Sondheim and Ives' HERE WE ARE at The Shed- Page 40

[binau]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 12:20pm

Can anyone talk more about how memorable or not they found the music? What are you looking forward to hearing again? What do you think has potential vs will be soon long forgotten? 

[Balcony2]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 12:25pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "
would it be insane of them to end it with a Sondheim trunk song? Something deleted from any of his previous shows that works for the moment?

They do this for R&H all the time it seems."

Yes, that would be insane. What Sondheim gave us here is enough, and the way they’ve figured out to mount the existing material is brilliant. That being said, I will admit that it *would have been wonderful* to have a closing number. It seems certain that Sondheim would have written something or other for the ending.  But since he wasn’t quite able to do this, let’s be grateful for what he DID do.   

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 12:33pm

Ok tell me if this is stupid and reading way too much into nothing. But when you walk in the set is basically just all white except for the “artwork” of dots of color hanging on the left side of the stage. Could that be an homage to Sunday in the Park? “White, a blank page…” and dots of color?

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 12:36pm

It makes sense to not pull a trunk song.

I was putting it out there to just see by chance if any people who’ve seen the show could see that choice as possible.

Also there is something tremendously Sondheimy about “the second act has no music actually” even though it’s unfinished, it seems like something he would be curious to try.

[signorafosca2]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 12:49pm

binau said: "Can anyone talk more about how memorable or not they found the music? What are you looking forward to hearing again? What do you think has potential vs will be soon long forgotten?"

I recorded the show on Thursday night and listened to the music several times yesterday. It's really quite complicated! Someone here earlier discussed the focused and light nature that signifies most late Sondheim, and I'd say that's accurate. The material also happens to be so brilliantly matched to the performers that it's almost hard to see the songs clearly, if that makes any sense. I know you were also there so you probably know what I mean.

[StylishCynic]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 1:16pm

Sondheim's last lyric on his final "complete" song eerily parallels his own famous procrastination with completing this musical:

 

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And maybe I can still do that other thing

That maddening, mysterious thing

Whatever it was

Tomorrow––––––––

 

Updated On: 9/30/23 at 01:16 PM

[Balcony2]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 1:22pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Ok tell me if this is stupid and reading way too much into nothing. But when you walk in the set is basically just all white except for the “artwork” of dots of color hanging on the left side of the stage. Could that be an homage to Sunday in the Park? “White, a blank page…” and dots of color?"

My first response was “absolutely not”!  There is nothing else in the show to suggest that a “Sunday” reference was called for.  But then again you never know if a particular set designer (in this case David Zinn) is making a sly oblique statement. That painting isn’t seen for long BTW  

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 1:28pm

Yeah that artwork is gone pretty quickly so it’s presence in the first place is interesting. 

[StylishCynic]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 1:39pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Yeah that artwork is gone pretty quickly so it’s presence in the first place is interesting."

It’s a Damien Hirst spots painting —a popular piece among modern art collectors and, more importantly, a very safe investment piece / place to park money for the ultra rich. 
 

And then

 

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Damien Hirst art is used by Fritz in the first song as an example of one of the frivolous pieces of insulation that decorates the world of the ultra wealthy.   

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 1:41pm

Oh that’s awesome to know! I had no idea about that

[Robbie2]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 2:12pm

ljay889 said: "Yeah, a trunk song would be completely out of place. There’s not much in his canon that would match the light and breezy feel of the score. The sound is very specific to this show.


While the ending is great, it desperately cries out for a reprise of the “Perfect Day” theme. I also think that would make up for the long period of no singing, and allow the score to feel more “complete.”"

ljay - our friend an agent with talent in the show saw it last night and said the same thing to us. The show could easily add a reprise of ''Perfect Day'' to feel more complete but will it or something be added to the finale as in a song? Show is in previews so changes-additions willl be made the next 3 weeks so we shall see?

We don't see it until after it opens - November 4...just dying to see it before lol as everyone is talking about this show in the industry and in our group of friends that haven't seen it yet either!

Updated On: 9/30/23 at 02:12 PM

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 2:18pm

The8re phan said: "Cast is STACKED, as noted earlier with Rachel, Denis, and Micaela being standouts. Lots of glorious Sondheim melodies in act one, and act two being too light on the music….. i get what they were going for while locked in the room, but why have underscoring here and there (especially piano) if the music was supposed to be dead? I agree that act 2 can be trimmed a little, and could use a reprise or two to completely flesh it out. But otherwise a great night of theater that I hope to revisit again soon

I would add Jin Ha to the standouts category. Gray's role  unfortunately is undernourished and Pasquale is given little more than a cliché to play. Hyde Pierce is sweet, but not much more. Sad that the fabulous Tracie Bennett is given the one irritating number in the score.

Lots of glorious Sondheim melodies in act one, and act two being too light on the music….. i get what they were going for while locked in the room, but why have underscoring here and there (especially piano) if the music was supposed to be dead? 

and if that is the explanation for the scarcity of music in the second act, then there definitely needs to be a final number, when the piano comes back to life and the characters finally leave the room. I will revisit the show in early December, but I don't expect my only real problem with the piece -- the lack of a score for much of the last act -- to be fixed for obvious reasons.

 

 

 

 

[sng]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 11:14pm

So if they were to bring in someone to write a song or two for Act 2, who could it possibly be? JRB? Jeanine Tesori? 

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 11:17pm

sng said: "So if they were to bring in someone to write a song or two for Act 2, who could it possibly be? JRB?JeanineTesori?"

Adam Guettel maybe…

[Robbie2]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 11:43pm

StylishCynic said: "Jordan Catalano said: "Yeah that artwork is gone pretty quickly so it’s presence in the first place is interesting."

