Road Show at Encores! Off-Center (post your thoughts here)- Page 5

[Kad]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 11:45am

OffOnBwayHi said: "ljay889 said: "......and Encores! Isn’t meant for works in progress. It’s been doing completed musicals since the beginning. You should know what you’re getting into it. If you didn’t want to pay a lot, there were plenty of $25 seats available. "

I know both of thosethings; I knew what I was getting into, just never experienced it.ALLseats should be $25 (honestly, free for this) and readings of completed, already produced works shouldn’t be presented in this way, in my opinion. It’s lazy and cheap, and this performance of Road Show more than proved that.

This just was not that good. It’s a forgettable “production.”Period.

I said what I said."

And what you said is a pretty uninformed, fairly ignorant opinion of what Encores does.

Updated On: 7/28/19 at 11:45 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 1:33pm

Yeah, they really think a presentation of a Sondheim show with Esparza, Uranowitz, Peil, and, Cooper should’ve been free????

[LxGstv]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 3:35pm

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 03:35 PM

[Skip23]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 4:15pm

JBroadway said: "It’s interesting to me that a lot of people in this thread have said that this production is better than the original, while mainly pointing to the two lead performance as the reason.

I totally believe that this production is better, and I also believe that the lead performances were better. But has anyone brought up the fact that original production was directed by his majesty the King of Dullness, John Doyle? While I didn’t see that production, I would bet that Doyle was far more at fault for the production being a dud than Cerveris or Gemignani were. His influence was probably even the reason those two performances fell flat (as we know, Cerveris and Gemignani are very skilled actors, especially Cerveris).

Just another example of John Doyle sapping all the life out of almost every piece he touches."

 

Original production was directed by Sam Mendes (Wise Guys).

Then by Hal Prince (Bounce).

Then John Doyle (Road Show).

None of them really made the show "work".  It's just not meant to be...so far...

 

Loved Esparza's work in this Encores version.  He really captured the spirit of the character in a little over-the-top vaudevillian approach.  It worked.

 

Amazing how many learned this show and were basically off the book.  With all the intricate lyrics and song structures.

 

Too bad Aranovich was miscast.  

 

 

[binau]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 4:22pm

Is there any buzz of a recording?

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 4:59pm

I have a feeling that the performances got better as the week progressed given the limited rehearsal period.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 5:18pm

 

 

 

 

 

VintageSnarker said: "Most of the actors delivered what I'd expected but I've never seen Jin Ha in anything and he was the standout for me. I wish there was more of his singing recorded out in the world. I feel like he'd sound particularly good with something lush and romantic like R&H. The other leads brought a lot of intensity but it was almost wasted on their characters."

Consider me a new Jin Ha fan as well. His duets with Uranowitz were the emotional and musical  highlights of the show, although the Sat eve. audience seemed to give Peil the longest applause for her solo. I normally like Esparza a lot, but he seemed a bit too fidgety--even if he was playing a coked-up character part of the time--and too eager to show off his Fosse-lite moves. He was in good voice, though.

The plot definitely strays here and there, but having lived in South Florida for a while, I found the whole Palm Beach-Boca Raton history interesting and amusing. The big climactic duet between the bros. though, seemed more duty than inspired, and therefore the ending didn't move me as intended. My biggest peeve with the staging: what was up with all the smoking? We get it. It's a period piece. I just found it grossly distracting.

Sondheim was in the theater once again. Seemed perfectly happy in the lobby afterwards.    

 

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 6:11pm

Kad said: "OffOnBwayHi said: "ljay889 said: "......and Encores! Isn’t meant for works in progress. It’s been doing completed musicals since the beginning. You should know what you’re getting into it. If you didn’t want to pay a lot, there were plenty of $25 seats available. "

I know both of thosethings; I knew what I was getting into, just never experienced it.ALLseats should be $25 (honestly, free for this) and readings of completed, already produced works shouldn’t be presented in this way, in my opinion. It’s lazy and cheap, and this performance of Road Show more than proved that.

This just was not that good. It’s a forgettable “production.”Period.

I said what I said."

