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| re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen | |
| Posted by: comedywest 12:58 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen - showtunetrivia 12:53 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| I'd add the original (Sondheim) Merrily, the first preview and the last performance (and a few in between). | |
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| re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen | |
| Posted by: bmc 02:08 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen - comedywest 12:58 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| I DID see the first preview of MERRILY!!!!!!!.others i wish i could see were the OBC SOUTH PACIFIC, Golden Apple, tryouts of HOUSE OF FLOWERS< as well as the OBC, West side Story, Gypsy, Boston tryouts of Camelot, Sound of Music ..WHOLESALE Cabaret,Mame the last sat's 2 perfs (in Boston)of FOLLIES and Promises, Promises(when the eve perf was changed from the Matinees) and OBC of ACL on Bway and ALNM OBC and SEESAW tryout and on Bwy AND on tour w. Luci Arnaz........... (I'll stop now NM |
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| Original London South Pacific production -- complete | |
| Posted by: aleck 09:41 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen - bmc 02:08 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| Here's a video of the entire original London production of South Pacific -- with Mary Martin and Wilbur Evans. Even discounting the quality of the video/audio, the sets look so privative (look for those traveler scenes), the staging is stiff and, frankly, I didn't care for Mary Martin in it. The Lincoln Center production with Kelli O'Hara is how I want to remember South Pacific. But maybe there are other opinions of this complete record of the original South Pacific since I assume the London production replicated the original Broadway production. |
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| Link | Original London South Pacific -- complete |
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| re: Original London South Pacific production -- complete | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 12:35 am EDT 06/06/23 | |
| In reply to: Original London South Pacific production -- complete - aleck 09:41 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| Though it is a valuable documentation, I would not judge the experience of seeing the show live in NY by this video. Mary Martin is the only original cast member, she and the cast are performing as though there is an audience in the house (there isn’t) and not with the intimacy of the camera in mind, plus, as Logan said in his autobiography, Martin felt pressured to live up to her performance’s legendary status and had lost much of her spontaneity. I’d still love to have seen it in NY. |
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| re: Original London South Pacific production -- complete | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 01:50 am EDT 06/06/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Original London South Pacific production -- complete - TheOtherOne 12:35 am EDT 06/06/23 | |
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| The other thing to remember is that after Logan had restaged some things a bit for the national tour because he felt that the tour performers were different and sometimes adjustments in the staging worked better for those people, Rodgers and Hammerstein forbade him from working on the London production. It was staged as a replication of the Broadway production, but without the creativity that Logan might have been able to instill. Nonetheless, Muriel Smith is quite good, I think, and it's a fascinating document. Interestingly in the London video, she belts "Bali Ha'i," which is not how she does it on the film soundtrack. On the partial London cast recording, her performance is rather in between the live performance and the performance on the film soundtrack. Also, the staging of "Bali Ha'i" is totally brilliant as far as I'm concerned. |
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| re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen | |
| Last Edit: TheOtherOne 06:09 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 06:01 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Productions of the past I wish I'd seen - bmc 02:08 pm EDT 06/05/23 | |
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| For the most part I am too grateful for the shows I did get to see growing up in New York to be sorry for those that I missed, but there are a couple of exceptions. I wish I could have seen the original production of "Picnic." The video of the original cast's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show is so preferable to the glossy film version that it's hard to believe the same man directed both. (By the way, Ralph Meeker was a replacement Stanley in "Streetcar." I know a few posters mentioned replacement Stanleys as Brick in "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," but I believe Meeker actually closed the original run of "Streetcar" and that performance probably led him to the role of Hal.) Anyway, getting back to "Picnic," the dance to "Moonglow" in the film is a much revered cinematic moment, but the same moment as depicted on the Sullivan appearance, a much less deliberate seduction in which Hal and Midge are surprised by how turned on they are by each other, is electrifying. And I wish I could have seen the original production of "South Pacific." Logan again! But SP will always be a favorite. That gorgeous score, the seamless way its dialogue spills into its songs, especially as performed by that cast...yes, I wish I could have seen it. | |
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