Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Green on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: Clancy 11:11 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| Scathing. -------------- The current production, a six-actor, eight-musician, one-act reduction by Fiasco Theater, seems not so much stripped-down as emaciated. |
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| Link | NYT: ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ the Way It Never, Ever Was |
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| Math is hard | |
| Posted by: carolinaguy 08:55 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Green on MERRILY - Clancy 11:11 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| The review refers to the "28 years since its flop Broadway opening". I count 38 (2019-1981), but what do I know? | |
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| Spot On | |
| Posted by: winters 08:41 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Green on MERRILY - Clancy 11:11 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| Except that he failed to mention the unfortunate singing. In the past I could 'forgive' the difficult book because of the score. Not this time. |
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| re: Spot On | |
| Posted by: kess0078 09:48 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Spot On - winters 08:41 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| He mentions the singing at the top of the 6th paragraph - "Purists may focus on the prickly new orchestrations (by Alexander Gemignani) and iffy singing (by almost everyone)." |
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| re: Spot On | |
| Posted by: jconnors 11:34 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Spot On - kess0078 09:48 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| Yes, and "iffy" is a bit generous for some of what I heard the night I attended. I like Fiasco's creativity, but it does not compensate for the inadequate singing. Maybe a first-timer would not know what is possible when the score is done right. | |
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| Suggestion | |
| Posted by: TheHarveyBoy 06:20 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Green on MERRILY - Clancy 11:11 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| Green writes, "the use of three actors to cover the entire ensemble (the original cast numbered 27) has you trying to sort out who’s who." I'd suggest giving them all sweatshirts with their function ("producer," "first wife" etc.) on them. Oh, it's been done? Never mind! |
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| Or... | |
| Posted by: stevemr 08:01 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Suggestion - TheHarveyBoy 06:20 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| With so few actors playing so many roles, that would mean a lot of sweatshirts coming on and off. Perhaps a better solution would be Velcro labels that could be ripped off and put back on as necessary. | |
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| re: Suggestion | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 01:58 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 01:55 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Suggestion - TheHarveyBoy 06:20 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| But - the problem is the same with the standard performing edition now, with a smaller cast than the original. Many of the smaller ensemble characters are not given enough specific time to be defined all that much from scene to scene (some are easier to figure out than others), resulting in a sort of generic "blob" of ensemble throughout the show. That's the way the show has always been, IMO. And in fact, I feel that in the standard version, the ensemble members all having actual names that don't really correspond to anything much (Scotty, Ru, Dory, etc) tend to just make it a bit harder. You simply don't remember who most of them actually are. |
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| re: Green on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:43 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
| In reply to: Green on MERRILY - Clancy 11:11 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| Totally disagree with almost every word of this review. There is one scene near the end with Beth’s parents that never should have been added. Otherwise, this revival is well worth seeing and more satisfying than the recent Encores presentation. | |
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| re: Green on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:32 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Green on MERRILY - lowwriter 11:43 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| Yes, where did that scene come from? | |
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| re: Green on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 09:25 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Green on MERRILY - Ann 08:32 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| It comes from the original 1934 play, albeit edited. | |
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| re: Green on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:37 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Green on MERRILY - Billhaven 09:25 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| Great, thanks. It seemed an unnecessary add-in when I saw the show, especially considering they cut other things. | |
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| Can you remind me what happened in that scene? | |
| Posted by: wizrdofoz27 09:56 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Green on MERRILY - Ann 09:37 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| It's been a while since I saw this revival of MerriWe RAlong | |
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| re: Can you remind me what happened in that scene? | |
| Posted by: dlevy 10:05 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Can you remind me what happened in that scene? - wizrdofoz27 09:56 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| Frank and Beth (and their son) are living with Beth's parents. Beth's dad is angry that Frank is not earning any money. When Beth (who is the money-earner for the couple as well as a new mom) learns that Frank has turned down an offer to score a film (that would have been profitable but artistically uninspiring), she too gets mad that Frank seems to be prioitizing his art over his family. | |
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| Ohhhh yeah. | |
| Posted by: wizrdofoz27 10:11 am EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Can you remind me what happened in that scene? - dlevy 10:05 am EST 02/20/19 | |
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| Thanks | |
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| re: AMNY on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: summertheater 11:19 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
| In reply to: Green on MERRILY - Clancy 11:11 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| And Matt Windman loved it (3.5 out of 4 stars): https://www.amny.com/entertainment/merrily-we-roll-along-review-1.27510110 We're lucky to have so many reviewers so that we can find some who we usually agree with. In my case, I typically agree with Matt Windman. |
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| re: AMNY on MERRILY | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:46 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
| In reply to: re: AMNY on MERRILY - summertheater 11:19 pm EST 02/19/19 | |
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| I rarely agree with Matt W. but I’m glad he liked this Merrily. | |
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