Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[Silver Raven]

There is an online series that has run something like three seasons now, called "My Gay Roommate", about the reactions when a gay guy and a straight guy become roommates.  They're rebooting it for a new season, and there are several Broadway stars in it:

Jay Armstrong Johnson

Andy Mientus

Jennifer Damiano

Julia Murney

Kathryn Gallagher

[DisneyBoy]

You saw Hunchback? I'm jealous....the new show looked cool.

But I really hope they changed the Frollo backstory so he isn't still Uncle Frollo....that was dumb and weakened things, IMO. 

[aradia22]

Quote

Following a sold-out run at Chicago's Goodman Theatre this past summer, the acclaimed new musical War Paint, starring two-time Tony Award winners Patti LuPone (Evita, Gypsy) and Christine Ebersole (42nd Street, Grey Gardens) as Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, respectively, will arrive on Broadway this spring, beginning previews March 7, 2017, prior to an official opening April 6 at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street).

Ahh! The rumors were always that there was a strong likelihood of it coming to Broadway but the confirmation is very exciting.

[aradia22]

Normally I'm all about competent, trained voices but there's just something really pleasant about SJP's singing voice sometimes. Did anyone see her in Once Upon a Mattress?

[aradia22]

There will be two Dreamgirls on Broadway at the same time.

Quote

Beginning performances Tuesday, November 1, Tony Award nominee Sheryl Lee Ralph will assume the role of Madame Morrible in the Broadway production of WICKED.

[aradia22]

Carnegie Hall NY Pops first concert of the season. I was happy about Lerner and Loewe night though I was feeling a little tired and ended up getting there a few minutes late. The night was a mixed bag. It was one of the Essential Voices with Laura Osnes, Nathan Gunn, and Colin Donnell as soloists. For the most part Nathan Gunn sounded like the typical opera baritone doing musical theatre except so unexpressive. He sang like the words didn't matter and there was no emotion there. There's no comparison between him and someone like Brian Stokes Mitchell and it got a little tedious especially with parts like Arthur in Camelot and Higgins in My Fair Lady. Colin Donnell didn't get a lot of time and the time he did get, he ruined with his tenor lameness. I don't hate tenors. I love Brian D'Arcy James and Jonathan Groff and Christian Borle. But they changed the key for his "If Ever I Would Leave You" and his "I Talk To The Trees" was also dull and even his "On the Street Where You Live" was nowhere near as good as the version I just heard from Josh Young or any of the other great recorded versions, including the original. I had the most mixed feelings about Laura Osnes. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I loved her when she was first on that Grease reality show but I haven't seen her in anything since and I don't really why everyone wants to cast her and Sierra Boggess in everything because I think she has kind of a weak voice. There were lots of ups and downs tonight. She has a really good ingenue voice. I kept thinking about birds... it had a pretty warble and other times it was very chirpy. But during the Camelot portion, she was making me anxious. I could hear the strain (and also the fact that she's listened to Julie Andrews a lot). Singing is one of those things that's super difficult where you have to act like it's easy. I don't want to be nervous for you when you're singing and be acutely aware of your difficulties. She had nice moments throughout the night and seemed to really warm up into things by My Fair Lady. Well, I found her too refined for "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "Show Me" and it was a blatant example of there being a world of difference between vague poshness and the actual British accent Laura Michelle Kelly possesses. But she's clearly sung "I Could Have Danced All Night" before and that sounded great. 

So yeah, not the most satisfying night out or tribute to this songwriting team but I enjoyed myself here and there, mostly with the choir and watching the percussion section.

[DisneyBoy]

I am very excited to hear War Paint will be transferring to Broadway, but I've also read that the show isn't as terrific as its stars. Hopefully they work out some of the kinks to make it more engaging. A few too many reviews described it as dull or boring and I don't think that will be good on Broadway, although I really don't mind if a Broadway show is less than thrilling. Biographies tend not to be, but that doesn't mean that they aren't fascinating or insightful.

When is the Hairspray live broadcast again? I'm looking forward to that.

[Jac]

So, I saw Hamilton in Chicago today.

Wow, just seriously wow.

