Road Show at Encores! Off-Center (post your thoughts here)- Page 3

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 12:24am

I still don't understand the critiques of the music. I like the score quite a bit, especially "The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened."

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 12:34am

What are the odds of this getting a cast album? I really doubt I will be able to see this show, but I would love to hear it with this cast and Encores! Off-Center seem to sometimes get an album out.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 12:47am

I want to give a shoutout to Jin Ha, who has a wonderful voice and is a soulful presence in this show. Mary Beth Peil is also giving a lovely performance, with her “Isn’t He Something” making you lean forward in your seat until the very end of her extended final note. (Also, I died at the beach ball tosses...)

I admit to not knowing the show very well. The radio play concept is a clever way to present this staged reading, but I also thought some action and progression of time got muddled because it wasn’t explained or shown. The audience has to fill in the gaps a bit, but I think that’s inherent in the piece itself.

Sondheim passed me in the lobby tonight, so no big deal. Weidman and Tunick did too.

[AntV]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 2:22am

So this is more of a reading/concert than a staged show like other Encores offerings have been lately? Does the ensemble have choreography or they just sing?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 2:38am

It does feel more like a staged concert than a fully realized production, but there is staging, movement, and choreography throughout. I don’t blame them for this approach since the score is quite difficult and binders are necessary to reference the intricate lyrics and vocal arrangements.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 4:39am

The Radio Show concept sounds like a clever way for the cast to be book dependent. it seems the summer shows this year were  literally rehearsed in 6 days where I do not remember that being the case when they did  A New Brain, Little Shop of Horrors and Violet. I look forward to seeing the show on Saturday as well as Sondheim at the talk back.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 3:57pm

‪https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-TV-Watch-Highlights-from-Encores-ROAD-SHOW-20190724‬

Wow Raul sounds thrilling, much stronger than Cerveris’ mostly bland vocals.

This looks like a great presentation.

[binau]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 4:18pm

Why couldn’t they have cast it like this in the first place second place...who had the other bean?

I wonder how we would have all reacted if this cast was presented for the first time before Bounce etc.

[rg7759]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 4:48pm

missthemountains said: "I also have got to hand it to Encores! this season, that aside from WORKING, the design for both this and PROMENADE was really wonderful.

I really enjoyed it. I think if you're a Sondheim fan and you haven't gotten to see this one that it's probably not going to get much better of a production than this one."

Working as a whole was great, so I'm not sure what's wrong with you

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 5:04pm

I'm not a fan of lovers being placed on opposite sides of the stage for love songs unless they're in different locations. "Best Thing That Ever Has Happened" looks so much less intimate that way. I understand the radio play concept but even that seems unlikely that they would have been isolated in booths for the time period like we usually see today. And other clips seem to hint at the radio play concept being largely abandoned from time to time in favor of the storytelling so the actors can interact with each other. I wonder why they chose to stage them apart like that for such an intimate song.

The rest of it looks great. I hope this production will allow others to come around to this piece.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 11:00pm

Saw the show tonight, ran just under 1:50 with no intermission. Sondheim was there tonight, gotta admit it was very bizarre to see a legend replace me at my urinal after the show, but I felt somehow honored.

The show itself was delightful. Brandon and Raul was perfectly cast and worked together beautifully, never stealing focus unless the show called for it. Jin Ha worked really well against them and was a standout. Mary Beth has a beautiful number; Chuck Cooper was great but there was way too little of him; and a great ensemble. The radio play was a smart concept and I think with more time they could've found more little ways to remind the audience of that throughout, and have fun with it. 

It moved quick and it was a very solid score. It was my first time hearing it, and is it a standout among his other work? No, but I found myself loving it and would love a cast recording. Orchestrations by James Moore were quite lovely - no surprise from the guy that made On The Town feel alive in the last revival.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 11:41pm

everythingtaboo said: "Saw the show tonight, ran just under 1:50 with no intermission. Sondheim was there tonight, gotta admit it was very bizarre to see a legendreplace me at my urinal after the show, but I felt somehow honored.

The show itself was delightful. Brandon and Raul was perfectly cast and worked together beautifully, neverstealing focus unless the show called for it. Jin Ha worked really well against them and was a standout. Mary Beth has a beautiful number;Chuck Cooper was great but there was way too little of him; and a great ensemble. The radio play was a smart concept and I think with more time they could've found more little ways to remind the audience of that throughout, and have fun with it.

