| re: thoughts on 'Being Alive' | |
| Last Edit: dlh 07:05 pm EDT 06/24/24 | |
| Posted by: dlh 07:01 pm EDT 06/24/24 | |
| In reply to: Bargain deals for 'Company' and 'Being Alive' - WaymanWong 03:34 pm EDT 06/23/24 | |
|
|
|
| WaymanWong: Given how many Sondheim fans are here, I'm kinda surprised at how few on All That Chat apparently have seen it, let alone posted about this new Sondheim revue. From a jaded patron of TheatreWorks: Being Alive is better than I expected it to be. It is intelligently constructed and uses familiar song in unexpected but effective ways -- I didn't think a new dramatic context could separate the songs from my familiarity with their origins but it mostly worked. I don't think it will have a life beyond TheatreWorks' production, but that's just my naive assessment of how the licensing works; other companies will be more motivated to create their own shows to advertise as premieres by local artists when given the chance. The performance highlight for me was Anna Tolpegin's "Could I Leave You?". I recall description of another custom-built Sondheim review many years ago (Passion was still newish IIRC) which unknowingly transgressed, got in trouble w/ rights holders, providing an object lesson in the application of "grand rights", but was allowed to close out its run. It might have been a college production, but I can't recall enough to search for more specifics. The creator shared a lot of the process and subsequent tribulation online. It was built as a sequence of all-encompassing medleys of Sondheim songs, each medley thematically linked, with the themes progressing in an arc through the show. I recall thinking at the time the concept and song-list sounded fantastic. From my vantage, Being Alive is a little like that, though not quite as ambitious. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | Bargain deals for 'Company' and 'Being Alive' - WaymanWong 03:34 pm EDT 06/23/24 |
| Next: | I only found a discount code for $20 off - dramedy 05:33 pm EDT 06/23/24 |
| Thread: | |
Time to render: 0.013205 seconds.