#1
Posted: 4/16/06 at 6:18pm
Well, I'm not much of a great review writer but I shall attempt this from what I remember.
Now, I entered this production with VERY mixed anticipations because I've read a lot on this board about it being very difficult to understand if you were not accustomed to it, it being very boring because it was 90% scenes 10% songs, uncomprehensible, weak acting, etc.
However, by the end of the show, I could NOT fathom how anyone thought any of that! (Yes everyone has their own opinions, but c'mon, this was near brilliant).
I wont go into anything about the plot due to spoilers, but I found the story to be amazing. Simply amazing. Very easy to follow - I was only accustomed to anything about the show through a brief synopsis I read and a little bit of the first (1950's?) production CD to which I didn't really like. The music and the story itself were very well accompanied by the incredibly talented cast-ensemble being included. Whenever an ensemble sang / spoke, my attention was hooked on them - they were amazing.
**Oh yeah, I sat row BB Mezz. AMAZING seats.
Now, onto the "big names"..
Alan Cumming - I had read on the boards that Macheath is minimalized..that may be true compared to earlier versions, but I found in this one, your focus really was on Macheath whether he was on or off of the stage. I am REALLY disappointed I never saw Alan as the Emcee, but just as glad I guess to be seeing this show in Studio54/Roundabout theatre productions, and I found him to be absolutely captivating. His singing, although sometimes a bit undecipherable but still able to get the basic jist of it due to the Scottish accent, was emotion packed - loved it. I thought his take on Macheath did exactly what he claimed to do through some of his interviews - take this raunchy character and make him likeable in that sort of way. I'm still in shock as to how great a stage presence he is. Wow. I'd personally nominate him for a Tony, but still after seeing Sweeney Todd felt that Cerveris could do a lot more with his character so I feel he deserves it, but Alan was still incredible.
Ana Gasteyer-This woman can sing! She has mad pipes, yo (<--if American Idol's Randy Jackson was judging her, in my opinion). Although I think she sounded a bit nasily sometimes, I think it's just her voice. But she is a powerhouse! Definately the loudest voice of the women, strongest voice. She brought great comedic timing to Mrs. Peachum, and although she did not have that much acting time, still a good deal, her singing completely wowed everyone and I felt that no one else could have played that role - Edie Falco was originally for it? I doubt she could have pulled it off.
Jim Dale- I'm sixteen and did not know who he was until yesterday. I had read "Broadway Legend Jim Dale in Threepenny!!" and thought "..okay, well I'm seeing it for Alan Cumming, who is this Jim Dale?". But he was amazing. Absolutely perfect for Mr. Peachum I thought. His stage presence and experience really showed through on the stage and I thought he was hilarious!
Nellie McKay- Since I dont know how Polly is supposed to be, I found her take very believable. Her voice is very pure, and her speaking voice sounds almost like Judy Garland at a young age. She is gorgeous, but she seemed to hold back just a little bit - I feel that there could have been a little more to her "Pirate Jenny" but still nonetheless she was VERY entertaining. Her acting impressed me just a bit more than her singing, although please don't get me wrong, both were great. She was hilarious w/ Dale and Gasteyer and during the wedding scene brought an amazing light of naitivity (sp?--it's supposed to be the noun form of 'naive'
) in contrast with Macheath's gang.
Just let me mention, people said that songs were not recognizable after the show? Like once you saw the show you forgot all song aspects of it? Umm, well the Army Song has been stuck in my head (along with the staging of it replaying over and over again)..just letting you know..
Cyndi Lauper- I was a bit hesitant in deciding whether or not I liked her in the role, but in it's entirety, I felt she was absolutely wonderful. In all of her scenes she was a bit reserved but had that raunchy prostitute proudness to her and her songs were emotion packed! Solomon's Song was AMAZING. And god the lighting on her (I'll talk about the techy stuff a bit later) just made the whole mood perfect. She was a great part of the show.
And sorry for these next two..I don't have the names from the playbill by me :x
The man playing Tiger Brown - He was definatley a great presence-wonderful in The Army Song. Great contrast with Macheath and you really felt some lost love / tension between them.
The man playing Lucy Brown - That voice was brilliant. I honestly think he could have been the best female singer there! Not to mention, he was hilarious, but he really took on the role of Lucy rather than just spoofing a woman.
I have no complaints with the casting whatsoever. I found it to be great.
