2007 Reviews, Middle of Run Report

Here are links to the reviews of which I am aware.

The New York Times (Mikado, positive)

The New York Post (Yeomen, postive)

The Newark(?) Times-Ledger (Yeomen, scathing)

The Yeomen reviews laud Shana Farr, the Elsie understudy who went on with little more than the afternoon dress rehearsal. They deplore the set, which is plain to begin with but does look much worse than it should because half of it is 15 further upstage than we (the performers) thought it would be, so that the Mikado set can be hauled in fairly easily. Staging had to be revised as we went during the frantic (naturally) Friday afternoon rehearsal, limited to 3 hours.

This Times-Ledger review is one of the 2 or 3 bad ones I've ever gotten. Jack Point just isn't that funny a character, I'm sorry! He is a bad jester, and he talks too much, hoping that some of it will come out funny. Any one of my star comedy characters in G&S has more funny things to say than Jack Point. His unfunniness is kind of the point, if you take my meaning.

Laurelyn was back in for Elsie Sunday afternoon, and was of course excellent. It was the easiest thing in the world for me to be moved by the gentle kindness with which she looked at me in the final scene.

Tonight: more Laurelyn and a big dose of RICHARD HOLMES in our single, much sort-of anticipated performance of THE ROSE OF PERSIA, book and lyrics by the horrendous Basil Hood, music by a very tired Sir Arthur Sullivan. I will be playing horn in the pit for this one, and probably enjoying the show more than anyone who payed $97 to sit 5 feet from me.

By the way, anyone who's here because my NYGASP program bio was almost devoid of information, click on "ABOUT" on the top left, under my "hungry" picture.

Comments

[Brian]

I grew up in suburban Essex county, so I am quite familiar with the Star-Ledger, so pay no mind; what they say means nothing. I was at the very performance they reviewed, and I thought you did a fine job. I think you're wrong about Rose of Persia, however. It was a wonderful, sparkling performance, Richard Holmes was at the top of his game, everyone else went above and beyond, and I think that Sullivan's score here is particularly melodic, and reminiscent of other strong later works such as Grand Duke and Gondoliers. I've been listening to it a lot lately and can't get it out of my head! But I guess you're entitled to your opinion...

[Mr. Steve]

Hi Brian, thanks for your thoughts.
I'll maybe write more about "Rose" later. I did find the orchestrations to be more colorful than usual G&S, with an occasional interesting harmony, but the music is pretty darn monotonous -- not as much as Grand Duke -- and the lyrics REALLY bad. But it was great to see the NYGASP performers in a piece Al hasn't directed 1,000 times.

[Holmesey]

And as we head into the home stretch of our NYGASP season, I can only second much of what has been written. No matter what, putting up three shows, with recastings, etc., always leaves us gasping for breath at the final dress. I can honestly say that I was petrified just as the curtain rose on "Rose" last night. Personally, I have rarely worked so hard in an evening, although I have to say that I have also rarely enjoyed myself so much. Laurelyn was divine, and I mean that sincerely. The cast was a miracle--so much talent, and everyone working so hard to make the show come off.

My opinion of Rose has not changed much, but my opinion of what can be achieved in a performance of it has. Sullivan, who seemed to reject the commerciality of popular theatre throughout his career, shows himself a bit of a hypocrite and starts writing pop music himself, including a circus march worthy of Monty Python in Act 2--I think the man was just weary of failure, gave in and went with the cheaper level of taste of the 1890s.

And yet, it has to be said that the audience was laughing its collective head off, far more than they do at an average Pirates performance. There ARE some excellent lines strewn about the script of Rose. Leaving judgments about my own performance out of the picture, I can say that our brilliant cast mined comic gold out of lines which do not, on the page, promise much.

And I have a half-baked theory about Sullivan's work. Last night, itc occurred to me that Sullivan was, melodically, at his most charming and inventive when the singers were NOT singing. My theory, by Anne Elk, bracket Miss bracket, is that he was worn out setting texts by that point and was released, musically, when he only had to right for the orchestra--the dance music is unfailingly delightful. Anyway, it came off better than we all dared to hope. Thanks to Brad for the kind words--it was perhaps the happiest night I have had performing with NYGASP in several years.

And for those who did not see The Quint's Jack Point, place no faith in the Times-Ledger. I thought it was one of the most direct and simple performances I have seen The Quint give, funny, and very moving. I had to choke back a sob for him in the final scene. And believe me, I admit to having stood through that scene for 21 years, many times just wishing that Elsie would go "Nyah nyah-nyah nyah nyah" in Point's mug and get on with her life.

[eva]

I am thoroughly excited by Brian's (from Essex County) comment. It's great to see someone's come into our (well, really Steve's) small and slightly incestuous G&S blog--and then, top of it, has written some interesting points of view. :) How thrilling!

[Brian]

Thank you Eva for the warm words. Not to belabor this subject, but I just think it's interesting how all of us who love the canon can still have such varied views on specific works. For example, between my wife and myself, our favorite of the operas for various reasons is Ruddigore, yet many people, many critics, dismiss it out of hand. I'm neither actor nor musician, but I bring in a G&S cd to work practically every day, and some operas just seem to end up in the rotation more than others. Of late I've been listening to "Rose" quite a bit, probably because of it's impending performance, but also because of it's relative "newness" -- I wasn't even familiar with the piece until NYGASP did the Symphony Space production a couple of years ago. Being at work, I'm focussing more on the music than the words, so I'm not defending Hood vis-a-vis Gilbert, but I'm enjoying the score through repeated listenings. I'm sure I'll grow weary of it in time and others will be played more often. In fact, I'm thinking right now, hey, I haven't listened to "Ida" in a while...

[eva]

hi Brian! I think it's cool that you bring G&S to work with you everyday. Did you say Ruddigore is going to be 'spun' next? You are a true G&S fan! I like Ruddigore, too...but, then again, I like them all. What is your wife's favorite? Does she have one?

[Brian]

Eva, at the risk of boring the other visitors to Steve's blog, who have largely moved on to a discussion of calendars, allow me to elaborate and say that Ruddigore is the favorite of both my wife AND myself. My wife saw D'Oyly Carte perform Ruddigore in the 1960's. Actually, her parents took her to see the D'Oyly Carte company every year when they visited the States, but Ruddigore especially sticks in her mind. As she tells it, the illusion of the portraits coming to life was so magically and seamlessly realistic, it was as though they had absolutely, truly stepped out of the frames. She was NOT a small child at the time, she does not know how on earth they created such a flawless illusion, but that memory, coupled with the exquisite music, and very funny book, made it her sentimental favorite. I feel the same way in large part due to my wife's influence, but also because of the work itself. I think it's one of Gilbert's funniest pieces, and the patter trio is my favorite individual song in the entire canon. To say all this is not meant in any way to take away from the brilliance of any other G&S. I realize other operas are more significant, but it's just a personal bias. When we're singing around the house, we sing more of Ruddigore than any of the others.