1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:05am

All I can say is (and don't ask me how I know this), the libretto's a mess but the score...wow!

What are other people's opinions?

Updated On: 9/25/08 at 09:05 AM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:23am

im 50/50

I have a live recording of this show and the musical is quite good, a few rubbish songs though

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:31am

I personally hear no rubbish songs. What are these rubbish songs?

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:37am

i hated The Nation That Wasn't there (i think that's what its called), Pity The Poor and one other but i cant remember what it's called lol

In all its a good score though (with a shaky book)

I once spoke to Patricia R about this show, she said she knew it was gonna be a flop within a few days of rehearsals lol

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:44am

I think it is absolutely 100% brilliant. I listen to the score often and I love every song. Ken Howard and Particia Routledge are fantastic. Too bad it didn't have a longer run and was not given an official OBCR.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:46am

It should have run much longer but i dont think it ever stood a chance since the reports from out of town were dreadful, plus the out of town show was better

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:53am

I love this score a lot! Routledge and Howard were both so wonderful. The President Jefferson Sunday Luncheon Party March often gets stuck in my head for hours.

The First Lady of the Land is a showstopper to be reckonded with. The way Routledge changes her voice between Grant and Hayes is so funny.

The book is a bit of a mess. It comes across as too episodic, even though there are supposed to be common themes holding the whole piece together. Unfortunately these themes aren't brought out enough to be the glue to keep the show from falling apart. Still, this doesn't take away from the wonderful score.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:56am

There is a OBCR

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 9:58am

That's not an OBCR. It is a soundboard/bootleg recording.

Edit: If I'm not mistaken Bernstein specifically forbid the recording of the show because the experience left such a bad taste in his mouth. What a shame.

Updated On: 9/25/08 at 09:58 AM

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 10:05am

Cheers Whizzer, i didn't know that.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 10:12am

Yeah, it's really too bad that Howard and Routledge didn't get the chance to properly record their performances. The only official release of the score is a CD called The White House Cantata. It is an abridged version of the score, and the performances are only so so.

I guess we are going to have to wait for some sort of complete studio album to come out. I actually think Ebersole would be an interesting choice for the Routledge role. In Grey Gardens when she sings Around the World she instantly goes from yelling, "I'll shove you under the goddamn bed!!" to beautifully singing, "Around the world...". It also reminds me of Routledge changing from the crass Julia Grant to the smooth-toned Lucy Hayes.

Updated On: 9/25/08 at 10:12 AM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 10:13am

"If I'm not mistaken Bernstein specifically forbid the recording of the show because the experience left such a bad taste in his mouth. What a shame."

Whizzer, you are 100% correct about this.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 10:45am

I was actually lucky enough to see 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at the National Theatre in DC prior to its (short) Broadway run. I agree the book was not great but the score was so good I really enjoyed it. My fav song is "Seena".

There IS a recording of a large chunk of the score - a studio recording with the London Symphony Orchestra under the title "White House Cantata" with Thomas Hampson and June Anderson singing the leads. It's available on Amazon.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 11:17am

I've heard White House Cantata. It is dreadful. Not representative at all of what the score/show was like on Broadway. Plus, the performances are sub-par. It is a crime that Bernstein didn't record it with Routledge and Howard.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 11:28am

The Bernstein estate had Indiana University do a remounting of this show back in 1992. It even played the Kennedy Center. Erik Haagensen (a Lerner expert), directed the show and restored the original concept of putting on a play where the actors break from scenes to comment on them. Those songs would be accompanied only by piano (like a rehearsal) and the White House/staff scenes would all be with orchestra. I was in it. It was pretty cool and the music, mostly is amazing. The book, even with the fixes, was still too preachy and the Bernstein estate (after one more try in the mid-90's), let the score be turned into the White House Cantata.
I agree the score deserved a better recording, with amazing theatre singers vs. opera singers. Brian Stokes Mitchell as Lud, Audra McDonald as Seena, Judy Kaye as the First Lady (who, by the way, did record "Duet for one" on Broadway Showstoppers EMI. wouldn't they have sounded great?!
Alas, the Bernstein estate will not let this be presented any other way now.

[lvpblues]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 11:57am

The score is brilliant, quite possibly some of the best work Bernstein has done. The "Duet for One" is a tour-de-force showstopper, but it's also one of the most intelligently constructed musical scenes I've ever heard.

I attended the Collegiate Chorale's presentation of "A White House Cantata" in March, because I love the music so much and wanted to hear it live. While I enjoyed the opportunity, I couldn't help but feel that the concert revision shouldn't be the final verdict on the score. The piece is eminently theatrical and not classical and I feel would fare better with musical theatre actors rather than opera singers. As the
"Cantata," the piece is more staid, solemn and pretentious than when it was "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." (Am I the only one who prefers the Broadway overture to the pre-Broadway prelude?)

My vote for the First Lady is Victoria Clark, who is the closest thing I think we have to a Patricia Routledge today.

[commasplice]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 1:34pm

"Judy Kaye as the First Lady (who, by the way, did record "Duet for one" on Broadway Showstoppers EMI."

Judy also sings a lovely "Take Care of This House" on her "Where, Oh Where" CD.

At the "Bernstein's Broadway" concert in Chicago in 2007, they did three selections from the show -- Judy again sang "Take Care of This House," a boy soprano (it was a two night concert, with different boys each night) sang "If I Was a Dove," and Brian d'Arcy James sang "Ten Square Miles by the Potomac River" with the chorus. I loved every second of it (well, maybe not some of the notes the boy hit, but hearing a few selections of the score live? Fantastic.).

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 2:02pm

I am ashamed to admit that as a huge Bernstein fanatic, I am not very familiar with this score. I really need to get on that.

But I'm sure the score must be magnificent -- it's Bernstein!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 2:27pm

I've only heard the White House Cantata and so don't have anything to compare it to and, whilst the opera singers may be wooden, the music is so extraordinary I have out-of-body experiences listening it.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 4:20pm

I saw it in DC prior to its New York opening, and it was a total mess written by incredibly brilliant people. Howard and Routledge were terrific and I still love the score.

I had a cassette recording, now long gone. I would love to hear it again!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 7:48pm

I actually saw it & thought it was OK.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 8:22pm

I love this score, and completely agree that "Duet for One" is COMPLETELY brilliant. I adore it.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 8:32pm

Did any clips of this show ever leak anywhere?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 10:41pm

Someone should play Take Care of This House for Mr. Bush.

[lvpblues]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 12:15am

Matt, funny you should mention that. The first time I ever heard the song was actually on the 2001 Kennedy Center Honors. It was only three months after 9/11 and Renee Fleming closed the evening with a moving rendition of "Take Care of This House." I wonder if the president was listening...

Warren Hoge, of the NY Times, was a part of the post show discussion after the NY premiere of the "Cantata." He was assigned by the Times to cover the out of town exploits of the show for its out of town tryouts and into NY. His admiration for the score is unending. He mentioned that when he was in Washington at a function with President Reagan, he told the him about the show and the song. And Mr. Reagan asked him to sing it for him - and he did right then and there at the table.

~Kev