2,502 posts
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Post by n1david on May 2, 2022 16:09:11 GMT
Saw this last week. Oh what a joy to see Broadway alive and busy!
This was fun to see again and compare to the London production. I was very lucky, got the full cast, no understudies, and my show was the first since early March that had happened - it was Patti's first night back.
Put simply I thought Link was a better actor than Craig but a less good singer. I didn't like her Being Alive and thought her voice wasn't great at a few other points. But I thought she played the comedy better and had more charisma than Craig. Strong supporting cast, much preferred the staging for Another Hundred People. And nice to hear some of the jokes land more solidly for a NY audience. Definitely worth the visit.
Thoughts on the other stuff I saw in the "Easter" thread
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Post by craig on May 19, 2022 20:50:00 GMT
Finally managed to see this last night and it was so lovely to relive this incredible production. The Broadway cast were excellent and it was so interesting to see some very different interpretations of various characters. Jennifer Simard was so different to Mel Giedroyc and both interpretations were hilarious. Matt Doyle was exceptional. As good as Jonathan Bailey in terms of acting and actually better in terms of enunciation and control during Getting Married Today.
Patti was Patti. ICONIC. Also lots of changes from her characterisation in London which was fun. Lenk really surprised me. I loved her Bobbie and now feel a bit aggrieved for her Tony snub. I do prefer Rosalie in the role but only because of Rosalie’s (far) superior vocals. Lenk’s characterisation of Bobbie was exquisite. she successfully walked the line of making Bobbie seem both like a real, nuanced person and a more abstract observer of her own story , particularly in the transitions between scenes. Her singing really wasn’t up to it though, particularly on Being Alive.
The set looked even more impressive than I remember and the staging of Another Hundred People was far more successful. Nikki Renee Daniels was hilarious as the priest. That whole section was just glorious.
Things that I liked less were the three boyfriends, Clayybourne Elder notwithstanding. You Could Drive A Person Crazy was noticeably less funny and the singing just wasn’t as good. I also felt a few of the bigger name supporting cast played it a little too broad to do a bit of scene stealing. Christopher Fitzgerald, I’m looking at you.
All in all, another exquisite night at the theatre thanks to this fabulous production.
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519 posts
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Post by jek on May 29, 2022 7:43:41 GMT
I keep seeing adverts for a PBS documentary on this 'Keeping Company With Sondheim' - part of the PBS Great Performances series. Is this something that is likely to be accessible in the UK? So many streaming services now that I don't know where to look!
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2022 14:57:53 GMT
I keep seeing adverts for a PBS documentary on this 'Keeping Company With Sondheim' - part of the PBS Great Performances series. Is this something that is likely to be accessible in the UK? So many streaming services now that I don't know where to look! There used to be a pbs channel on sky (or at least got all the pbs stuff) but I don't know if it still exists as I haven't had sky in years. Might be worth looking at Now TV as that's Sky's streaming service
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519 posts
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Post by jek on May 29, 2022 15:21:31 GMT
Thank you @theatrefan2. I do have a subscription to Now TV and so I'll have a search around on that.
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229 posts
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Post by harrietcraig on May 29, 2022 16:30:24 GMT
I keep seeing adverts for a PBS documentary on this 'Keeping Company With Sondheim' - part of the PBS Great Performances series. Is this something that is likely to be accessible in the UK? So many streaming services now that I don't know where to look! I don’t know if this video is playable outside the United States, but the documentary is available for free on the PBS website until June 24: www.pbs.org/video/great-performances-keeping-company-with-sondheim-7rdhzl/
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519 posts
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Post by jek on May 29, 2022 18:09:29 GMT
Thank you harrietcraig. I gave that a go but unfortunately it is blocked for UK viewers. It must be something we have done! Best wishes and thanks again.
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Post by scarpia on May 31, 2022 22:33:01 GMT
I did enjoy the documentary but it did have its issues. The filmmakers and/or producers of it seem to want to have this narrative that this was destined for Broadway from the get-go and that London was just a workshop (zero mention of the actual London production or the acclaim/awards it got) and that everything was building up to an opening that got scuppered because of COVID. As a result, the London production gets erased entirely when it might have been nice for the Marianne Elliot to talk about the changes made for Broadway. Also David Benedict is milking his 'I'm the authorised biographer...' thing for all it's worth and gets put in front of the camera multiple times...only to say stuff that's either inaccurate or ignorant (especially the weird claims he makes about Sondheim and dance, and the incorrect stuff he says about the genesis of the show and the original endings pre-'Being Alive'). Which only makes me fear for this long overdue tome of his even more.
That said, loved the footage of the production, which was generous, plus the interviews with Bunny Christie and her superb designs. And the stuff with the original production's cast was insightful (the stuff with the current cast, LuPone aside, not so much...instead we got the usual 'my performance is so much deeper and richer because we went through the trauma that is lockdown' cliché).
The documentary made me realise how much I did love this production and would kill to see it again. Sadly New York is out of the window for this year...
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1,900 posts
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Post by LaLuPone on Jun 9, 2022 1:41:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2022 5:33:18 GMT
Closing on 31st of July, after 300 performances.
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4,521 posts
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Post by Mark on Jun 22, 2022 9:03:48 GMT
Surprised to see it close this early, thought it would run at least through until September. Maybe they couldn't find a bankable replacement for Patti.
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110 posts
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Post by appoul on Jun 22, 2022 21:44:18 GMT
Thank you harrietcraig . I gave that a go but unfortunately it is blocked for UK viewers. It must be something we have done! Best wishes and thanks again. It's also on Vimeo!
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519 posts
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Post by jek on Jun 24, 2022 8:24:28 GMT
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