| Hats off to NY Public Library's Theater on Film and Tape division (and revisiting Broadway's A CHRISTMAS STORY) | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 01:10 pm EDT 08/07/17 | |
|
|
|
| Last Friday I walked down to the NYPL at Lincoln Center and accessed the TOFT division for the fist time. Everyone there was very pleasant and helpful and I had no problem getting in to see the video I wanted to watch (A Christmas Story). I have to say the producers do a terrific job of filming these shows (or at least they did in this case). It looked like they used three cameras and did the editing right there on the spot. There were a couple of times during the video where an audience member (either coming in late or getting up to use the bathroom) obstructed the view and within a half a second they had switched to another camera. I could almost hear the director say, "Camera 2, GO!". And the sound was impeccable! At one point I could hear the juice that Erin Dilly was pouring into a glass. It really was broadcast quality. If this is the quality of all of their recordings (I know, it probably isn't) then I can't wait to see more! So, a big THANK YOU to the folks at NYPL TOFT for making this newbie feel comfortable. I was a little nervous going in but everyone was extremely nice. And I have to give a special nod to the Broadway cast and creators of "A Christmas Story, The Musical". What a perfect production. Just had me smiling from beginning to end. I saw it once on Broadway and then other productions in subsequent years but this cast was just perfection. From John Bolton and Erin Dilly as the parents, to Caroline O'Connor as Miss Shields, Eddie Korbich as Santa, and Dan Lauria as Jean Shepard (this time a narrator works). And then the kids! Johnny Rabe as Ralphie, with a great voice and perfect comic timing (I still say he should have gotten that "Special Tony" that went to the Matildas back when the Tony voters were still in "Billy Elliot" mode), and Zach Ballard as Randy, who when he messed up a line about a Zeppelin he just went back and said it again without missing a beat, and then Luke Spring; I used the rewind button a couple of times just to rewatch his tap solo in Act 2. The video camera really catches little nuances that don't necessarily carry up to the mezzanine. But even up close, there was not a false note in this whole show. I really wish they had made a cast recording with this cast, especially since so many changes were made to the score after its run in Seattle. I am getting ready to put on a community theater production and it would be so helpful to have a recording of the licensed score. Too bad they couldn't use the sound from this video to make a new recording. I know rights and legal issues. But the one good thing about A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE is we will get a new recording of this musical, with some new songs added I hear. But I am nervous after seeing this video because this cast was so good, they are going to be hard to top. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: Question re NTLive FOLLIES - bmc 02:53 pm EDT 08/07/17 |
| Next: | re: Hats off to NY Public Library's Theater on Film and Tape division (and revisiting Broadway's A CHRISTMAS STORY) - TheOtherOne 01:38 pm EDT 08/07/17 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.014336 seconds.