It moved quick and it was a verysolid score. It was my first time hearing it, and is it a standout among his other work? No, but I found myself loving it and would love a cast recording.Orchestrations by James Moore were quite lovely - no surprise from the guy that made On The Town feel alive in the last revival."

Thank you for this! Well-written, concise and it moved me off the fence about going! I bought a ticket for closing.

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 11:53pm

I agree with everythingtaboo in that I also really adored this show.  Everyone was cast practically to perfection (it was also my first time seeing Raul Esparza live and man he just has so much charm and stage presence), and the show move along really well.  I'm not sure if it's because the other two City Center shows were more in a revue style, but I was actually pleasantly surprised at how easily the plot unfolded, though there were a couple of transitions that were slightly confusing.  It was also my first time hearing anything from the score, but I'm really looking forward to listening to the versions that have already been recorded to see what changes they made.  It definitely feels like a "classic" Sondheim show with what I felt were touches of Into the Woods and Merrily We Roll Along, and if I were able to I'd probably try to get another ticket.

Also, if anyone's going to the talkback on Saturday, I'd love to hear an overview of what they discuss!

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 12:13am

I will be at both Saturday performances, including the talkback, and I am really looking forward it.

I am glad to see that people are enjoying the show so far. I love the score, and I think this could be the production that could help people come around to it. I saw the original 2008 production, and I enjoyed it, but I think by that point audiences were a little "Doyled" out, and Gemignani and Cerveris weren't the most exciting leads. I think this is the right cast to renew interest in this show and its lovely score. I always felt people have been unfair to this show, so it's nice to see some positive comments.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 1:31am

everythingtaboo said: "Saw the show tonight, ran just under 1:50 with no intermission. Sondheim was there tonight, gotta admit it was very bizarre to see a legendreplace me at my urinal after the show, but I felt somehow honored.

The show itself was delightful. Brandon and Raul was perfectly cast and worked together beautifully, neverstealing focus unless the show called for it. Jin Ha worked really well against them and was a standout. Mary Beth has a beautiful number;Chuck Cooper was great but there was way too little of him; and a great ensemble. The radio play was a smart concept and I think with more time they could've found more little ways to remind the audience of that throughout, and have fun with it.

 



It moved quick and it was a verysolid score. It was my first time hearing it, and is it a standout among his other work? No, but I found myself loving it and would love a cast recording.Orchestrations by James Moore were quite lovely - no surprise from the guy that made On The Town feel alive in the last revival."

 

How did Mr. Sondheim look? I saw him at one of the pre shows in the Grand Tier a few years back.

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 8:50am

When I saw Sondheim at the Saturday Night concert a few months back, I thought he looked kind of frail. He seemed unusually skinny, and he had a pronounced limp. He looked better the other night at the invited dress, though I didn’t notice whether or not he still had a limp.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 8:55am

When I saw Sondheim at the Jason Robert Brown thing in late June, he looked good for his age but his gait was a little unsteady, also typical of his age.  Hearing him sing that night was one of the most memorable events in my theater going life.

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 11:16am

Sondheim sat behind me at A Strange Loop earlier this month and seemed a bit frail, and definitely was limping.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 6:57pm

Jesse Green at the Times is Mixed

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/theater/road-show-review-sondheim.html

Theater Mania is a Rave

Will Davis directs the show for Encores! in the best production of this musical you'll probably ever see.

https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/road-show-encores_89396.html

Hollywood Reporter is mixed, but his issues seem to be with the actual show itself

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/road-show-1226996

Suskin at NY Stage Review is a Rave

http://nystagereview.com/2019/07/25/road-show-sondheims-road-trip-musical-finally-lands/

[goldenboy]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 12:06am

This is the third Encores show in a row that I found an absolute snooze fest. I think I'm going to pick and choose more carefully in the future.

First High Button Shoes with a miscast Michael Urie, than the painful production of Promenade and this very dull boring production of Road Show.

The biggest problem with Road Show is that you don't care a lick about the main characters.  One is a thief/ crook/ gambler ne'er do well and the other is a mommas boy. They go out into the world and make money. And that's pretty much it.

The score is third rate Sondheim with the exception of "The best thing that ever happened to me." which is gorgeous. The rest sounds like a Sondheim copy of Sondheim. I believe the word is derivative. 

