Broadway & Me

Thanks for commenting, Esther. I hope you will se...

2012-05-17T06:12:13.104-05:00

Thanks for commenting, Esther. I hope you will see Death of a Salesman again. I think this production may be the fifth one I've seen and it's moved me and shown me new things each time.

Hey Jan, This was my first time seeing Death of a...

2012-05-14T15:33:29.877-05:00

Hey Jan,

This was my first time seeing Death of a Salesman onstage and I enjoyed it and I'm glad I had the experience. Although it may be one of those plays that's so devastating, I don't know whether I want to see it again.

I liked Philip Seymour Hoffman although I've heard that criticism, that he doesn't do the exuberance as well as the dejection. I did believe him in both. Andrew Garfield didn't seem right physically but I thought he was effective in the flashbacks as a teenager.

I'm also glad I got to see you and Bill and I'm glad we had that discussion. It made me think about what makes an American play "American." Some of the elements that I thought about in connection with Salesman were: Willy's optimism, the way in which we're defined by our jobs and the outsized role that sports plays in our society.

I'm not sure this is the definitive best American play but I think Willy Loman may be the best American role for an actor.

You bet! But I'm going to actually buy ticket...

2012-05-05T13:06:24.835-05:00

You bet! But I'm going to actually buy tickets for K and me.

Jan-- But you'll be coming too, won't you?...

2012-05-05T12:09:46.276-05:00

Jan--
But you'll be coming too, won't you???
Dan

I also loved Once. It felt unique. I loved the wa...

2012-04-26T22:46:38.432-05:00

I also loved Once. It felt unique.

I loved the way it unfolded at a leisurely pace.

Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti complemented each other so well. I especially loved Milioti's Girl, so full of humor and spunk.

The Irish folk/rock score was lovely. And Steven Hoggett's movements were always surprising and different.

Even the small glimpses we got of the supporting characters made them so interesting - the bank manager who's also a musician, and the Czech immigrant who's trying to get a promotion at work. It doesn't take much but we get some insight into their lives.

I was trying to think about why this worked for me when other movie adaptations haven't. I think you're right when you describe it as visceral theater.

Love the music from "Once"! Such a great...

2012-04-16T15:42:10.551-05:00

Love the music from "Once"! Such a great film. Hope I get the chance to catch it on Broadway. I found a really cool interview with Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova (stars/writers of the music for the movie). http://release.sonymusic.com/media/release/53514c3e50b9b7dbbac3?catalog=catalog_68

AYOOOOOOO

2012-02-28T10:38:33.978-05:00

AYOOOOOOO

As I told you after we'd both seen this play, ...

2012-02-22T11:35:49.393-05:00

As I told you after we'd both seen this play, on separate occasions, I enjoyed it. Unlike you, I wasn't bothered by the fact that it was basically a straightforward recounting and that it lacked significant revelation of motives. Rather, I was entertained by its literateness (and by what were, for me, grounded, intelligent performances). And perhaps (most of all?) relieved that it had these virtues, following the Atlantic's perplexingly fey Adam Rapp play and its execrable Ethan Coen evening of trivial one acts.
But your post is well argued and persuasive. You've brought me around.

I saw Porgy and Bess in its pre-Broadway tryout in...

2012-02-20T20:55:34.764-05:00

I saw Porgy and Bess in its pre-Broadway tryout in Cambridge. I didn't know the music and I only knew a vague outline of the story. I felt so drawn in. (I even saw the alternate ending, before they changed it. Since I didn't know the original, I thought it worked.)

I thought Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis had terrific chemistry. My heart really went out to his Porgy, finding the love of his life. And Philip Boykin was incredible as Crown - so scary good. Joshua Henry was adorable. There was a real baby onstage and he sang A Woman is a Sometime Thing while holding the baby. My heart melted.

Anyway, I could go on, but as someone who'd never seen the opera, I really enjoyed it. Although I do agree that they could have done more with the set.

Happy blogoversary. You're always a great read...

2012-02-15T19:42:31.943-05:00

Happy blogoversary. You're always a great read!

Thanks for leaving a comment, Janine. I have to c...

2012-02-11T16:34:40.744-05:00

Thanks for leaving a comment, Janine. I have to confess that I've only watched one episode of Glee. But I sure do hope you're right about Smash.

I personally think Smash has a lot of good qualiti...

