Two Shows in New York
Last night we saw Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, a dinner theatre version of War and Peace, or at least the romantic plotline thereof. We really enjoyed it.
They've done an amazing job with the tent where it's performed. Set up like a cabaret, with stage sections curving between the tables and musicians tucked in the corners, it's lush and beautifully lit and the staff are all dressed fabulously to mesh with the cast.
The first shot of lemon vodka was free and we were given a small shot of very fresh, tasty borscht and crudites. We decided to supplement that with a charcuterie and cheese board and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Just before the show started they gave us a cheese & potato pierogi each--and then the lights went down and the music began.
The entire show is sung, except for one very moving line. The music is a madcap mashup of pop rock with Russian themes. The opening number introduces each of the characters ("Anatole's hot, Marya is old school, Sonya is good, Natasha is young...and Andrey isn't here!") and assures the audience that they can find a synopsis and a tree of relationships in the program. Many of the lyrics of the songs are straight exposition, explaining what the characters are thinking and even giving stage directions--Daniel found this annoying, but I thought it was a very effective way of telling the story without depending much on set or blocking. The cast were very strong--not a weak performer in the bunch--and managed despite the fast-moving and somewhat gimmicky nature of the show to achieve moments of real emotional truth.
At the intermission we were served a simple salad of arugula with parmesan, couscous, and grilled chicken and salmon over spring vegetables. Nothing spectacular, but better than it might have been. We were disappointed in our tablemates--as a party of four we were seated with another couple, who were dour and unfriendly and seemed somewhat out of their depth. I did strike up a great conversation in the line for the loo with a woman who turned out to be the Interim Artistic Director of the Cleveland Play House.
The second act opens with the song "Letters" ("In the early nineteenth century we write letters, we right letters. When we write down what we're thinking we feel better, we feel better!") Throughout the show the actors were moving around us, sometimes playing bits right in front of our table. At one point in this song, one of the ensemble turned to us, sang to me and handed me a love note. What a great touch!
My only complaint is that in the second act, the accordion behind us was loud enough that I often couldn't make out specific lyrics, but the gist of the songs was always clear enough that it didn't distract too much.
Overall, this was a very impressive and fun show. I'd love to go with an even larger group.
This afternoon we saw Christopher Durang's "Sonia, Vanya, Masha and Spike," which recently won the Tony for Best Play. I hated it.
It's mostly the script that I hated. Now, it has the disadvantage of being a comedy and those are always a tough sell with me. But this was such a trivial thing, well-constructed and pandering to the grey-haired Broadway audience, with a hot young guy tossed as a sop to the teenaged girls. None of the characters were real, much of the humor was mean, degrading the actress playing "Masha"--Sigourney Weaver in this case, who failed to impress--seems to be part of the point and David Hyde Pierce's Niles-style rant about how much better things used to be (when he was younger and we licked our stamps) was incredibly tedious. Billy Magnusson's commitment to the shallow stupidity of his character was laudable and there was a nice moment of acting from "Sonia" that was undermined by the cliches of the script. But the redeeming moments were very few and too far between to keep me from getting bored. And did I mention the Magic Negro? No kidding, there she was: Cassandra the cleaning woman with visions and voodoo powers. So no, I'm not going to be recommending this one for T@F to perform!
So, win some/lose some, but seeing even bad theatre with good friends makes for a good time!
They've done an amazing job with the tent where it's performed. Set up like a cabaret, with stage sections curving between the tables and musicians tucked in the corners, it's lush and beautifully lit and the staff are all dressed fabulously to mesh with the cast.
The first shot of lemon vodka was free and we were given a small shot of very fresh, tasty borscht and crudites. We decided to supplement that with a charcuterie and cheese board and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Just before the show started they gave us a cheese & potato pierogi each--and then the lights went down and the music began.
The entire show is sung, except for one very moving line. The music is a madcap mashup of pop rock with Russian themes. The opening number introduces each of the characters ("Anatole's hot, Marya is old school, Sonya is good, Natasha is young...and Andrey isn't here!") and assures the audience that they can find a synopsis and a tree of relationships in the program. Many of the lyrics of the songs are straight exposition, explaining what the characters are thinking and even giving stage directions--Daniel found this annoying, but I thought it was a very effective way of telling the story without depending much on set or blocking. The cast were very strong--not a weak performer in the bunch--and managed despite the fast-moving and somewhat gimmicky nature of the show to achieve moments of real emotional truth.
At the intermission we were served a simple salad of arugula with parmesan, couscous, and grilled chicken and salmon over spring vegetables. Nothing spectacular, but better than it might have been. We were disappointed in our tablemates--as a party of four we were seated with another couple, who were dour and unfriendly and seemed somewhat out of their depth. I did strike up a great conversation in the line for the loo with a woman who turned out to be the Interim Artistic Director of the Cleveland Play House.
The second act opens with the song "Letters" ("In the early nineteenth century we write letters, we right letters. When we write down what we're thinking we feel better, we feel better!") Throughout the show the actors were moving around us, sometimes playing bits right in front of our table. At one point in this song, one of the ensemble turned to us, sang to me and handed me a love note. What a great touch!
My only complaint is that in the second act, the accordion behind us was loud enough that I often couldn't make out specific lyrics, but the gist of the songs was always clear enough that it didn't distract too much.
Overall, this was a very impressive and fun show. I'd love to go with an even larger group.
This afternoon we saw Christopher Durang's "Sonia, Vanya, Masha and Spike," which recently won the Tony for Best Play. I hated it.
It's mostly the script that I hated. Now, it has the disadvantage of being a comedy and those are always a tough sell with me. But this was such a trivial thing, well-constructed and pandering to the grey-haired Broadway audience, with a hot young guy tossed as a sop to the teenaged girls. None of the characters were real, much of the humor was mean, degrading the actress playing "Masha"--Sigourney Weaver in this case, who failed to impress--seems to be part of the point and David Hyde Pierce's Niles-style rant about how much better things used to be (when he was younger and we licked our stamps) was incredibly tedious. Billy Magnusson's commitment to the shallow stupidity of his character was laudable and there was a nice moment of acting from "Sonia" that was undermined by the cliches of the script. But the redeeming moments were very few and too far between to keep me from getting bored. And did I mention the Magic Negro? No kidding, there she was: Cassandra the cleaning woman with visions and voodoo powers. So no, I'm not going to be recommending this one for T@F to perform!
So, win some/lose some, but seeing even bad theatre with good friends makes for a good time!