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Fwd: A Christmas Carol
Here's a review of A Christmas Carol (and some other things) from
another list:
>>
>>Okay folks, I'm back from the great north country. The show's great.
>>Go and see it.
>>
>>Here's how the trip went:
>>
>>Got into NYC on Friday evening and met some friends for another show,
SWAN LAKE (the modern retelling with a gay prince), which was very
creative and interesting. Funny--I went to London and saw an American
show, and then I go to NYC to see this British thing. Anyhow, I'd
recommend it, too, even for non-dance fans. It was half-way a comedy
and half-way quite dramatic. So now I'm in love with the swan, this
lovely creature who showed up at the ball dressed all in black leather.
<grin> Uh-hem. Back to the subject at hand.
>>
>>Slept well. Tried to connect with Kathy and Gill for breakfast, but
>>when they called, my hotel denied knowing me. By nine o'clock I'd
>>decided it was getting late, so went to the theater and sure enough,
>>caught them going in. (Great to see you, gals!) Went to Macy's and
>>bought Christmas stuff. Dumped it at the hotel and then got back to
>thetheater in time for the afternoon show.
>>
>>It's a mob scene. The place seats 5400 (I asked). Hmmm. It's not
>much figuring to arrive at the fact they're making a lot of money here.
Say they average maybe $30 a head. Not bad. But then they do have some
overhead. The set wraps around the front of the theater all the way to
about three-quarters back. The very last of it has lighted windows with
silhouettes, but closer to the stage there are stairs and apparently
space behind where people can lean out the windows and come out the
doors. The house fronts on stage swing open to reveal the interiors.
Great lighting effects and snow that falls on the audience. My seat is
really too close to the front--I'd rather be back a little further--but
it was impossible to explain that to Ticketmaster when I bought the
ticket. I'm close enough to feel the vibration when the dancers jump
and to catch all the nuances of expression.
>>
>>So Roger's doing a great job. I might have a couple of picky little
>>comments, but on the whole it's outstanding. Somebody on another list
complained that he's wearing so much make-up as to be unrecognizable,
but that's not it--it's the characterization that does it. His Scrooge
is something of a caricature--a few stock expressions, very cute and
entertaining, and he's also very dynamic--he stays on the move (except
for a couple of spots--the picky comments). He doesn't do that much
singing until near the end of the show, but when he does, it gets
serious. That was a very interesting comment he made on the Conan show,
about refusing to sing in the Broadway style. The difference is really
obvious here, very noticible since he just mentioned it. The Broadway
style is sort of mincing and nasal, and lends a superficial effect (I
think). Roger means to get to people, and he does. The music seems to
be written in baritone range--pretty low--and he's got a tight lid on
the volume, so you get a really nice resonance. Especially great effect
with Roger singing harmony to the kids chorus, all these sweet, piping
soprano voices. There should have been more of that.
>>
>>They have some entertaining technical problems in this particular
show. Scrooge's headstone is supposed to rise up out of the stage in
this grand effect and it won't. Roger and the ghost just ignore it, and
Roger continues into the major solo of the show. Meanwhile, back
behind him, there's all this thrashing, and the headstone goes up a
ways, comes back down. Various arms and hands appear over the edge.
Finally a tech marches out from backstage, clad all in black, wearing
headset and utility belt, and takes charge of the thing. Some guy in
costume helps out with the cables, and right in the middle of the song
the thing goes up. Gets a nice round of applause, which fails to rattle
Roger (he's missed the whole thing)--he just blinks and goes on. They
have a finale and Roger rocks back a little and jacks up the
volume--it's easy to hear him above the whole cast. Then for the
curtain call, the characterization is all gone, and it's easy to see
Roger, clear as day, through make-up, costume and all.
>>
>>Then I have a choice between the Metropolitan Museum and seeing the
show again. Hmmm. Well, since I was so close, I didn't get a good look
at the whole thing, so I buy another ticket for the evening and sit in
the back this time. I can't see the facial expressions now, but the
body language still looks great. I can see all the special effects, and
the headstone performs dramatically.
>>
>>From the Conan interview, it seemed Roger was a little worried about
defying the Broadway style convention, but I don't really think he's
got a problem. Here's how it goes: there this guy sitting next to me
this time who's obviously been dragged to the show. He fidgits and
squirms, checks his watch, makes a run for popcorn, sighs a lot. He's
hardly looked at the stage once. So then Roger starts that solo, and
suddenly the guy's paying attention. All those other singers and
dancers are just fluff, but Roger's delivering the real thing. <grin>
This guy didn't even realize he'd been hooked.
>>
>>I've read in the Newsweek that limited run shows are the coming
thing--Broadway producers have noticed they can sign big stars for
short term engagements. What an idea, huh?
>>
>>
>>
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