Sideshow-Who Will Love Me As I Am

[RW3]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 11:32pm

They sound really good

Theatremania

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 11:42pm

I wish they were singing a good song, though.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 12:12am

mjohnson, do you even LIKE theater? all you ever do is complain

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 12:30am

No! He LOVES The Wild Party. But nothing else LaChiusa, Sondheim, Herman, or anyone else ever wrote.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 12:32am

I question why mjohnson2 even posts here.

[Tag]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 12:57am

They sound so vanilla compared to the Ripley/Skinner version. Where are the vocal fireworks?

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 1:16am

You can stop with your running gag at any time, Namo. And Sally, you know very well that I adore lots of shows, just not bad ones.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 1:43am

I think it sounds great.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:04am

"You can stop with your running gag at any time, Namo."

It's no gag, I'm serious. You asked me the same exact question and reached the same conclusion about me on a day I had written two positive things about theater. So, fair is fair.

Why DO you even post here?

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:10am

Except I asked you once while you have been saying the same thing to me over the past few days. I'm sorry I said it in the first place; it was a bitchy thing to say and I saw that you were right and I stopped.

Updated On: 9/22/14 at 02:10 AM

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:20am

This is an honest vocal presentation of the show - fetching but no fireworks. It's not with this production is about.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:23am

"I'm sorry I said it in the first place; it was a bitchy thing to say and I saw that you were right and I stopped."

Remember the three most beautiful words in the English language are "You were right." It's good to actually communicate them to the person instead of expecting them to read your mind.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:24am

Having heard the promotional single, this kind of reminds me of the situation with Sunset Boulevard, when they changed all the keys. By singing it straight, it takes the excitement out of the song. It's just kind of dull because they'd no climax to the number - just jumping to head voice.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:45am

I agree with Tag no vocal fireworks.

[pmensky]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:03am

First of all, they have lovely voices. Having said that, the problem is that the song has been interpreted and directed poorly. The 'whoa is me' sentiment that comes across in this recording is a negative choice. The lack of vocal fireworks, which Tag mentioned, is because of the change of intention in the song. Emily and Alice knocked it out of the park, because they didn't play "we're sad and why won't someone love us." They played "we're not giving up on love ,and we'll die trying, muthaf****s!" Despair is the ugliest of all sins. It's a pitfall as an acting choice, because audiences root for characters who are fighters, not whiners.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 6:57am

That was thoroughly unexciting.

[Up In One]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 8:35am

The bombast in production and singing styles was why the original production failed. We were more aware of approach and performance which was disconnected from the sentiment. This performance is more a part of a whole. Saw both productions and while the original satisfied the in your face, Evita/Patti LuPone theater fan in me this one broke my heart and and stayed with me in many ways. Listening to this recording brings those feelings back the way a good OCR should. I can still enjoy the vocal chord shattering, dare I say screaming of the original but this version is very special. Can't wait to see it again.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 6:38pm

The belt fest that is the OBCR is not the reason the original production closed. In fact, it made TW show that much better because it truly felt that they were desperate. This just seems... Weak. Like they're trying to put in the least amount of effort into singing the top notes. As with Evita, you don't NEED a strong belter - but it's vastly better with one.

[morosco]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 7:29pm

They sound good but there's no passion in what they are singing. I felt that way when I saw it at The Kennedy Center. I think this song needs to be part anger, part frustration, part desperation, and part defiance. I don't really feel any emotion from them.

[Up In One]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 7:31pm

All I can tell you is that it works and works beautifully. If you give the original OCR a listen the entire recording sounds like it is pitched at what someone above called a "desperate" level. The intention of the song is better served now but then again the over the top delivery of the original served that production we'll too. I guess it just a matter of taste.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 7:54pm

I found this version deeply moving because the song is allowed to do its job withoutitalicizing and underscoring. Yes, the original had a kind of hard-edged pop sheen which heightened the emotions. But this rendition has a simplicity and eloquence, a musicality tied to a core sweetness, an inherent vulnerability in the characters. The pop belt dynamic can be thrilling; it can also call undo attention to the performance itself, to the singer's choices, no matter how bold. I hear the innocent characters here, and the melody, still a true beauty, illuminates those two little girls inside. I think the conceit of this production is built on the childhood bond. Duplicating the original might've resulted in a kind of Voice/Idol-izing that undercuts the storytelling, which is period specific in this staging.

[morosco]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 1:59pm

The more I listen to this the more I like it. I wonder if they'll consider a new cast recording?

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 2:56pm

I would imagine since the score has been pretty much overhauled that the production would merit a new recording.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 3:28pm

I don't dislike it, but it does sound quite vanilla, and what's most vanilla are the two ladies, who when dressed in costume, I cannot tell apart neither by looks or by vocals (I keep on saying to myself, who is Alice and who is Emily, again?). But that's perhaps the angle they were going for.

They ARE more believable as twin sisters, they practically look and sound exactly the same, and why wouldn't twin sisters sound the same. But they're also less exciting than the original pairs (or their standbys in the original production, who were also fantastic).

[Alessio2]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 4:13pm

who were the standbys in the orginal production btw?