#1
Posted: 2/19/05 at 9:56am
Walking into the theater itself is wonderful - I loved that there is no curtain. The sets and staging are gorgeous.
Our own Haviland Stillwell makes a lovely Hodel - beautiful, sweet face and presence, and a perfect voice for Far From the Home I Love. Her relationships with the rest of the characters were as full and defined as if she was playing with them every night. Congratulations to her.
Tricia Paoluccio as Chava is also lovely, wonderful in her role, and her dancing is effortless.
Sally Murphy as Tzeitel - her movements on stage are very awkward. She seems uncomfortable up there. She pitches her voice at the very top, as if always on the verge of hysteria. There were times when it actually hurt my ears. Her face for 95% of her time onstage was in a permanent pout.
John Cariani as Motel - is actually the fifth Marx Brother. The audience ate him up. Laughed at every bit, every schtick, and went crazy for him at his curtain call. I couldn't wait for him to stop every time he began a bit. He's not a character, but a clown. He also hasn't bothered in all this time to learn Hebrew pronunciations - both times he said the name Chava, he pronounced it Kava.
Nancy Opel as Yenta was a huge disappointment. High pitched, shrill, and frankly, Hillary Clinton is more Jewish. The humor of Yenta comes from those Jewish inflections in her lines and phrasing. I kept wondering why they fired Barbara Barrie - could she really have been any worse?
Andrea Martin was a good Golde - not a singer, but she's funny and her love for her children is obvious. She underplays some moments, and overplays others, but it all works.
Harvey's first line or two made me want to laugh because that voice is just associated with comedy. But I quickly got used to it, and succumbed to his wonderful portrayal of Tevye. The only moment where his voice really interferes is the NO, CHAVA, NO! That came out comical, and that is too bad. That's a big moment.
The costuming of the dream sequence was inexplicable - are we really to believe that someone in Tevye's space and time would see those kinds of creatures in his dreams?
The sets are beautiful, I loved the lamps over the audience, and having scenes done in the right wing simultaneously with action onstage is brilliant.
Our own Haviland Stillwell makes a lovely Hodel - beautiful, sweet face and presence, and a perfect voice for Far From the Home I Love. Her relationships with the rest of the characters were as full and defined as if she was playing with them every night. Congratulations to her.
Tricia Paoluccio as Chava is also lovely, wonderful in her role, and her dancing is effortless.
Sally Murphy as Tzeitel - her movements on stage are very awkward. She seems uncomfortable up there. She pitches her voice at the very top, as if always on the verge of hysteria. There were times when it actually hurt my ears. Her face for 95% of her time onstage was in a permanent pout.
John Cariani as Motel - is actually the fifth Marx Brother. The audience ate him up. Laughed at every bit, every schtick, and went crazy for him at his curtain call. I couldn't wait for him to stop every time he began a bit. He's not a character, but a clown. He also hasn't bothered in all this time to learn Hebrew pronunciations - both times he said the name Chava, he pronounced it Kava.
Nancy Opel as Yenta was a huge disappointment. High pitched, shrill, and frankly, Hillary Clinton is more Jewish. The humor of Yenta comes from those Jewish inflections in her lines and phrasing. I kept wondering why they fired Barbara Barrie - could she really have been any worse?
Andrea Martin was a good Golde - not a singer, but she's funny and her love for her children is obvious. She underplays some moments, and overplays others, but it all works.
Harvey's first line or two made me want to laugh because that voice is just associated with comedy. But I quickly got used to it, and succumbed to his wonderful portrayal of Tevye. The only moment where his voice really interferes is the NO, CHAVA, NO! That came out comical, and that is too bad. That's a big moment.
The costuming of the dream sequence was inexplicable - are we really to believe that someone in Tevye's space and time would see those kinds of creatures in his dreams?
The sets are beautiful, I loved the lamps over the audience, and having scenes done in the right wing simultaneously with action onstage is brilliant.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
Updated On: 2/19/05 at 09:56 AM