First, the PrivateBank Theatre is a great space and I had a stupidly good ticket (6th row, left aisle).

Second, because I was at the matinee (I literally just took the first ticket for any show I could get, the ticketing for Hamilton in Chicago is run by Ticketmaster and was and continues to be a debacle, it took me three hours, from 1am - 4am Australian EST to secure any ticket, it was the effing worst) we got the alternates for both Alexander Hamilton and Angelica Schuyler (Joseph Morales for Miguel Cervantes and Emmy Raver-Lampman for Karen Olivo). That mattered little though because the whole cast was very good - great.

The stand out cast members were Chris De'Sean Lee as Lafayette/Jefferson, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Angelica, Jose Ramos as Laurens/Philip Hamilton and Alex Gemignani as King George. Lee in particular was a delight to watch. Joshua Henry was great too. I found that Joseph Morales started off a little too low key as Hamilton and spent much of the first act thinking that Jose Ramos, who was super high energy would have done a better job but he sprung to life towards the end of the first act and was much better in the second act. Ari Afsar is a very good singer technically and quite a good dancer but not as good an actress and her whole performance came off as a little stiff. Neither of my complaints are major though and it didn't effect my enjoyment at all.

I will post more when I can be more coherent about it.

[aradia22]

@Jac Yay! I'm glad you had a good experience. I forgot that Gemignani had signed on to do King George. Was he fun or more sinister? I think he could certainly be capable of being fun and silly but he's got a bigger build than the other guys who have played the part and I just get a more intimidating vibe from him. Maybe it's the Sondheim. Also, how do you think Joshua Henry compared to Leslie Odom Jr (at least on the album)? 

So I saw a concert presentation of Queen of the Mist tonight with all of the original cast. I'm a little tired so I won't go into it but on the whole it was very solid. Like, duh, Michael John LaChiusa knows how to write a musical. I didn't think it was as fun or weird and interesting as some of his other scores. The weirdness was mostly the tiger stuff and the vulgarity and the final scenes towards the end of Anna's life. It had funny and entertaining moments but it wasn't like Bright Star where I walked out really happy. But it didn't make me depressed either. It was like seeing a very solid play. It didn't move me emotionally but it told a story. The entire cast was good. Mary Testa was of course great and she carries a lot of the show. The rest of the ensemble very capably fills in the different characters but they don't shine as much because they're playing a lot of minor roles. Julia Murney had that great song as Carrie Nation. Andrew Samonsky's character was a little forced to me but he was very capable in the part. I can see why he gets called in for things like replacing Matthew Morrison in South Pacific and leading the tour of Bridges but doesn't originate as much. But he has a good, solid voice. I'm curious about how he was with something more challenging like Bridges. Overall, I just feel like if Annie Edson Taylor had a really interesting life or a compelling narrative it didn't come through. I think LaChiusa did what he could and avoided a lot of pitfalls. For example, even though you shouldn't like her, I never found the character unlikable. But I don't think it went beyond that. Like it's interesting to tell the story of a woman who admits to her greed and desire for more and does try to work but doesn't try that hard and lives beyond her means. All that stuff. But then she admits she isn't a suffragette and there are only vague gestures at her having done something great. Because LaChiusa is too honest to pretend she was amazing... like he doesn't raise her to the level of other important female pioneers, the story is just... fine. I appreciate that he likes to tell stories about "normal," "average" people and treat their lives as important, I would kind of like to see him take on more stories that deserve that treatment. I favor Marie Christine, See What I Wanna See, and Giant that are about normal people more or less but have an epic quality to the story itself.  

[aradia22]

Any thoughts on A Doll's House Part 2? I have never read or seen the original play. Should this be on my radar or does it sound like a bad idea?

http://www.vulture.com/2016/10/laurie-metcalf-to-star-in-a-dolls-house-part-2.html

[Milburn Stone]

19 hours ago, Jac said:

So, I saw Hamilton in Chicago today.

Wow, just seriously wow.

Good to hear this, @JAC 

My tickets for the Chicago production are for next September. :) Fourth row center of the mezzanine, which hopefully are decent seats. Also hopefully the cast at that point will be as good as the one you saw.

