Posted: 4/4/15 at 3:12pm
Seeing this tomorrow
I knew it would be a tough sell but after reading the posts here this may be a harder sell than Scottsboro. This is definitely not a tourist show so it will have to be New Yorkers who keep it up and running for at least awhile. Hopefully, the score (being K/E) will be recorded.
It needs the reviews and Tony nods big time.
Posted: 4/4/15 at 5:36pm
Just saw the matinee-- sheesh is this a tough slog. Won't bother with a full review, but my husband who adores dark musicals (ASSASSINS is his favorite by a mile) had to just get out of the theater at the 30 minute mark, it was so relentlessly dirgelike. (I stayed to the end to be fair to the piece, and to be able to chat intelligently on it here.)
One obvious question-- wouldn't the whole conflict work much better if the villagers LOVED Anton at the start of the story, so their betrayal of him would be more painful? As it was, they couldn't stand him from the get go so where was the tension?
Anybody know if the Durenmatt play has Anton written as an unloved scapegoat there too?
Posted: 4/4/15 at 5:56pm
"my husband who adores dark musicals (ASSASSINS is his favorite by a mile) had to just get out of the theater at the 30 minute mark, it was so relentlessly dirgelike. (I stayed to the end to be fair to the piece, and to be able to chat intelligently on it here. "
Nice.
Those lines in beginning that establish the town's disregard and disdain for Anton are new for the Broadway production. They weren't in Williamstown or Signature. Not sure about the original play.
Posted: 4/4/15 at 6:17pm
By the way, there is still 1 last K/E score not done on Broadway. It is, I believe, The Skin Of Our Teeth
I saw The Red Shoes & Rees was indeed horrible. If I remember, Steve Barton was in it and his voice was another story altogether
If they do a cast album, these are the voices we will have. If a happy go lucky show like Honeymoon could not make it, it does not bode well for a really dark piece like this. My guess is the critics will be mixed and its only hope may be Tony nods for Chita & the score. Even those nominations or even wins will only carry it so far. Some pieces do not translate to musicals and this may be one of them. It may have faired better as a straight play. I am still looking to see the film version done in the 60's with Anthony Quinn & Ingrid Bergman
Posted: 4/4/15 at 9:39pm
RE: Chita's voice.
Can't speak for the rest of the score, but if there is one song in one musical you don't want a perfect (or even good a) vocal performance, it's "Love and Love Alone". This is truly a song that only works if it is sung by someone who sounds like they are speaking from a lot of experience, who are a little bit cynical and a little bit jaded. There actually is a recording of Lucie Arnaz singing this well (more like a ballad too), and while it sounds lovely, it's awfully inappropriate given the context of the song. The recordings of Chita Rivera and Lansbury (especially Chita - though Lansbury would be absolutely perfect to do the role today) are so much better.
Updated On: 4/5/15 at 09:39 PM
Posted: 4/4/15 at 10:33pm
Just got out, wow want a stunning night of theatre that was, I knew nothing about the story going in. The reveal was chilling when you found out why Claire came back.
Chita received a least five minutes of wild applause when she first entered, that stop the show, she was marvelous and when the standing ovation erupted at the end she looked generally over whelmed
The staging and lighting are some of the most beautiful I have seen.
its dark, it's draining, it's laugh out loud funny in places, and one hell of a night of theatre
loved it
Posted: 4/4/15 at 11:05pm
I do think there's very little tension in the whole show. There's just no build up of any sort. I thought the reveal was indeed chilling, and I sat up in my seat and was like "Oh yeah, now it's starting." But then nothing happens. Everyone kind of just agrees. And then there's some pretty ballads, and then that's it? The school teacher was the only one who had any sort of qualms about the whole thing.
And I think Rivera's voice is fine. It's just, in a 90min musical, it's tough when the ensemble/featured roles outshine the leads vocally. And none of their songs really could show a depth of emotion given their limited ranges. But that's just me. I did like her song and I'd like to hear it again.
I also felt like the first 20mins was just people singing Claire. Ha.
I guess I'm bummed because I LOVE Kander and Ebb. I love Cabaret. I love Scottsboro Boys. I love Chicago. I love hearing their vamps. They give me chills. And I think this is such an interesting story. I just think the book is rather bland, and the staging is kind of uninspired. I mean, wheeling around a coffin? And I felt like all Rivera did was walk up stage. Stand. And walk back downstage. They barely used the second level or the depth of the stage.