And what you said is a pretty uninformed, fairly ignorant opinion of what Encores does."

cool.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 7:10pm

For those who are new to Road Show, there are several clips of the Public production on YouTube. It’s very, very Doyle, I had almost forgotten how truly dark it was. In typical Doyle fashion he ends “The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened” with Addy snorting cocaine rather than a warm kiss, as in the Will Davis staging.
Cerveris didn’t have the vocals to make the songs soar like Raúl did. Gemignani probably gave a better performance than Cerveris.
The Encores! version was definitely warmer, more fun, with more laughs.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 7:26pm

Also for fun on YouTube, you can listen to the original Wise Guys opening number and watch the Bounce opening number. IMO, they finally got it right with “Waste” which is a reworking of the “Bounce” melody. I love bringing in the ensemble, and Hollis’ “you’re the one that I f*cked” lyric is still amusing 11 years later.

[scarlet721]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 7:42pm

Saw this on Wednesday night.  Felt that the cast was quite good for the usual Encores rehearsal period and understood the decision to use the radio show concept (and thank you to whoever mentioned that the director deliberately cut back on it as the show went on, I wondered about that).

I felt that Brandown Uranowitz did well and loved Jin Ha (especially after seeing him in M. Butterfly).  To me, Raul Esparza was doing the evil alter ego of his Jonas Nightingale from Leap of Faith, and I got a bit tired of watching his twitchy moves.  I always enjoy seeing Liz McCArtney, Mary Beth Peil and Chuck Cooper, but I do wish that Liz was not just listed as "ensemble".  Funnily, the "New York Sequence" song had come up on my iPod twice on the days before seeing the show, so I kind of knew what to expect.

I liked the attempts at period costumes, but wondered why a bunch of radio performers would be so dressed up and in coats and everything.  I also liked the "postcards" during Addison's voyages, but wish they had some how conveyed a sense of time as well as place.  I didn't understand why that had Raul singing that song, I think it would have worked better as just an ensemble number commenting on Addison's adventures instead of Wilson.  And I agree with a prior post, I don't know why they had so many of the performers smoking, again, if it was supposed to be a radio studio, that was illogical.

All in all, I'd give it a 7 out of 10.  

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 8:42pm

scarlet721 said: "I liked the attempts at period costumes, but wondered why a bunch of radio performers would be so dressed up... And I agree with a prior post, I don't know why they had so many of the performers smoking, again, if it was supposed to be a radio studio, that was illogical."

I’m no expert but in those days I think they more than likely would have been dressed up even for radio and they were definitely smoking in doors everywhere including radio studios.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 9:04pm

"I didn't understand why that had Raul singing that song, I think it would have worked better as just an ensemble number commenting on Addison's adventures instead of Wilson."

Wait, they now have Willie singing parts of "Addison's Trip"? Wonder why...

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 9:08pm

scarlet721 said: "And I agree with a prior post, I don't know why they had so many of the performers smoking, again, if it was supposed to be a radio studio, that was illogical."

Lol. How old are you? Road Show is set in the 1920s. Doctors used to smoke in exam rooms.

[scarlet721]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 9:08pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: ""I didn't understand why that had Raul singing that song, I think it would have worked better as just an ensemble number commenting on Addison's adventures instead of Wilson."

Wait, they now have Willie singing parts of "Addison's Trip"? Wonder why..."

Well, they had Raul singing. Not sure if he's meant to be singing as Wilson or just as a performer....

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/28/19 at 9:17pm

Besides the character's reading some stage directions (for obvious reasons), Wilson (instead of the ensemble) singing the "cultural parts" of "Addison's Trip" is the only major change I noticed. In the original, Wilson only did the spoken commentary, ie "unfortunately the emporium was just hit by a cyclone" etc. 

Updated On: 7/28/19 at 09:17 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 6:47am

“I think because it’s Sondheim people are falling for the hype.“

Well, they're the ones who've helped create and perpetuate the hype down through the years.

It's simply a bad show, and had it been written by anyone other than Sondheim, it would probably never have even been presented on a stage, much less be revised and revived multiple times.

