| Band's Visit - What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: MetaTheatrical 07:50 pm EDT 06/05/18 | |
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| Attended the matinee last Saturday. The NY Times review had me at ravishing, remarkable, smart, Sondheim-esque, adult... I know my way around the theatre, Broadway and beyond, highbrow and low, subtle as Sondheim and garish as...Spongebob?, commercial and not. I was in town to see the eve Boys in the Band and excited to attend something on a whim that I didn't know walking in...the source movie, the music, the story. Initially the set, the shifting cloud projections, the Middle Eastern flavors drew me into a world we don't often experience on the Broadway stage. As I sank into the performance though, I just couldn't get a grip on the point-of-view, the reason why this story needed to be told, the why now? Where is the passion the characters claim to want...or have yet to experience? As a musical, the songs are un-memorable...if not just dreadful and sophomoric (full disclosure: I am not a fan of Yazbek). I get the reaching through different languages but the dialogue becomes so stilted through the halted accents. The characters are kept at arms length and I couldn't care less about any of them or what they want. Especially the extended family with the baby. Actor Katrina Lenk is fascinating, sensual, mysterious, but it never seems the material lets her transcend (what exactly makes her without-a-doubt the Tony winner other than this less-than-memorable season?). What makes this piece the without-a-doubt Tony Winner for Best Musical? The plot seems to miss so many rich opportunities for cultures colliding and finding new understandings. What has truly changed at the end? I couldn't tell. I'm thankful this was a one-act. I was over it by minute 30 of 90. What am I missing? I went to YouTube for clips, interviews and reviews to find out. Enlighten me. But be kind. |
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| Next: | re: Band's Visit - What am I missing? - lowwriter 02:21 am EDT 06/06/18 |
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