HOME ALL THAT CHAT ATC WEST COAST SHOPPIN' RUSH BOARD FAQS

LOGIN REGISTER SEARCH THREADED MODE

not logged in

Threaded Order | Chronological Order

re: Scott Ellis is the busiest director on Broadway, handling three shows

Posted by: AlanScott 03:24 pm EST 01/19/15
In reply to: re: Scott Ellis is the busiest director on Broadway, handling three shows - BruceinIthaca 11:47 pm EST 01/18/15

I recently saw You Can't Take It With You with the two replacement cast members. I thought it was fairly good, but not as good as it could have been or should have been with that cast.

I came home and watched the video of the 1983 production, and it was interesting to compare the two.

The point of the view of both productions was perhaps similar and yet they took opposite approaches to convey that point of view. In the Rabb production, the Sycamores seemed mildly eccentric so there wasn't as much distance between the Sycamores and the Kirbys as Alice and the Kirbys thought. A similar point seemed to be in Ellis's mind, but he got there by upping the Kirbys' eccentricities.

I enjoyed the Ellis production, but it did seem that so many people in the cast were pushing so hard to get across their eccentricities and to be funny. It was interesting to then watch the Rabb production and see how low-key it was in comparison, yet still very funny.

In short, the Sycamores in the Rabb production seemed much more like people you might actually meet somewhere.


reply to this message |
re: Scott Ellis is the busiest director on Broadway, handling three shows

Posted by: larry13 07:15 pm EST 01/19/15
In reply to: re: Scott Ellis is the busiest director on Broadway, handling three shows - AlanScott 03:24 pm EST 01/19/15

Alan, very thought provoking as always. I didn't see either production of this play. But I can't help but wonder if the question isn't just about the directorial choices and abilities of Rabb and Ellis but also about what producers AND directors, not just Ellis, believe--correctly or incorrectly--audiences today want, expect and/or need.


reply to this message |
re: Scott Ellis is the busiest director on Broadway, handling three shows

Posted by: AlanScott 08:13 pm EST 01/19/15
In reply to: re: Scott Ellis is the busiest director on Broadway, handling three shows - larry13 07:15 pm EST 01/19/15

Yes, I think there is a perception that audiences today need busyness. Sometimes we think that Broadway acting today is more natural than Broadway acting of the past, but I'm not sure if that's always so true.

And I will say that some of the extreme stuff in the current production is very funny. Julie Halston's ascent of the stairs pays off.


reply to this message | reply to first message


All That Chat is intended for the discussion of theatre news and opinion
subject to the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service. (Please take all off-topic discussion to private email.)

Please direct technical questions/comments to webmaster@talkinbroadway.com and policy questions to TBAdmin@talkinbroadway.com.

[ Home | On the Rialto | The Siegel Column | Cabaret | Tony Awards | Book Reviews | Great White Wayback Machine ]
[ Broadway Reviews | Barbara and Scott: The Two of Clubs | Sound Advice | Sound Advice Upcoming Releases CDs/Books/DVDs, etc. | Off Broadway | Funding Talkin' Broadway ]
[ Broadway 101 | Spotlight On | Talkin' Broadway | On the Boards | Regional | Talk to Us! | Search Talkin' Broadway ]

Terms of Service
[ © 1997 - 2015 www.TalkinBroadway.com, Inc. ]

Time to render: 0.020462 seconds.