very nicely. Other than some lighting snafus, a very smooth first preview.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 12:50pm

"the three male leads are shirtless at one point during the show."

Sounds like a dish I will wish I had took!! Yum.

[Rinaldo]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:05pm

If the scatting is so appropriate in "I Can Cook, Too," it's remarkable that Nancy Walker never found it necessary over the years. But Leslie Kritzer did the same thing at Encores -- Rando must like it that way, and think the song needs help. I tend to feel that Leonard Bernstein was a pretty competent composer.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:41pm

Actually, I think Lenny would have ADORED Alysha Umphress.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:46pm

^ A director is wise to incorporate any special skills an actor may have to make their performance their own if the skill fits into the reality of the story. Scat is perfectly within the time and place of this story. Just because scatting was not a skill Nancy Walker had does not mean no other actor should employ it.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:59pm

"I Can Cook Too" from last night is on tumblr if you look for it.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 2:11pm

Bernadette Peters didn't scat in the '72 revival. Though there might be prior precedence, I imagine Lea DeLaria wanted to show off her special skills, and that's how it found its way into the song. There are very few who scat as well as Lea, though, and in the wrong hands it sounds quite amateur.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 2:35pm

Alysha is, surprisingly perhaps, much better at scat-singing than Lea, she produces the sounds more naturally, more like a musical instrument.

Alysha has been doing it for years. It was always a highlight of the late-night shows at the Laurie Beechman., where I first heard her sing jazz and blues. She never failed to astonish me.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 2:47pm

Larry, in the wrong hands, anything can sound amateurish, including dialogue.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 3:17pm

Add me to the chorus of those who think the scatting isn't troublesome at all. It's not like she's riffing every note either. She adds it at the end in a few places and I think it enhances her performance rather than deters from it.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 3:33pm

The song is written with an encore. The scat singing takes place in the last 8 bars of the encore. It is in the best of taste and the Spirit of Bernstein .

http://gleek4114.tumblr.com/post/98032279312/tonight-i-had-the-pleasure-of-attending-the-first

[LarryD2]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 3:55pm

Alysha is, surprisingly perhaps, much better at scat-singing than Lea, she produces the sounds more naturally, more like a musical instrument.


That's an opinion I don't happen to share. Lea is by no means a favorite performer of mine, but what she does, she does well. I've seen her a few times where she's done scat (in the Park and Broadway productions of On the Town, and in jazz performance) and the ease with which she produced the notes was jaw-dropping. I saw Umphress perform "I Can Cook Too" at the presser for this revival, and you could watch every gear turning. Nothing effortless there. Perhaps it was a bad day for her, but it didn't leave me hopeful. Still planning to see this revival, of course, and won't pass absolute judgment till I've seen the finished product.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 4:00pm

Larry - that's a great way to say it - you can see/hear every gear turning. It takes me completely out of the moment and I can hear the effort it takes her to perform. Feels like watching a perfectly capable singer in a club, rather than watching a great broad seduce a green sailor with comic panache. I felt that way about her comedic line readings on the teaser recording as well. But, whatever, I'm still grateful we appear to have a top flight revival of this wonderful show. Can't wait to hear that orchestra!

Updated On: 9/21/14 at 04:00 PM

[wecrazy]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 4:50pm

Thanks Whizzer. Always an intelligent and objective review.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 9:57pm

What's the front row of the orchestra with the way this show's set-up?

[Patash]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:55am

Here's a thought. Maybe someone could start a thread where people who see the previews of On the Town can discuss what they've seen. Then maybe they could re-title this thread for clarity -- something about scatting.

Hopefully soon there will be more reviews of previews?

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 10:00am

Mike - On Ticketmaster it says AA is the first row - that seems right. There were 6 or 7 rows right up front, then a small break, then the rest of the orchestra. The cast has several times where they float in and out around that front section of the orchestra.

Patash - Probably no more reports since the first preview was Saturday and they were dark yesterday.

[dreaming]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 10:19am

I'm going tomorrow. They seem to have two days of rehearsal in between. I'm very, very excited!!!!

New York, New York, it's a helluva town!!! (BTW-the box office staff couldn't have been nicer when I made sure my seat was a good view for one as short as I am.)

[HorseTears]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:46pm

I'm so curious about these sets/projections now. There seem to be wildly differing opinions on the projections both on here and that other board. Some people seem to think they're ingenious and others seem to think they're inadequate at best. Hmmm.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:56pm

The inadequacy of the projections is an artistic triumph.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 4:10pm

I'll confess: Those projections are the one thing I'm nervous about seeing next month.

I'm not generally a fan of projections-as-scenery, and the set was my least favorite part of the production at Barrington. Everything else was flawless. I was hoping the move to Broadway would come with some more sophistication in Beowulf Boritt's design.

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 4:44pm

Does Jackie Hoffman wear wig? If so, what does it look like?

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 5:44pm

She has as many wigs as Hedwig, basically.

[evic]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 6:13pm

If the show is a hit and runs, she'll be flipping her wig from boredom and will probably bad mouth the show cause they didn't give her a song of her own.