The Frogs 8/17 - MAJOR SPOILERS

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/18/04 at 9:06pm

For anyone who has seen the Frogs in previews and wants to know what it is like in its current form, there is some info here regarding changes/improvements. It is NOT a review but a description

I saw the show on 8/17 and audience was full, except for a few scattered seats here and there and was very responsive for a Tuesday night crowd.

Again SPOILERS within: If you DON'T want to know details about this show...read no further.


I haven't seen this show in awhile (since previews) and a lot of changes have taken place since then. Roger Bart is just so much better than Chris Kattan(who?) Minor tweaks and major changes included, I really enjoyed the show.

In Act I so much of the way the jokes land and the success of the comedy is dependent on the lead and the second banana having a good rapport and Roger Bart made all the difference in the world. The jokes are FUNNIER and the chemistry is obvious.

The thing I noticed about the show is that, though they hadn’t made many MAJOR changes since the last time I saw it, the minor tweaks are really effective. The show is tighter and smoother.

In Act I the Invocation (instructions to the audience) started off with a bang and Roger's playing and mugging with Nathan was priceless. 'I Love to Travel' works SO well with the two of them and seemed to go a lot faster and be less tortuous (with Chris it was halting with starting and stopping dialogue, wherea now it has become a playful vignette of little asides and fun banter).

The stop at the house of Herakles is tighter as well. Burke Moses is having a lot more fun with the role, mugging and striding around on the stage. The interplay is great, and his broad mannerisms give Lane and Bart a lot of fodder to mimic him later in the show.

The boat ride is also tighter and seems a bit shorter though I didn't know the lines well enough to tell what had been cut.

Ariadne was lovely. I DO love that song and (I don't care what the critics say) I think Lane does a fine job. This isn't a role that demands an operatic voice and though Lane could SOUND more operatic if he tried, it would be out of character for the hapless, naive Dionysos he has created.

One MAJOR change made when Roger Bart came in is in the Frogs attack scene. When Chris Kattan was in the show, they had him sleeping in the boat during most of the Frogs encounter. Roger DOES NOT go to sleep but instead is running around trying to save his master. They are now dropping Lane into the stage and putting the harness on there. Roger goes to the 'hole' and cries for his master for a bit and his presence in the scene is invaluable and makes the whole thing more interesting. They then race him around on the little 'stage scooter' on his stomach as though he is swimming (which they did a bit during previews but it was Lane on the scooter, not Kattan)

Bart ends up tied to the center pole of the skiff and the rest of the scene with Lane out of the boat takes place with Roger in that position.

Nathan's 'air time' on the bungee cords is back to being a bit longer (though not as long as the first week or so of previews). Now that they've fixed some of the problems, he is up there more but he doesn't flip over.

Act I ended PROMPTLY at 9:00 (the show started at 8:05) which is shorter by 5-10 mins from the last time I saw it.

Act II - Roger was hysterical in the 'story of my life scene' which is about the same length as the last time I saw it but works so much better.

John Byner seems to have grown into the Charon role more and is more solid in it now.

The 'mistaken identity' scene is tighter and seems to flow more smoothly (it doesn't seem as long to me but perhaps it's just that everyone now has their timing down). And Byner's reprise as the twin brother of Charon is definitely shorter and more succinct.

The Hymn to Dionysos is pretty much the same but the scene seems to work a bit better. It looks as if they've changed some of the choreography to make it less scattered. Also Roger makes a valiant effot to dance with scarves along with the dancers and this lightens the scene a bit and gives it some comic relief. The Bacchantes (Cirque de Soleil) chickies don't spend as much time getting down off the scarves. I still think they could cut some of this, but that would mean cutting some of the beautiful song Sondehim wrote, so I don't know how they'd do that.

Peter Barlett was delightful as usual and the AUDIENCE LOVES HIM as Hades. His delivery of the lines is so odd and yet perfect for the character.

