Show Boat at Carnegie Hall

[BJC899]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 12:26am

Anybody else there tonight?

It was truly amazing.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 8:38am

Unfortunately, no. Had to work. But can you give us a review? I'd love to hear.

[Patash]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:08am

Yes. It was beautiful. And any doubts anyone could have had about Carolee Carmello singing "Bill" would have been erased in all but the most stubborn of viewers. It was perfection.

When performers like Gregg Edelman are used in tiny roles and never even sing -- Wow!

I loved the segregated black and white choruses for the first part, which then intermixed when they "got to Chicago".

Wasn't Marilyn Horne adorable in her little cameo?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:18am

Funny, I've heard the exact opposite and that the show was awful.

[Patash]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 11:25am

Anyone going to the concert and expecting to see a fully staged theatrical event would be very disappointed. There were two guys behind me that whined about that the whole time. "Geez, only 8 dancers for a big show like this?", "They can't even change costumes for Act II?", etc. etc.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 5:39pm

I think this is the first time Show Boat was performed in 2 hours and fifteen minutes, which turned out to be an awful choice. I know that this was a concert staging, but the whole production felt as if it was on a stopwatch. The book was poorly truncated and the staging was just awful. When you compare this to the South Pacific concert two years ago, well there is just no comparison. The performances, for the most part, were all petty good, but most were disservice by the concert script.

The Excellent: Jonathan Hadary and Becky Ann Baker as Captain Andy and Parthy were both just consistently on point the whole evening.

The Great: Carolee Carmello's "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (a lot of soul and also showing some great high notes) and Celena Shafer as Magnolia. Shafer possesses a beautiful voice and showed some really great acting chops. Nathan Gunn as Ravenal was also pretty great, but he was best when singing with Shafer.

The Good: Megan Sikora and Gavin Lee were very good as the comic relief and dance team, especially Lee's fancy footwork. Alteouise deVaughn showed some great charm and really was comfortable with a musical theater score.

The OK: Alvy Powell as Joe, nuff said.

The Awfull: Carolee Carmello's rendition of "Bill." Her line reading and physical performance in this scene were excellent and you really got the scene of a burnt-out, depressed, alcoholic. But, she completely overacted the song. I think the beauty and hurt that is layered in "Bill" is already there and it is easy, after witnessing Carmello's version last night, to turn it into an overwhelming and eventually, an emotionally empty version. In my opinion it there was a lot of added dramatic phrasing and vocal influences that really had no place in this song and for this character. Granted, it got the biggest and loudest applause of the night and the audience ate her up, I was left cold.

Overall, I blame Francesca Zambello and Doug Wright for the overall flow of the concert, but also question Paul Gemignani's choice in using most of the 1946 production's score and orchestrations. Longbottom's musical staging was one of the only saving graces.

[changinandhow]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 7:37pm

I have to agree with jewishboy about the concert staging hurting this particular production. The whole thing did feel very rushed. I went in having seen the show years ago and pretty familiar with it, while my friend that I went with knew next to nothing about it and came out going "...was there a plot?"

However I thought the performances were very impressive, I actually greatly enjoyed Carolee Carmello's "Bill" and her "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" was also great. Megan Sikora and Gavin Lee made a very nice and adorable duo, the minute Sikora opened her mouth the audience ate it up. Celena Shafer was the only one who really did nothing for me... she had a beautiful voice, but her Magnolia was pretty unmemorable to me.

Overall, I thought it was nice, as most of the performances made up for the fast pace of the evening. Wouldn't say it was the best, but most certainly would not call it awful either. Don't regret going at all.

Updated On: 6/11/08 at 07:37 PM

[into_the_woods2]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:13pm

i REALLY wish i could have been there

[jv92]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:52pm

I think Doug Wright and Francesca Zambello need to stop working together.

[Patash]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:01am

Reviewing a concert as if it were a theatre production is just plain simply WRONG!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:10am

the minute Sikora opened her mouth the audience ate it up.

She seems to have that effect. When I saw her in APPLAUSE, I couldn't take my eyes off her, she has such a strong voice, and is a wonderful dancer.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:47am

How is it wrong? Ben Brantley reviewed the one night concert of South Pacific two years ago and also the Carousel one night concert, both at Carnegie Hall. Also, many other one night concert events get reviewed. You can't charge full price and have top theater/opera talent in arguably the most famous concert hall in the world and not be subject to critiques. I'm not trying to put myself on the same level as Brantley, but I just wanted to share why I was disappointed (and I was REALLY looking forward to it).

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:57am

I thoroughly agree with Jewishboy.
Speaking of which, thanks for your excellent review of the concert, Jewishboy.

[Patash]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 11:36am

Well, interestingly the New York Times chose to send a music critic and not a theatre critic to this one -- which is as it should be for a concert in my book.

There were only a couple of negatives about the sound quality (which frankly I was unaware of).

Here's the link:
www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/arts/music/12show.html?_r=1&ref=theater&oref=slogin

[Me2]

Posted: 6/13/08 at 1:45am

I was also at the concert. I really did enjoy it because i hadn't seen it since it was in previews at the Gershwin in 1994. It was also my first broadway show so as soon as i read about this concert i got tickets right away.

I was sitting in the back of the house and it did seem like we were losing the clarity of what the actors were saying or singing. I know all the music so i was able to follow along but i was with someone who had never seen the show and she just couldnt follow what was going on because she didnt understand what the actors were saying. It was unfortunate because she enjoyed the music and seemed more interested after i explained what was going on.