Show Boat at Lyric Opera Chicago- Page 2

[jon5202]

Posted: 2/14/12 at 8:40am

Broadwayworld photo essay:

https://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-SHOW-BOAT-Opens-at-Lyric-Opera-20120213

[jon5202]

Posted: 2/14/12 at 8:42am

Chicago Tribune music critic review:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-0214-lyric-showboat-review-20120213,0,5693480.column

[jon5202]

Posted: 2/14/12 at 10:29am

First video clip of Show Boat (dress rehearsal) Lyric Opera Chicago (Ol' Man River)

http://www.wgntv.com/videogallery/67995495/Food/around-town:-show-boat

note: a short commercial may appear first

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/14/12 at 10:42am

As brief as it was, that clip gave me chills.

I looked into making a trip to Chicago to see this but the flights from DC are about $300 round trip and tickets to the production aren't cheap either ($224 for an orchestra seat). Hopefully Washington National Opera does this production as mentioned earlier in this thread.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 2/14/12 at 5:12pm

My bad, Eric. You're correct, the 1946 revival used an altered version of the original. And yes, the original made great use of the banjo, which I adore and can be heard in the 1936 film version.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/14/12 at 11:07pm

The Cotton Blossom looks like something out of THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. I don't like it. And Boris Aronson's CABARET sign- oops, Trocadero sign, dwarfs the proceedings underneath. Doesn't such a sign belong outside rather than inside the establishment? The whole production doesn't look very approachable. Very little human scale to my eye. And SHOW BOAT needs human scale.

Updated On: 2/14/12 at 11:07 PM

[jon5202]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 12:24am

Additional video regarding Show Boat production at Lyric Opera:

http://www.lyricopera.org/tickets/production.aspx?pid=10258&utm_source=google&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=showboat300x250&utm_campaign=digitalshowboat

Re: justoldbill comment - you need to see the production before making such generalizations. Having seen the production Monday night, I found it to be dynamic and moving and a very swift three hours. The show was staged with an eye to the history making premise of its first production as well as a modern day interpretation of a well known story/score.

The audience reaction was at all times highly positive and a major ovation greeted the finale. Ashley Brown was a great Magnolia and she really is the star here. Supporting work by Morris Robinson as Joe and Angela Renee Simpson as Queenie were additional highlights. Ross Lehman (a well known local Chicago actor) as Captain Andy was a comic delight.

Lyric has a hit on its hands and if you are in the other cities where this production will be mounted, please do yourself a favor and buy a ticket. (NOTE: This cast is a Chicago based production and will most likely not repeat in the other cities.) I have purchased a second ticket and will see this show again on 2/28.

Will post additional videos if available.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 1:25am

I agree that some of the designs range from safe to attractive to serviceable, and some costumes call attention to themselves (a costume should become one with the personality and discreetly support the storytelling in its cues about the character, unless the script instructs otherwise) but nothing--including the costumes--make me want to hold a screwdriver over an open flame till it's red and then stick it in my eye. And thanks to the many "updates" and "improvements" (aka: cheapening and profit boosting or "exploitation of success") that most of my favorite musicals have endured, that's a lot of screwdrivers, LOL. I do like the boat, though. I agree about the ginormous "Trocadero" sign.

I'm opinionated as ass and babble for days, but even I know that theatre isn't always perfect and most every production hits a snag or two along the way. It's expected. It has to be, and if the flaws are negligible in that they don't stand in the way of storytelling, then I say it appears to be a success and lend focus on any discernible strengths.

I don't "settle," either. e.g. "They boast a huge orchestra and well sung cast, therefore the huge flaws are magically reduced to negligible." Nuh uh, not so. If something upsets me, it will continue to be like a thorn in my side until it's removed (like the harmony-stripped, overly bright, cliche infested concoction claiming to be Les Mis these days).

If I generally like something, I know they must have done something right. Lord knows how relentless and unforgiving I am when something is limited where it used to soar. Why, I make Margaret White seem tame!

So far, I dig this Show Boat.

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 01:25 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 2:16am

What lyric is the Lyric using to open the show?
(Which I think looks terrific).

[figaroindy]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 9:38am

Can't remember where I read it, and I don't see the production until 2/28, but I believe they're using "Colored folks work on the Mississippi." I read that only the "bad guys" use the "n-word" and then only in dialogue, not in lyrics. So, I'd say Pete and the sheriff maybe would use it...not sure who else.

Can't wait to see it - I love "Show Boat" and have been waiting all season!



Updated On: 2/15/12 at 09:38 AM

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 9:41am

I'm attending a conference in Chicago at the end of the month and I made squeezing in a performance of this my top priority--I love that they have Thursday/Friday matinees at Lyric.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 2:33pm

Would love the idea of it coming to NYC for a limited run -- SB may be my favorite show of all time -- it's certainly in the top ten -- and 15 years is a long time to wait between revivals as far as I'm concerned.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 2:51pm

I was really looking forward to seeing this...until I saw the ticket prices. It looks like a gorgeous production I will simply have to miss.

