Passion - WOW.- Page 2

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 4:45pm

"Yes, there was inappropriate laughter at points throughout the evening--because the audience was uncomfortable."

No, because it was laughably bad and worthy of derision. The audience derided it, and justifiably so.

The show thumbed its nose at the audience, and this time, the audience told it where to get off.

Bravo, the audience!

[theaterfan862]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 4:50pm

I love Passion so much! The score is truly brilliant and poignant. I didn't have the luck to see the show on Broadway but I've seen the dvd many times. I did have the honor to talk to Donna Murphy about the show and her brilliant performance. She was a total sweetheart and very a pleasure to talk to.

[Idiot]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 5:19pm

I strongly believe that the audience response to the OBP was because it made them uncomfortable -- not because the show was bad.

I think this show is challenging, brave, unsettling and deeply moving.

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 5:23pm

No, Idiot. They were laughing because it sucks. Every single audience member at every single performance. That's what After Eight said, so it has to be true.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 5:25pm

I'm so relieved that After Hours and I are back in opposite corners. We were agreeing in a different thread the other day and that had me very worried that the laws of physics had somehow been overturned.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 6:10pm

Was the new "No One Has Ever Loved Me" that Michael Ball did in London added for the Lincoln Center version with Cerveris/LuPone/McDonald? It's a wonderful piece in a wonderful show.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 6:39pm

AfterEight, you are not alone in disliking this show. It baffles me though that someone can't think it's a heartfelt, and well put together show that may just not appeal to them. There's a difference between seeing something as inept and worthy of derision, and simply saying that something doesn't connect with you. This is a poor example, but off the top of my head, I admit I don't find Book of Mormon funny or really something I'd pay much to see. But I *get* why many do find it hysterical, and I certainly don't think it's a show that those who do find it brilliant are merely fooling themselves about.

I was just becoming a big Sondheim fan when Passion opened, so it was my first chance to experience one of his shows as it was created (kinda)--reading reports on the old Sondheim mailing list about previews, hearing live recordings of them, and then even being able to walk into a store and buy the CD as it came out. The reaction from critics at the time did baffle me, and continues to. I admit, I do subscribe to the feeling that many people who dislike it are just unable to allow themselves to connect with such strong emotions that aren't hidden by any sense of irony (I'm not sure that quite makes sense).

Then again, as a teen at the time--and admittedly still now--I always appreciate things that are so unabashedly romantic in the true sense of the word. That said, I recently tried to re-read Wuthering Heights, and found a lot of it much harder to take than I did as a teen--I don't find that with Passion.

I think it's a breathtaking show--and even more than Sunday in the Park with George (or Carousel) one that always makes me sob by the end, so not one I listen to or watch often. It, with Company and probably Sweeney Todd is in my holy trinity of Sondheim's best shows. I also think it's probably his most richly melodic.

[amoni2]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 6:51pm

I have absolutely no doubt, there are people here, who would follow Mr. Sondheim into the bathroom and praise him abundantly for simply producing his morning constitution.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 6:55pm

And with shows that speak to them as, well passionately as Passion, maybe they'd be in the right to do so. (For the record I think Road Show/Bounce, etc, sucks, as does the new material in The Frogs).

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:12pm

Updated On: 6/7/12 at 07:12 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:21pm

I don't think someone who dislikes Passion is somehow unsophisticated at all. And I don't think I implied that. I did say my personal take is that people who find it laughable are uncomfortable with it--but again, that's simply my personal take (similar to how you think anyone who claims to like it is merely buying into to some elitism). But I freely admit many people connect to Carrie, to use an obvious example, something that kinda baffles me as well.

[binau]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:24pm

I don't know if PASSION is romantic, at least, I don't find it particularly romantic. I think it, and Fosca are more relentless than romantic - which is completely appropriate for some moments in the show. But I think to truly love the show you must think that Giorgio can fall in love with Fosca...I don't know if he can, maybe when I first watched it but thinking about in hindsight it does seem quite implausible (Although, I haven't been particularly fond of Jere's or Cerveris' performances...)..

I do like the show and the score, particularly Donna's performance as Fosca...recently people on the forum have been fond of Bonnie and Clyde's score, but does any song in Bonnie and Clyde portray a character any where near as deeply as "I Read" does? PASSION is a perfect example of writing songs for characters, so I don't know why the 'haters' couldn't find something meritorious about it..

Do you really believe that Giorgio can fall in love with Fosca? I don't necessarily disagree with it being possible, but I don't know if it follows from the development of their relationship in the show..

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:26pm

No.

Updated On: 6/7/12 at 07:26 PM

[Idiot]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:34pm

After Eight, I know this may not come as a surprise, but you're quite a dick.

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:35pm

^
Charming.

[Idiot]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:38pm

Oh, if that were my intent you'd be charmed.

[3bluenight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 7:38pm

Thanks for the correction about where the Lupone/McDonald/Cerveris concert was held.

I also wanted to clarify, I think it's a provoking piece. Emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, interpersonally. Because it's about the nature of love and how we love one another. As such, I feel that regardless of the responses people tend to have strong reactions and that is something of value to me.

