| A mixed bag, but the good is very good (long) | |
| Posted by: falcon15 10:52 am EDT 10/05/24 | |
| In reply to: SALLY- any word on Columbia U prdctn? Thank you. nm - thtrgoer 03:18 am EDT 10/05/24 | |
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| I was very pleasantly surprised by the first act, which kept the same contours of the original show, but did a complete dialogue rewrite in order to cut boring parts and jokes that don't land anymore, trim the number of characters, and focus on Sally's desire to be "like Joan of Arc." Outside of a very few anachronistic lines, the new book stayed true to the spirit and the period. The second act was less successful (the second and third acts were combined in this production.) Both "Whip-Poor-Will" and "The Lorelei" were cut, which is almost inexcusable, and certainly lessened my enjoyment of the night. "(On the Banks of) The Schnitza-Kommiski" was almost entirely rewritten, because Connie, the count, here is from the UK, not a made-up Austria-adjacent European nation, and I don't mind that (Clifford Grey isn't exactly Sondheim), but the rewrite was unfortunately one of the worst rewrites of the night, not really landing any punch lines. My other issue is with the character of Blair - he's absolutely a drip in the most stereotypical way of 20s musical comedy men, "she's just a little girl," etc. I don't begrudge the author wanting to give him more character. Unfortunately, he seems like almost two completely different characters in the first act and second act. I understand subverting expectations, but that is very much not in the style of 1920s musicals. So the first act Blair is much more sensitive, charming, and artistic - he asks Sally out dancing and there's none of this "I just want to help that poor little girl" thing, which I think worked quite well. But in the second act, we see that he already has a fiancee whom his parents are making him marry in order to live off of their money (the fiancee, the only brand-new character in the piece happens to be the ex-girlfriend of Connie, the count). So far, ok, it's a plot complication, maybe it can all be worked out. But unfortunately, the way that Blair handles Sally's understandable distress and heartbreak is so cold and vicious that the audience no longer wants them to end up together, and indeed they don't. He comes back in the final scene and pleads for Sally to take him back, but she refuses because of how unfeelingly he acted towards her in the previous scene. All of this could potentially work on paper, but in practice it really does come across as if Blair is a little schizophrenic. Anyway, I still enjoyed the first act so much that I'm very glad I saw it, and I'm glad that students are putting it on in a version that seems to speak to them. The acting, singing, and dancing is all variable, but I'm not going to criticize students and young actors just starting out. Some of them are very good, and no one is actually bad. Honestly, even with my criticisms, I was very impressed with the playwright who managed to rewrite this musical with almost zero ironic detachment, something that poisons so many musicals on Broadway. |
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| Previous: | SALLY- any word on Columbia U prdctn? Thank you. nm - thtrgoer 03:18 am EDT 10/05/24 |
| Next: | p.s. it's sold out. (This wknd, Lenfest Center for the Arts). nm - thtrgoer 03:37 am EDT 10/05/24 |
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