Thoughts on A TALE OF TWO CITIES...the new musical

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:23pm

I don't have the frame of mind at the moment to craft one of my diatribes, so here are the notes I wrote down on the train ride home.

Score: unexciting, unmemorable, unmelodious. Lyrics simple and banal; most of the "songs" didn't sound like anything except people signing back-up to random chords.

Book: Banal. No fully drawn characters. Extremely confusing. One of the greatest novels ever written rendered totally incomprehensible. Had no idea what went on during the first act. Whose idea was it to give part of the final song to a character we've never met?

James Barbour - Excellent voice, characterization (proves that a good actor can somewhat overcome bad writing). Makes the most of utter SH*T, but can't necessarily make it look good.

Brandi Burkhardt - Serviceable in a part that belongs to Erin Davie, with which she would do wonders. 3 years ago, the role would have been cast with Kelli O'Hara.

Aaron Lazar, Gregg Edelman, Katherine McGrath, Nick Wyman - wasted.

Natalie Toro - Idina Menzel. Can't act, belts very well. Don't get the buzz.

Very well-sung production, but where are the melodies?

Set contains characteristics of any Tony Walton design - big and noisy. These happen to be ugly, too. And VERY noisy. They couldn't find a way to make the Barricades motorized?

Richard Pilbrow's lighting was a highlight; David Zinn's costumes are your average French Revolution garb.

Domonic Sack should be sacked for his atrocious sound design. Over amplified, unmodulated, it was like a rock concert of a band whose music really stinks.

Warren Carlyle's staging was solid - many striking moments (the horses, the bizarre stage show at the top of act 2, the gallows at the end). Trevor Nunn and John Caird should sue for his blatant stealing of the Les Miserables Act 1 finale.

Other comparisons to Les Miz are unfounded - Les Miz is by far a superior show in every way, shape, and form. Even if you hate it, there are memorable tunes and an involving story.

Place was packed (though I was able to move down in the mezz). Crowd on their feet before the bows started. What did I miss?
Updated On: 9/13/08 at 09:23 PM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:33pm

Pretty harsh...As I wrote in my review a week or so ago, I would say it's an "OK" show that will fair better in regional theatre but will not run very long on Broadway, unfortunately.

[HometownGlory]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:38pm

Whoo, vicious. I like it a lot more than you but like hearing other opinions. While I disagree with some of your points, I agree on Natalie Toro: I did not believe her character for one second, which is poorly written and completely defanged (in the novel, let's be honest, she is a heartless bitch. Here, she's a victim too? Oh please.) She can belt to the rafters but doesn't know what to do with her part.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:41pm

None of them know what to do with their characters.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:47pm

That's one heckova bitter pill to swallow...
I truly am sorry you didn't snejoy the show. Truly.
I'll be weighing-in on the show late-Monday / early-Tuesday.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:52pm

Let me add a post-script for all of the show's shills (WithoutATrace excluded, as I respect his opinion highly):

I went into this show with no fixed opinion whatsoever. I enjoy James Barbour very much, I don't care who he had sex with, I don't care if he was the one who was responsible for the Rape of the Sabine Women. No opinions on this board about the show or any of the actors influenced my feelings or swayed them.

[gregj63]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:03pm

I saw it Tuesday night, and have to agree with most of your comments. And why do all the male characters need to speak in falsely deep, booming voices? It's impossible to tell everyone apart, they all speak in the same stilted way.

[Robert Taylor]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:11pm

Thanks for the review, Yankeefan, it was very well written.

Personally, I disagree with most of what you wrote, which is a shame because I normally really agree with your opinions and I always value them. I'm pretty surprised you didn't like it. Oh well, can't win them all.

Oh, btw, here's a link to my review if you are interested.

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=975899#3655209

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:13pm

Thanks for posting the link. I'll check it out.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:26pm

I agree with a lot of Yankee's comments.
Except I found Barbour to be posing and strutting and not really acting.
Are the stage hands still visable and sitting on the set during scenes?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:30pm

Yes. They sit during each scene.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:40pm

Very well-sung production, but where are the melodies?

No, but-you can't say that, sir! Thanks to a certain God of Musical Theater, someone can just come back and say "Well, perhaps you didn't appreciate these melodies on a first listen, but after ten or twenty more listens, THEN! ONLY THEN! WILL YOU UNDERSTAND!"

Like I said on another thread, I feel really sorry for the creative team: they've practically walked up to Brantley and handed him every bit of ammo he needs to shred the show to pieces.

PS. I do like the last song of the show, "I Can't Recall" - a lovely song with a tone that has nothing to do with the lyric (the effect is something akin to setting a lyric by Michael John LaChiusa to music by Michael John LaChiusa.)

Updated On: 9/13/08 at 10:40 PM

[NGD2225]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:46pm

Do you think it has the power to stay until Nov. 12?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 10:47pm

Touche.

But Jill Santoriello is no Stephen Sondheim. She's not even a Maury Yeston (whose music it takes me a great deal of time to get into).

Yeston and Sondheim know how to create intelligent music.