2012-02-09T00:28:30.554-05:00

I personally think Smash has a lot of good qualities and is going to be a great show. I have been a fan of Glee for the past 2 years but I am happy this show came along because the writing for Glee has gotten kind of horrbile lately and i am losing interest in the show.

Hey Jon, thanks for commenting and for making me ...

2012-02-08T13:46:58.914-05:00

Hey Jon, thanks for commenting and for making me feel a little less lonely.

I agree with just about everything you said but do you think we theater lovers are being too hard on the show? I mean cases don't go to trial as fast as they do on Law & Order and do people really have any idea what all those insidey medical terms mean on shows like House and Gray's Anatomy?

All that aside, I'm really sad to hear about Alan's opinion of the episodes yet to come. It's particularly ironic because I just heard some folks who profess not to like Broadway saying how much they enjoyed the show.

Wouldn't it be a kick-in-the-pants if Smash bypassed the choir (folks like us) and ended up preaching a successful gospel to the philistines?

"Does it make me a heretic to say that I’m no...

2012-02-08T11:42:33.245-05:00

"Does it make me a heretic to say that I’m not yet sold on “Smash”?" Nope. I'm with you. The first episode, which made what would have been two or three months' worth of work appear to take place in a few days, was jarring. The "inside baseball" name-dropping is awkward -- this, from someone who gets all the references. If they're aiming to keep the audience numbers in the hundreds, that's the way to go.

I think it was Alan Sepinwall who said that the third episode was a dud. Caveat whatever is Latin for viewer.

Hey, thanks for reading and I hope you'll cont...

2012-01-20T14:41:16.003-05:00

Hey, thanks for reading and I hope you'll continue to do so. The spring season is already filling up with lots of news shows so that should give us both the opportunity to see some good ones.

Sorry, RobertP. I liked Follies a lot but there i...

2012-01-20T14:35:17.099-05:00

Sorry, RobertP. I liked Follies a lot but there isn't one show on this list that I'd moved to make room for it. Would love to know what else is on your list.

How did Follies not make the cut?

2012-01-20T10:09:04.869-05:00

How did Follies not make the cut?

I find it interesting that Steven Speilberg has ma...

2012-01-18T14:00:36.919-05:00

I find it interesting that Steven Speilberg has made a movie version of this. To me it says something about the quality of the story.
I looked up the Handspring Puppet Company to see what the creative process was that went into making the puppets. It was really interesting.
I'm glad I found some cheap War Horse tickets so that I could see it on stage.

Hi, I've just started following your blog here...

2012-01-18T12:15:17.945-05:00

Hi, I've just started following your blog here. I wanted to see it before it closes. I don't feel so bad now for missing it. Thank you for the review.

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, alt...

2012-01-18T10:24:04.193-05:00

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, although I wish you'd said a little more about why you liked the show. Or even why you didn't like what I wrote about it.

The play is a lot better written than this "r...

2012-01-18T09:22:13.867-05:00

The play is a lot better written than this "review"

Hey check out (and like) an awesome video intervie...

2012-01-11T13:33:33.616-05:00

Hey check out (and like) an awesome video interview with the talented playwright of the Broadway play "Chinglish" David Henry Hwang at: http://culturecatch.com/vidcast/david-henry-hwang

Hey guys, many thanks for taking the time to comme...

2012-01-02T19:06:53.108-05:00

Hey guys, many thanks for taking the time to comment.

Jon, I agree with you totally about the link color but, alas, I've tried to change it several times (even brought in a tech guru) and it remains the same. Would welcome any ideas you--or anyone else--has about what I might do aside from changing the background color, which, I confess, I'm really reluctant to do.

In the meantime, Happy New Year to you and to Cara too. Cheers, jan

Of these shows, I only saw Jerusalem (one of the d...

2012-01-02T16:22:26.617-05:00

Of these shows, I only saw Jerusalem (one of the disadvantages to living over 12 hours away from NY). But I can say that I was blown away by the magic that happened on that stage. That show was amazing and I'll be talking about the show AND the performance of Mark Rylance for a long, long time.

Happy new year, and thank you for everything you d...

2012-01-01T09:42:23.108-05:00

Happy new year, and thank you for everything you do in helping me keep in touch with theater. Well, almost everything. Maybe you could change the color of the URL links? Blue against the blue background is like camouflage!