Anyone going to the first preview of PROMISES, PROMISES tonight?- Page 4

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 1:56pm

The price tag on previews alone justifies the commentary. Anyone who payts over a hundred bucks to see a performance -- whenever -- surely has ther right to thumbs up/thumbs down his or her experience. This idea of "protecting" the preview process is truly bizarre. Shows are theoretically protected only in workshops. Paying customers get to walk out and say whatever the hell they want. Even in writing.

[nearthestage]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 2:58pm

Here's my 2 cents on reviewing previews.

Speaking only for myself, I like reading all the comments about the shows from previews through opening. I only get into NYC about 3 times a year so I have to be particular about which shows to see. Not that this show was ever on my radar. I'm not a Sean Hayes fan and the one time I saw Promises, Promises, I was less than thrilled.

Overall, I enjoy reading your thoughts. Very often, it helps me decide what to spend my time and money on. Also, my knowledge of theatre amounts to; 'I just like it', so to read what people with varying degrees of knowledge gets from a production is fun for me.

Keep those thoughts coming. I'll be in NYC in July and I have no shows lined up.

[bk]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 3:56pm

I'm glad someone else already said that there was absolutely NO staging in the Gypsy overture in the Tyne Daly revival, at least not when I saw it the three times I saw it.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 4:29pm

Sorry, I also saw the 1989 Gypsy production three times — in previews in New York (but not the first preview), Daly's last performance (during the first run, not the return), and Lavin's next to last performance — and there was staging during the overture every time, mostly involving (IIRC) Jim Brachitta.

EDIT: It may be that some people have forgotten it because the staging wasn't throughout the overture, it was intermittent, and it wasn't splashy. But it was there.
Updated On: 3/29/10 at 04:29 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 4:35pm

Uh-oh. People have different memories of how the overture was done. This happened with Hermione Gingold's Liaisons. But that was finally cleared up.
There is a bootleg video of Tyne's revival, I wonder what is shown on there.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 4:37pm

Can anyone with a Playbill from the first preview provide a list of the understudies?

I know Sarah Jane Everman is the first cover for Fran, but I'm curious who the rest are.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 4:40pm

Megan Sikora is the other cover. It seems Chelsea Krombach got the axe as a Fran cover. She is still in the ensemble.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 4:45pm

That's a disappointment. Krombach would have been great.

Sikora is certainly talented as well, but I assumed she would have been covering Marge rather than Fran.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 4:53pm

"There is a bootleg video of Tyne's revival, I wonder what is shown on there."

As is often the case on those videos, the person on camera is trying to hide it during the overture. There is a moment when you see a bit of the stage lighting during one of the sections Brachitta was onstage, but for the most part the camera is not shooting the stage during the overture. Chances are the staging would be visible in the official TOFT shoot.

Having said that, if you watch the Daly boot, you will see at the end of the overture that the curtain is down. It opens (not rises) at the end of the overture. I can't remember anymore if the curtain actually opened (or rose) during the overture and then closed. I do remember the staging was behind a scrim. But I definitely remember the curtain closing (or lowering) after the staging was done. It was particularly odd in that after the staging was done, the curtain came down or closed so that it could open for the beginning of the Uncle Jocko scene. (Hope that's not too confusing.) Which also allowed all the people onstage at the beginning of the scene to enter behind the curtain.

My point is that you shouldn't be misled by seeing the curtain closed at the end of the overture.

The Lavin boot, unfortunately, begins as the curtain opens for Uncle Jocko.

Anyway, I don't want to fight with anyone about this. It's not worth it.
Updated On: 3/29/10 at 04:53 PM

[pli1018]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 5:17pm

For CHUCK: Matt Loehr
For SHELDRAKE: Ken Land, Brian O'Brien
For MARGE: Megan Sikora, Kristen Beth Williams

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 5:23pm

Nobody Home: I don't know what was going on at the St. James and the Marquis during the run of the Tyne Daly GYPSY if you saw a staged overture twice after previews were over. I saw the production 5 times at the St. James and once at the Marquis, including a New Year's Eve performance with Linda Lavin at the St. James(a mistake on my part), and except for the first preview which I attended, there was NO staged overture, NO scrim, just the great music. I doubt that Arthur Laurents is that adept at prestidigitation that would allow multiple takes of the overture during the run.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 5:41pm

Well, our memories differ on this. What I remember is staging going on behind the scrim. As I said, not nonstop staging, but some.

