re: In comes COMPANY....- Page 15

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 12:37pm

Love love love. :)

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 12:49pm

Yay! It looks amazing.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:24pm

Rapid-fire interview with Esparza:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2006/11/raul_esparza.html

One of the more awkward things I've read, but funny nonetheless.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:31pm

How was that awkward? Or is there a 2nd page to the article that I couldn't open?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:35pm

Those quick kind of random (often meaningless) questions are always sort of awkardly funny to me. They reveal little tiny things you'd never really get in a "real" interview.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:39pm

Yeah. I kind of liked that actually. And then I can go "Hey, I hate breakfast, too!" It kind of lets you see Raul as a normal person.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:41pm

Right, I like it.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:42pm

Breakfast, or the interview?

Sorry for that one, I couldn't resist...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:43pm

Actually, I hate breakfast. I rarely even bother with it anymore.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:44pm

ornex...?

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 12/1/06 at 5:45pm

Who should be the next president?
Not one single soul that has anything to do with politics right now. How about my dog, Archie? He's very thoughtful and loyal and tough.

Brilliant.

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 10:19am

I made a return trip to the Barrymore last night after having not seen the show since early in previews. Perhaps my mind is just playing tricks on me, but last night almost felt like a different show. While I expected to have a somewhat dull reaction since I had already seen it, my reaction was exactly the opposite. If anything, COMPANY becomes better with each viewing.

While I enjoyed it very much the first time I saw it, I didn't think it was the most incredible thing to ever hit the stage. However, last night, I absolutely loved it. The show has been tightened, and while I made this analogy before, looking back, now it is even more true: the piece is like an incredibly well choreographed ballet. The cast has fallen into a routine, and while that has negative connotations, I don't intend it as such. They know where they have to be when, and they hit their mark every single time, while still managing to find new depth within the piece. It's like clockwork...clean, organized, and with that comes the freedom to develop even more. It's fascinating to see just how much the piece has come alive, and how much the cast has grown.

Last night I saw the show from the from of the orchestra. One of my main complaints after seeing it the first time in the front mezzanine was that Raul's face became easily washed out with the lighting. Seeing it from the orchestra was a completely different experience. I was able to finally see every single one of Raul's reactions, which is pretty essential, since almost half of the show involves him sitting and/or watching and just....reacting. His delivery has a sense of warmth to it that was absent when I first saw it – and which certainly helps for the people who keep questioning why all of these people would want to be friends with him in the first place.

I’m still on the fence about Heather Laws. I felt that she didn’t really have the control that I saw in Jane Pfitsch’s delivery of (Not) Getting Married Today. I sat thinking she was on the verge of losing her footing.

Raul was fantastic. I’ve never seen a show that so heavily relies on one lead, rather than two. Not only does he carry the show on his shoulders, but he does it with ease and grace. One of the comments I made last night was that Raul (in his scene with Kathy at the park) had this soft expression on his face, and the way he was staring at her – it was at that moment when I felt like something had cracked and we were let in to see the soft, sweet, gentle side of Bobby. You know it’s hidden somewhere under the cynical sarcasm, and its wonderful when the audience can finally see it in him. Being Alive made my heart beat a mile a minute, and while I originally thought (on first viewing) that Bobby's development through the show wasn't evident enough, I can now say that I saw the change. And might I say that the scream right before Being Alive began....I have never seen anything like that. It is at that moment that you can truly feel for Bobby, because you are literally seeing him take control.

My one negative, though, is Amy Justman's atrocious Southern accent. (Thank god she doesn't have a full scene like all of the other couples do).

Updated On: 12/8/06 at 10:19 AM

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 7:42pm

Ahhh, the accent, I know.

When she said "semi-humorously" it sounded like "hoomerousely"

And while last night's audience didn't go wild very often, the cheers for Raúl's 'moments' were great.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 7:51pm

I just found out Mylinda Hull is going to try and get house seats for my family to see this in a few weeks, and go backstage afterwards
So I'm quite psyched right now!

Posted: 12/7/06 at 8:15pm

My one negative, though, is Amy Justman's atrocious Southern accent. (Thank god she doesn't have a full scene like all of the other couples do).

THANK GOODNESS someone else is mentioning this!!

i was so frustrated because i felt like i was the only one noticing it!!
it is so FAKE that its distracting...it really sounds like she based her accent on SALLY CATO from the Lucille Ball version of MAME!

its just awful & embarrassing & detracts from the whole production!

i keep asking myself, "is this what john doyle thinks southern people sound like?!?!?! is this what sondheim thinks of southern people?!?!"

of course, this must be what Italian people feel when they hear PIRELLI in SWEENEY TODD....

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 8:19pm

That's awesome, Pat!

Definitely have to agree about Amy Justman's accent.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 8:53pm

of course, this must be what Italian people feel when they hear PIRELLI in SWEENEY TODD....

Pirelli's accent is supposed to be fake.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 10:37pm

It's weird, though, the accent has gotten worse. It didn't start off badly, but now it feels like it's falling out.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 10:39pm

I agree. Each time I've seen the show it has become less and less recognizable as anything remotely southern...it's just weird.

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 10:48pm

My only contribution to this thread after having seen the show last night is this:

Raul's scream right before Being Alive is fantastic, ESPECIALLY because it woke up the two elderly couple who were SNORING (SNOOORING!!!!) beside me. Man, that always irks me.

Everything else I wanted to say was covered in fantab's post. :)

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 10:55pm

Well Chica, at least you dodn't have the weird old ladies who left as Marry Me a Little started, came back, and left before Being Alive.

I really didn't think that kind of weirdness was possible.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 11:05pm

I would NOT want to be woken up by that. It's frightening enough as is.

Anyway, yeah. It just gets better and better and better. Raul's facial expressions are worth a million bucks.

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 12/7/06 at 11:13pm

I was totally waiting for it. I heard the woman snore loudly, and thought "She's in for it now" And then the scream happened, and they bolted up. It was rewarding.

I mean, really...You pay to go see Broadway show, then at least have the curtesy to not FALL ASLEEP! Especially if you're a snorer. Gah.

And it especially irritates me when people fall asleep during a show I happen to love. I take it personally. Phooey on them :-p

Posted: 12/8/06 at 6:32am

it just *PAINS* me that anyone would think that that is a real southern accent.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/8/06 at 10:18am

Here's my little review of the show. Saw it last night(12/7) and the theatre was packed. I was in the fron mezz. and I didn't see one empty seat. YEAH!!!

Raul was simply amazing!!! I can't say enough about his performance. Brillant! And I have to ask, why was "Marry Me A Little" cut from the original Company??? It's such a strong point in the show. The crowd went nuts after "Being Alive"! I loved it!

Other highlights included Heather Laws as Amy. Her "(Not) Getting Married Today" got the biggest applause. I also enjoyed Barbara Walsh(Joanne) & Bruce Sabath(Larry). Probably my favorite couple followed by Amy & Paul. Every musical number was brillant, after one finished I was looking foward to the next one.

I'll agree with everyone in saying Amy Justman's accent was annoying. Does she need to be from the south?? Only one other complaint. At points in the show it seemed liked the orchestra was louder than the singers and it was very hard to hear them.

On a side note. I was at the show with 3 friends, everyone said they liked it but didn't really understand what they just saw. All three of them said they wouldn't see it again but would buy the CD when it comes out. I hope this isn't the general view by most people, because if it is I don't see it lasting any longer than Sweeney Todd. And where's all the PR for COMPANY?? No TV ads, talk show appearances, newspaper ads, etc.??