Sondheim's Road Show
We went to the Public to catch Sondheim's Road Show yesterday afternoon.
I liked it. I didn't love it. But I liked it.
Parts of it almost felt like Sondheim was parodying himself with his relentless internal rhyming. Now _I_ rhyme incessantly like it's a form of literary device Tourette's and even *I* thought the rhyming was too much. And the music felt like watered down Sondheim, not the full force nature Sondheim that we hear in scores like Assassins or Sweeney Todd or Sunday in the Park with George. But a lot of what makes his harmony interesting may have been lost in the minimalistic orchestrations.
This is the first show ever that I thought Michael Cerveris was good in. And this is because the character is over the top which matches Cerveris's over the top style that make me loathe him when he ruined the beauty of the Ballad of Booth in Assassins.
Alexander Gemignani was effective. He was also better in this than he was in the other Sondheims I've seen him in. His Hinkly in Assassins wasn't bad, but his Boatman in Sunday was just... odd.
What I loved about the piece was it's ensemble concept presentational direction. It wasn't theater trying to mimic reality. It was theater doing what theater does best, creating abstract worlds with basic shapes and poetic minimalist effects.
And while the score rhymed along creatively moving the plot forward, it lacked the emotional highpoints that you get from say, Epiphany in Sweeney, or Finishing the Hat in Sunday, or the Ballad of Booth in Assassins.
What the script lacked was a world view. It told the story of two brothers beginning to end, but without bigger the bigger picture context that is evident in the greater Sondheim pieces.
In the end, I was entertained, often amazed at the genius of Sondheim's work, but left without knowing why he chose this story, or caring about anyone in the show. I expected more, but wasn't unhappy with what I got.
Cross-posted from http://www.lijoi.com
I liked it. I didn't love it. But I liked it.
Parts of it almost felt like Sondheim was parodying himself with his relentless internal rhyming. Now _I_ rhyme incessantly like it's a form of literary device Tourette's and even *I* thought the rhyming was too much. And the music felt like watered down Sondheim, not the full force nature Sondheim that we hear in scores like Assassins or Sweeney Todd or Sunday in the Park with George. But a lot of what makes his harmony interesting may have been lost in the minimalistic orchestrations.
This is the first show ever that I thought Michael Cerveris was good in. And this is because the character is over the top which matches Cerveris's over the top style that make me loathe him when he ruined the beauty of the Ballad of Booth in Assassins.
Alexander Gemignani was effective. He was also better in this than he was in the other Sondheims I've seen him in. His Hinkly in Assassins wasn't bad, but his Boatman in Sunday was just... odd.
What I loved about the piece was it's ensemble concept presentational direction. It wasn't theater trying to mimic reality. It was theater doing what theater does best, creating abstract worlds with basic shapes and poetic minimalist effects.
And while the score rhymed along creatively moving the plot forward, it lacked the emotional highpoints that you get from say, Epiphany in Sweeney, or Finishing the Hat in Sunday, or the Ballad of Booth in Assassins.
What the script lacked was a world view. It told the story of two brothers beginning to end, but without bigger the bigger picture context that is evident in the greater Sondheim pieces.
In the end, I was entertained, often amazed at the genius of Sondheim's work, but left without knowing why he chose this story, or caring about anyone in the show. I expected more, but wasn't unhappy with what I got.
Cross-posted from http://www.lijoi.com