Two Gentleman of Verona-Best Musical?- Page 2

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 12:56pm

Mister Matt - I remember hearing from the cast a few times back when they were doing it that people were interested in a trasnfer, but it ultimately fizzled out by the end of the run.

Couldn't say it was very shocking news.

MB is right - it's an ideal show for something like Reprise or Encores. Updated On: 4/16/07 at 12:56 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:02pm

I agree that Marshall's production could have certainly beefed up some of the comedic elements as well as some of the choreography, but I think a Broadway transfer could have provided an ecellent opportunity to polish up the show. Personally, I thought Goldsberry gave one of the strongest performances of the evening. Rosario Dawson was the only person I felt was truly "miscast" in the show. Everyone else was great.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:06pm

Funny you say that -

I remember being trapped outside the theater (they had very few late seating breaks) with a friend (after deciding to go looking for her after she hadn't returned from the bathroom), and hearing some kind of squawking coming from the stage....turns out, it was Dawson admirably trying to get through "I Am Not Interested in Love."

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:12pm

LOVED Goldsberry! Wasn't crazy about Dawson, but I didn't hate her, either...and it must be said: The woman is crazy beautiful. I didn't think her singing was any worse than Diana Davila on the OBCR. In previews Marshall had this circus motif that wasn't working, and she smartly cut it.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:18pm

Goldsberry was fine - I'd just see someone with a bit of a more soulful voice in the role. If Beyonce Knowles ever wanted to do Broadway - that would be a good part for her...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:22pm

Ok, I could see Knowles in that part. But I thought the Goldsberry/Lewis chemistry was SMOKING onstage. Especially the hilarious Night Letter, which had me rolling.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:25pm

Now see I thought NIGHT LETTER in the park was a reative dud - but maybe if I hadn't heard that live recording (where again the audience goes into hysterics) I would have been more open minded! We are always spoiled by what we've previously heard...

[philcrosby]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:37pm

One of the reasons the OBC recording may not deliver the stage experience as well as it could ...

Just days before the recording was to be made, the cast was informed that only the principals would be recording their roles, all the chorus mumbers (including stars-to-be Stockard Channing and Jeff Goldblum) were to be replaced with session singers. Quite a blow to morale for a cast that was, by all accounts, very much like a family.

I didn't see Jonelle Allen perform, I saw Hattie Winston as Silvia and she was SMOKIN'.
Updated On: 4/16/07 at 01:37 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:40pm

I didn't know that Phil. There certainly isn't any indication on the OBC that the show was recorded using session singers.

The biggest reason, IMO, the cast recording isn't a good representation of the stage experience is that the tempos were played incredibly slow for the disc. "Night Letter" is almost twice as fast on the live recording.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:44pm

Perhaps it was the night you saw the show as well, MB. The night I went, the audience went nuts for Night Letter and Love Me. I never forgot Goldsberry's "Think baby...think think baby..." which had the audience howling. Also the dove in Love Me. Priceless...

I can't listen to the OBC without getting goosebumps. I have a huge crush on this show.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:44pm

I was about to say that....the tempos for most of the songs are at a snail's pace.

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 3:38pm

Also, consider another lighthearted musical that was packin' 'em in at the St. James at the time: The 1971 revival of NO, NO, NANETTE. After that fun, nostalgic trip to the 1920s many people thought FOLLIES was a real bummer.

To quote Steven Suskin: "TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA worked in 1972. FOLLIES didn't."

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 3:57pm

Perhaps it was the night you saw the show as well, MB. The night I went, the audience went nuts for Night Letter and Love Me. I never forgot Goldsberry's "Think baby...think think baby..." which had the audience howling. Also the dove in Love Me. Priceless...

I was just going to say that--Goldsberry's numbers were easily the audience favorite the night I saw the Marshall production in the Park. Though I'm sure it didn't match the vibrancy and immediacy of the original, I really fell in love with the 2005 production and I wish there were an official recording of the cast, if that Broadway transfer was never meant to be. I had even seen a really excellent production of the original Shakespeare at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival a few weeks earlier (in which Verona was a spunky all-American high school and Milan was a sleek, vaguely "guido" city), and as much as I loved that HSVF show and its always-top-notch performers, I ended up loving the musical more. Marshall was a perfect fit for MacDermot and Guare. It would still be a hit if mounted again this summer--maybe even more so, since "bringing all the boys back home" is a more seriously discussed topic this year.

Thanks for some good points about this fun musical free from the show-queen snobbery that usually accompanies it...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 5:44pm

Seeing both, I can definitely Follies

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 5:54pm

The thrill, for me, of the production a few years ago was sitting 5 rows behind Kathleen Marshall and Oscar Eustis and across the aisle from John Guare.

It was obviously previews, and it was a kick to see the 3 of them "conferencing" during the intermission.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 5:55pm

I have tried so hard to like Follies, but I can't stand the book and I really only like about half the score. Most of the show just makes me sleepy.

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 6:53pm

it's hard for me to make a judgement since I didn't see either of the Original productions, but I have seen other productions of both and own both OBCRs and I have to say Follies is much better