Posted by Heather
on 8/20/2008, 3:35 pm, in reply to "Tale preview review from BWW"
65.183.137.221
I'll be there on Saturday!!
And I absolutely cannot wait. I'll put up my own ideas on the production once I see it. This review looks promising though!
--Previous Message--
: Posted by Robert Taylor on the
: broadwayworld.com message board.
:
: Everything about Charles Dickens' classic
: "A Tale of Two Cities" is epic,
: beginning with its name. It's not about a
: single person's saga like "Nicholas
: Nickleby" or a household and its
: secrets like "Bleak House," it's
: about two of the biggest cities in the world
: at a time of political upset over two
: generations involving multiple families who
: have motives within motives. It's huge.
:
: Broadway's interpretation of the novel,
: which began previews last night at the Al
: Hirschfield Theater, is also epic in all the
: right ways. It's a gigantic, sprawling, lush
: and, yes, literate production of the
: masterpiece.
:
: To go into the story in any major detail
: would be confusing for readers, but the
: broad strokes are as follows: The two cities
: in the title are London and Paris, and the
: time is the end of the 18th century. You
: might remember from history class that there
: was a little uprising going on in Paris at
: that time, and the show threads that into a
: love triangle between Sydney (James
: Barbour), a heavy-drinking lawyer who (seems
: to) hate life, Charles (Aaron Lazar), an
: upright Frenchman, and Lucie, the woman they
: both love. There is more, of course. A lot
: more.
:
: The show's pace never lags during its
: just-under-three hours running time thanks
: to a book by Jill Santoriello (who also
: wrote the music and lyrics) that knows when
: to paint in broad strokes and when to go
: subtle. For example, the show takes its time
: setting up the multiple family trees that
: inhabit "Cities'" huge forest,
: making sure the viewer is never adrift, but
: Santoriello also knows that love between
: characters can also come at first sight, and
: burgeon into marriage over the course of one
: showstopping tune. If you are unfamiliar
: with the subject matter or have not read the
: book or its cliffnotes (it is unread by me),
: you'll be able to follow the production
: fine. It's a fine balance that so many other
: shows fall short on, but Santoriello
: succeeds.
:
: Of course with over twenty main and
: supporting characters, some of the roles are
: thinnly written and aren't given the
: exposition or characterization they need in
: the book. Look at Charles, whose character
: never quite becomes anything more than a
: one-dimensional Ken doll in the script. Or
: Madame Therese, who has two layers: rage and
: homicidal.
:
: Luckily for Santoriello and
: director/choreographer Warren Carlyle, the
: stage is filled with hugely talented
: individuals who bring power and depth to the
: paper characters. Lazer is hugely
: charismatic and charming as Charles, and
: makes an excellent romantic hero despite his
: barely-there characterization in the script.
: Likewise, Natalie Toro brings unexpected
: depth to Madame Therese, and when her fate
: is delivered in a dangerous gun battle,
: there is much more suspense than the book
: has earned.
:
: The entire cast is uniformly excellent.
: Barbour is phenomenal as the boozing slob,
: crafting a cocktail of James Spader's
: character from "Boston Legal" and
: Johnny Depp. Brandi Burkhardt brings a
: surprising amount of power to her mostly
: powerless (this was, after all the 18th
: century) female character, and convinces the
: viewers that she deserves the attention of
: both of her suitors. As written previously,
: Lazar shines as Charles and holds up against
: Barbour's brilliance, which is not an easy
: feat. Supporting cast members Craig Bennett,
: Katherine McGrath and Michael Hayward-Jones
: also deliver knockout performances.
:
: "Cities" will, no doubt, be
: compared greatly to Broadway's now-defunct
: classic "Les Miserables." Both
: tackle an epic novel that does not scream
: Broadway, both have a first act that ends
: with a war cry, and both have very similar
: costume designs. Are the comparisons fair?
: Yes and no. The similarities in the costumes
: (and some set designs) are almost shocking
: at times, but where "Miserables"
: embraced the epic war nature of its story,
: "Cities" has a different agenda in
: embracing the intimate aspect of families
: put in an impossible situation.
:
: The score, which Santoriello began composing
: during Reagan's administration, is lush,
: lively and achingly romantic. This is
: Santoriello's Broadway debut, and also marks
: the arrival of a new major name in
: composing. There are multiple showstoppers
: integrated seamlessly into the production,
: beginning with the powerhouse "The Way
: It Ought To Be" which is performed by
: most of the cast. Barbour gets two beautiful
: ballads to belt out: "Reflection"
: and "I Can't Recall, and Lazar and
: Burkhardt get the beautiful love song
: "Now at Last."
:
: There are, of course, some clunkers within
: the production as well. Despite Toro selling
: "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" with
: all she's got, her beautiful voice cannot
: hide the innane lyrics and unsuitable
: melody. A comedic song between grave diggers
: also fails to ignite despite the best
: efforts of those involved.
:
: The set (and the set pieces that take place
: therein) is huge, consisting mainly of four
: wooden two-floored rolling contraptions that
: serve as drawing rooms, prisons, bars,
: brothels and everything in between. While
: annoying at first glance and not in keeping
: with the otherwise expensive production
: values, the set decorators pull off making
: these rolling see-through rooms work by
: filling them with interesting things and
: using the empty space to its advantage when
: necessary.
:
: There are still things that need to be fixed
: before opening night, of course. In addition
: to some of the music, a very late moment
: that involves a guillotine that bathes the
: stage in darkness destroys emotional
: resonance in an otherwise moving scene, and
: an epilogue for the character of Charles and
: Lucie is unfortunately missing.
:
: Fixable quibbles. "A Tale of Two
: Cities" is an enormously entertaining
: night at the theater that reminds you of the
: magic that can take place on stage when
: gifted actors perform strong material. It
: could have easily been a trainwreck or a
: blatant ripoff of "Les
: Miserables," but transcends and
: entertains in its own breathtaking way. It
: really is the best of times.
:
: Star Rating: **** (out of 5)
:
: *note: I happened upon the first preview
: completely by accident as I was looking for
: the [Title of Show] theater. I was going to
: that theater to get tickets to last night's
: performance and turned the wrong way down
: 45th, and saw the "Previews Begin
: August 19th" sign being removed from
: the theater and replaced with "The
: Revolution Begins!" I decided to see if
: the show was sold out and procured a fifth
: row center ticket (right by "Ugly
: Betty's" Judith Light, who is as
: charming in reality as on the show). How
: could I turn that down?
:
: He also wrote:
: I walked into the theater with absolutely
: no expectations as well, and was blown away.
: I wasn't planning on seeing the show and did
: not read any advance buzz before the curtain
: went up. That made it all the more exciting
: for me.
:
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