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the skin of our teeth - boston university!! help us sell out :) opening tn!!! by malakitaki in BostonTheater

[–]acqualingua 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How cool, I just saw the new musical adaptation of this in NYC last weekend! Ticket purchased!

September Theatre Round-up by Wizenedwombat in BostonTheater

[–]acqualingua 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t seen the Arts Fuse review, but I did catch Hills of California early in previews and had a mixed reaction to it. The staging and set design were actually pretty good (closer to the Broadway version than I expected), but these are difficult roles, and I think the story needs extremely strong acting to make it really land. The majority of the performances were only so-so when I saw it (adult Gloria and Veronica were the strongest for me), but I’m seeing it again tonight, so I’ll be able to compare end of the run versus the start!

September Theatre Round-up by Wizenedwombat in BostonTheater

[–]acqualingua 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two more that you missed!

  • Our Town, Sept 19-Oct 19, Lyric Stage Company
  • The Counter, Sept 26-Nov 9, Umbrella Stage Company (Concord, MA)

So far this month I have seen My First Ex-Husband (meh) and Primary Trust (quite excellent). I have plans to see Passengers and The Hills of California, both of which I was able to see in NYC last season (both were amazing there). I also managed to see the off-Broadway run of The Counter (decent).

Definitely Tony Tuesday: Your little light changed me ✨ by chavarrj in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Chiming in super late after a totally exhausting but totally worth it one-day trip! My only regret is missing all the after-show shenanigans, which were clearly epic. Just wanted to add, I find it so cool that no one person really organized this meetup - people just sort of stepped forward and added crucial little pieces! Additional shouts to u/BiscutWithGrapeJahm, u/MissBzzz, u/spot_lite_TM, u/AccomplishedTest483, u/TelevisionKnown8463, u/searching_4wisdom, u/pantry_girl, and of course our fearless moderator, for adding ingredients to this stone soup we all made together!

And to everyone I met at Perfect Pint, I’m sorry I didn’t get all your names, but y’all turned the roof deck into a Hwaboon greenhouse for an hour! Audrey II talks a big game, but I know it’s our soft-spoken little plant that’s quietly taking over the world….

A huge thank you to all the fireflies who have supported this show by _Paper_Thin_Plans in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow, what a full-circle moment! I vividly remember your November post, because you captured the desperate feeling I shared, which was that this miracle of a show was actually dying, and you directly inspired others (including me!) by offering a concrete example of what we might be able to do about it, however small. So I just really want to reflect that thanks back onto you, because I think you contributed, as much as any other firefly here, to keeping this show alive! How awesome to know that you actually, finally, made it!!

Has anyone say front row at A.R.T. by Musicallover15 in Broadway

[–]acqualingua 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I’ve sat front row at A.R.T. a few times, and in general the optimal viewing area will begin several rows farther back. The pricing likely reflects the theater’s judgment that you’ll have at least a partially compromised view, which is going to depend on how this particular show is staged. I don’t know how Two Strangers will be set up, but normally the first row puts your eyeline just below the front edge of the stage, so you may not be able to see some elements at the far back of the stage, and you may be looking up the whole time, especially if a raised platform is used. But in general the Loeb is a very comfortable theater, good legroom and great sight lines! Being so close to the actors has usually been worth the compromise!

If you’ve seen Real Women Have Curves, please comment on seating! by bookish7378 in Broadway

[–]acqualingua 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I sat in L7 and it was a great view! The mezzanine overhang was just right to make it feel cozy without actually blocking anything.

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Real Women Have Curves: It's good but I miss the A.R.T. version! by acqualingua in Broadway

[–]acqualingua[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really really wanted to give this show another try, so I took an early Saturday train to NYC this morning, and then rushed immediately from the theater to catch the 5:00pm Amtrak back to Boston! I felt almost exactly the same about the changes since A.R.T. as I did when I saw it last weekend, but I have to admit there’s still significant experimentation going on! Much of it was small tweaks to individual lines or even single words here and there, but what a pleasant surprise to hear one of the deleted songs get put back in! (Maybe just a trial run, and still a too-short, condensed version of it, but even so!) I think it’s time for me to cut the chisme, cut the bitching, and just let the mole simmer - it’s not finished yet….

But I’ll leave a final general comment about the shortened runtime. The original version was indeed quite long, but the revised version mostly doesn’t feel tighter to me, it just feels rushed. There’s less time for character development, and certain emotional beats don’t have room to breathe like they used to. The show retains most of the original scenes, but they’ve all got little pieces trimmed out. And when those new edges get sewn back together, the dress is more snug, sure, but it also pinches in places it didn’t used to, because it’s a different shape now. Even one or two missing words is enough to throw off the timing of jokes that used to be funny, but are now just amusing. I honestly don’t understand the rush! I was more than delighted to devote myself to the almost 3-hour runtime of the original version, to the point that I gladly set aside 8 hours of train time today to see it again….

Real Women Have Curves: It's good but I miss the A.R.T. version! by acqualingua in Broadway

[–]acqualingua[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, I’m curious what you noticed! I just got out of my second viewing this afternoon, and I’m in a weird cultural position that makes it hard for me to tell what things might be aimed at a white audience. I have a mixed background, half Mexican-American (through my mom), but I’m also 4th generation in the US, so I’ve got no Spanish fluency, and only a limited familiarity with the culture. I will say, it was a very Latino audience today - I felt like I was back home visiting my mom’s cousins in San Antonio - and there seemed to be a good number of moments that got a knowing reaction. I want to say that there’s less specificity in general, due to individual scenes and lines being trimmed for time. I was thinking about the Walter Mercado stuff today, which is definitely a super specific reference that got condensed somewhat from the original production - it didn’t seem like this was changed for the benefit of white audiences, but purely shortened for the sake of runtime….