Anyway, not worth arguing about this. Perhaps at some point I'll take a look at the TOFT video.

[bethnor]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 8:07pm

Without Bennett's choreography, it's like doing Sweet Charity with a Charity who can't dance, or West Side Story with an....

what's that? you want to see the WSS cast do turkey lurkey?!!!

assss you wiiiiiiiish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=613XHJ8PCHs Updated On: 3/29/10 at 08:07 PM

[blueroses]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 8:21pm

Love it, bethnor!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/29/10 at 9:24pm

I thought maybe Brooks would understudy Chuck.
Brian O'Brien will be a great cover for Sheldrake,
someone Cheno can swoon over,
I was hoping Nikki Renee would cover Fran,
that girl can sang.

[Elke]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 12:07am

Saw tonight's show and while I wasn't blown away, I did thoroughly enjoy it. Slightly underwhelmed by Kristin Chenoweth, such a pity that we have to wait more than 2 hours to hear her best song (I'll Never Fall In Love Again). Sean Hayes was excellent: great comedic timing and a lovely voice, even though I found his vibrato a bit too much in some songs.

I liked the sets, but I did have the feeling that the designer couldn't make up his mind about the style. I.e. the very detailed design of the apartment and the bar as opposed to the minimal design of the office, restaurant,...

[Elke]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 12:08am

Saw tonight's performance and while I wasn't blown away, I did thoroughly enjoy it. Slightly underwhelmed by Kristin Chenoweth, such a pity that we have to wait more than 2 hours to hear her best song (I'll Never Fall In Love Again). Sean Hayes was excellent: great comedic timing and a lovely voice, even though I found his vibrato a bit too much in some songs.

I liked the sets, but I did have the feeling that the designer couldn't make up his mind about the style. I.e. the very detailed design of the apartment and the bar as opposed to the minimal design of the office, restaurant,...

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 12:22am

I wasn't blown away either, but I really enjoyed myself throughout the entire show.

Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth were excellent, as was Katie Finneran. Sean Hayes sounded great and did something other than his normal "Will and Grace" schtick. Kristin also did something different from her norm, which I greatly respected. I loved her "Knowing When To Leave," "Whoever You Are," and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."

I really enjoyed "Turkey Lurkey Time" (but I don't know the original choreography very well...so I wasn't looking for something specific)

Even though the show was nearly three hours, it went by quickly for me. I love the score and the book, and can see why this was a huge hit 40 years ago. The audience seemed to enjoy it a lot...hopefully it will do well.

The best surprise of the night: seeing Angela Lansbury in a house seat. She looked radiant. I truly love the woman so much!

[bk]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 12:46am

Nobody home wrote: "Well, our memories differ on this. What I remember is staging going on behind the scrim. As I said, not nonstop staging, but some.

Anyway, not worth arguing about this."

You're correct in your final statement because you are incorrect in your memory. That happens a lot, I'm afraid. You have two people here who saw the show multiple times telling you there was no staging. And I just asked Crista Moore and guess what - no staging during the overture.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 3:59am

Just got back to Philly from a 1:15 AM megabus after seeing the show, so Im VERY tired, but here goes.

Really enjoyed the show, first act extraordinarily long. Second act is in MUCH better shape. Feels like it needs to lose weight - a lot of laughs are lost in the first act due to a dramatic "Mad Men"-y approach that just seems that everyone is taking things a bit too seriously and needs to let the comedy fly earlier.

"Turkey Lurkey Time" doesn't work too well because Ashford uses all his whiz-bang choreography beforehand (especially in the overture and "Basketball", and both of those dances should really be cut - either just play the overture or cut it, which, as much as I hate to admit it, wouldn't be a bad idea because it would drop a good four minutes from the looonnnggg running time, and Hayes is magnetic enough in that charming song that he doesn't need a hundred men running around doing push-up jumps for no reason) Also, since there are no pit singers, you can hear everyone gasping for breath on that "jingle bells" section.
Megan Sikora is a knockout in Turkey Lurkey, though. She plays Polansky, but is the central dancer, a la McKechnie as Della Hoya in the original.

