The Visit- Page 3
The Visit
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#52The Visit
Posted: 3/24/15 at 9:00pmSo excited! Just picked up front row mezz tix for Saturday with a discount code! I'm all atwitter!
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#53The Visit
Posted: 3/24/15 at 9:24pm
I really wish I could see this show, it's everything I love about Broadway (I know I've said this before). Classic Broadway star (John Kander's description that Chita is at her acting 'peak' now is such a flattering and exciting thing to say) starring in a 'dark' and 'challenging' musical written by historic/influential/important writers is so god damn exciting.
I could only watch that clip without sound at the moment - doesn't even need it to make an impact.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#55The Visit
Posted: 6/6/15 at 12:35am
SPOILERS if you haven't seen the show!
Just saw this and unfortunately didn't think it was great. It was so clearly done on the cheap...one set, no chorus, nine-piece orchestra. So while the railway station set was gorgeous, Claire and Anton's scene in the woods would have been so much more moving if there were actual trees, or any sense that they were in a "green space" set apart from the decaying reality of the city. Doyle's direction struck me as pretentious and distancing...so many conversations between two characters standing on opposite sides of the stage and not facing each other. Often it felt like a staged concert. And Chita's entrance seemed anticlimactic...she just walked on with no warning, not even the sound of a train arriving.
Going in I couldn't help but worry about a show where one of the songwriters (sadly) isn't around to make changes. Think of all the books and articles we've read about the making of various musicals...there are a litany of changes large and small throughout the tryout process. Often these changes turn a flop into a hit.
Actually, I'm not even sure that Kander & Ebb were the best team for this material. I would have liked a more sophisticated "European" feel, in both the lyrics and music. I do think they achieved this in "Love and Love Alone", but I don't think any other songs from the show are going to enter the pantheon of great K&E numbers.
It was a thrill to see Chita but I didn't always feel that she conveyed the complexity of her contradictory feelings about Anton. Also I just didn't feel the stakes were that high...what Anton did to Claire was pretty unforgivable, so I didn't feel like her demand was particularly horrible or unjust. Perhaps because there were no subplots to add variety, the show seemed much longer than 90 minutes.
Updated On: 6/6/15 at 12:35 AM
theatreguy12
Broadway Star Joined: 4/20/15
#56The Visit
Posted: 6/6/15 at 12:58am
For me, I think this was one of those shows where less was more.
The starkness depicted in so many elements of the show, I felt, conveyed the message in a very powerful way. With few distractions, I was drawn to their words and gestures because there was nothing to pull my focus away from the plight of these characters.
This musical isn't for everyone, but I loved it. Thought it was quite provocative.
