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| What I’ve Been Seeing Lately | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 02:07 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| This week, I saw two British musicals that were available on the streaming service, digitaltheatre.com. The first was a production of Funny Girls, filmed at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. The production starred Sheridan Smith. The second was a production of Into the Woods directed by Timothy Sheader and filmed at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park. The third was a production of Michael Lew’s play, Teenage Dick, from Chicago’s Theater Wit. The Funny Girl production reminded me of reasons why we haven’t seen a major revival in New York: it has a great score for the lead, not so great for the other characters, and the story gets bogged down and drags, especially in Act 2. Into the Woods was exciting, with the set taking full advantage of the theatre’s outdoor location. It featured the addition of a boy in the role of the narrator, and that addition led to a poignant and hopeful close to what’s normally a dreary ending. Teenage Dick required a reservation through Today Tix, and it streams only at 8pm, Chicago time. The play is a parody of Richard III set in high school. Richard, the protagonist, has a disability, and he ruthlessly plots to be elected as Senior Class president. The parody is pretty sharp until one suddenly realizes that Shakespeare’s play is a tragedy, and this one is going to end up that way, too. The wind goes out of the sails at the end, but the cast is game, and the fact that the video was taped with an audience helps a lot. Overall, I was glad to have the opportunity to watch three absorbing, if not always stellar, productions. Bill, in San Diego |
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| re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately | |
| Posted by: WestchesterCommuter 12:18 pm EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately - BillEadie 02:07 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| Two shows recorded a few years ago at the Hampstead Theater in London: Wild (Mike Bartlett - about Edward Snowden - quite good) and Drawing the Line (Howard Brenton - about the partition of India - pretty good and still available). Free and good sound quality. They have been available, on demand, at the theater's website. I am looking forward to their next production, Nina Raine's Tiger Country. Her Rabbit and Tribes were very good. Tiger Country streams starting April 20. |
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| I didn’t get the Richard 3 reference. | |
| Posted by: dramedy 11:18 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately - BillEadie 02:07 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| I really really liked teenage dick. Where Hanson makes a mistake that he has to keep lying about it, teenage dick just kept making more and more decisions down the wrong path. | |
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| re: I didn’t get the Richard 3 reference. | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 12:06 pm EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: I didn’t get the Richard 3 reference. - dramedy 11:18 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| I saw Mr. Lee’s Tiger Style! at La Jolla Playhouse. He attended high school here, and there’s some local pride in his success. Like Teenage Dick, the satire was sharp and for a while on point. But Tiger Style! also ran out of gas toward the end. I think that Teenage Dick stayed more coherent, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from this playwright. Bill, in San Diego |
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| How was the sound for Teenage Dick? | |
| Posted by: barna99 08:01 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately - BillEadie 02:07 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| I watched a preview on their website and it did not sound great. Yesterday, for example, the Schaubühne production of "Retour à Reims" had very poor sound and, after an hour, I stopped watching. | |
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| re: How was the sound for Teenage Dick? | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 11:47 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: How was the sound for Teenage Dick? - barna99 08:01 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| I am not much help, as I have a device that streams sound directly to my hearing aids. But, I didn’t notice any sound problems. Bill, in San Diego |
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| Sound on streaming shows, and what I've watched | |
| Last Edit: Ann 08:08 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:08 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: How was the sound for Teenage Dick? - barna99 08:01 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| I'm not much help, as I'm watching Teenage Dick tonight. But one of my best "isolation" purchases (that wasn't a snack) is a pair of bluetooth headphones. They really help with dialogue on some of these streaming shows that weren't really meant for streaming. I watched Roundabout's "72 Miles to Go" and NYTW's "Endlings," both of which I had missed in person. Enjoyed both very much. I also watched "The Siblings Play," pre-headphones, and had so much trouble understand the dialogue, I didn't finish it. I love, loved the first 2 hours of "Jane Eyre" presented by the National Theatre - what a great, impactful production. And lots more of the story than I've seen on stage before. However, I watched on the last day and, though I thought I had until midnight UK time, I was kicked off around the time "Treasure Island" debuted, and missed the last hour. My fault for waiting too long. Wish I could see the rest. I've also watched a few of the 24-Play monologues - they are hit and miss, but some great performers and they are short. I particularly liked the first one I watched, “An Immodest Proposal” by Jesse Eisenberg, performed by Richard Kind. |
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| you missed the ending of sibling play Spoiler | |
| Posted by: dramedy 11:15 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: Sound on streaming shows, and what I've watched - Ann 08:08 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| You missed the older brother passionately kissing his sister. Yeah, you missed a lot. I didn’t like the play much. | |
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| re: Sound on streaming shows, and what I've watched | |
| Posted by: cjmclaughlin10 09:29 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: Sound on streaming shows, and what I've watched - Ann 08:08 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| Where can I watch the NYTW production of Endings??? | |
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| re: Sound on streaming shows, and what I've watched | |
| Posted by: Ann 10:33 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Sound on streaming shows, and what I've watched - cjmclaughlin10 09:29 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| Um ... I think I got it because I made a donation. Even for that, I think it's gone now. Sorry. | |
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| re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:26 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately - BillEadie 02:07 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| The Centrai Park Amy Adams/Donna Murphy production of INTO THE WOODS featured a boy narrator. He was making up the characters with his toys after hearing his parents get into a fight. I liked it. The actor who played the Baker, Denis O'Hare, turns out to be the boy's father at the end. | |
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| re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately SPOILERS | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 11:44 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately - KingSpeed 05:26 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| Yes, this production was the same version. It is from 2010 and may have been the origin of it, from the credits that ran at the end. The Mysterious Man also makes an appearance, but the boy narrates the story. Bill, in San Diego |
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| re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately SPOILERS | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 12:28 pm EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately SPOILERS - BillEadie 11:44 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| The Regents Park production that was captured on film essentially transferred to the Delacorte with an American cast. | |
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| re: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 02:34 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
| In reply to: What I’ve Been Seeing Lately - BillEadie 02:07 am EDT 04/17/20 | |
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| I have never before heard the ending of ITW describe as "dreary". Interesting! | |
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