Hayes is the best part of the show (as well he should be, cause he is the lead) - he has a suprisingly strong voice, his comic timing is awesome, and he has a very relaxed star quality. He seemed nervous and tentative during the first few numbers, but after "Our Little Secret" (hilarious!) he loosened up and really stopped the show with the title song.

Chenoweth is very good - much more affecting in the second act. Her renditions of "Whoever You Are (I Love You)" and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" are pretty tear-jerking. The former is also one of the best acted scenes in the show. In the first act, it feels like she's around too much for no reason, due to the added songs. Also think she's playing the end of the show early on, and could use some more humor and playing things up early to make her arc a bit more. She was really mopey in "You'll Think of Someone", for example. Unlike most people, I found "Say a Little Prayer" to make much more sense and fit much better than "A House is Not a Home", which slows things down. They should cut it and let Hayes sing in its entirety in the second act when he sings the reprise, where it works. Both songs are incredible, though, and she sings them both very well. Her low register on "Say a Little Prayer" is spine-tingling. Once they clean the choreography up a bit and spruce up the energy in the first few numbers in the show, it'll have enough momentum to make "Say a Little Prayer" a showstopper. (it works as a kinda more razzle-dazzle version of "I'm Not At All in Love" from the Pajama Game.) Loved her vocal choices in "Knowing When to Leave" but this is her weakest number as it's a bit high for her to belt and the staging is not favorable to her (more on this later)

Goldwyn is ok - I feel like he could play for some more laughs in the first act. His voice is not too bad, but I didn't buy him in "Wanting Things" and thought he was upstaged by the gorgeous harmonies of the girls' ensemble.

Latessa is perfection. This old vet knows how to play a Neil Simon one-liner in his sleep.

Finneran is F-U-N-N-Y, and a REALLY good dancer (she better work that section on the bar). She seems a little young for Marge, and I don't like her wig, but she delivers quite well, and has one hell of a pair o' legs. (This was another number that had better choreo than "Turkey Lurkey Time". I know, right?)

Ashmankas and the other boys are fine - "Where Can You Take a Girl" feels like it should be a showstopper, but since the energy was wonky tonight, it felt like it missed its mark.

Biggest problem with the show (for me): THE SPACE. Holy god, is this theatre big, and I was sitting in the orchestra. So many numbers lose their effect because the actors are standing a freaking football field away from each other ("Knowing When to Leave", "Upstairs") Also, the designs aren't all that great - set design is fun at first, but what the hell is with this translucent bamboo wall behind everything - and if we're in thie freaking barn, can't we get the apartment unit offstage so we dont have to fly in this MASSIVE black cyke that makes previous locations look different (and weird)? Costumes made people look good, but why is the leading lady only wearing blue throughout the whole show?

Overall, it feels like after a month of previews, this show will be in excellent shape for Tony season and will do well noms-wise. Not the seasons' best revival (Finian's Rainbow, all the way) but on par with "Ragtime", imo, and haven't seen "Night Music".

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 5:41am

With regard to Arthur Laurents staging the overture to GYPSY for the 1989 production starring Tyne Daly, he did indeed stage it for the first preview(and undoubtedly other previews) by having stage hands moving scenery behind a scrim, so the audience would "get it" that this was to be a show business musical. However, by the time that GYPSY opened, the staging was wisely gone from the overture(I saw the Tyne Daly GYPSY several times).

I saw it at the St. James the Saturday matinee the day before the 1990 Tony Awards and recall the curtain raising during the Overture (If memory serves, it was in the run-up leading into "Mr.Goldstone") with the stage hands setting lights and set pieces and the performers getting into place. During the applause the scrim rose and then the first scene began.

One reason audiences paid more attention to the Overture in the recent Lupone revival was the staging with the orchestra on stage and giving a performance, like in a concert where you can see the conductor. I think one reason audiences tend to chatter away through Overtures is the mechanical sound coming through the speakers makes it sound like a recording, and they can't see the conductor or the orchestra members.

