SUNDAY at City Center performance thoughts/reviews — Page 6

I've seen a few shows at Encores in which there's an upstage set piece or something that is almost totally impossible for people in balcony or rear mezz to see. It's infuriating.

No Encores has been more poorly staged than On the Town when almost every single dance sequence was performed on an elevated platform behind the orchestra was was completely obstructed for rear mezz and balcony patrons.

They has projected images on the sides in the past and I don't know why they didn't do that last night too.

TonyVincent- I'm totally with you on the '08 revival being one of the best productions of any show EVER. Were you at the final performance? Daniel Evans' breakdown after Move On and his inability to say the words in the back of the box was sob-inducing.

As for last night, I enjoyed it a lot. I thought everyone was off book enough and the costumes/staging/etc were appropriate. I expected it to be staged as much as Annie Get Your Gun was last year and it basically was. Jake really sounded wonderful. I hope he keeps coming back to the stage but please, please, please not in any more Nick Payne plays!!

I liked Ashford's take on Dot. She didn't go for the conventional choices we've seen/heard before.

The supporting cast did well and of course the book and score are two of the greatest written. (For me they are second only to The Most Happy Fella, but Sunday is the type of masterwork we rarely see in the theater.)

Experiencing the score is always going to make for a good night out and I'm happy they put this on.

Yeah, ON THE TOWN will go down as the worst production they've ever put on there. It was infuriating and directed solely for the orchestra section of the theater.

Having not seen the show but listened to the clips online of Jake singing, I would say he is "adequate". He doesn't try to go beyond his limited range and is never out of tune, but he is not a Broadway leading man singer at all, I'm sorry.

Jake's voice was rich and full last night. Completely Broadway leading man material. He was wonderful in both this and Little Shop; I abstain (courteously) from commenting on his performances in Constellations and If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked This Cake. Still, despite his dubious choice in plays, Jake should give up making films and give himself over to the theater full time.

Stephen Pasquale, Patrick Wilson, Brian D'arcy James, would slay the material. Y'all are going far too easy on Jake. I don't get any sense of urgency in his singing. It's too guarded, and I wish he could let go a little. "In my opinion".

And I said that already, but thank you for mentioning it again.

barcelona20 said: "Stephen Pasquale, Patrick Wilson, Brian D'arcy James, would slay the material. Y'all are going far too easy on Jake. I don't get any sense of urgency in his singing. It's too guarded, and I wish he could let go a little. "In my opinion".



I was under the impression that you had seen the performance live, but you are basing your opinion off of bootleg audio.

Your opinion would be more informed and fair if you had attended a performance.

That is not really fair. No one is going to consider your "opinion" based on that.

Updated On: 10/26/16 at 01:50 PM

I agree that Jake is also perfect age wise. For the first time last night it hit me how young George and Dot really are supposed to, given that George died at only 31. It was quite refreshing seeing a very age appropriate George and Dot.

Not adding anything other than what's already been posted...I remember when I was a kid, the original production on Broadway and hearing the title mentioned on The Tony Awards. The show title always piqued a curiosity in me. I am very happy I had the chance to see this last night, even though my row L mezzanine practically cut off the entire projection. However, it didn't take away from what I was watching from the actors and what I was listening to. Gyllenhaal had a very pleasing voice, Rashad's delivery of her lines as Old Lady were amusing. I made the big mistake of not seeing She Loves Me, so was happy to have Zachary Levi in the cast. It was wonderful to see actors from shuttered shows, Brooks Ashmanskas from Shuffle Along and how happy I was to see Fun Home little Allison, Gabriella Pizzolo. I loved her in the opening song of the second act, her glasses! I wish I could have heard more Ruthie Ann Miles vocal range as I did at The King and I because her voice is just so beautiful to me.

Overall, a wonderful evening for me, exactly as it was presented. My husband and I truly enjoyed seeing this with books in hand (highlighted lines spied through my binoculars) it was unfiltered and real and I loved it! Not knowing anything about the show beforehand didn't take away anything from it for me, I was still teary-eyed and the end!

I'll take a masterful actor like Gyllenhaal who, by all accounts, can more than hold his own in the singing department than someone like D'Arcy James whom I believe lacks the charisma and presence necessary to realize what's ultimately (on paper, anyways) a hard-to-like protagonist. As Ljay said, Sondheim himself has often opted for actors who can sing.

I only wish that any talks of a full production actually materialized, which I think is rather unlikely. It'd be so wonderful to see an event production of this masterpiece headlined by a huge star like Jake Gyllenhaal. How exciting would that be!

Well for starters, you're just wrong about BDJ's ability. And #2, I never said Jake wasn't amazing in the part, just that for me, his singing ability is lacking compared to others.