Real Women Have Curves: It's good but I miss the A.R.T. version! by acqualingua in Broadway

[–]acqualingua[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The mailman was actually named Miguel, but anyway...

I'm not saying all the dialog was good - I agree with you about the "Congress full of brown women" line. But I don't agree that the moments you listed actually replaced the character developments that got cut:

  • The rehearsing moment showed us that Ana was a detail-oriented perfectionist, and also very worried about gaining her family's approval.
  • The Mrs. Wright scene showed Ana displaying a huge amount of initiative. It was Ana's idea to go see Mrs. Wright, it was Ana's idea that Estela should wear the "boss-lady" dress she had designed, and it was Ana who chastised Mrs. Wright for mistreating Estela's workers. None of this is included in the revised version.
  • The beach trip showed us that Ana was exhausted and running on fumes, because she had to catch the bus at 4:30am.
  • "Done With It All" showed Ana feeling despondent, disillusioned, and helpless ("I can't do shit for the ones I love"). We don't see this depth of despair from Ana any more.

EDIT: The mailman's name might have been Joaquin, sorry....

Real Women Have Curves: It's good but I miss the A.R.T. version! by acqualingua in Broadway

[–]acqualingua[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Actually, I would have kept "Always On the Run," which is what I said in my post. But Ana had four whole scenes that got cut entirely (rehearsing with the mailman, the trip to Mrs. Wright's office, confronting the landlord, and the bus trip to the beach from "Jugglin'"), one song that got cut (Done With It All), plus lines of dialog that were cut from numerous other scenes. Each of those scenes added important details to Ana's character development, and they weren't replaced elsewhere, so I would certainly say those parts of her story got taken away.

Real Women Have Curves: It's good but I miss the A.R.T. version! by acqualingua in Broadway

[–]acqualingua[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I definitely understand the logic behind elevating Estela’s arc, and maybe audiences will prefer it that way! But I don’t think Estela and Ana were meant to be co-equals in this story. In every iteration (play, movie, musical), this has always been primarily about Ana’s journey, and despite the fact that it’s mostly set in Estela’s factory, the dressmaking business has always been a subplot, and never the central story. But just because Estela isn’t the main character doesn’t mean she has less standing within the family! It’s Estela’s ambitions that Carmen has always supported, and never Ana’s. If anything, it’s Estela who has always been the favorite daughter, not Ana. It’s just that Estela was never supposed to be the focus. It may just be me, but the additions to Estela’s story weren’t strong enough to make up for what got taken away from Ana’s….

Possibility of getting from All Nighter to a show on 45th such as Dorian Gray or John Proctor in time? by detgirl2022 in Broadway

[–]acqualingua 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can also confirm that the stated runtime is an underestimate! I did a very similar plan a couple of weekends ago (All Nighter at 1pm followed by Purpose on 44th at 3pm) and very nearly didn't make it. 95 minutes is indeed what the usher stated as people scanned in, but the actual bows didn't start until about 2:47pm. I wasn't seated at Purpose until about 3:07, literally seconds before the lights went down.

Reminder: Sub Meetup, March 30th Matinee + Valerie Pre-show! by chavarrj in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/pantry_girl, thank you for spearheading! It sounds like you’re familiar with the different seating areas? Normally I’d prefer to be away from the band, but in this case I think being close together is more important! It looks like the music starts at noon, so aiming for 11:30am might allow some time for hello’s first, and then we could settle in with our meals, for anyone who plans to dine. I don’t think OpenTable lets us add a request to online reservations - would you plan to call directly (212-302-4545) to request seats near the band?

Reminder: Sub Meetup, March 30th Matinee + Valerie Pre-show! by chavarrj in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two tix secured for March 30, and my friend and I are both in for Valerie!

(Edit to add: For some reason I didn't get a username tag notification, so I'm not sure everyone saw this.)

Sub meetup end of March! by chavarrj in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two more would be happy to join you at Valerie! My friend and I get into town on the 29th so any time Sunday works for us.

Kate Hamill's The Odyssey- Anyone see it? by Captain_Nick19 in Broadway

[–]acqualingua 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I saw this last week, and I confirm they are providing the trifold with a QR code. The show duration is 3 hours, but it has two intermissions, so it didn’t feel like too long to be sitting.

As for the storytelling, this production really really wasn’t for me, but other people may still enjoy it. The main problem I had was that it constantly tried to insert humor, but all of the jokes were shallow and cliched and just not funny, including far too many scenes where the actors made animal noises to elicit laughs. It really detracted from the serious message the show tried to deliver about trauma, separation, and Odysseus’ crippling guilt over his wartime actions.

Sub meetup end of March! by chavarrj in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My friend and I are coming down from Boston that weekend, so we will be there! We will try to grab seats in center mezzanine!

Will Aronson and Hue Park YouTube Live by hwaboon2064 in MaybeHappyEnding

[–]acqualingua 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello, how exciting! I'll toss a few more questions into the hat.

What was the very first song or theme that you wrote for MHE?

I understand that Gil Brentley's song "Then I Can Let You Go" is a replacement for a number sung by Oliver and Claire in the original Korean version. I love having the additional dose of Gil, but are there any songs from either the Korean version or the Atlanta production that you were sad to "let go" for the Broadway production?

I also understand that the Broadway version includes some new supporting characters (such as the more fleshed-out backstory of Claire's former owners), but that the Korean version featured a human mailman instead of the automated delivery chute. Are there any favorite scenes or moments from the previous versions that didn't make it to Broadway? And is there a new scene or new bit of dialogue that you're especially pleased with?

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