I got my ticket to see ROADSHOW and i am making a short trip to NYC in July...i love the score and have always wanted to see any production of this over-looked Sondheim musical...plus the casting sounds great to me...and i totally agree about "The Best Thing To Ever has Happen"...great love song and i believe Sondheim's one and only gay love song...
GeorgeandDot said: "Uranowitz is playing the younger brother? That's... interesting. He's not really the right type for the part."
I thought the EXACT same thing when I first saw his name cast as the psychiatrist and eventual husband to SJB in Falsettos. Didn’t think he was the right person for that role, too young, etc. until I saw the show. He absolutely blew me away with his performance!
Can’t wait to see what he does with the Addison Mizner role!!! Have a feeling he will pull this off in spades...
ELP, Uranowitz actually is really the right type to step into Chip Zien's shoes in Falsettos. He's a brilliant talent, but Addison is supposed to be a bit chubby. It's even referenced in the show. He doesn't really fit the type. I have no doubt that he'll be brilliant, but he's not right for the part at all.
GeorgeandDot said: "ELP, Uranowitz actually is really the right type to step into Chip Zien's shoes in Falsettos. He's a brilliant talent, but Addison is supposed to be a bit chubby. It's even referenced in the show. He doesn't really fit the type. I have no doubt that he'll be brilliant, but he's not right for the part at all."
He’s not the right part, as originally written yes, but He will make it his own - chubby, skinny, doofy, handsome or otherwise. THATS what makes him so brilliant. He turns it into HIS interpretation, the Brandon Uranowitz version. My opinion is he wants YOU to think he’ll do his best to do the “chubby Addison” and then blows your mind taking it in a completely different direction.
qolbinau said: “Well this sounds like a step up to me. Sorry but Michael C and Alex G sound awful and boring to me. Were they really the best they could do?”
i always thought this about that cast, they’re boring.
is this Raul’s first NYC musical since Leap of Faith?! cool to see him back!
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
I think the score to 'Bounce/Road Show' is hands down Sondheim's worst. The story it's based on was never particularly strong or interesting and it's always seemed to me that the authors were trying to build a compelling show out of a trifle. They just couldn't do it, now matter how many revisions were made.
That said, Encores! Off-Center seems a good match for this. It's a quirky show that's never found mass acceptance by one of the masters of musical theater. It deserves another look.
Listen to the ROAD SHOW cast recording and imagine Raul's vocals in place of Michael C. And then imagine anyone else's vocals instead of Alex G (though I admit the acting seems decent). Suddenly, it's a whole new world. Wish we got Raul in the first place because I assume the chance of re-recording this is basically 0.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Looks exciting. I guess it's being presented as a radio play? That seems perfect for Encores! but it could be an unnecessary concept thrust on the material itself. I'll keep an open mind.
According to Playbill, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman will appear at the talkback after Saturday's matinee. Sorry, I'm on my phone, so can't link the article.
I know it's unlikely but I hope they re-record the show.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
This might be a pointless question, does anyone know if I can buy a ticket or something in order to go to, what I presume will be, the invited dress tonight? I wasn’t originally going to go see this, but I’m getting more interested after seeing the clips and remembering the little things I love about this show. Hope everyone enjoys!
Got out of the invited dress around 9:30 tonight (after a 7:30 curtain with a late start).
I really liked the idea of radio play staging, but I would have liked for it to have been developed conceptually a bit more. Still, it works well to frame the show aesthetically, and it’s a very smart way to seamlessly integrate the concert elements into the direction.
The cast is excellent, of course. It’s great to see Esparza back in another Sondheim show. The final duet between him and Uranowitz was beautifully acted, and actually very moving.
This definitely isn’t top-tier Sondheim, particularly in terms of the actual music. But the lyrics are strong as ever, and the musical storytelling feels well-integrated. In general I think the relationship between the two brothers really anchors the show emotionally. A lot of the surrounding logistical business stuff isn’t always thrilling, but it provides an interesting look at the American Dream and all that. For the first time I feel like I get why Sondheim was really drawn to musicalizing this story.
This is probably as good a production of this show as we’re like to get in New York for a long time, so I definitely recommend catching it if you’re a Sondheim fan.
I was there tonight and I agree with JBroadway for the most part. I for one went in totally blind not knowing anything and found the radio framing device sort of confusing, but I grew to like it. The lyrics are super sharp, and there's a handful of songs I walked out with remembering but it's not very melodic ("there's not a tune you can hum/there's not a tune you go bum-bum-bum-di-dum"...). It's a very flawed show but reminds me a lot about MERRILY, and the dangers of selling out, and really broken people with big dreams and problems with addiction. It's been said of ROAD SHOW that the problem is that you're not rooting for the brothers, and I found myself really moved by Uranowitz and Esparza (who is really at his best here) in this dysfunctional relationship built on broken promises and broken dreams. I also have got to hand it to Encores! this season, that aside from WORKING, the design for both this and PROMENADE was really wonderful.
I really enjoyed it. I think if you're a Sondheim fan and you haven't gotten to see this one that it's probably not going to get much better of a production than this one.