| Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | Ann 08:17 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | YES THANK YOU!! - StaunchKarakter 02:23 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| I felt quite differently, but have already expressed that in an earlier thread. I feel this production gives it a mystical "Out Town"-like quality. I just wanted to ask if you have seen a full production - there was one recently at (I think it's) APAC? | |
| Link | And here's the Times review, which I haven't read |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | StaunchKarakter 01:52 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | Comment, question and link to Times review - Ann 08:17 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| Ann, yes I started the earlier thread asking for defense of the production and John Doyle, and I remember your comments. I really appreciated them! I now understand that folks can enjoy this Allegro or John Doyle in general. I think your Our Town analogy is good. But, for me, I end up feeling too disconnected and somber when watching his work. Maybe I would enjoy his style if applied to more experimental source material. I find his style to work against the inherent joyfulness of musicals. This underplaying of scenes has worked much better in the hands of Bert Sher in South Pacific and Piazza. And to answer your question, haha, no I haven't seen another production. I was unable to get out to Queens earlier this year. I now wish I'd been able to make that happen! I was familiar with the piece before, having read a lot about it, and listened to the Norbert recording. | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | ukpaul 03:03 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Comment, question and link to Times review - StaunchKarakter 01:52 pm EST 11/20/14 |
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| Musicals aren't inherently joyful; most Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals most definitely aren't, there are joyful moments but they also visit some pretty dark places. | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | StaunchKarakter 06:48 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Comment, question and link to Times review - ukpaul 03:03 pm EST 11/20/14 |
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| Thanks for drawing attention to my use of the word "joyful." I hear what you're saying, but I guess I'm using joyful in a broader sense. Singing begins when regular speech isn't enough. The music comes in and lifts the whole experience to a new plane. I had an acting teacher long ago help me with this when I was doing a production of "The Last Five Years." I was playing Jamie and struggling with "The Schmuel Song." She spoke to me about several things, including the joy of singing. The joy of connecting through song. The JOY! And that doesn't always mean your action as an actor is joyful, but that you understand the joy of connecting in that way. It's a lifting of attitude, style, and understanding. It brings vulnerability and presence to the connection. So, as a musical theater performer, I often think of this joy; and it always gives me the desired effect in performance. I agree with you that serious musicals with strong moral messages aren't joyful in terms of action, but there should always be joy in the style. Otherwise, why do we even want to watch? I hope that makes sense. | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | ukpaul 07:21 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Comment, question and link to Times review - StaunchKarakter 06:48 pm EST 11/20/14 |
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| Well I'd say that the introduction of song is to amplify emotion - not just the positive emotion that the term 'joy' suggests. I tend to direct rather than perform and, when doing so, I refer to the difference in energy that comes with with song, a heightened sense of communication, so I'd refer to 'energy' not 'joy'. I do think that Doyle does that well and, unlike a number of other directors of musical theatre, grounds it in an emotional reality that bypasses the ersatz indicated emotion that comes too easily (and which many think of as typical of musical theatre). What is even more interesting about him, I feel, is that he does this, but then allows it to rub against a more theatrical mode pf presentation, whereby the performance realism is thrown into relief by a different scenic and staging style. I think some get stuck on the latter and it means they don't see the former but, for me, that balance makes it a much richer and rewarding experience. I hope we see this in the UK at somewhere like the Menier (where Doyle has done some work) but I'm not holding my breath on that. | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | Ann 02:01 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Comment, question and link to Times review - StaunchKarakter 01:52 pm EST 11/20/14 |
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| I understand your take on it, even if it's not what I experienced. Though people thought the Queens production was very good, the fact is the show has been a failure. That makes the idea of this approach more interesting to me than Doyle's takes on Company and Sweeney Todd (though I can't say I disliked those either, knowing they won't replace the more traditional stagings). It seems to be a small story (though allegorical), and I don't know that it needs a cast of 80. But it has gotten me to get that studio cast recording out and I've been listening to it all week. And, gee, part of the magic of theatre is that two people can watch the same show and view it entirely differently. How boring All That Chat would be if we all felt the same ;) | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | BroadwayTonyJ 04:50 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Comment, question and link to Times review - Ann 02:01 pm EST 11/20/14 |
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| I listened to the first 8 tracks of the OBCR of Allegro on the drive to work this morning. John Battles really has a beautiful voice. It's a shame that Decca replaced him on their 1945 recording of On the Town. I listened to the OBCR of The Girl Who Came to Supper yesterday, loved the way Florence Henderson holds that incredibly high note at the end of I've Been Invited to a Party. I'll start listening to the studio cast recording of Allegro tomorrow. I can't get "One Foot, Other Foot" and "The Gentleman Is a Dope" out of my head. | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | StaunchKarakter 02:18 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Comment, question and link to Times review - Ann 02:01 pm EST 11/20/14 |
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| Absolutely! You'll rarely find me dismissing someone else's opinion (at least, not completely, haha). Variety is the spice of life. To quote Pete's Dragon: "There's room for everyone in this world!" | |
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| WHAT SHOW DID BRANTLEY SEE??? | |
| Posted by: | adammueller308 09:16 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | Comment, question and link to Times review - Ann 08:17 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| 'Cuz it sure wasn't whatever is running at CSC.........just sayin'.........sheesh......... | |
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| THE SAME ONE AS YOU, HE JUST HAS A DIFFERENT OPINION OF A SUBJECTIVE MEDIUM!!! | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 06:38 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | WHAT SHOW DID BRANTLEY SEE??? - adammueller308 09:16 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| Can we stop shouting now? | |
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| re: The same Brantley who liked Doyle's Sweeney and Company | |
| Posted by: | lowwriter 10:04 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | WHAT SHOW DID BRANTLEY SEE??? - adammueller308 09:16 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| Not everyone hates everything that Doyle does like some others do. | |
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| Out Town--is that the version of grover's corners where everyone is gay? | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 08:44 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | Comment, question and link to Times review - Ann 08:17 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| Brantley did compare ALlegro to Our Town. it's a pretty favorable review that should guarantee a sold out run in that theater. | |
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| The mystical closet-free small town America nmi | |
| Posted by: | Ann 08:51 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | Out Town--is that the version of grover's corners where everyone is gay? - dramedy 08:44 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| where the kids go to Heartsville High | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 09:18 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | The mystical closet-free small town America nmi - Ann 08:51 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| Zana Don't reference. | |
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| re: Comment, question and link to Times review | |
| Posted by: | Jackson 08:28 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | Comment, question and link to Times review - Ann 08:17 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| The APAC production was superb! Great use of the chorus and some dazzling choreography. J | |
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