#1How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 4:53amI would not say people have spoke much about this revival recently. How was Chita and the revival more broadly? In theory the cast seem amazing!
"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
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#2How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 6:26am
Here’s the long B-Roll and see for yourself. The revival was lavish and gorgeous and Banderas never missed a performance.
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#3How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 8:14am
The Nine revival was spectacular all around. In the video BroadwayFosse posted, you can see Chita in "Folies Bergeres" around 17:35-22:40. The video has most of her song.
#4How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 8:30am
And it was hot when she danced the tango with Banderas, and always got applause when at the end of it she'd just kick her leg up to his shoulder. Eartha Kitt was excellent too in the role.
#5How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 10:14am
Chita was fine as was her replacement Eartha Kitt. Both women were legends in their own right and a pleasure to watch in the role.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#6How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 3:01pmIt was terrific, through and through.
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#7How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 3:35pm
Oh lord, everything about that show was magnificent, far surpassing the original 1981 production to my mind. First consider that amazing cast: Antonio Banderas, sure, but also Laura Benanti, Jane Krakowski, Mary Stuart Masterson. Chita was terrific although a bit miscast, I'd say. Her "French" accent was-- shall we say a potpourri of pan-European tongues? And the staging, half of it in ankle-high water, prevented her a chance to really let loose with dazzling moves.
Oh but that staging, by a brand new director to me named David Leveaux-- so exciting and dreamlike and appropriate to the material. And Scott Pask's first of many magical sets: with that crumbling fresco of a Botticelli face on pivoting wall panels that were gradually overrun by real water falls, and an endless spiral staircase to the flies that rotated in the last seconds to display all those ladies on its treads like jewels at Tiffany's.
This show should have run for years instead of that impoverished Chicago revival down the block.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#8How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/9/20 at 5:30pm
I doubt that anything will ever approach the beauty of the original production. There were so many gorgeous stage moments. That said, I thought this production was spectacularly good, and the cast was overall as good as the original cast, i.e., some were better while some were not, but all were terrific.
Antonio Banderas' performance was a revelation for me, far superior to Raul Julia's IMO. At the end of the show, he had me fighting back some tears, something that never happened the three times I saw Julia. Chita Rivera's performance was also terrific, if not quite as thrilling as Lilianne Montevecchi's. Chita commanded the stage in her big number (Follies Bergere), but couldn't come up with anything to combat the memory of Montevecchi's phrasing that added to the enjoyment of her performance. I don't know if the role was written for Montevecchi, but it sure felt like it was.
Jane Kraskowski was also excellent, but was overshadowed for me by my strong memories of Anita Morris's performance. For me Laura Benanti made more of an impression than Shelley Burch, but again both were excellent.
I really want a new revival of this...Nine is one of my 10 or 15 favorite musicals ever; and, since the movie was so bad -- I truly believe Kate Hudson's big production number is probably the worst I have seen in a movie musical ever (but I didn't see Cats) -- I really am overdue for a fix.
#9How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/10/20 at 4:43amNine feels so much higher quality and memorable To me than the two Yeston shows I have actually seen live: Titanic and Death Takes a Holiday. Does another show come close? Grand Hotel?
"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
#10How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/10/20 at 6:39am
Grand Hotel is pretty spectacular, but nothing compares to Nine. That was a lightning in a bottle moment for the creative team. It's so experimental to have had as much success as it did on Broadway twice over.
I will say I think Yeston's best work is December Songs, a song cycle inspired by Schubert's Winterreise. It's as alive and experimental as Nine in its combination of classical, cabaret, and musical theatre styles. It's the story of a singer reflecting on their lost love during a winter walk.
#11How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/10/20 at 7:30am
I really wish Eartha Kitt's performance was recorded in some video form, I heard shes amazing in it!
This original revival cast was truly phenomenal!
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Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#12How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/10/20 at 11:17am
qolbinau said: "Nine feels so much higher quality and memorable To me than the two Yeston shows I have actually seen live: Titanic and Death Takes a Holiday. Does another show come close? Grand Hotel?"
I did not see Death Takes a Holiday, but I could not get through the OCR even once. I saw Phantom at the Paper Mill Playhouse at least 25 years ago (I moved from NJ in 1994), and thought it was totally forgettable, with not a single song standing out for me. To put things in perspective, I remember scenes from Onward Victoria, The Yearling, and Dr. Jazz, to site three mega-flops, and I do not remember a single thing about Phantom. I really love much of the score for Titanic, but I was disappointed in the show post the opening number. I think the Grand Hotel score has a few good songs that he wrote, but for me the OCR is a sludge. Them there is his one great work. I think the score for Nine is absolutely gorgeous.
#13How was Chita in NINE?
Posted: 8/11/20 at 10:59pm
In fairness, we shouldn't be judging him for Grand Hotel. He wrote huge chunks, yes, but he was also merging it with a pre-existing score by Wright and Forrest (of Kismet fame).
Formerly gvendo2005
Broadway Legend
joined: 5/1/05
Blocked: After Eight, suestorm, david_fick, emlodik, lovebwy, Dave28282, joevitus, BorisTomashevsky
Broadway Legend
joined: 5/1/05
Blocked: After Eight, suestorm, david_fick, emlodik, lovebwy, Dave28282, joevitus, BorisTomashevsky
