Songbird

I know this is a very random question but does this production have Playbills? I know most things at 59E59 don't.

Does anyone know of a better deal aside from the $40 TodayTix tickets if you're not a member? Also, does anyone know why I get an "error holding seats" message in TodayTix?

Is Jason Sherwood's set as wonderful as the designs look?

I think the easiest way to discuss the show is by breaking it down by the good and bad. The good: all of the music and Kate Baldwin. The bad: everything else. This was honestly like a bad episode of Nashville mashed up with the staging of ONCE.

Lauren Pritchard really knows how to write some amazing songs. I just wish she had a better vehicle to showcase her talents. There seemed like no connection between the music and the book. It was more like the audience got a break from all the terrible acting and trite story. 

Kate Baldwin is by far the best thing on that stage but she's in far too little of the show. Instead we are forced to watch performances by people who can sing pretty well but should stick to that and give up on acting. Ephie Aardema was the worst and every time she spoke I wanted to punch her character in the face. I really don't know if you're supposed to sympathize with this character since something I'm guessing emotionally shocking happens at the end but I just found it laughable. Adam Cochran who plays Baldwin's son is another one that I hated seeing and had far too much of the emotional core to deal with. One of the most absurd things is the constant reminder that Tammy's new boyfriend is so much younger than her yet Eric William Morris reads exactly the same age as her. I didn't really buy Cochran as her son because he seemed a lot older too. 

I was really looking forward to the possibility of THE LAST GOODBYE coming to NYC at some point. That was until I saw that Michael Kimmel write both shows. Everything just came across so hackneyed and cliched. I get that this is a different take on Chekhov's THE SEAGULL (which I admittedly am not familiar with). It seems like Kimmel is trying to take great works and turn them into musicals with great music and crappy writing. 

The set looks good. I had the same feeling as Melissa that I was waiting for something to happen with this giant circle cut into the floor but nothing did and it became distracting. There is a big cast and I guess it's because they all play instruments but I wish we had fewer people on stage because the story is overstuffed and so is the stage at times when everyone is there. Also the second scene set outside has a lot of haze that seemed to never end. 

I would recommend that the producers come out with a cast recording because the music truly is great but I wouldn't want to have to sit through this just to hear it. Isherwood was at the Sat night performance so I'll be interested to read his thoughts.

Re Melissa: I did not smell any cedar. I thought the circular trap door looked great for the Opry and was OK if not necessary for the stage at the bar. I didn't find it distracting but I agree that it didn't serve much of a purpose.

Clyde, you pretty much said everything I needed to say. The songs were fantastic and Kate Baldwin was without a doubt the best thing about it. She was like what other people seem to see when they watch Connie Britton on Nashville. Her acting was captivating and her voice was fantastic and she seemed to truly know exactly who her character was. But yes, the book was terrible and only seemed there to get me to the next song which had nothing to do with the story. It was somehow more awkward than Glee and Nashville in its attempts to shoehorn songs in. Apparently these people are constantly playing music. It was a nice idea to make it all diegetic but it strained my suspension of disbelief more than a traditional musical where they just feel compelled to sing their feelings. I hope they're working on the book because not only is it simple and formulaic but it's choppy too. It just kind of lurches around from plot point to plot point. I don't know if it's an issue with adapting a more complicated play but there's a lack of elegance or tension or reason for things to be happening. There's no direction or momentum.

This is going to be mean but yes, Ephie Aardema was horrible. She delivered her lines so awkwardly sometimes, I wondered if something was wrong with her. Like, if she was hearing impaired and had just gotten a Cochlear implant and was hearing her voice for the first time. When she came back later with sunglasses it legitimately took me a while to confirm that she wasn't blind. Just, very strange choices in her acting.

I didn't think Adam Cochran was that bad but he's given a very moody character to play and doesn't strike the right tone. It's not completely comedic and yet it's not dramatic and you don't feel anything for him because the character is written like a joke. To bring it back to Nashville, he should be Avery but he's just a moody teenager... like a joke version of a character from Spring Awakening.

I think this is a great country music concert but not a show. There are some laughs to be had and again, Kate Baldwin was great, but overall the story is trite and formulaic and just has no reason for being. It doesn't have anything to say. It doesn't aspire to be anything. It walks us through stereotypes without any depth.

VintageSnarker said: "Clyde, you pretty much said everything I needed to say."

Thanks for making me feel like I wasn't alone, Vintage. The audience the night I went was really into the show at first but then I could tell they were starting to realize the awfulness. It also seemed like an NYU reunion of people who were friends with Lauren Pritchard so that could have been the difference as well.

Went last night and thoroughly enjoyed.    

The music (Pritchard) is album worth.  The cast is over-the-top talented, picking  instruments off the wall to provide their own accompaniment.    I found myself continuing to make comparisons to The Seagull.   However, looking back - I think that Songbird stands on its own merit.

I especially liked Missy (Sheik) in her vocal rendition of "Highway Fantasy".   And, Mom (Dilly) was a hoot to watch in her hot pursuit of Doc.  

As a speech consultant born in the South, I thought the variety of dialects amongst the cast were authentic.   Deep Tennessee is similar to Appalachian.    The variation in speech depends upon where you were raised, and the amount you assimilate (travel).   Locals have been known to develop a language style of their own.  What we would perceive as being butchered (annoying) is totally natural to them.     I thought Mia (Aardema) was right on the mark -- her lack of sophistication was conveyed  by her use of local tongue.   Her performance was genuine - your disdain makes perfect sense.

My only question:   Why destination LA?   The country music mecca is Nashville. 

LUCKY2 said: "

My only question:   Why destination LA?   The country music mecca is Nashville. 

"

I had the same thought, but there has to be a far away destination, ala Moscow in The Seagull. They can't have her running away from Nashville to Nashville. 

I saw this in NY and bought tickets to see it again next month here in NJ. Can't wait! Tickets are very cheap, too!