Now, the Brecht style which I read up on before seeing it-detatchment and whatnot (okay, so I was accustomed to that too a bit). Having the actors walk on the stage from the back of the theatre, costume change during the overture, makeup each other, no curtain call, etc. really added to the 'get the point of the social commentary across in this blatant form' was such an amazing theatrical experience. The whole aura of everything was perfect. The costumes were great too! Mizrahi's designs were a tad risque but that coupled with the insanity of it all was a match made in heavan.
Now, the lighting. Oh my gosh. Amazing. Everything was perfect, really added to the scenes. Especially I felt during the last few scenes of Act 2 everything was represented in a great light which reflected everything happening in the story.
I probably forgot a lot, but if anyone has ANY questions regarding this, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll respond ASAP. I'm not jumping to conclusions, but I truly feel this is my favorite show. It replaced RENT, Sweeney Todd (although that is amazing in it's own way), and Avenue Q and Thoroughly Modern Millie in my book, because every aspect of it captivated me. You may be thinking "oh she's 16, what does she know?" but I am very mature for my age, hoping to major in musical theatre at Tisch (auditioning in November! wish me luck!! :) )and I take the theatre very seriously, and this just struck me in a way that no show has ever before. It was in one word, Brilliant.
After the show I got pictures with Alan Cumming (very gracious-even signed some girl's ass- she was shocked he agreed to it and very thrilled afterwards ), Ana Gasteyer (also SO sweet) and Jim Dale (also SO sweet even though he was in a rush to get some where I think)..no one else came out - some people asked for Cyndi but the people at the door said she stays in between shows. Kind of wanted to see Nellie McKay afterwards and the guy who played Lucy, but hey, seeing them onstage was fine enough too :).
Well, I hope that was long enough for y'all and I really hope it gets great reviews on Thursday along with coming out with a CD and Vocal Selections book (since this one is updated and has different lyrics than the CD I have).
Oh, Happy Easter to all those it applys to :)
Now, I entered this production with VERY mixed anticipations because I've read a lot on this board about it being very difficult to understand if you were not accustomed to it, it being very boring because it was 90% scenes 10% songs, uncomprehensible, weak acting, etc.
However, by the end of the show, I could NOT fathom how anyone thought any of that! (Yes everyone has their own opinions, but c'mon, this was near brilliant).
I wont go into anything about the plot due to spoilers, but I found the story to be amazing. Simply amazing. Very easy to follow - I was only accustomed to anything about the show through a brief synopsis I read and a little bit of the first (1950's?) production CD to which I didn't really like. The music and the story itself were very well accompanied by the incredibly talented cast-ensemble being included. Whenever an ensemble sang / spoke, my attention was hooked on them - they were amazing.
**Oh yeah, I sat row BB Mezz. AMAZING seats.
Now, onto the "big names"..
Alan Cumming - I had read on the boards that Macheath is minimalized..that may be true compared to earlier versions, but I found in this one, your focus really was on Macheath whether he was on or off of the stage. I am REALLY disappointed I never saw Alan as the Emcee, but just as glad I guess to be seeing this show in Studio54/Roundabout theatre productions, and I found him to be absolutely captivating. His singing, although sometimes a bit undecipherable but still able to get the basic jist of it due to the Scottish accent, was emotion packed - loved it. I thought his take on Macheath did exactly what he claimed to do through some of his interviews - take this raunchy character and make him likeable in that sort of way. I'm still in shock as to how great a stage presence he is. Wow. I'd personally nominate him for a Tony, but still after seeing Sweeney Todd felt that Cerveris could do a lot more with his character so I feel he deserves it, but Alan was still incredible.
Ana Gasteyer-This woman can sing! She has mad pipes, yo (<--if American Idol's Randy Jackson was judging her, in my opinion). Although I think she sounded a bit nasily sometimes, I think it's just her voice. But she is a powerhouse! Definately the loudest voice of the women, strongest voice. She brought great comedic timing to Mrs. Peachum, and although she did not have that much acting time, still a good deal, her singing completely wowed everyone and I felt that no one else could have played that role - Edie Falco was originally for it? I doubt she could have pulled it off.
