Pacific Overtures and Parentheticals

[tmcg]

Been swamped with work the past ten days, but I did get in to see the Roundabout's revival of Pacific Overtures at Studio 54. (I never made it to Studio 54 in its disco heyday. The first time I was there, in the nineties, it was a strip joint. It makes a really cool Broadway theatre, cocktail tables and working bar and all.) The show was fantastic; anyone who can get there before its limited engagement ends (Jan 30) should do so. I got discount tickets through WBAI. (Which by the way is a great deal: You make a donation to the listener-supported station during David Rothenberg's show on Saturday morning, the station gets money, you get decent, affordable seats, the house gets warm bodies.)

I'd experienced Pacific Overtures only through audio recordings, and since the last time I listened to it I've become a Kurosawa devotee, learned some Japanese, and read a lot about samurai and Japanese history, so the show came alive for me on several levels. I was impressed by the pit band and by how tight the production was musically (wind/strings/synthesizer/etc. on one side with the conductor, percussion on the other side, conductor with his back to both percussion and stage). I loved the fact that Alvin Y. F. Ing had been an original cast member and reprised "Chrysanthemum Tea" for this production. "Someone in a Tree" was nearly a showstopper; at the end of it I heard grunts of awe from the people sitting around me, an inarticulate wow that applause couldn't convey. The updating was masterly, and the finale gave me chills.

The last musical I saw was an updated production of The Frogs at Lincoln Center (with stevendj), which was also terrific--and also, very consciously, politically timely. Hmm. I could get used to a steady diet of live Sondheim.

Comments

[ogre-san.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun!

[terrymcgarry.livejournal.com]

Rick, you'd have loved this show. I wish you could have been there.

[ogre-san.livejournal.com]

There are just so many things I'd love to do. Some of them would require moving to the New York area which, alas or hurrah, isn't likely.

[larryhammer]

I wanna see The Frogs.

---L.

Ribbit

[remaines.livejournal.com]

My voice teacher's daughter was in The Frogs.

We're seeing Spamalot in February.

--Sort of Non Sequitir Girl

[stevendj.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Theoretically, I could take the train to New York on a moment's notice, and I can certainly afford to do so, and Pacific Overtures is one of the few Sondheim shows I haven't seen. However, the several inches of snow outside are dampening my enthusiasm for travel. Plus I just bought a new TiVo (my old one was noticeably wearing out), so I'm over budget for the month.

If it weren't such short notice, I might psych myself up into doing it, but as it is, I'll probably pass.

[terrymcgarry.livejournal.com]

I envy your new TiVo and the fact that you've seen most Sondheim done live. :)