My wife and I saw the show last night. Due to my advanced age, I decided to wait until the morning to post. Yes that's right someone who is a contemporary of Dylan is finally going to chance it. So bare with me.
Let me say first that I was there because I love Dylan. But I also love the theatre and place creativity just below character on the scale of human traits
I very much enjoyed the show as did my wife, and believe me, it wasn't her usual cup of tea. The three leads were all excellent. And irene2, Arden is wonderful. Much more John Mayer than Bobby Sherman.
To begin, I must mention that the Old Globe lends itself to this kind of visual three dimentional performance. Being a replica of the original, it's a very intimate setting and the sets are like placing a renaissance fair in an old English building. That part is perfect but will be lost in a big deep New York theatre.
Now we get to the Dylan part. No one on this post has discussed this aspect of the show, dispite the fact that the majority of the audience was older and were there primarily because the musical showcased Dylan music.
To try to explain to another generation the impact Dylan had on us when we were young is an exercise in frustration. You had to be there. You had to march, see the injustice and get the feeling of transforation in your thought. Dylan strung lyrics together with the grace of a spider crafting a web. He captured us in that web and raised our social consciousness. I suspect that for many of my generation it will be difficult to face this music in a different context. It is one thing to add social consciousness to the music of Billy Joel and quite another to take it away from Dylan.
Of course. Dylan now claims that he never meant to be the guru of his time but those comments seem somewhat disingenuous coming forty years and a thousand songs later.
I come down more on the side of otis 33 and jochang621. The times they are a-changin is fun entertainment. It is creative enough that the lack of book is Ok. For those of us who see Dylan in another way, the play will seem bizarre but so is entering a Victoria Secret to buy a black teddy and a Dylan CD.
Updated On: 2/12/06 at 01:15 PM