It’s a Damien Hirst spots painting —a popular piece among modern art collectors and, more importantly, a very safe investment piece / place to park money for the ultra rich.


And then

 

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Damien Hirst art is used by Fritz in the first song as an example of one of the frivolous pieces of insulation that decorates the world of the ultra wealthy.

"

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 11:58pm

sng said: "So if they were to bring in someone to write a song or two for Act 2, who could it possibly be? JRB?JeanineTesori?"

Nobody. It would be a terrible idea.
Give us a finale reprise, and it will compensate for the amount of no singing in the middle of the act. 

[inception]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 12:08am

sng said: "So if they were to bring in someone to write a song or two for Act 2, who could it possibly be? JRB?JeanineTesori?"

That's just not going to happen.  They're not going to bring any other composer in.

If that was an option, they wouldn't be presenting what they are now.

In other news, I pvr'd Exterminating Angel on TCM the other day and watched it tonight despite someone's warning above that it will spoil parts of the show.  I find it extraordinary that anyone watched that movie & thought it could be musicalized.   If it's the second act, then it makes sense for it to not have much music.

Updated On: 10/1/23 at 12:08 AM

[Josh Sharpe]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 12:27am

 

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from what I have read here, there was no closing number in the first two performances. There still isn’t a complete finale, but there are snippets of “A Perfect Day” when they get out of the room and are running back and forth. For those who went earlier, is this new?  

For those interested, in attendance, tonight were David Ives, Terrence Mann, and Rose Byrne. 

Updated On: 10/1/23 at 12:27 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 12:29am

 

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Are the snippets sung??? There was no singing during that money on Thursday!

 

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 12:31am

^ This awful app won’t let me edit but that should say *moment, not money. 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 12:37am

think it's likely that soon Jonathan Larson and Stephen Sondheim will both hold the distinction of winning Drama Desk Awards for Music and Lyrics posthumously.

[Josh Sharpe]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 12:41am

ljay889 said: "

 

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Are the snippets sung??? There was no singing during that money on Thursday!

 

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Yes, the snippets were sung.

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 1:16am

Saw this during the second preview yesterday and wanted to echo everyone else in that I really enjoyed it.  I haven't seen either of the movies that this was based on, but I was actually surprised at how well it worked for me as a show overall and how well the two acts fit together.  I'll have to watch the movies to see how much of it translated to stage, but in watching the musical I thought I could understand why Sondheim wanted to musicalize this piece (as opposed to Road Show, which I did enjoy but wasn't quite sure what drew him to that story).  The production value is great, the set is smart, and the sound design was just about perfect (I was really quite surprised at how robust the orchestra sounded), and the cast of course is doing incredible work, so just based on those factors alone it was worth the trip, and I'm definitely excited to see this show again.

The show proceeds pretty swiftly and I never really thought it dragged, even in the second act.  I'm fairly familiar with almost all of Sondheim's work, but it really felt like they were taking a different approach with this one (and maybe that's because he didn't get the chance to fully see it through, but also maybe not).  I wouldn't necessarily call it a play with music, since I think the implication with those are that the music is more diegetic, which the songs here are definitely not.  It feels more as if they had the script written out (or maybe the broad outlines) and looked for moments that really called out for a song to happen rather than adhering to a more traditional musical theater structure of songs; there's no real opening number (or closing number), no major character I Want/I Am songs except for the more minor characters, no eleven o'clock number, etc.  I agree with those who say it would've been fascinating to see more of what a Sondheim/Ives partnership could've produced.

As for the music itself, I definitely hear similarities to Road Show (I had a snippet of a song stuck in my head immediately after the show and then it morphed into Addison's City) and Sunday (more of the style of Gossip rather than the grand sweeping style), though I could've sworn I heard vague echoes of Woods and Company as well.  I don't think it'll go down as one of his best scores, but there was something about it where from the first few seconds of the first song it instantly screamed "Sondheim", and I'm really curious to hear it again because I'm sure there are some intricacies I missed.

When reading this thread before seeing the show it did seem strange to me that there wasn't at least a small reprise of the main song at the end of the show, but I actually didn't really feel that it was lacking.  The show just moves to such a natural conclusion that I didn't really feel there was space for a song, though maybe a one line reprise could fit.  I liked quite a bit of the underscoring in the second act as well, though I agree that the concept seems a bit muddled if they're not going to cut out music completely while the characters are stuck, but I definitely enjoy having it there.

I think the two acts flow together well, arguably better than Sunday, where I think the second act is necessary but the transition into it feels a little jarring.  In Here We Are, it's really about the journey of the characters and what they learn along the way (as cliche as that sounds), and act 1 ends in what they think is a respite only to discover there's more to it in act 2.  On that note, it's also interesting to consider the two different titles of Square One and Here We Are, which sort of stand opposed to each other, if you think about how "here we are" means presumably that you've made it past "square one" (or maybe you haven't and that says something too). 

 

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The waterworks moment in the second act was both delightful as an Anyone Can Whistle callback, but also a bit surreal given how similar it looked to the videos of the subway station flooding yesterday.

 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 1:23am

Will add more later now that I saw tonight’s performance and feel comfortable reading this thread thoroughly, but Rachel Bay Jones is the heart and soul of this show.  Sondheim gave us one more iconic character to associate with his great cannon. 

[hollebolle]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 7:19am

chrishuyen said: "When reading this thread before seeing the show it did seem strange to me that there wasn't at least a small reprise of the main song at the end of the show”

I saw last night’s show (third preview). There was a very small reprise towards the end.

 

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They start to sing a few times but are cut off by the gunshots/explosion sounds. It’s not a full song, but I thought it worked as a closing “number.”