I find that musical material like this is quite rare, which is what makes the piece such a gem.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 8:12pm

It's not presumptious to say how I feel about something and give it the caveat that it IS my personal take.

Anyway, Qolbineau, I am not sure if romantic was the right word, but I meant it in the way I guess I would call a lot of 19th century novels romantic--high, and pretty pure emotions without any veneer of irony. Not romantic in terms of a romantic love story, by any means--

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 8:25pm

I do subscribe to the feeling that many people who dislike it are just unable to allow themselves to connect with such strong emotions that aren't hidden by any sense of irony (I'm not sure that quite makes sense).

Actually, Eric, that makes perfect sense and is a big reason why the show (intentionally) makes people uncomfortable. We are living in the Age of Irony and PASSION's refusal to wink at its characters or their obsessions is exactly what disturbs us.

FWIW, "romantic" is exactly the word Sondheim uses when he explains why he wanted Lapine to write the book.

***

As for whether Giorgio could really fall in love with Fosca, why is that harder to believe than Belle falling in love with the Beast? It's basically the same story, with the genders reversed.

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 8:42pm

You mean, that wasn't your intent?

[someone.else's.story2]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 9:06pm

I, too, find the show extremely romantic. And, I absolutely buy that Georgio could love Fosca. Love, at least to some is so much bigger than just the superficial looks/attraction. And, I've always found that attraction increases (or decreases as the case may be) as you are exposed more to a person's inner life and character.

And, to piggyback on Eric's observation, I think that it does really make the audience uncomfortable and makes it difficult initially to connect with Fosca. I am so glad that I made the leap as I find the show one of the most beautiful ever.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 9:30pm

3bluenight, the concert of Passion with Lupone/Cerveris/McDonald wasn't at Carnegie Hall, but it was at Fredrick P Rose Hall at the Time Warner Center, where Jazz at Lincoln Center is.

And the concert originated at Ravinia in Chicago. I saw it at Ravinia and worried whether LuPone was right for Fosca and she nailed it. It was fantastic. Passion is my favorite Sondheim show. I later saw the Chicago Shakespeare production starring Ana Gasteyer, Adam Brazier and Kathy Voytko. It was a small, intimate production and staged very well by Gary Griffin, though Voytko outshone Gasteyer tremendously and shifted the focus of the piece in a way that was much more balanced than in previous productions I'd seen.

[sylvesterbird]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 11:08pm

If I remember correctly, I think Sondheim actually addressed the issue of audience laughter when he talks about Passion in Look, I Made a Hat. Essentially, he said a lot of what's been mentioned above - that the audience felt uncomfortable and found Fosca almost repulsive as a character, someone who could never in "real life" cause Giorgio to fall in love with her. I don't remember the specifics, but he did mention adding a song during previews in order to more clearly reveal Giorgio's thoughts towards Fosca.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/4/12 at 12:08am

People who liked the original film generally knew what to expect from the musical and responded to it. Those unfamiliar with the original film/novel and more importantly people who did know or like Sondheim's previous shows were in for a rough ride. Like the man who left WEST SIDE STORY after 10 minutes ("Don't Ask!" he snarled at Sondheim on his way out) many who went into PASSION hoping for a light romantic musical had their expectations thwarted almost as soon as the curtain went up. (A friend who saw the show a week after opening alter told me that the middle-aged couple in front of her left within 10 minutes..apparently upset by the nudity of the opening sequence.)


The unwanted audience laughter was spurred on by internet and newspaper reports of bad audience behavior in previews such as a group of people began chanting "Die Fosca Die!" in the middle of one performance. (The gentleman sitting next to me at a performance at The Kennedy Centre left halfway through..he just got up and quietly left. No fuss, no tantrums. Good for him... why stay and watch a show you are not enjoying. But let the others who are getting something of it have their pleasure.)

Some were not content to do this. They have to prove to everyone that they thought this is a lousy show and "don't you dare try to hold a different opinion." People began going to the show jut to laugh at it and expecting some sort of ROCKY HORROR audience participation piece. They too were likely disappointed. I never bought the idea that viewers were made uncomfortable by Fosca's obsessive behavior.

For me it was a bizarre story, yes, but told with conviction and heart. I responded to the characters and situations and had no issues with any of it, though I fuly understand why some people do. For me, the heart of it is in the interlocking melodies... I always get a lump in my throat in the final scene when Fosca picks up the melody of "Happiness" for a brief segment. "Lovng You" is (for me) one of the most beautiful and heartfelt songs about love that Sondheim has ever given us. The entire score weaves together in such a rich tapestry that I never tire of listening to it or seeing the show. For me, every step of the journey from curtain up to finale seemed well planned and executed. I'm not saying I want every show to be like this (any more than I would want every musical comedy to be OKLAHOMA!) but I am very glad that it was written anf presented on Broadway and continues to inspire new arguments through a multitude of regional stagings.

Even now, after more than 18 years, it STILL provokes such passionate discussion.

That is the WOW of PASSION.

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/4/12 at 2:17am

^

I went to the fhe first preview. There was no premeditated cabal. The laughter was spontaneous, derisive, and scornful. And wholly merited.