What are the chances of THE VISIT transferring?- Page 4

[Glitter]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 4:14pm

saw it last night, loved it! Most of the changes are for the better, the nips and tucks in the core are all smartly done, performers incredible. It should transfer.

One staging choice I really really did not like (should I discuss it here? I guess ti doesn't really count as a spoiler), but everything else was strong, powerful, beautiful, and dark. I was deeply moved.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 7:25pm

What staging choice did you not like? You could always just put a spoiler alert.

[Glitter]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 10:35pm

spoiler alert!

The opening scene is Young Anton going down on Young Claire.

I saw it again tonight, and it didn't bother me as much this time around...in fact I quite liked it. It was just such a shock....it's not at all how I expected this version to start :)

I really loved it :)

Updated On: 8/17/14 at 10:35 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 10:38pm

True! It's definitely a little shocking, but it sets the tone for Doyle's use of the younger ghosts. Did the previous productions just start with the opening dialogue of the townspeople?

[binau]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 10:42pm

Any ideas when this would transfer if it transfers?

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 10:45pm

Somebody said after Christmas on ATC. Their safest bet would be the spring.
I truly hope it transfers. I feel a lot of excitement about this production, and I rarely feel this strongly about a non-revival, the last was BRIDGES (before that was VERGE).

Updated On: 8/15/14 at 10:45 PM

[mikey2573]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 10:58pm

I saw it the it the other day and while I admired its craftsmanship (great score, set, direction and performances were impeccable) it still did not scream "Broadway!". I think it might do well in a non-commercial house for a very limited run. I heard one person say as she left, "Well, I tend to like shows that have a bit more joy in them. It was very depressing." And I tend to agree with that. It certainly could not be called a "feel good musical". But with the names attached, a transfer would be viable, but like I said it would have to be a limited run of say 8 to 12 weeks.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 11:03pm

Not everything on Broadway has to be happy endings, fairies, puppets, and sunshine. I go to the theater to think, learn, grow, etc. THE VISIT is a very deep and thought-provoking show. If people don't want that, please see a Disney show. Sure, there's a slim chance that this will actually last on Broadway, but it deserves a shot. A spring limited non-profit run would certainly be ideal.

Updated On: 8/15/14 at 11:03 PM

[Glitter]

Posted: 8/15/14 at 11:14pm

previous opening was Anton wandering in rubble. Enter villagers. Updated On: 8/15/14 at 11:14 PM

[AAO26]

Posted: 8/16/14 at 5:19am

this is ready for broadway- it's not for everyone- but which show is??
performances are flawless, score is excellent, staging and lighting perfect. it's a class act show.

i and all around me were engaged and entertained from beginning to end. what else do you expect from a show?

can improvements be made- that's subjective. as with any show... my humble opinion is that this show is ready for ny.



Updated On: 8/16/14 at 05:19 AM

[goldenboy]

Posted: 8/16/14 at 11:30am

Caught it Thursday in Williamstown. There are pros and cons.

I'll start with the positive:

Gorgeous Kander and Ebb Score. Can't wait to hear the CD. A lovely controlled performance by Chita Rivera and a really committed cast. The set if visually stunning and sets the bleak tone for the piece.



The negative:
There is no doubt how this will end. This is a big problem. There is very little dramatic tension because of this. Having a coffin on stage telegraphs the ending. The down trodded people of Brachman (not sure if I'm spelling that right) are so destitute that they would have no choice but to go the way they go with regard to Anton. Every towns person has bags under their eyes and wears rags. Money is their only hope. Plus you don't really care about Anton and Claire.. so that is also a built in problem.

All that being said, I'd love Roundabout or the Public to do it. They have both done
less interesting musicals.

It wants us to take the show literally and care about Clare and Anton --but the elements of the eunuchs in white face and yellow gloves make us think this whole thing is a fantasy.

I'm wondering if there would be more dramatic tension if the villagers of Brachman were destitute but happy. Or perhaps If the play were introduced with Anton leading a charmed but penniless with his wife and children. Then we could care about Anton and his plight.
Then at least there would be some doubt about the ending.

If Claire had everything; Wealth, a great life--
wouldn't that be revenge enough? Isn't success the best revenge?

An odd plot that doesn't quite work.

[Glitter]

Posted: 8/16/14 at 2:22pm

It's not the intention of the piece to have the ending be in doubt: like the old saying goes, it's not the destination but the journey that's important.

The tension is in how each individual evolves. The Anton who says " I must have been something! What a FABULOUS lover I was" is not the same man who admits to the emptiness of his life or chooses to go for a car ride with his family in the middle of all their dysfunction. The wife who blames the entire situation on her husband is not the same woman who tries tenderly to caress his coffin. The Mayor 's true nature is revelaed. The vain, proud, defiant Claire who enters amidst a puff of smoke isn't the same sad, broken woman we see limping off into the distance.

As far as saying "If Claire had everything; wealth, a great life-- wouldn't that be revenge enough? Isn't success the best revenge?"....she hasn't had a great life. She makes that clear time and time again. Wealth is not always the path to happiness (another theme of the show).