Now to the all important debate: THIS is MUCH tighter and a bit shorter now. You may recall that, in an attempt to make this more interactive and interesting, they had staged it so that Lane was climbing down off his seat a few times to get into the mix. He doesn't really do that much now because the debate itself seems to be working better and it doesn’t need intervention. There is more give and take between Will and Shaw in that Shaw keeps interrupting Will as he is giving his speeches and this works to help the audience see that Dionysos is getting perturbed by Shaw's shortness of temper and attitude.

The scene on the balcony with Aridane is beautiful. I hadn't seen it before in full because we couldn't really see the balcony from our seats. The audience didn't seem to bog down in the more serious stuff as far as I could see...since they've now tied Ariadne's appearance to Dionysos' decision about how to decide the debate, and that part works well.

Michael Siberry as Will does get on my nerves a bit with all his stepping back and forth and moving around in a kind of 'square dance' manner. He is also just a TAD difficult to understand in that he swallows some words which isn't good when you are trying to appreciate the beauty of Shakespeare...but...

There is a slight change to the reprise of the Invocation at the end in that Lane steps forward and delivers a short speech to sum things up...I think that works really well to tie up the themes and to make it clear to the audience exactly what the play wants them to walk away with. The reprise of the invocation seems to have changed a bit in the lyric.

The second act ended at 10:25 so that is shorter by 5-10 min as well. Since intermission runs between 15-20 min , the second act is only about 10 min longer than the first act now. Really tight.

In summary, the only MAJOR changes I could see were in the Frogs interplay with Roger and in the debate..the rest were minor but very effective.

I did listen to the banter as we walked out with the crowd and I didn't hear anyone saying it sucked. There were a few unhappy Bush supporters who probably got more than they expected and a few new little digs inserted here and there in the show, primarily to REMIND the audience why Dionysos is going to Hades in the first place so that the impact of his decision is clearer.

Anyway, that's the latest on the Frogs. If you haven't seen it recently, it's definitely worth seeing again. The timing and rhythm of the show are more solid and the show is a fun and different night of theater. I'll be going back in about a month and only wish I could see it during the RNC during which time I'd guess they will be throwing out a lot of ad libs about the Bush administration.

Updated On: 8/19/04 at 09:06 PM

[ProducersFan]

Posted: 8/18/04 at 9:12pm

Sounds like it is still doing well. I saw it the day before opening night so I doubt there were as many differences as when you first saw it, but I'm glad to hear that it is only getting better with time. I sure wish I had the chance to go back and see it again...

Thanks for the great report!
~Jessica

[Mythus]

Posted: 8/18/04 at 9:57pm

Thank you SO much, SamIAm! I've been begging my mother about going to see The Frogs, but she's not sure, since it's been getting so-so reviews. I'll show her this and see what she says.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 8/18/04 at 9:57pm

If I didn't know any better, I would say you were a shill!
Thanks a lot for the review on a fun show!
-d.b.j-

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 10:44am

Not to let the critics do her thinking for her -- or anyone else for that matter...and curiously enough that's the message of The Frogs!

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 10:46am

though I've been accused of that a number of times.

I happen to love Sondheim and Lane but this is a good show, though from the beginning I knew that it would be loathsome to some people and others would LOVE it. It is very polarizing and has prompted lots of discussion on theater boards...just what theater is supposed to do, right?

BTW, I didn't go to the show on 2/17...it was really 8/17 but I figured everyone would know that. No sleep on Tuesday night and it showed in my writing this description of the show.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 10:46am

you saw the show on 2/17???

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 10:48am

I actually just posted a comment and update on that. Forgive me. I got no sleep Tuesday and didn't do a great job of writing this description.

It was TUESDAY, August 17th.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 10:48am

There is also a great piece written on the home page of BW that you can show her -- nice review -- whereas mine was just a description of what has changed.

[EddieVarley]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 10:54am

Sam as always Thank You!

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/19/04 at 4:46pm

Get your butt over to Viv and see the rest of the show, wouldja?

:)