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Three-Penny Opera...
May. 6th, 2006 03:19 pmToday seems to be the day for writing in my lj. After not writing in it forever. Maybe because I can write and not have to listen to anyone? Just stay in the comfort zone of my own space for a bit? Was discussing the need for own space/down-time and the need to be constantly busy with CW this week. CW has to be constantly busy. She feels as if something is terribly wrong if she does not have a social engagement of some sort planned every frigging day of the week. Or someone does not call her. Someone doesn't want to do something. I, on the other hand, will go insane if I do not have at least one or two days a week in which I don't have to interact with people and can sit, read, think, sleep, ponder, draw, what-not. This my friends is the difference between introvert and extrovert personalities. An extrovert gets energy from other people. An introvert is drained by other people and needs to be alone to recharge. An extrovert is drained while alone and needs other people to recharge. Hmmm, sounds a bit like vampires and werewolves...it's not. Just in my weird brain. Methinks I've been reading too many urban goth books.
At any rate, saw Three Penny Opera with my pal Wales a couple of weeks ago. We had rear mezzaine seats, almost at the very top of the theater. At a discount, a good 20% off discount, these seats cost us $68. Not a cheap ticket this baby. In fact I remember looking at Wales half-way through and asking, okay, if our seats are $68, how much are front mezzaine? Or for that matter orchestra?
Wish I could say the production was worth the price of a ticket. But it's not. Let me be clear about this - I liked the storyline, what little I could make out of it, and the songs seemed fine, what little we could hear of them, as did the performances. What failed was the production - it did not sell to the rear mezzaine and in theater speak, that is BAD. If you can't sell the show to the back of the theater, you are dead. Was taught that in theater workshops while in sixth grade.
Modern theater is a bit different than theater was in Shakespear's time, when the adage was no doubt first coined. In today's theater world the expensive seats are orchestra and as close to the stage as possible. In Shakespear's time, the expensive seats were in the rear or in the mezzaine. There was a reason for this - to prevent the rich people from having to get hit with rotten tomatoes and be able to discretely leave if the show sucked. Or be able to throw rotten tomatoes and only worry about hitting the poor common folk below, points added if you actually did. Times have changed, the theater is less rowdy and if people don't like the show, they just leave.
That was what happened in this performance. At the intermission several people left. And when the show ended, there was no final curtain call - no applauding and standing ovation - which confused Wales a bit. She thought it was because the production was so embarrassingly bad. I thought it was intentional - ie. there wouldn't have been a call regardless.
Three performances stood out - Cyndie Lauper who plays Jenny, the individual who plays Lucy, and Jim Dale's MR. Peachman. When these guys were on stage - the show had energy. And they each have a solo performance that blows me away. Lauper's makes you want to cry. Lucy's - you almost die laughing and Dale's - a comedy tour de fource. He does an odd soft-shoe backward step that had me giggling. Couldn't hear most of his song though. Alan Cummings on the other hand...did not work in this role. I'm not sure why exactly. If it was his voice. Or just that he did not radiate enough charisma? Was quite astonished by this, because I happen to adore Alan Cummings.
Hearing was a major problem. I'd say it was the venue, but Wales and I saw Cabret in basically the same seats and in the same theater, Studio 54, two years ago and it was brilliant. We heard all the songs. All the lines. Everything. Not so here, I'm afraid.( Read more... )
At any rate, saw Three Penny Opera with my pal Wales a couple of weeks ago. We had rear mezzaine seats, almost at the very top of the theater. At a discount, a good 20% off discount, these seats cost us $68. Not a cheap ticket this baby. In fact I remember looking at Wales half-way through and asking, okay, if our seats are $68, how much are front mezzaine? Or for that matter orchestra?
Wish I could say the production was worth the price of a ticket. But it's not. Let me be clear about this - I liked the storyline, what little I could make out of it, and the songs seemed fine, what little we could hear of them, as did the performances. What failed was the production - it did not sell to the rear mezzaine and in theater speak, that is BAD. If you can't sell the show to the back of the theater, you are dead. Was taught that in theater workshops while in sixth grade.
Modern theater is a bit different than theater was in Shakespear's time, when the adage was no doubt first coined. In today's theater world the expensive seats are orchestra and as close to the stage as possible. In Shakespear's time, the expensive seats were in the rear or in the mezzaine. There was a reason for this - to prevent the rich people from having to get hit with rotten tomatoes and be able to discretely leave if the show sucked. Or be able to throw rotten tomatoes and only worry about hitting the poor common folk below, points added if you actually did. Times have changed, the theater is less rowdy and if people don't like the show, they just leave.
That was what happened in this performance. At the intermission several people left. And when the show ended, there was no final curtain call - no applauding and standing ovation - which confused Wales a bit. She thought it was because the production was so embarrassingly bad. I thought it was intentional - ie. there wouldn't have been a call regardless.
Three performances stood out - Cyndie Lauper who plays Jenny, the individual who plays Lucy, and Jim Dale's MR. Peachman. When these guys were on stage - the show had energy. And they each have a solo performance that blows me away. Lauper's makes you want to cry. Lucy's - you almost die laughing and Dale's - a comedy tour de fource. He does an odd soft-shoe backward step that had me giggling. Couldn't hear most of his song though. Alan Cummings on the other hand...did not work in this role. I'm not sure why exactly. If it was his voice. Or just that he did not radiate enough charisma? Was quite astonished by this, because I happen to adore Alan Cummings.
Hearing was a major problem. I'd say it was the venue, but Wales and I saw Cabret in basically the same seats and in the same theater, Studio 54, two years ago and it was brilliant. We heard all the songs. All the lines. Everything. Not so here, I'm afraid.( Read more... )
