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"We Can Never Go Back To Before..."
Jun. 16th, 2004 12:29 amI discovered something meaningful to-day. But I'd rather not think about it, so instead I'll talk about Ragtime.
It was very good, overall.
They had some serious problems with the mike-ing. Most of the ensemble weren't miked, but all the main characters were, which created an extremely strange effect during all the ensemble numbers, most noticeably Henry Ford and Atlantic City. Coalhouse's mike was fuzzing in the first act, but they fixed it. Someone's kept giving out.
Mother was a wonderful actor, but I didn't care for her singing voice. She had an overpronounced soprano vibrato. She was quite pretty. Back to Before was her best song, whereas Goodbye My Love was frequently annoying. The Tateh-Mother scenes were delightful and adorable and sweet.
Father was unexceptional. He had a good voice and good acting, but nothing particularly noticeable. During What a Game, however, he was floffy, getting pushed around by everyone else. But Father is not my favourite character, and I was paying less attention to him, I must admit.
The Little Boy was amusing where he was supposed to be amusing and somber where he was supposed to be somber. He had a nice voice, though.
I liked Mother's Younger Brother. I thought he should have sung slightly louder during The Night That Goldman Spoke, but during He Wanted to Say he was loud and passionate and excellent. Everyone laughed at the "I know how to blow things up" line. That line is not funny, damnit. It's really sort of painful.
Tateh was fabulous. He was a tenor, I think, with a rich-sounding voice, and he spoke well. During Gliding when he was hugging The Little Girl and stroking her hair he really conveyed the sense of upsetness and trying to be comforting. Much love to him. In Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc, he was so bouncy! And he's like that in the book, too. Once he's the Baron and not Tateh, he goes all energetic and happy and sprightly and he's dear. And when he goes after the fellow in Success (the fellow, I think, was played by the same man who did Harry Thaw)--I don't know. It was very, very good.
The Little Girl was fluff. But she was pretty and sad.
Coalhouse was much much good. He ignored his microphone problems and sang very well, and his voice just sort of soared during Wheels of a Dream. I loved Justice and Coalhouse's Soliloquy and Hear You, and Coalhouse Demands was terrifying. He had a lovely suit. I liked him very much.
Sarah was not so good. There was something about her I found rather irritating. She drew great sobbing breaths that always picked up on her microphone, and she tended to giggle inanely where she might have just smiled or laughed. But Your Daddy's Son was sad and... really sad. Despite the breaths. President was well-done, too. But Wheels of a Dream was slightly annoying.
Infinite love to Booker T. Washington and Harry Houdini. J. P. Morgan was good, too. Henry Ford didn't sing Henry Ford quickly enough. He slowed it down quite a bit, and it should be a fast song. Evelyn Nesbit was quite good, but she kept doing these random weird inflections with her voice that sounded... random and weird. Willie Conklin was suitably nasty and whiny. Amusingly enough, they misspelled his name. Sarah's Friend was annoying. Grandfather was [insert enthusiastic positive adjective here]
Emma Goldman was the epitome of omgsquee!1!!!!11 She really rocked. In The Night That Goldman Spoke, when she attacks Younger Brother, the way she did it was too wonderful. It's hard to explain it. I think perhaps it must be seen. I loved He Wanted to Say, because the difference between her voice and Younger Brother's and Coalhouse's made a delightful contrast. I wanted her autograph, but the cast did not come for autographs.
I think overall the ensemble scenes were better than the solos, such as Crime of the Century, Ragtime, The Night that Goldman Spoke, Till That Day, What a Game, and What You've Done. Although anything with Tateh in it was wonderful by default, like Gliding, Buffalo Nickel, and Our Children.
Their gunshots and explosions sounded like real gunshots and explosions, unlike Les Mis. Their costuming was lovely.
I read the book in three and a half hours this morning to prepare for seeing the musical, and really the only HUGE MAJOR PLOT DIFFERENCE OMG (tm) was the butchering of Evelyn Nesbit's character. She's not a good person by any means, but she's a more considerate person. She was not enjoying the publicity. She was not enjoying vaudeville. She was lonely and upset because she actually liked Stanny White. She was not an ebil, heartless, brazen hussy (also tm); she was a sort of unhappy, nearlybutnotquitesweet person.
