How do you sell a Broadway show that is so infinitely greater than the sum of its parts? I watched Passing Strange, one of my top-five theater experiences, on The View and thought it came off horribly. I've seen the commercial. Doesn't make me want to see the show. The web site? Well it's a little better, but nothing that makes the show a must-see. So, I had some hope that the original cast recording would capture at least some of the extraordinariness of Passing Strange.
Passing Strange is now available on iTunes and will be available on CD next month. In all honesty, the show doesn't translate all that well to cast album either. It brings back great memories of the experience of seeing the show live, but hasn't been all that impressive to the uninitiated.
The album is a live recording, a great idea given the way the audience's energy informs the show. On the recording, however, the audience seems distant and appreciative rather than enthusiastic. The recording never approaches the level of energy the show itself reaches.
The songs also seem truncated. The endings often seem abrupt. One- or two-minute songs that work seamlessly at the Belasco come across as excerpts on the cast album. So, ultimately don't think the album will sell anyone on the show.
There are some great things about the show and the recording. The performances are excellent. Stew comes off great, as do most of the supporting cast. Daniel Breaker is very good, though he seems less of a presence than on stage. The music is also excellent and the great songs from the show give me memory chills every time I give it a listen.
Showing posts with label New Category. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Category. Show all posts
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Eliza's Little Dog Laughed
We had a wonderful trip to Boston yesterday to see a spectacular theater double feature: My Fair Lady, the U.S. national tour of the Cameron Macintosh British production, and The Little Dog Laughed, the Speakeasy Stage Company production at the Calderwood Pavilion. Both shows, while not perfect, made for an incredible day of theater (with another shoutout to B&G Oysters for a great meal in between).
My Fair Lady arrives in a strong production with Trevor Nunn's staging and Matthew Bourne's choreography largely in tact. The production was led by a mix of those from the British production (Christopher Cazenove as Henry Higgins and Lisa O'Hare as Eliza Doolittle) and American additions (Walter Charles as Pickering, Marni Nixon as Mrs. Higgins, Tim Jerome as Alfred P. Doolitle and Justin Bohon as Freddie).
Having read much about this new staging, I expected the production elements to provide the excitement. I was most impressed, however, by the company. Everyone had a great day with very strong performances across the board. That's what kept me engaged for three hours. Cazenove and, particulatly, O'Hare give stellar performances that make this production authentic. It's also a great to see Marni Nixon stepping into the role of Mrs. Higgins. Justin Bohon is a charming Freddy. Certainly, the crowd-pleaser at yesterday's performance was Tim Jerome. Matthew Bourne provides some of his strongest choreography for Doolittle.
Bourne does nice work here. His Ascott Gavotte is elegant and laugh-outloud funny at the same time. The two-classes structure gives him ample opportunity to vary the choreography with great effect.
Nunn tries hard to make the show work in a post-postfeminist world. It doesn't quite. Often it feels like a period piece. A history lesson. Mrs. Higgins cheers on Eliza and pushes the independent woman in her. But she still goes back to Henry in the end. The turn-it-on-its-head staging of the last line, "bring me my slippers," isn't quite enough to get us past the belief that Eliza would be better off not having gone back.
That said, this My Fair Lady still adds up to more than its substantial parts and delivers a fresh production with great talent.
Note: If you didn't have a chance to hear the NPR interview with Sally Ann Howe and Marni Nixon as Nixon was transitioning into Howe's role in the tour, it's a extraordinary opportunity to hear two great and under-appreciated acctresses hold forth.
The Little Dog Laughed closed in New York about three weeks before we were supposed to see it. So, it was with some glee and great appreciation that we headed to Boston for the Speakeasy Stage Company's production with Maureen Keiller, Robert Serrell, Jonathan Orsini and Angie Jepson. The Little Dog Laughed, by Douglas Carter Beane, is the story of a closeted, Oscar-winning superstar who becomes attached to a rentboy and his vicious agent, who is much more interested in his career than his person.
The play is hilarious, and this production captures most of the laughs. Beane always goes for the laugh, though, when more attention to the emotion and the story might better serve the play. All for actors do justice to the material. although all but Orsini (rentboy Alex) were somewhat inconsistent.
As Mitchell Greene's caustic agent Diane, Keiller gets the lion's share of the play, both in monologues and scenes with Mitch and Alex. Although nearly flawless in the second act, she lacked the necessary intensity in the first act. Serrell's Mitch hardly seems the stuff of which superstars are made, though he, too, has shining moments. After a dead-on first act, Jepson is less effective in the second act. In many instances, though, it's hard to tell whether it's the performance (closing night, by the way) or whether Beane has let them down.