[aradia22]

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Rush/Lottery Policy

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Beginning with the first preview, a limited number of general rush tickets will be available daily for $39 at the Imperial Theatre box office when it opens for that day's performance. There will be a maximum of two tickets per person. Tickets can be paid for via cash or credit card and are subject to availability. Seating locations will be at the discretion of the box office. A digital lottery will begin on October 25, with tickets priced at $18.12 through November 13, and $39 beginning November 16.

This show has to get abbreviated. I go back and forth between calling it "Natasha Pierre" and "The Great Comet."

Quick look inside the theatre: 

Edited October 19, 2016 by aradia22

[aradia22]

Complete casting for pre-Broadway Amelie. 

[Jac]

On 17/10/2016 at 3:41 PM, Milburn Stone said:

Good to hear this, @JAC 

My tickets for the Chicago production are for next September. :) Fourth row center of the mezzanine, which hopefully are decent seats. Also hopefully the cast at that point will be as good as the one you saw.

That is definitely a great seat.

[ratgirlagogo]

10 hours ago, aradia22 said:

This show has to get abbreviated.

You mean they can't just call it War and Peace?  (OK, OK, sorry:))

[aradia22]

I'm back from Holiday Inn. Well, I got back a lot earlier (it was a 7pm show) but I ate dinner, etc. Anyway, my thoughts aren't fully formed yet but I wanted to write something because I know we have a lot crossover with the TCM thread. I don't know the movie so I can't compare the two (probably a good thing because knowing The Shop Around the Corner so well ruined She Loves Me a little). I think the book does the job it's supposed to do but not much more than that. It makes the majority of the songs feel organic. Really I would say that all the story-related songs were really good fits and it was only the performance/diegetic songs that sometimes felt forced (e.g. did they really need to be singing the Thanksgiving song on the radio? It seemed like it was chosen just to show the passage of time). For me, it was a little too corny but maybe 3/4ths of the way through act 1 I actually started to laugh at the jokes. I ended up laughing a few times, and it's not easy to get me to laugh in the theatre because I won't force a fake laugh if I don't find something funny. As for the show as a whole, the best thing I can say about it is that it feels like a revival of an old show. If I didn't know better, quality aside, it felt like She Loves Me or Oklahoma. You don't feel like it's messy or too modern or anything like that. In fact, in a lot of ways, I preferred Holiday Inn to An American in Paris.

Now, where AAIP has the advantage is in flash. Holiday Inn has some good dancing but it's pretty standard. Sure, there are times when they pull out Broadway quality dancing (there's one big ensemble number in particular and two other songs where the soloists shine) but overall, while it's polished, it's not difficult exactly. I took a mental step back during the Fourth of July number and realized, yeah, we probably did something very similar in my high school production of Anything Goes. And a lot of the time, it does feel like a high school production in the acting and staging and choreography and sets and costumes. And if you're fine with that, and what feels like a standard revival, then I think this is a really good time. I will say that there were some costumes that I did really like. Lora Lee comes on in a pretty teal dress and from there the costumes for the women improve. I may be biased because they feel reminiscent of the costumes I love in Old Hollywood movies. Like, VERY reminiscent. Though even some of the designs I liked looked cheap. This is a show I think you'd be fine seeing in the mezzanine, which is where I sat. The other reason for that, is that the acting isn't fantastic. Bryce Pinkham and Lora Lee Gayer seem like very nice people but their acting came across so flat. I feel like if they had been better, I could recommend this more enthusiastically because I have no problem with a sweet, simple show. On the plus side, their voices sound fantastic singing this music. Though, someone needed to turn down their mics. I don't know what was up with the audio but everything was cranked way too high. When people really sang out at times it felt deafening.

Megan Lawrence was a lot of fun and I liked the little boy who played Charlie. He delivered his lines really capably. 

And then there's Corbin Bleu. I say this as someone who was not a HSM fan. In fact, I rather hated it. He is so wonderful. It's not just that he's handsome. He has personality. His charm is like this palpable thing that he projects out to the audience. I was worried at first because in the first number he was a bit of a heavy tapper but there wasn't much tap until the end of the show and he was fantastic in the other dance numbers and I really liked his final tap number. Though after seeing Maurice Hines and Dames at Sea and Shuffle Along, yeah, Holiday Inn can't compete. 

