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| TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: T.B._Admin. 07:24 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| Patrick reviews this Custom Made Theatre Co. production, which runs through July 20. | |
| Link | TALKIN' BROADWAY REGIONAL REVIEWS: SAN FRANCISCO |
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| Passion has a "weak score"... | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 01:36 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 01:36 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - T.B._Admin. 07:24 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I feel bad for anyone who hears that score and thinks that... let alone a theater critic, who highlights this "weakness" at least twice in their review. Passion has a stunning, haunting, interesting, beautiful and memorable score - at least to these ears. And I'm so glad I have my ears and not theirs. |
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| re: Passion has a "weak score"... | |
| Posted by: PatrickThomas 07:01 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Passion has a "weak score"... - Chazwaza 01:36 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| It's nice to see a vigorous debate on this. I stand by my opinion - to my ear, the score doesn't have the vibrancy or the bite of much of the rest of the Sondheim canon. Perhaps on further viewings/listenings, it will grow on me. For many years I was never a big fan of his. Then I saw a wonderful production of "Sweeney Todd" at ACT and everything changed. "Company" is now one of my all-time favorite musicals. Thanks to all who commented. |
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| I have to admit... | |
| Posted by: dczoo 01:10 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Passion has a "weak score"... - Chazwaza 01:36 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| ...that I didn't care for it the first time I heard it during a preview performance on Broadway. Five or so productions later, it's become one of my favorites. I now get choked up too many times to count each time I hear it. | |
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| re: I have to admit... | |
| Posted by: TGWW 02:53 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: I have to admit... - dczoo 01:10 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| If you listen to a screeching cat for twenty years, you end up loving it and missing it when it dies. | |
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| re: I have to admit... | |
| Posted by: dczoo 05:38 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I have to admit... - TGWW 02:53 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| i hope to feel that way about the yapping poodle across the hall in 2039. | |
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| re: I have to admit... | |
| Posted by: Ann 06:10 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I have to admit... - dczoo 05:38 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Average poodle lifespan 12 – 15 years. Or less, if it annoys the neighbors. | |
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| re: Passion has a "weak score"... | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 09:15 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Passion has a "weak score"... - Chazwaza 01:36 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| The show itself can be a bit of a slog, but it features some of Sondheim's most beautiful music and most affecting, if not as capital-C clever, lyrics. | |
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| re: Passion has a "weak score"... | |
| Posted by: carolinaguy 08:13 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Passion has a "weak score"... - Chazwaza 01:36 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I also find it one of Sondheim's most interesting and beautiful scores. Tony and Drama Desk voters didn't seem to think it was weak. | |
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| re: Passion has a "weak score"... | |
| Posted by: Pokernight 08:58 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Passion has a "weak score"... - carolinaguy 08:13 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| "Loving You" is pure enchantment. | |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: jconnors 08:37 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
| In reply to: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - T.B._Admin. 07:24 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| "a weak Sondheim score" Uh, no. |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: barna99 10:35 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - jconnors 08:37 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I also agree that "Passion" is an exquisite score. Some of the most beautiful melodies and the OBC with Murphy is glorious. I still do not understand why it still gets bad press. I remember the bad press when it was previewing and I think some of that negativity still lingers. We need a major revival on Broadway. | |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: tmdonahue (tmdonahue@yahoo.com) 02:39 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - barna99 10:35 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| The revival of "Passion" at the Kennedy Center in 2002 with Judy Kuhn (Fosca), Michael Cerveris (Giorgio) and Rebecca Luker (Clara) was transporting. Having only read the NYC reviews, the effect of the Washington production was surprising. | |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 12:46 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - barna99 10:35 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I saw the original production of Passion and loved it. But to be fair, it's a lot to ask of an audience at a commercial Broadway production to immediately embrace a score that is essentially one long song with no song list and no applause breaks. Especially attached to a story that people also had a hard time swallowing. Personally I am glad Sondheim wrote what he was inspired to write. You could see him heading in that direction for a long time, moving farther away from "songs" and more into extended musical scenes/sequences. I think Passion was the culmination of that. But I am not at all surprised that it wasn't popular. I think a (normal, non-John Doyle-ized) revival might be revealing. I saw Passion in Chicago about 10 years after Broadway and it seemed like the audience had caught up to it a bit. Or at the very least knew what to expect. The absence of song buttons and applause points created such intensity and focus. The energy I felt that night was like the audience was really with it. It was like you could hear a pin drop for two hours. |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: Ann 12:49 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - EvFoDr 12:46 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| The recent Signature (Arlington) production seemed to be well received - I thought it was enthralling start to finish. And I enjoyed the first production I saw (regional) - the music kind of washed over me and didn't register as songs. But it all worked. |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: dczoo 01:16 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - Ann 12:49 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I liked the Signature production quite a bit. The night we saw it, there were a couple of guys in the front row who laughed boisterously throughout some of Fosca's more dramatic scenes. During the curtain call, Natascia Diaz left the cast and approached them. I couldn't hear what she said, but it looked like she was letting them have it. | |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 09:33 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PASSION" in SAN FRANCISCO - jconnors 08:37 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I'm with you, jconnors. PASSION, like Fosca, is not an easy score (or show) to love, but it has layers of complexity, both musically and in the piercing lyrics. I find it much stronger than INTO THE WOODS. Laura |
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