Thoughts on A TALE OF TWO CITIES...the new musical- Page 3

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 3:08am

Updated On: 5/1/09 at 03:08 AM

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 3:21am

Cry Baby yes, Next To Normal I just remember people singing its praises. This is also one of the first times I remember where a show got a different reaction from the people in the audience then it did from the people who were posting on here.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 3:41am

Updated On: 5/1/09 at 03:41 AM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 7:24am

No, I have clear memories of vocal hatred for Next to Normal. One poster even called one of the songs "a tribute to Scientology," or something like that.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:11pm

But, I also remember a whole lot of people being vocal about a Broadway transfer of this show. When Second Stage bough/is buying the Helen Hayes, people were talking about how that would be a good time and a good theatre for Next To Normal to have its run on Broadway.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:13pm

What does that have to do with anything?

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:14pm

Hush little baby, don't say a word.

Mamma's gonna buy you a mocking bird.

And if that mocking bird don't sing, papa's gonna buy you a golden ring.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:18pm

Wow TDH, what a great song to sing about yourself.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:23pm

aren't you supposed to be in school right now?

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:28pm

When I am online and where I am online are things that are none of your concern.

Updated On: 9/15/08 at 12:28 PM

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:29pm

watch your tone with me, boy.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:32pm

Ooo I am SO scared. NOT.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 2:26pm

Thanks for the review, Yankee.

Did you notice any staging similar to The SCarlet Pimpernel? I'm just curious since I get that vibe from the pictures.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 3:59pm

No, nothing at all near SCARLET PIMPERNEL, though my memory of that show is fuzzy at best.

The guillotine sequence at the end was done in blackouts, rather than seeing heads drop off as in SP.

[dvirah]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 4:35pm

I saw this show in 1994 in one of its very earliest incarnations in Indianapolis. Starring in the show were the likes of Richard Kiley, Michael Maguire, Norman Large, Ann Crumb, J. Mark McVey....the list goes on. As I recall, it was just a concert version with 7 or 8 songs.

Just to echo a previous question which was never answered: does the show contain gunshots or other startling noises? I know this question is always obnoxious, but I have a heart condition and am easily startled.

Your input would be most appreciated.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 4:38pm

There is a gunshot at the beginning of the act one closer "Until Tomorrow"

there is another one in the second to last scene of the show. If you want more details as to what is going on in the show when they happen then PM me dvirah because I don't want to give anything away on the forum.

EDIT: Dvirah, turn on your PMs. When I tried to respond I got a message saying that you don't accept PMs.

Updated On: 9/15/08 at 04:38 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 4:52pm

I don't recall many gun shots, though there was one at the top of the 2nd Act, during the bizarre acrobatic war sequence which included

(spoiler)

1 guy doing a dive off the scaffolding into the trap door in the stage. Now THAT was a piece of staging. Better than Tom Hewitt's falling straight into the pit in DRACULA.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 5:03pm

Yankeefan, there was another one involving Madame Defarge in the second to last scene of the show. I don't want to give away spoilers on the forum so that is why I am being as vague as I can. If anyone wants me to go into more detail, I would be more then happy to do so but PM me please.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 5:34pm

I LOVE Blanche Yurka!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 5:38pm

Oh that one.

Yeah, but that one you see coming. My old saying is...if you see a gun, you know it's gonna go off.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 7:17pm

Isn't that Chekhov's old saying?

I so dearly wanted to see a head get chopped off. I was really disappointed when they put the guillotine in the shadows and then didn't even show the head tumble down from the sky. That would have been AWESOME. Like, with a spotlight following it down or something...

Staging is one thing, who cares, but the musical quoting did bother me.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 9:34pm

[It's been months and I still can't decide if I liked Next to Normal - Alice Ripleys' voice is just too nasally for my taste, sounds like she had some plastic surgery done. And I'm not sure why peopled praised Aaron Tveit over Brian D'arcy James or the other guy in the show, who I think had the most uniquely beautiful voice.]

Back to the topic at hand....

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 10:16pm

I've forgotten more and more about N2N as the months go on.

I loved it in February.