Updated On: 9/13/08 at 10:47 PM

[HeightOfNonchalance]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 11:27pm

I'm with you yankeefan. Maybe I thought a little less of Brandi Burkhardt, and a little more of Natalie Toro, but pretty much have the exact same opinion. No other word for the sets but ugly, and I experienced a similar audience jumping to their feet for the ensemble. They seemed to respond to volume. Piece of junk.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 11:57pm

I really enjoyed it. I found it thrilling and exciting. I was a bit confused during Act 1, but I was still engaged. I just found it a very engaging show. The music was great. I found a few melodies that I kept singing throughout the day. There were so many beautiful stage pictures, and the lighting was stunning. I really enjoyed what they did with the guillotine noise at the end of the show. I really hope the show sticks. Audiences seem to enjoy it. It got a major standing ovation, and that's saying a lot nowadays. (I saw Spring Awakening and Young Frakenstein, neither of which got standing ovations.)

[JoeFaragher]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 12:57am

I think that A Tale of Two Cities is boldly unnecessary. It's too like Les Miserables in story, premises, and even score and staging (though, obviously Les Miz has better quality music, story development, and the original staging credibility). There's only room for one crazy revolutionary France musical, and people love Les Miserables much more than A Tale of Two Cities. (Even though if you look at the original books, A Tale of Two Cities is much preferred)

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:23am

I don't agree Joe. If it weren't for the musical, I would never have known the story of "Tale of Two Cities." I read quite often, but I would never have picked up the Dickens novel, but after seeing the musical I can understand the beauty of the story. Especially the famous last lines.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:35am

I feel like I have to back myself up before I am called a shill in an unnecessary manor. I have been a member of this site long before Two Cities came to Broadway. I love this show and that is why I am defending it. And, I do feel that the word "shill" is thrown about a bit too lightly then it should be.

That being said, I respectfully disagree with what Yankeefan had to say about this show. I thought that the acting was well done. Toro and Barbour were the best acting wise of that show and the music was well done.

I know Les Miserables VERY well and can picture the blocking point for point when listing to any recording of the music. And, I must say that there is no blatant stealing of the act one closer from Les Miserables. Nor do they do anything that comes close to it.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:41am

Did you really find it confusing? I thought an asset was that it told the story in an economical and engaging way, distilling it from a large and complicated novel. The novel's characters are caricatures as well. That's the genre. The composer made a sincere effort to flesh out the female lead (although she's given a song that stops the action and feels inappropriate at the end of the second act).

I'm not saying it's a great show (it's not) or that it's particularly well done. What I found completely bizarre was that she wrote hardly any songs! It's merely full of repeated musical phrases. Of course Les Miz repeats as well, but at least they are full, memorable songs and not 20 second blurbs. It's not even sung through. There's no reason for her to write a show full of clips of songs rather than real songs. Isn't she a member of BMI? Nobody ever pointed this out to her?

There is the occasional song and those moments are nice. There's even a genuinely good song in the second act between Carton and Barsad.

"I Can't Recall" is clearly meant to be the standout seeing as we hear it about five million times. It has a pretty hook but--and here's my main complaint--this woman really should really be sued for plagiarism. Listen to it and see if you can't hear "I Could Write a Book". Sometimes Les Miz gets outright quoted (any time the Bastille comes on...). I dunno, it really bothered me. Maybe she should have worked with someone else who could have brought lyrics with depth and ORIGINAL music with compelling dramatic shape to the table. I'm not saying she can't compose, but I don't think she has the instincts of a dramatic composer (or maybe didn't work hard enough to develop the score).

So in short: It plays like an unfortunate first draft, but I thought it was enjoyable enough. James Barbour was great.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 2:43am

In what way do the Bastilles look exactly like the barricades from Les Miserables.

There are so many people on this forum who say things are exactly copied from Les Miserables to the point that the creators should sue when that isn't the case. And, that irks me to no end.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 3:07am

Not looks... the music quotes. And if you can't see the similarities between the two shows, there is nothing I can do to help you.

I just don't like the lack of originality involved. Even Boublil and Schonberg's sound differs from show to show. Homage is one thing...

[winston89]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 3:31am

All I am going to say is that what might seem as clear as day to some might not seem that way to others.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 4:17am

I'm not sure what you mean. The two shows are clearly written in similar styles. Considering the similar subject matter, setting, characters, events--it's hard not to draw comparisons. I think the author may have been better served by being more inventive with her music since the book is strong. I suppose you can argue that it's a matter of opinion whether the two shows are vastly similar but if nearly everyone who sees it says the same thing, then...

[winston89]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 4:51am

What I meant was that I have read reviews where there were some people who said that some of the visual parts of the blocking were stolen from Les Miserables and that is a fact that is as bright as day. On the same token I have read reviews where people have said that they saw nothing in the blocking that was similar to Les Miserables at all.

What I meant by not everyone seeing the same thing was talking about some of the visual blocking of the show. I thought that was what you were talking about too and got confused until you clarified things in your last post.

I guess what bothers me the most is that because there seems to be more people who think that the blocking is a ripoff from Les Miserables then there are people who don't see it that way, they choose not to look at is as two different groups who have two different opinions. But, that they are right to say that Two Cities stole blocking from Les Miserables and that the people who don't see that are stupid to think otherwise. I feel like when it comes to art not everyone is going to see the same thing. That's what makes art art. But, you have to realize that people are going to have a different opinion then you are going to and just accept that and move on.