Going back to the story for a moment, what we do get from a new book is a very... not exactly sanitized but... inoffensive Holiday Inn. It's a show without sexism or racism or anything that objectionable. When the love triangle rears its head, mainly in act 2, it's not much of a threat and no one acts that badly so it's no big deal when it gets easily resolved. The question seems to be why there was ever a problem in the first place. Also, I never understood why Corbin's character was so determined to dance with Lora Lee's character because there was nothing to their first dance and they didn't really have much chemistry as dancers after that. We as the audience did not get visual confirmation of their supposed rightness as dance partners. 

I don't know if it's worth it at full price. Probably not because it doesn't quite feel up to Broadway standards but for $25, I had fun and I thought my money was well spent. I just wish that the acting from two of the leads was a little bit better.

[aradia22]

Random: There was a talk back after Queen of the Mist and none of the people on stage could name a young/new female composer whose work they admired. (That wasn't the question, they were just asked to name composers, but I thought it was notable that of all the people named, not a single one was a woman. Not Zoe Sarnak or Anais Mitchell or Sara Bareilles or Grace McLean or Rebekah Allen...

[Shannon L.]

I don't frequent this thread because I don't get the chance to see many musicals, although I do love them.  I just wanted to let you know, if you weren't already aware, that on Oct. 21st, on PBS, there is a making of Hamilton special airing.  It's about both the musical and the history of Hamilton and the government.  I've started a thread on Specials, TV Movies and One Offs

 

Edited October 19, 2016 by Shannon L.
Incorrect quote

[Milburn Stone]

@SHANNON L., there's something wrong with your quoting. I didn't say the thing you said I said. @JAC did.

I am, however, seeing it next September (!), and expect to love it as much as Jac did. :)

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, Milburn Stone said:

@SHANNON L., there's something wrong with your quoting. I didn't say the thing you said I said. @JAC did.

Thanks!  I'll fix it here:

On 10/16/2016 at 5:59 PM, Jac said:

So, I saw Hamilton in Chicago today.

Wow, just seriously wow.

You're so lucky.  I daughter became addicted to this soundtrack this year and then turned my husband and me on to it.  I've heard it at least a dozen times and am still not sick of it.  It's coming to the Pantages here in L.A. next year and, unless I'm reading the information wrong, the cheapest seats I can find so far are $785 each.  Which means, we won't be seeing it.  It kills me because I'm thrilled that I have a teenager who loves musical theater and I can't take her to see what's turned out to be her favorite.  We were lucky enough to be able to see Wicked, but, thankfully, the tickets weren't even close to that price range. 

Out of curiosity, I was told by a friend in the business that the theater in NY needed a lot of expensive upgrades in order for people to hear and understand the rap songs because rap is a bit difficult to understand if the acoustics weren't good.  That's not much of a problem if you know every word to every song like my daughter does, but my friend wondered what the sound would be like in other theaters once it started on tour.  I'm judging from your post that it wasn't a problem?

1 hour ago, Milburn Stone said:

I am, however, seeing it next September (!), and expect to love it as much as Jac did. :)

I'm sure you'll love it! 

[Milburn Stone]

18 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

It's coming to the Pantages here in L.A. next year and, unless I'm reading the information wrong, the cheapest seats I can find so far are $785 each.  Which means, we won't be seeing it.

It was something insane like that when the first block of tickets went on sale here in Chicago, which is why I not only didn't buy tickets, I actively (in my mind) said, "F**k you and the show you rode in on. It'll be a cold day in hell before I even care about seeing your g*d*ammed show." But when the second block of tickets went up (for this March through September), and through idle curiosity I looked for tickets the farthest out in time (namely September), there were empty seats at various price tiers, from $425 down to $62 for parts of the balcony. So if you're willing to wait long enough (and I certainly was in no hurry at those early prices), you'll probably be able to see the show.

[Shannon L.]

3 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

So if you're willing to wait long enough (and I certainly was in no hurry at those early prices), you'll probably be able to see the show.

Let's hope!  I'd love nothing more than for the three of us to be able to see it.  And, at those prices, I can definitely wait. 