The people beside and above me talked. The people beside were explaining the plot to each other; the people above were saying 'gees!' and 'not again!' every time Ms. Nesbit came on.
Nice sets.
It was very good, overall.
They had some serious problems with the mike-ing. Most of the ensemble weren't miked, but all the main characters were, which created an extremely strange effect during all the ensemble numbers, most noticeably Henry Ford and Atlantic City. Coalhouse's mike was fuzzing in the first act, but they fixed it. Someone's kept giving out.
Mother was a wonderful actor, but I didn't care for her singing voice. She had an overpronounced soprano vibrato. She was quite pretty. Back to Before was her best song, whereas Goodbye My Love was frequently annoying. The Tateh-Mother scenes were delightful and adorable and sweet.
Father was unexceptional. He had a good voice and good acting, but nothing particularly noticeable. During What a Game, however, he was floffy, getting pushed around by everyone else. But Father is not my favourite character, and I was paying less attention to him, I must admit.
The Little Boy was amusing where he was supposed to be amusing and somber where he was supposed to be somber. He had a nice voice, though.
I liked Mother's Younger Brother. I thought he should have sung slightly louder during The Night That Goldman Spoke, but during He Wanted to Say he was loud and passionate and excellent. Everyone laughed at the "I know how to blow things up" line. That line is not funny, damnit. It's really sort of painful.
Tateh was fabulous. He was a tenor, I think, with a rich-sounding voice, and he spoke well. During Gliding when he was hugging The Little Girl and stroking her hair he really conveyed the sense of upsetness and trying to be comforting. Much love to him. In Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc, he was so bouncy! And he's like that in the book, too. Once he's the Baron and not Tateh, he goes all energetic and happy and sprightly and he's dear. And when he goes after the fellow in Success (the fellow, I think, was played by the same man who did Harry Thaw)--I don't know. It was very, very good.
The Little Girl was fluff. But she was pretty and sad.
Coalhouse was much much good. He ignored his microphone problems and sang very well, and his voice just sort of soared during Wheels of a Dream. I loved Justice and Coalhouse's Soliloquy and Hear You, and Coalhouse Demands was terrifying. He had a lovely suit. I liked him very much.
Sarah was not so good. There was something about her I found rather irritating. She drew great sobbing breaths that always picked up on her microphone, and she tended to giggle inanely where she might have just smiled or laughed. But Your Daddy's Son was sad and... really sad. Despite the breaths. President was well-done, too. But Wheels of a Dream was slightly annoying.
Infinite love to Booker T. Washington and Harry Houdini. J. P. Morgan was good, too. Henry Ford didn't sing Henry Ford quickly enough. He slowed it down quite a bit, and it should be a fast song. Evelyn Nesbit was quite good, but she kept doing these random weird inflections with her voice that sounded... random and weird. Willie Conklin was suitably nasty and whiny. Amusingly enough, they misspelled his name. Sarah's Friend was annoying. Grandfather was [insert enthusiastic positive adjective here]
Emma Goldman was the epitome of omgsquee!1!!!!11 She really rocked. In The Night That Goldman Spoke, when she attacks Younger Brother, the way she did it was too wonderful. It's hard to explain it. I think perhaps it must be seen. I loved He Wanted to Say, because the difference between her voice and Younger Brother's and Coalhouse's made a delightful contrast. I wanted her autograph, but the cast did not come for autographs.
I think overall the ensemble scenes were better than the solos, such as Crime of the Century, Ragtime, The Night that Goldman Spoke, Till That Day, What a Game, and What You've Done. Although anything with Tateh in it was wonderful by default, like Gliding, Buffalo Nickel, and Our Children.
Their gunshots and explosions sounded like real gunshots and explosions, unlike Les Mis. Their costuming was lovely.
I read the book in three and a half hours this morning to prepare for seeing the musical, and really the only HUGE MAJOR PLOT DIFFERENCE OMG (tm) was the butchering of Evelyn Nesbit's character. She's not a good person by any means, but she's a more considerate person. She was not enjoying the publicity. She was not enjoying vaudeville. She was lonely and upset because she actually liked Stanny White. She was not an ebil, heartless, brazen hussy (also tm); she was a sort of unhappy, nearlybutnotquitesweet person.
The people beside and above me talked. The people beside were explaining the plot to each other; the people above were saying 'gees!' and 'not again!' every time Ms. Nesbit came on.
Nice sets.
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