Passion at Signature Theatre — Page 2

I LOVED it. Clara's nudity didn't bother me at all and I thought it was actually pretty tasteful and artistic. When she puts the robe on, it covers everything, and when she has the robe on later she actually has white undergarments on underneath.

The only thing that bothered me just a little was the sound. I don't know if it was because I was sitting on the side where the orchestra was, but the instrumentals sometimes overpowered the singing from where I was at.

Claybourne surprised me and I am glad I kept an open mind about him. He did seem stiff, but his facial expressions were on point and you can tell he was really into it. Natascia Diaz was fricken incredible.

I have never seen a "first" show that seemed so put together before. And Ruther Bader Ginsberg was in the audience, although I'm pretty sure she was sleeping the entire time (gotta love her).

SO glad I finally saw this show live! PS, they are selling shirts in the lobby that say "Loving Sondheim is not a choice, it's who I am" in a pretty blue color. I always buy their season shirts because they are the SOFTEST things in the world. I still have mine from two years ago and it hasn't lost a bit of softness or show any wear.

I saw the original Broadway production several times (last week of previews and after opening), and the only nudity I ever saw was Mazzie's breasts, very briefly, at the beginning of the show. Shea may have been nude, but he always had the bedsheet pulled up to stomach level.

ljay889 said: "Whoa can anyone take a picture of those Sondheim shirts they’re selling? "

https://imgur.com/a/hjDvANl

I hope that link works!

promisespromises2 said: "ljay889 said: "Whoa can anyone take a picture of those Sondheim shirts they’re selling? "

https://imgur.com/a/hjDvANl

I hope that link works!"

Thanks so much!! I love it.

As a lifetime Sondheim fan, from the early days of WSS, GYPSY, FORUM and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, I admit that PASSION took some work on my part. I attended the final Broadway performance and us rabid Sondheim fans, who were screaming and cheering, had to deal with a Saturday night audience looking for a good time, and staring us down as crazy people.

What finally won me over was was the televised production, with a dream cast of Patti Lupone, Raul Esparza and Audra McDonald. Try to get a copy of this PBS version, it is quite amazing. I am now a total convert, have added it to my list of favorites, and can barely believe that it is, so far, the last Sondheim score we have.

I saw this production last week and enjoyed it very much. The CSC production was one of my favorite revivals of all time, so admittedly it was difficult for me not to compare. Natascia Diaz was amazing. All of her songs were beautifully performed. Her voice is perfect for this role (notably powerful at certain points) and her interpretation was very unambiguous in intent - purer and less acerbic than I’ve seen it played before, which was heartbreaking to watch. Steffanie Leigh was a lovely Clara. It was compelling to see her become more and more vexed with every mention of Fosca in Giorgio’s letters. There was a change made in Sunrise Letter that left me disappointed - we don’t get to fully see/hear her distress over the gray hair. Instead, Giorgio sang most of this section alone, letter in hand. I’ve always enjoyed watching Clara’s concern escalate here and it feels to me like too important a moment to miss. Other than that, she’s able to shine throughout and I really enjoyed her performance. The ensemble is solid and I thought the set was beautiful (I wish the floors weren’t so loud, but it’s understanble in such an intimate space). It was wonderful to hear the full orchestra, though I also loved CSC’s smaller one. For anyone in the DC area or willing to travel, I’d definitely try and catch this production. I enjoyed it - and Natascia Diaz’s performance is worth the trip!

Updated On: 8/20/18 at 10:12 AM

Caught the show on Sunday, what a treat!

The better seats are towards the back on either side where you can see the whole action happening without hurting your neck turning constantly. The show ran a little under 2 hours (no intermission) but the time flew by.

The show is beautifully staged in that long “in-the-round” catwalk fully using both ends of the stage, with emotional tableaus towards the end. The orchestra and score make you fall in love with theater.

The highlight is Natascia Diaz. What a perfect marriage of actress to character, she fully embodied the role without any trace of ‘doing work.’ Her voice reminds me of Bernadette Peters while she looks like a Donna Murphy clone, but overall she makes the role her own and her portrayal got tears of out me.

The rest of the cast is great too, Claybourne Elder and Stefannie Leigh are good and have some moments where they really shine, but again, this is Natascia’s show.

My only small complaint is with the sound mixing of microphones, I assume because it’s in the round it has its difficulties, but during spoken lines there was a small echo that came and went which was the only distraction in an otherwise perfect production (that and also the way the ensemble set up the dining table in the first few scenes, it was crooked in a weirdly obvious but perhaps-delibatere way? My OCD-ness was not having it)

Highly recommend making the trip if you’re on the fence.

Hi thebookofwhizzer. The London cast recording starring Michael Ball as Giorgio has that restored song. You can listen to it here.

Hi folks. I saw this production last night and really enjoyed it. I have seen Passion at least three times before, and it is truly an extraordinary work of art. I do have a question, though -- this is the first production I can recall where Giorgio gets the final bow. Is anyone aware of another production in which that has happened? Of course, I may simply be mistaken, but I am virtually certain that both Donna Murphy and Judy Kuhn had the final bows in their productions. It's not particularly important, but I was curious. Thanks.