[aradia22]

Casting for The Greatest Showman on Earth features a lot of credible Broadway talent. I guess they're counting on Hugh Jackman to bring most of the star power. Also, I've resisted making plans tonight so I can watch Rocky Horror live. Anyone else joining in?

Also, unless she returns, it means I sadly missed my chance to see Keala Settle in Waitress.

Edited October 20, 2016 by aradia22

[aradia22]

Hello Dolly News!

Quote

Two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy will descend down the iconic staircase of Hello, Dolly! on select nights of the highly-anticipated Broadway revival. Bette Midler is still scheduled to play the performances previously on sale; Murphy will take center stage on Tuesday nights beginning June 13, 2017, according toThe Huffington Post. Performances will begin on March 15 at the Shubert Theatre.

I would have quoted HuffPo directly but that article is way too wordy.

[bosawks]

2 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Hello Dolly News!

I would have quoted HuffPo directly but that article is way too wordy.

Well, hello, Donna.  

It's so nice to see you back where you belong.

[scarynikki12]

I can't speak to other cities but, when the Chicago tickets first went on sale, I went through the Ticketmaster motions just for fun.  I easily found one seat in row C on the orchestra level for $179 before tax.  I didn't buy because it would have eaten into my vacation budget (I hate being responsible) but I think it depends on timing of purchase and day of choice.  Basically, anyone who wants to try for Hamilton, I say go for it cause you may find a great seat for a great price. 

I am planning to go to one of the shows in San Francisco and I'm hoping I can get an equally good seat for an equally good price. 

[DisneyBoy]

Great as I think she is, I'm not sure I see Donna as a Dolly. Maybe y'all have seen more of her comedic chops than I...

 

Just listened to this -  

Any Chess fans/haters here? I have a love-hate relationship with the show. Some songs, like Nobody's on Nobody's Side, One Night in Bangkok and Anthem are nice but then others, like Mirano make me want to scream. The score can get overly complicated and repetitive I find, making it a very difficult listening experience. And I never felt like this story made any sense or lived up to the premise or the themes. It's a bit melodramatic and meandering.

Am I alone in my difficulties with this piece?

Edited October 21, 2016 by DisneyBoy

[bosawks]

She was terrific in Wonderful Town.

[Milburn Stone]

34 minutes ago, bosawks said:

She was terrific in Wonderful Town.

Speaking of Wonderful Town, in Chicago the Goodman Theatre is doing a really ingratiating production which plays for a couple more days. If you can get a ticket I recommend it.

Edited to add: Just went to the Goodman's website (to double-check the closing date) and found a link to this great review by Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal. I agree with it completely:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/wonderful-town-review-bright-staging-big-city-1475786432

Edited October 21, 2016 by Milburn Stone

[Rinaldo]

The idea of Donna Murphy lacking comedic chops was mindboggling to me until I slapped myself and reminded myself that not everyone has had a chance to see her stage work in NYC, some of it short-lived. But yes, after seeing her as Edwin Drood (replacement in original run), Ruth in Wonderful Town (Encores! and Broadway), Cora in Anyone Can Whistle, Lotte Lenya in LoveMusik, Phyllis in Follies (Encores!) -- I missed her Audrey late in the original run of Little Shop and her Into the Woods Witch in Central Park -- not to mention her stunning voice characterization of Mother Gothel in Tangled... I wouldn't place any limits on her versatility, her star quality, or her comedic skills.

I'm all for Bette Midler as Dolly, but I can definitely see myself making the 3-hour trek to NYC specifically to catch a Murphy performance.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Rinaldo

[Scott]

5 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Any Chess fans/haters here?

Chess is one of my 2 or 3 favorite shows.  It's not perfect, but overall I do love the music and the lyrics both.  I'm fairly happy with the story they seem to have settled on.  

I think the version you listened to is the best recorded version out there, too.

[Silver Raven]

"Anthem" from Chess is one of my favoritest songs ever.

 

Audra McDonald and Will Swenson have a new baby girl.  With those genes, she must be gorgeous.

[DisneyBoy]

Quote

"Anthem" from Chess is one of my favoritest songs ever.