Jim Dale- I'm sixteen and did not know who he was until yesterday. I had read "Broadway Legend Jim Dale in Threepenny!!" and thought "..okay, well I'm seeing it for Alan Cumming, who is this Jim Dale?". But he was amazing. Absolutely perfect for Mr. Peachum I thought. His stage presence and experience really showed through on the stage and I thought he was hilarious!
Nellie McKay- Since I dont know how Polly is supposed to be, I found her take very believable. Her voice is very pure, and her speaking voice sounds almost like Judy Garland at a young age. She is gorgeous, but she seemed to hold back just a little bit - I feel that there could have been a little more to her "Pirate Jenny" but still nonetheless she was VERY entertaining. Her acting impressed me just a bit more than her singing, although please don't get me wrong, both were great. She was hilarious w/ Dale and Gasteyer and during the wedding scene brought an amazing light of naitivity (sp?--it's supposed to be the noun form of 'naive'
) in contrast with Macheath's gang. Just let me mention, people said that songs were not recognizable after the show? Like once you saw the show you forgot all song aspects of it? Umm, well the Army Song has been stuck in my head (along with the staging of it replaying over and over again)..just letting you know..
Cyndi Lauper- I was a bit hesitant in deciding whether or not I liked her in the role, but in it's entirety, I felt she was absolutely wonderful. In all of her scenes she was a bit reserved but had that raunchy prostitute proudness to her and her songs were emotion packed! Solomon's Song was AMAZING. And god the lighting on her (I'll talk about the techy stuff a bit later) just made the whole mood perfect. She was a great part of the show.
And sorry for these next two..I don't have the names from the playbill by me :x
The man playing Tiger Brown - He was definatley a great presence-wonderful in The Army Song. Great contrast with Macheath and you really felt some lost love / tension between them.
The man playing Lucy Brown - That voice was brilliant. I honestly think he could have been the best female singer there! Not to mention, he was hilarious, but he really took on the role of Lucy rather than just spoofing a woman.
I have no complaints with the casting whatsoever. I found it to be great.
Now, the Brecht style which I read up on before seeing it-detatchment and whatnot (okay, so I was accustomed to that too a bit). Having the actors walk on the stage from the back of the theatre, costume change during the overture, makeup each other, no curtain call, etc. really added to the 'get the point of the social commentary across in this blatant form' was such an amazing theatrical experience. The whole aura of everything was perfect. The costumes were great too! Mizrahi's designs were a tad risque but that coupled with the insanity of it all was a match made in heavan.
Now, the lighting. Oh my gosh. Amazing. Everything was perfect, really added to the scenes. Especially I felt during the last few scenes of Act 2 everything was represented in a great light which reflected everything happening in the story.
I probably forgot a lot, but if anyone has ANY questions regarding this, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll respond ASAP. I'm not jumping to conclusions, but I truly feel this is my favorite show. It replaced RENT, Sweeney Todd (although that is amazing in it's own way), and Avenue Q and Thoroughly Modern Millie in my book, because every aspect of it captivated me. You may be thinking "oh she's 16, what does she know?" but I am very mature for my age, hoping to major in musical theatre at Tisch (auditioning in November! wish me luck!! :) )and I take the theatre very seriously, and this just struck me in a way that no show has ever before. It was in one word, Brilliant.
After the show I got pictures with Alan Cumming (very gracious-even signed some girl's ass- she was shocked he agreed to it and very thrilled afterwards
), Ana Gasteyer (also SO sweet) and Jim Dale (also SO sweet even though he was in a rush to get some where I think)..no one else came out - some people asked for Cyndi but the people at the door said she stays in between shows. Kind of wanted to see Nellie McKay afterwards and the guy who played Lucy, but hey, seeing them onstage was fine enough too :). Well, I hope that was long enough for y'all and I really hope it gets great reviews on Thursday along with coming out with a CD and Vocal Selections book (since this one is updated and has different lyrics than the CD I have).
Oh, Happy Easter to all those it applys to :)
And the other thing about the Phantom Lady was, Bert, she realized, in the city that never sleeps...
What did she realize, Kitten?
That all the songs she'd listened to, all the love songs, that they were only songs.
What's wrong with that?
Nothing, if you don't believe in them. But she did, you see. She believed in enchanted evenings, and she believed that a small cloud passed overhead and cried down on a flower bed, and she even believed there was breakfast to be had...
Where?
On Pluto. The mysterious, icy wastes of Pluto.
Updated On: 4/16/06 at 06:18 PM