[jon5202]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 3:26pm

Figaroindy is correct. The opening lyrics used are "Colored folks work on the Mississippi" and the n-word is only used by the "villians". Check out one of the previous newspaper articles from the Lyric/ Chicago Tribune referenced in earlier posts.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 8:00pm

Ike Vallon in SHOW BOAT is the sheriff, not "the villian", just as the Decective is not "the villian" in PORGY AND BESS. He's the detective. In both shows, vocabulary reflects the times more than the use of such by individual characters.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/16/12 at 1:16am

"The Cotton Blossom looks like something out of THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. I don't like it. And Boris Aronson's CABARET sign- oops, Trocadero sign, dwarfs the proceedings underneath. Doesn't such a sign belong outside rather than inside the establishment? The whole production doesn't look very approachable. Very little human scale to my eye. And SHOW BOAT needs human scale. "

I'm mixed on the set--it's my least favorite part of the production so far, but... Would you call Joseph Urban's original gorgeous designs "human scale"? I certainly wouldn't. Not sure I'd call Lee's for Hal Prince that either (which had a full on boat).

[figaroindy]

Posted: 2/16/12 at 9:21am

Take a look at all price ranges - some are VERY affordable, and the view from the first balcony is very good - the Civic Opera House has good sightlines.

I know the orchestra seats are very expensive (and they don't go on Hot Tix, Chicago's TKTS, like the Met tickets do in NYC)...but I think 1st balcony ranges from $120ish at the front to only $60ish at the back (and that's not the top balcony, which is probably cheaper). I'm in the middle of the 1st (seats are usually $85ish, but I have season tickets, so it's cheaper)...and I like my view for the most part.

[figaroindy]

Posted: 2/16/12 at 9:24am

"Villain" was the word used by the journalist - hence why it was quoted as such (I couldn't remember, which is why I put "bad guys" in quotes).

I think it was actually a decision of the director to leave the words in for the guys that were considered "villains" by the production staff, and to take it out in cases where it was not.

I agree, there is a language of the time aspect to consider, but in this case, it was a conscious decision/intention, as well.

[Jon]

Posted: 2/16/12 at 11:11am

At least the musical eliminates the sequennce from the novel where Ellie screams, "Oh, my God - all this time I've been sharing a dressing room with a N*****!"

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/16/12 at 9:26pm

The technique of only having the unsympathetic characters use the N word was what they did in Prince's production too wasn't it? Though judging by the original dialogue included on the McGlinn recording, that was basically what it was originally anyway. So what was the opening chorus changed to?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 2/16/12 at 11:35pm

I saw it the other day and thought it was really lovely. But the last time I saw Show Boat I couldn't have been more than eight, so unfortunately I've got a very shaky basis for comparison.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/17/12 at 4:02pm

I know the orchestra seats are very expensive (and they don't go on Hot Tix, Chicago's TKTS, like the Met tickets do in NYC)...but I think 1st balcony ranges from $120ish at the front to only $60ish at the back (and that's not the top balcony, which is probably cheaper). I'm in the middle of the 1st (seats are usually $85ish, but I have season tickets, so it's cheaper)...and I like my view for the most part.

I guess it depends on how you justify your decision and your own budget. The theatre is MASSIVE with 39 rows in the orchestra alone and four seating levels. Anything under $100 is either the Upper Balcony or the rear six rows. Now, I would pay $70-90 for the front mezzanine or orchestra in a theatre half that size, but having worked in large auditoriums before (not even as large as this one), I simply can't pay that much for what will essentially look like watching a performance on a small TV screen. I know I wouldn't enjoy it.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/17/12 at 4:40pm

I've never seen Met tickets available on TKTS. NYCO occasionally, but never the Met.

I splurged a bit on tickets to this, mainly because I really wanted to see it and this will be my only opportunity.

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 2/17/12 at 10:34pm

justoldbill wrote:
The Cotton Blossom looks like something out of THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. I don't like it. And Boris Aronson's CABARET sign- oops, Trocadero sign, dwarfs the proceedings underneath. Doesn't such a sign belong outside rather than inside the establishment? The whole production doesn't look very approachable.

EricMontreal22 wrote:
I'm mixed on the set - it's my least favorite part of the production so far...

I'm definitely not mixed on the set. I think the boat set is flat out ugly and the Trocadero set just seems way over the top in comparison. There seems to be little unity in the design concept: the two sets, plus the bits and pieces look like pieces could have come from a couple of separate productions of SHOW BOAT and just been thrown together for this one.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/17/12 at 11:17pm

A question has been raised on Joseph Urban's original designs for SHOW BOAT, and I contend that they were very much designed on a human scale. Not small- human. The boat looks like a boat, the auditorium looks like an auditorium, the convent looks like a convent, etc. The scenery supported the core intimacy of the show while still giving a Ziegfeld audience what they had come to expect in style. The New York Performing Arts Library had, many years ago, an exhibit of drawings and scale models of Urban's original designs. It was a revelation. Especially the auditorium set and the various backdrops. The colors were astounding. And they were SETS.