BTW I appreciate everyone's comments on PROMISES PROMISES - U am looking forward to seeing the show when I am down for Tony week in New York.

This thread does point up the folly f seeing the very first preview. The cast have had no chance to modulate their performances to a full audience, and really all that can be hoped for is a pretty decent run through. It does sound as if this revival has tremendous potential, but will it get as glowing a set of reviews as did FINIAN'S RAINBOW?

[Mystic Pasta]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 9:20am

Saw the show and agree with nearly all of Miss Pennywise's comments. It was a very silent preview when there should have been laughs. People in front, behind and next to me left at intermission. Those who stayed for the second act seemed to enjoy themselves more because Katie Finneran is so strong and wakes people out of the lull of the first soporific 90 minutes.

Chenoweth is wonderful but miscast. It's not the right part for her voice. I still can't get over how much I enjoyed her in Wicked and how little I enjoyed her voice in Promises. Agree that she seemed to be "acting" her numbers instead of singing them. She also did not look like she was enjoying being in the show at all.

Adding the extra songs is a mistake. The First Act should be cut by 30 minutes and the new songs don't make sense in moving the story forward. Also, the lead characters don't change very much, if at all, during the very long first act. The ensemble is great. They all look like they ran straight from a J Crew commercial. In fact, it was notable that there was not a single "average" looking person on stage. I guess all the employees at Consolidated LIfe also moonlight as runway models.

Tony Goldwyn should not be in a musical. He is an excellent film actor but lacked vocal power on stage. His songs were a low point of the show. I can see him doing a better job in the film version with a lot of looping.

Sean Hayes is well cast and is working hard. You can sense he has the weight of the show on his shoulders and wants it to work. Unfortunately, the source material is weak and a lot of the one-liners feel stale in front of a 2010 audience. Did this version of the show get an out of town tryout? If not, it surely would have benefited from some careful edits. Also, thought the sets and lighting were beautifully done and served the period well. Sound design was excellent - although the sold-out house was so quiet, the sound department didn't have to overcome the burden of waves of laughter drowning out the performances.
Updated On: 3/30/10 at 09:20 AM

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 11:52am

hi folks. i am seeing the last preview of PROMISES on 4/24, so i'll be seeing a much tighter final product. reading everyone's feedback now, however, is quite interesting. as we are all aware, a month of previews can make a big difference. as we all know, PROMISES was a rather weak book show and a pale version of it's original source film. obviously, they needed names to sell it, and hopefully the leads will gel. again, some of the songs in the score are delightful, while others remain big, wet, shaggy dogs. LOL.

small sidenote for iminlovewithjerryherman: u mention that there are not the traditional PROMISES pit singers in the show, however the PROMISES website lists 6 women in the cast who also function as 'orchestra voices', in addition to other roles. (orchestra voices must be the new, P.C. term for pit singers. LOL) so, maybe they are still working on the balance of those gal's sound, or they were onstage and there was no one to sing vocally cover the the jingle bells breathlessness. i am sure they will smooth it over.

everyone is certainly free to comment on previews for a paying audience, that what this board is for. of course, it has been open for mere DAYS, folks, and kinks needs to be ironed out and machinations worked thru. so, there's really no need to OVER-vilify the production. give them a few weeks to breathe and grow and gel and finally freeze the production. either way, they will probably enjoy a healthy run due to kristen and sean's names, and the upcoming spring/summer tourist trade.

also, the comments on the numbers, performances, venue being a barn, sets are all engrossing. should be involving to see this in a month and see how it has been tweaked, cemeneted and runs. i am sure much of what has already been discussed in this thread is about to be addressed by the PROMISES production staff, after all. LOL

question for those who have already been: did they keep the piece set in the mid-to-late 60's, or did they pull a MAD MEN and try to fold it into an EARLY 60's production approach?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 11:58am

I'm so thrilled Sean Hayes is impressing and surprising everyone. I love him and can't wait to see him in the show!

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/30/10 at 12:25pm

"also, since there are no pit singers"

- The orchestra voices are completely intact in this production. I just don't think they are in the pit, lol. Some of the ensemble girls also double as orchestra voices.

Anyway. I cannot believe how different the reception is over at ATC regarding this production. Quite strange.