 

[binau]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:23am

And yet you seem to be in the audience every time haha. After Eight, you probably know the lyrics and revisions better than Sondheim himself. I really am surprised that you keep going to these events to be honest. I think you secretly either love to hate it or you exaggerate your true feelings and you don’t hate it THAT much.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 8:55am

Yep. I’ve come to expect and somewhat respect his shtick on here, but why does he see EVERY Sondheim event when he has an intense dislike of everything the man has done.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 9:32am

Saturday night was perfect!
Mary Beth Peil deserved every second of that show-stopping ovation. Great song, beautifully done by a beloved actress.
Jin Ha was a wonderful surprise! He and Brandon were a gorgeous couple.
Raul was a bit too at times, but he sang the hell out of it and can shimmy with the best of them!

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 10:02am

After Eight said: "“I think because it’s Sondheim people are falling for the hype.“

Well, they're the ones who've helped create and perpetuate the hype down through the years.

It's simply a bad show, and had it been written by anyone other than Sondheim, it would probably never have even been presented on a stage, much less be revised and revived multiple times."

No lies told.

I love and respect most of Sondheim's work, but this ain't it. The scaled down nature of the Encores! "production" revealed how weak the work is.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 10:09am

SisterGeorge said: "The big climactic duet between the bros. though, seemed more duty than inspired, and therefore the ending didn't move me as intended. "

The glue holding Bounce together is pretty dull. It's basically "I Move On" from Chicago for a whole show, though I do prefer the title song to Waste. But that kind of perseverance/endurance makes more sense than how Wilson keeps coming back in Road Show. He's super toxic and aside from that one song about fireworks, the book doesn't make a very compelling case for why Addison keeps letting him back into his life. Both that final "I love you" and the idea of them being reunited in death make more sense with the themes of Bounce than Road Show. If it's a fantasy, I'd rather see Addison reunited in death with Hollis or one or both of his parents who are finally proud of him while Wilson lets him go and keeps working his own cons. 

scarlet721 said: "I didn't understand why that had Raul singing that song, I think it would have worked better as just an ensemble number commenting on Addison's adventures instead of Wilson."

I feel like that was a way to get around the ensemble members leaving with each of the offensive stereotypes. That was a great running gag. I didn't see him as Wilson in that moment, just another member of the ensemble. I can't explain why but somehow giving it to Raul was less confusing than if they'd given it to Cooper or Jin Ha or anyone else who wasn't already on stage. I didn't question that he wasn't playing his main character at that moment.

[ELP]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 4:11pm

Susanswerphone said: "Saturday night was perfect!
Mary Beth Peil deserved every second of that show-stopping ovation. Great song, beautifully done by a beloved actress.
Jin Ha was a wonderful surprise! He and Brandon were a gorgeous couple.
Raul was a bit too at times, but he sang the hell out of it and can shimmy with the best of them! "

I was there, as well, Saturday (night) and agree with you wholeheartedly! I loved everything about it. I'm not as" fussy" as others are here with comparing which of Sondheim's work is better than the other. It was beautifully acted by everyone, including the ensemble and loved the music/orchestration, etc. I thought the chemistry between Brandon and Raoul was spot-on believable and Jin Ha, whom I never knew of previously, was a complete surprise. A beautiful voice, indeed. I also agree Raoul was sometimes over the top in certain musical scenes but overall enjoyed his performance. 

The stand out of the night for me, however, was Mr. Uranowitz. His performance, as was in Falsettos (should've one the Tony for that role!), blew me away! He was funny and completely heartbreaking emotionally for me as Addison Mizner. I've been a fan of his since I first saw him in Torch Song Trilogy in D.C. before his role in An American in Paris, also a spectacular performance. 

I look forward to seeing what is next for this impressively talented young man . 

 

[binau]

Posted: 7/31/19 at 8:06am

Apparently Bernadette Peters did a reading of this show in 2006. I assume she was playing the mother role? Interesting she didn’t proceed with the show. She would have been perfect and stole the show with “isn’t he something?”. I’m guessing when Road Show happened they either couldn’t afford her or she didn’t like the small role.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/31/19 at 10:55am

qolbinau said: "Apparently Bernadette Peters did a reading of this show in 2006. I assume she was playing the mother role? Interesting she didn’t proceed with the show. She would have been perfect and stole the show with “isn’t he something?”. I’m guessing when Road Show happened they either couldn’t afford her or she didn’t like the small role."

Did she play Mama or Nellie? I could see her as either. Especially if it was just a reading. Nellie would have given her "What's Your Rush?" which I would have loved to hear her sing.