Posted: 4/4/15 at 11:08pm
This is a very good score. I think it's going to take a cast recording for it to catch on. I also predicted this with the score of Women on the Verge, and I was right. The reception of that score totally changed once the cast recording was released.
Updated On: 4/4/15 at 11:08 PM
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:26pm
Saw it today & was actually shocked at how solid it was
Rivera is the glue that holds it together. It is the meatiest role she has had in years. Cannot imagine Lansbury doing it better. Rees had a better voice than I remembered but no one will mistake him for Sinatra. His songs were not those that require a great voice. Yes the piece is dark but not the way others describe it. It was a dramatic piece and what else would K/E do in their latter years?
The score is one of their better ones. Naturally the best songs go to Chita and she performs them like a surgeon wielding a scalpel.Was not expecting much after reading some of the reviews but I was totally shocked. Both my wife & I thoroughly enjoyed it & heartily recommend it.
TDF gave us front mezzanine seats dead center. Unlike Living On Love, we heard each word perfectly. The set is very haunting and imposing when you first see it. She may be remember at Tony time with at least a nod & maybe even a win.
Donna McKechnie was seated in the audience a few rows away from us. Afterwards, she was gracious to those chatting her up in the lobby. Did not see If Kander was there.
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:40pm
I'm glad you liked it, Roxy! See I promised you that it wasn't a truncated score.
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:42pm
I liked it, too, and also appreciated the very fine K&E score. Interesting about this show's veil of darkness. Didn't bother me whatsoever, as disturbing as its trajectory and resolution are. But it's darkness in service of a startling, compelling tale well (enough) told, with a riveting central performance. Having just emerged from the damp, black wool blanket of tragedy suffocating the pretentiously setforth "Hunchback," I only had more respect for "The Visit."
Updated On: 4/5/15 at 07:42 PM
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:42pm
Awesome, great to hear your review. Was Donna McKechnie sitting in the Mezzanine?
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:43pm
Yes you did.
Me bad for not believing you.
By the way, the merchandise is sparse. A hat,magnet,window card and 2 tee shirts - one fitted and one not. The non fitted one has a version of the logo nowhere not as good as the original.
Updated On: 4/5/15 at 07:43 PM
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:47pm
Yes, Donna McKechnie was sitting in the first row of the mezzanine at the matinee today.
The gentleman sitting next to her was so familiar looking to me, but I couldn't remember his name?
Anyone who else was there and saw her…..do you know who he is?
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:50pm
Oh my, I saw the same performance as Roscoe (Saturday night), and yet it seems like we saw two different shows.
I tried really hard to find positive things about this show, and to some degree, I did. I think it was pretty creative, and dealt with a lot of complex moral issues. I respected the show for that. Some of the music was pretty good too. But oh man, it was such a mess. I felt like I was in a weird druggy trance the whole time, and not in a good way, and it seemed really poorly put-together to me.
I also really don't understand the hype about Chita's performance. She's good, and she has a nice commanding presence, but people have been saying she's likely to take the Tony over Chenoweth and O'Hara, and I just don't see it. Rivera was poised, and respectably nuanced in her portrayal of the character, but I guess I was expecting a tour-de-force performance from her, and I just didn't see it.
Posted: 4/5/15 at 7:59pm
I called from the start that the reception for this show would be all over the place. It's quite fascinating how people are seeing such different things. It's going to be very interesting to see what the critics say. Out of town, Brantley was mixed but raved over Rivera.
Posted: 4/5/15 at 8:56pm
I liked the show but couldn't help but wonder what it would look like with a better director. I found a lot of the direction very obvious. They were sitting on a coffin? With the ghost versions of themselves? Really, John Doyle?
Posted: 4/5/15 at 11:17pm
I too would've liked to see another director's take on this, one that wouldn't have bent the production so much to his/her conceptual take, which I think obfuscated much of the material.
Posted: 4/5/15 at 11:20pm
Well most have said that Doyle's direction is better than Frank Galatti's two productions. I would think Doyle's involvment and restructuring of the piece was a key factor in getting this to Broadway.
Updated On: 4/5/15 at 11:20 PM
Posted: 4/5/15 at 11:34pm
I think the show itself will go down as a cult score, beckoning people to try and "fix" it.
Posted: 4/6/15 at 4:03am
Someone In A Tree2 -
You asked.
One obvious question-- wouldn't the whole conflict work much better if the villagers LOVED Anton at the start of the story, so their betrayal of him would be more painful? As it was, they couldn't stand him from the get go so where was the tension?
Anybody know if the Durenmatt play has Anton written as an unloved scapegoat there too?