Only Jonathan Orsini seems to find his character and stick with him through the highs and lows of the journey. It's also Alex who is most poorly treated by Beane. Alex is truly smitten with Mitch, and not ashamed (nor thrilled) with his day job. His innocence and his rage come through clearly and at perfect pitch.
The thinness of the plot is largely secondary to the caustic, biting commentary that oozes throughout The Little Dog Laughed. This is where Douglas Carter Beane shines. And this is where the audience is driven to bouts of laughter almost guaranteed to give you a stitch in your side.
Another note: Jonathan Orsini heads out today to pick up the role of Alex in the Hartford production of The Little Dog Laughed, after an emergency appendectomy forced that production's Alex, Jeremy Jordon, to the sidelines.
My Fair Lady arrives in a strong production with Trevor Nunn's staging and Matthew Bourne's choreography largely in tact. The production was led by a mix of those from the British production (Christopher Cazenove as Henry Higgins and Lisa O'Hare as Eliza Doolittle) and American additions (Walter Charles as Pickering, Marni Nixon as Mrs. Higgins, Tim Jerome as Alfred P. Doolitle and Justin Bohon as Freddie).
Having read much about this new staging, I expected the production elements to provide the excitement. I was most impressed, however, by the company. Everyone had a great day with very strong performances across the board. That's what kept me engaged for three hours. Cazenove and, particulatly, O'Hare give stellar performances that make this production authentic. It's also a great to see Marni Nixon stepping into the role of Mrs. Higgins. Justin Bohon is a charming Freddy. Certainly, the crowd-pleaser at yesterday's performance was Tim Jerome. Matthew Bourne provides some of his strongest choreography for Doolittle.
Bourne does nice work here. His Ascott Gavotte is elegant and laugh-outloud funny at the same time. The two-classes structure gives him ample opportunity to vary the choreography with great effect.
Nunn tries hard to make the show work in a post-postfeminist world. It doesn't quite. Often it feels like a period piece. A history lesson. Mrs. Higgins cheers on Eliza and pushes the independent woman in her. But she still goes back to Henry in the end. The turn-it-on-its-head staging of the last line, "bring me my slippers," isn't quite enough to get us past the belief that Eliza would be better off not having gone back.
That said, this My Fair Lady still adds up to more than its substantial parts and delivers a fresh production with great talent.
Note: If you didn't have a chance to hear the NPR interview with Sally Ann Howe and Marni Nixon as Nixon was transitioning into Howe's role in the tour, it's a extraordinary opportunity to hear two great and under-appreciated acctresses hold forth.
The Little Dog Laughed closed in New York about three weeks before we were supposed to see it. So, it was with some glee and great appreciation that we headed to Boston for the Speakeasy Stage Company's production with Maureen Keiller, Robert Serrell, Jonathan Orsini and Angie Jepson. The Little Dog Laughed, by Douglas Carter Beane, is the story of a closeted, Oscar-winning superstar who becomes attached to a rentboy and his vicious agent, who is much more interested in his career than his person.
The play is hilarious, and this production captures most of the laughs. Beane always goes for the laugh, though, when more attention to the emotion and the story might better serve the play. All for actors do justice to the material. although all but Orsini (rentboy Alex) were somewhat inconsistent.
As Mitchell Greene's caustic agent Diane, Keiller gets the lion's share of the play, both in monologues and scenes with Mitch and Alex. Although nearly flawless in the second act, she lacked the necessary intensity in the first act. Serrell's Mitch hardly seems the stuff of which superstars are made, though he, too, has shining moments. After a dead-on first act, Jepson is less effective in the second act. In many instances, though, it's hard to tell whether it's the performance (closing night, by the way) or whether Beane has let them down.
Only Jonathan Orsini seems to find his character and stick with him through the highs and lows of the journey. It's also Alex who is most poorly treated by Beane. Alex is truly smitten with Mitch, and not ashamed (nor thrilled) with his day job. His innocence and his rage come through clearly and at perfect pitch.
The thinness of the plot is largely secondary to the caustic, biting commentary that oozes throughout The Little Dog Laughed. This is where Douglas Carter Beane shines. And this is where the audience is driven to bouts of laughter almost guaranteed to give you a stitch in your side.
Another note: Jonathan Orsini heads out today to pick up the role of Alex in the Hartford production of The Little Dog Laughed, after an emergency appendectomy forced that production's Alex, Jeremy Jordon, to the sidelines.
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