The direction of this one was a real miss. Trying to excuse that the actors had scripts and staging was minimal, they played the whole thing as a "Radio Show" with an "on the air sign."  This just confused things and was a device that did not work.

But then suddenly there was staging... and a house.. and the back drop lifted and the radio thing didn't work again.

I couldn't wait for this thing to end and I am a Sondheim Fan.  The cast was good but the direction and material do not work.

This was my first time seeing Road Show. I was looking forward to this. Another major disappointment in my book. 

 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 3:18am

goldenboy said: "This is the third Encores show in a row that I found an absolute snooze fest. I think I'm going to pick and choose more carefully in the future.

First High Button Shoes with a miscast Michael Urie, than the painful production of Promenade and this very dull boring production of Road Show.

The biggest problem with Road Show is that you don't care a lick about the main characters. One is a thief/ crook/ gambler ne'er do well and the other is a mommas boy. They go out into the world and make money. And that's pretty much it.

The score is third rate Sondheim with the exception of "The best thing that ever happened to me." which is gorgeous. The rest sounds like a Sondheim copy of Sondheim. I believe the word is derivative.

The direction of this one was a real miss. Trying to excuse that the actors had scripts and staging was minimal, they played the whole thing as a "Radio Show" with an "on the air sign." This just confused things and was a device that did not work.

But then suddenly there was staging... and a house.. and the back drop lifted and the radio thing didn't work again.

I couldn't wait for this thing to end and I am a Sondheim Fan. The cast was good but the direction and material donot work.

This was my first time seeing Road Show. I was looking forward to this.Another major disappointment in my book.

 

Your opinions mirror Mr. Greens. It is making me less excited to see it on Saturday but at least the talk back might make up for it.

"

 

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 6:25am

 

An inert dud: uninviting, uninvolving, and uninteresting. It was also extremely ugly —that green and black checked flooring was painful to look at. What an eyesore! The social “commentary” was tired and trite. 

It was better off-Broadway.

 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 6:38am

When I last saw this show I thought Addison was a sympathetic victim, Wilson was never the sexy charmer the show kept telling us he was and Hollis and Mama got the best songs. Also the show itself never made clear why Boca Raton fell apart.

***spoiler*** It's "I'm making mansions, everyone wants one, I'm rich!" to "I sold too many mansions and now I'm poor? And now Hollis and I are breaking up for some reason?"

[rg7759]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 8:13am

goldenboy said: "I think I'm going to pick and choose more carefully in the future.

First High Button Shoes with a miscast Michael Urie, than the painful production of Promenade and this very dull boring production of Road Show.
"

How unfortunate. Had your 3 productions been this, working and grand hotel like me, your spirits would be much higher.

 

 

[goldenboy]

Posted: 7/26/19 at 12:47pm

So I've had a night to digest this thing and I have further thoughts.

Encores have given us Broadway ready confections such as Brigadoon and Gentleman Prefer Blondes. I went home on a high after those.

Conversely I have had to suffer through Irma La Douce, Promendade, High Button Shoes and now Road Show.

So back to Road Show. The fault is not Sondheim's although the score does seem like derivative Sondheim with the exception of "The Best Thing that ever happened to me. Sondheim, like Merrily We Roll Along is done in by the book.

On many occasion I have passed a place in Boca Raton called   Mizner Park. So naturally I thought there'd be a story about the Mizner Brothers. But Road Show gives us no story.

They go into the world to make it. They go to many places. Addison builds houses in Boca Raton and meets this rich kid who introduces him to the right people. The other brother comes back and ruins it all although it is never clear how.

As someone said... "What happened in Boca Raton that they through them out.? Neve explained. They were building houses and then in one sentence there was some kind of scandal and Boca Raton through them out?

What was the scandal? The show did not explain that!

Addison Meisner seemed to be in love with the rich son of a steel Magnate. They seemed happy and successful.  They even sing a beautiful love song and kiss. And in one sentence they are at each others throats without any cause with Addison saying he used him. The show jolts the brain without these transitions made clear 

Used him how? What happened?

How do you tell a story and leave the  audience in the dark? How do you leave so many blanks?

That what happens in Road Show/Bounce/ Wise Guys. You are constantly left in the dark and unable to care because there are so many blanks unfilled.

Sondheim could have written 20 more songs and this thing never would have worked because the book is the problem.