....but...but it's so short...and generic..

Quote

  I'm fairly happy with the story they seem to have settled on.  

Can you summarize the story for me, beyond the love triangle? The rest loses me....

[Silver Raven]

Well, the Russian is the good guy and the American is the bad guy.

[DisneyBoy]

LOL. Well that was explains it!

I mean the stuff with her father and Budapest and Hungary and why the government gives a damn about chess...

[Scott]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

LOL. Well that was explains it!

I mean the stuff with her father and Budapest and Hungary and why the government gives a damn about chess...

Florence was born in Hungary, and was a kid during the 1956 Soviet invasion.  Her father was either killed or arrested by the KGB, which is where that whole thing is going.  The governments on both sides give a damn because this is set in the Cold War, and any win over the other side can be exploited.  

I was trying to find the liner notes from some CD set (either the one you listened to, or the Chess in Concert with Josh Groban and (ugh) Idina Menzel) online, but no dice.  I'll take a look when I get home and see if they summarize it concisely.

[bosawks]

All I can say about Chess is that I could listen to the beautiful Judy Kuhn and the late, great David Carroll sing ANYTHING together for days and days and days......

[aradia22]

I haven't listened to the album for Chess yet, possibly because it's not on Spotify. I'm familiar with a handful of the songs though, either the Judy Kuhn versions or from various concerts. I couldn't stomach the Idina version. She's dynamite in the right role but it was like she was doing a parody of her own voice.

[ebk57]

I saw Chess on my first trip to London in...1986?... and I loved it.  I'd be hard pressed to tell you why at this point, but it's such a great memory for me that it makes me a lot less critical when listening to the album.  And I listen to the original concept album with some regularity.   Never saw the show after it crossed the pond, so I have no idea what the revised and revised versions are like.  I just stick to what I know and like.

[Charlie Baker]

The Broadway production of Chess had three quite remarkable leads--Judy Kuhn, David Carroll, and Philip Casnoff.  The book used in that production was meh. The year after it closed, probably deservedly, they reunited the cast for a benefit concert of the songs, with no book excerpts, at Carnegie Hall, and it was a spectacular evening.  I thought the concert version broadcast on PBS didn't touch what I saw that night.

[DisneyBoy]

Idina is always, sadly, a bit of a letdown for me. The one time I saw her deliver during a big live moment was on David Letterman while promoting Wicked. Most everything else was shaky. And I sympathize because it's hard to deliver when the pressure is on. She seems to struggle in that regard. Singing opposite Mr Unflappable Josh Groban probably didn't help.

Thanks for the help Scott - had no idea there was a Soviet connection to Florence's father-related drama. I couldn't understand how he could factor into the show without ever even appearing. I also find it bizarre that Anatoly's wife only pops up in Act Two as well.

And I question the need for songs like The Arbiter and One Night in Bangkok, catchy as they are. They don't seem to advance the plot.

Yup. This show confuses me.

Edited October 23, 2016 by DisneyBoy

[aradia22]

I like Idina in the movie version of Rent. She sounds great on the albums of The Wild Party and See What I Wanna See. And she was fantastic in If/Then.

[aradia22]

I decided to finally listen to Sunday in the Park with George for the first time (although I know "We Do Not Belong Together" and "Move On" for some reason I can't fathom) because I've been hearing so much about the NY City Center concert and was curious about this casting. Of all the Sondheim shows I've seen or listened to so far I think this one is the least accessible. I enjoyed it but I think it makes less of an effort to ingratiate itself compared to shows like Sweeney Todd or Assassins or Into the Woods or A Little Night Music. You kind of just have to give yourself up to it while also making an effort to follow it. I mean, I still find it a lot more accessible than something like Light in the Piazza but I'm glad I saved it until now. 

I'm most curious about how Ruthie Ann Miles will be as Freida, Phylicia Rashad as Old Lady, how Jake Gyllenhaal will be as Georges, and what Annaleigh's take will be on Dot. I feel like I can picture Lauren Worsham, Zachary Levi, and Gabriel Ebert in their parts to some extent. I'm also curious about what this looks like when it's fully staged.

Did anyone see the 2008 revival?

