Having been a life-long fan of the talents of Mr Stephen Sondheim, and seeing that the 2006 Broadway version directed by John Doyle was available on YouTube, I knew I just had to watch it. Pity, I shouldn't have bothered.
It started well. A nice angular and 1930's art nouveau styled apartment in black and white, with a large pillar centre stage, not unlike those you see in the converted warehouses in Manhattan, with a sleek grand piano and a split-level stage, it gave a good impression. The cast walked on, each holding a musical instrument and took their positions on seats to either side away from the main stage. Bobby (Raul Esparza) was standing, or to be more exact, leaning against the piano, looking into the middle distance with that innocent, puppy-dog, "don't-bother-me-I'm-not-really-interested" expression he does so well. I thought the cast were the band.. oops, whaddamistaykatomayka! I didn't know, but apparently one of Doyle's directorial trademarks is to use actor/musicians.
In some shows, this approach works. Here it didn't. Here it was awful. Sorry, but it was. The instruments were an encumbrance, distracting, and even took our (unwanted) attention. I understand the idea behind it was that all the cast, except Bobby, played instruments throughout. This was symbolic of empowerment and taking control of your life. Bobby sits at the piano for the final song, "Being Alive" and accompanies himself in the first part of the song, signifying he has grown up, taken control and is moving on. However, we didn't need this thickly-drawn metaphor, since that comes through in the dialogue, the acting and the lyrics of that song in any case!
Overall the show is very slow. There is a distinct lack of pace or dynamic change throughout. All the cast wear black or black and white with no costume change, against a predominently black set throughout, which doesn't change, not even remotely, except for some too subtle lighting changes, throughout. Many of the songs seem to have been taken slower than normal, and the dialogue protracted with "pauses for effect". Much of it being NY specific, and so it garnered laughs from the majority NY audience live, but it fell flat for those of us watching it who are not from the city or don't know much about the city.
The direction is very static - mind you, the set doesn't help in this regard - and much is taken too sentimentally and retrospectively. It lacked pizzazz, urgency and immediacy. Both visually and energectically unsatisfying. The production came bubble-wrapped, and seemed unable to find its way out from under the wrapping. The problem with playing the whole as a melodrama, is that there are some beautifully poignant and heartfelt meaningful moments in the script, but they lose all of that if there isn't any difference between those and the high comedy!
Another bugbear of mine is using props on stage which SHOULD have food on them or SHOULD have liquid in them, and they are blatantly empty. A plate of 'cupcakes' was thin air, and glasses with actors swigging emptiness. Hate it!
The instruments, as I have already mentioned, simply got in the way, and detracted from the narrative and characterisations. My personal advice would be.. if the person is meant to play an instrument as part of the plot, then play it. If they're not.. don't! Allow the actors to concentrate on the acting, and employ some musicians to play the music! "You Can Drive A Person Crazy" demonstrated this amply. Three female singers all with saxophones, and instead of singing the "doo-doo" harmonies, they played them. It drove me nuts! Also in "Have I Got A Girl For You", just ditch the instruments... PLEASE!
Two other songs which really irritated this particular reviewer were "What Would We Do Without You", again for the same reason... this isn't a marching band, although that was the impression it gave! And the second song, "Barcelona", where there was no bed, no indication of having made love, no costume change, no nothing. Just the two of them slouching together against the piano. This altered the direction of the whole song, and the lyrics "don't get up" made no sense!
On a more positive note, there were some nice interactions between the cast, and they had a very good ensemble feel with some nice chemistry between them. I especially liked the rendition of the song "Ladies Who Lunch", and I should make a special mention to three actors / actresses who impressed despite the far-too-Brechtian-even-for-Brecht of a show they had to act in. Fred Rose as David and Heather Laws as Amy were both very good, whilst Barbara Walsh as Joanne was exceptional. I was indifferent towards Raul Esparza's performance of Billy, but I enjoyed his singing voice.
The TV / videoed version was directed by Lonny Price.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 3/6/20
No comments:
Post a Comment