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/16/14 at 10:53pm

A lovely controlled performance by Chita Rivera

"Controlled" is such a great way to describe her performance. She delivers the role with a subtle power. Like I'd said earlier, it would be so easy for her to camp it up in the role, and she doesn't once. It's such a great performance that I cannot even imagine other actresses playing the role in this adaption. I can't picture someone like Patti LuPone stripping away all of her mannerisms for this role, I can see her falling into some camp. This is without a doubt Chita's role; her interpretation feels so perfectly marinated after all of these years.

Updated On: 8/16/14 at 10:53 PM

[Timmer]

Posted: 8/16/14 at 11:34pm

I saw The Visit at Signature a few years ago with Rivera and Hearn. (After the show, we were sitting in Johnny Rocket's across from the theatre when George Hearn came in to get something to eat.)

I would LOVE to see it on Broadway!

[binau]

Posted: 8/17/14 at 6:13am

Has anyone heard anything RE: a cast recording?

[goldenboy]

Posted: 8/17/14 at 7:10pm

Glitter
I wholeheartedly disagree with you. If you know how it ends... why sit their for an hour and a half? The changes in the other characters are so subtle that is not an compelling enough reason to watch the piece. The fault may be in the original material.

[AAO26]

Posted: 8/17/14 at 8:09pm

goldenboy-

many of us that follow the piece and are familiar with it might know the ending. i sat around many folks that weren't familiar with the piece- and they were surprised.

i knew the ending still enjoyed very much. + there are many movies turned into plays and vice versa and people still watch and enjoy the journey.

and let's say someone happened to a have seen the movie- the ending is completely different...



Updated On: 8/17/14 at 08:09 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/17/14 at 8:56pm

Everyone knows the ending to Romeo and Juliet and that hasn't stopped us coming back to it over and over again. This is a fantastic production and I truly hope it makes it to New York.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 8:59am

Attended the matinee performance on Saturday, August 16th. It was entirely worth the over 3 hours drive one way. In the car moments after the show and miles down the road I felt myself still letting out audible sighs as if I had ingested a satisfying meal.

The Visit is the epitome of what I would expect from a Broadway performance. It is so polished and ready it would be a loss to all if this were to not transfer.

It goes without say that Chita gave a spectacular performance. She was stunning in appearance, vocal abilities and movement. Her body language still exudes her years of Fosse performances. Her final moment on stage was a WOW.

Yes, this is a bitter revenge plot but I would imagine most know that going in. Seeing the coffin on stage furthers the dread of the inevitable. This woman was there with a purpose and as the show progresses you learn that she has calculated each moment prior to her visit so that she leaves victorious.

I am not always a fan of one giant set piece but I was pleased with its use as I was with the suitcases. What might have worked for me was the great use of the lighting and smoke elements to layer the locations and focus my attention on the characters and unfolding story.

I disagree with the other posts that you didn't care about the characters. Clare was in fact so developed both in her youth and in building momentum to her visit that there was no question as to why she wanted what she wanted.

I thoroughly enjoyed the score and found myself craving the music to hear it again.

"In the Forest Again" was probably one of the most poignant songs. Absolutely touching until you start to wake up and realize what is really going to happen....wow.

If it weren't for my 3 hour journey home this would have been a time I would have went directly to the box office to score a ticket for the evening performance.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 9:51am

Boy I'm glad someone likes it, because I sure didn't. I feel like I should have liked it given my usual tastes, but it felt flat and incomplete and I HATED Claire. I thought she was mean and just as selfish as those other people.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 10:54am

If you know how it ends... why sit their for an hour and a half?

So, you've only ever watched any play, musical or movie only once? And never watched an adaptation of known material? Now, I've seen shows where I felt disappointed because it was a new story that I felt was so cliche and predictable, I knew how it would end from the beginning, but the problem was that everything in between was either just as predictable or simply never compelling or engaging. I certainly did not feel that way when watching The Visit, even though I had previously read the play.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 5:12pm

I think there was an opportunity to keep the audience guessing....
which would have made it more interesting.

If i go see Romeo and Juliet or Gypsy.. I go because these are classics and I would want to see how different actors or different directors interpret it.

The Vist certainly has merits but a classic it isn't. A least not yet.

I am fairly certain that the first audiences of Gypsy or Romeo and Juliet didn't know how it ended. I'm sure it was shock for the first audience of Romeo and Juliet to see that the hero and heroine die.

I know the first time I saw Gypsy.. I did not know how it would end. I did not know Rose would have a nervous breakdown. When I revisit Gypsy I want to see how Tyne Daley
and Angela Lansbury and Patti Lupone bring different takes on it.

I know if I revisit a movie which I have done, its to see something that spoke to me or thrilled me;to study a performance; look for new things but those are usually movies that really speak to me.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 6:37pm

Funny, I don't think of Rose's Turn as the climax of Gypsy's plot, per se. Further, while Rose experiences a kind of emotional break, the end doesn't seem akin to Streetcar. It's a rare production that has her exit with Gypsy as a women who's suffered a nervous breakdown moments earlier. She's a deluded woman, as she's always been, who's sacrificed everything for a dream.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 6:50pm

Roses realization that she was doing for herself and wanted the limelight all along is the climax. It has been referred to by many critics and theatre scholars as Rose's Nervous Breakdown. Her reconciliation with her daughter is the anti-climax/ending.

If people didn't care about endings...we wouldn't have spoiler alerts. The ending of The Visit is telegraphed from the get go,.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 6:57pm

Why would any audience be shocked Romeo and Juliet both die? The text literally states that within the first 15 lines.