Pacific Overtures will probably be my next Sondheim listen as the production with George Takei approaches.

[Rinaldo]

There's an excellent video of the original production of Sunday in the Park with George as presented on PBS. It makes a better introduction to the musical, in my opinion, than the RCA recording, which I've always found disappointing (the vocal performances are fine, but the orchestration and continuity were messed with).

I saw the 2008 revival. Aside from the regrettable reduction of the already-tiny orchestration, it was an effective enough production making use of new techology (line animation "drawing" the surrounding locations and providing the animals like cartoons on canvasses). The leading roles didn't make much impression on me, but some of the supporting cast were outstanding: Michael Cumpsty, the always-marvelous Mary Beth Peil, Jessica Grové, Anne L. Nathan. I wish I could say that I instantly spotted the star quality of Santino Fontana in his Broadway debut roles, but I'm not that smart.

Also very fine, especially in Act II, was the production presented as part of the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center in 2001. Melissa Errico was well cast as Dot, and Raúl Esparza was the best Act II George I've seen: a recognizable neurotic contemporary type who had a genuine epiphany in the last scene.

Oddly, in the 7 times I've seen the show (four of them viewings of the original production), the end of Act I, the formation of the painting, was one of the rare theatrical moments that invariably reduced me to uncontrollable tears... except the two most recent times. Maybe they're not building up to it as well, but I fear that I may have become too familiar with it over the years, and it no longer surprises me.

[aradia22]

I always love hearing your insight, Rinaldo. I will definitely try to track down the PBS recording. I'm not really interested in the City Center production besides the star power but I would like to see what the show is like on stage. I was on the wikipedia page and I noticed Santino and Brynn O'Malley and Alex Gemignani. Don't be too hard on yourself. Star quality doesn't always shine through, nor should it, in ensemble roles. I had no idea Krysta Rodriguez was in Good Vibrations until I saw her If It Only Even Runs a Minute video. (Not the best example but it was the one that came to mind.)

[bosawks]

My favorite part of the Sunday revival was the "and parasols" part of the Act I finale where they all opened their umbrellas in synchronization. Just beautiful.

And I have always loved the lyric of:

"We lose things.
And then we choose things.
And there are Louis's
And there are Georges-
Well, Louis's
And George.”

[Charlie Baker]

I saw the original Sunday on Broadway and the revival.   Like Rinaldo, I always found the end of Act One overwhelming and moving.  I came to the revival very much in "Show Me" mode since I felt the leading roles were owned by Patinkin and Peters.  Unlike Rinaldo, I was very impressed with both Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell.  There's video of them singing "Move On" from a BBC Sondheim celebration on You Tube.

[Rinaldo]

One potential problem comes to mind for a one-night all-star gala performance like this. I've not seen any of their productions of this type, but I would guess that (in the Encores! tradition) they're less than fully staged? With the orchestra onstage? Or am I wrong about that?

The thing is, if there is a single moment in all of musicals where a specific visual effect, and thus the staging leading up to it, is absolutely essential, it's the formation of the painting at the end of Act I of Sunday in the Park with George. (Even a reconceptualized staging doesn't mess with that bit.) So they'll need to execute that somehow, in a complete enough way to allow it to make its effect. It'll be interesting to hear about that.

[Scott]

I saw the revival in London before it transferred to Broadway.  I had already been a fan of the show (primarily from the filmed version on PBS and DVD), and I thought it was one of the more appropriate uses of the projection technology that seems to be popping up all over the place. 

[aradia22]

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One potential problem comes to mind for a one-night all-star gala performance like this. I've not seen any of their productions of this type, but I would guess that (in the Encores! tradition) they're less than fully staged? With the orchestra onstage? Or am I wrong about that?

If it's like Annie Get Your Gun they won't have costumes but maybe some gestures towards costumes (cowboy hat, different gowns). There was a bit of choreography. They weren't just standing at music stands (which is how the Queen of the Mist concert went). I think there were props but no set pieces I can recall. Possibly there were chairs or platforms and that kind of thing but I don't remember them very clearly. I don't see why it would be difficult to have City Center put up a screen and gesture towards the formation of the painting if they were so inclined.