I'm glad you're here, Ron. Your expertise is invaluable. I was going to upgrade your subscription to Premium but it looks like you're just a guest here, which is fine, but if you want a comped subscription drop me a note at DavidBenkof@gmail.com
FORUM is so well-written, it is almost an insult to the authors to adlib within it. Far from a vehicle within which to perform "schtick," it is the ultimate situation comedy – or in many ways the equivalent of an old-fashioned "French Farce" – and so it would seem an easy vehicle for Parisians. The success of a good sitcom/farce has nothing to do (necessarily) with Borscht Belt or Jewishness. It was a great success when done – faithfully – in London with an all-British cast. Why is that so difficult to understand? The show is at its best when a director lets the characters (not the actors) all be crazy, twisting themselves into their own built-in conundrums. I have seen dozens of productions, and have directed 3 myself. Whenever people adlib, making "contemporary" references – as Mickey Rooney did when he did a poorly-received tour – they usually get booed. Phil Silvers and Nathan Lane made a few judicious "planned" adlibs – Silvers in particular prided himself in NEVER straying from what had been planned. His production was a well-oiled machine, which in no small part is why he won the Tony. This production, with all its adlibs and everyone (not just Pseudolus) breaking the 4th wall, sounds just dreadful. No thank you.
I might also add that in the first Broadway revival (with Phil Silvers), the opening of Act Two was changed so that Pseudolus (rather than Senex) was once again "Prologus" and delivered the "let me remind you where we were" speech. This was a vast improvement and made more sense, as it allowed Pseudolus to be the only character who ever broke the 4th wall. I've done it that way in all my productions.
i remember seeing the original production. Zero Mostel brought the house down with an adlib while inspecting the courtesans from the House of Marcus Lycus. He lifted up the beads covering Lucienne Bridou's abdomen and and told Lycus that he couldn't purchase Panacea because "there's a hole there." It's important to remember that the original cast included actors who had experienced vaudeville and baggy pants comedians during their careers. As for the type of adlibbing you're describing in this production in Paris, it reminds me of what my aging mother used to say when she came home from a doctor's appointment. When asked how things went, she would reply "The patient is dying of improvement."
I saw opening night, and I have to say I disagree with this review almost 100%. When Pseudolus starts out by making fun of the play itself because it was written by an American, it doesn't land as self-deprecating, it comes off as insulting as in why are we bothering to do this show. There was some lovely singing, granted, but most of the jokes landed flat as a crepe in the Marais. I was very excited to see Richard Kind because this is really should sit right in his wheelhouse and Rufus Hound just didn't quite get it....I felt that way about the entire production...they just didn't quite get it. The schtick (or lack thereof); the pacing; the timing; it just did not work (but the water feature was fabulous). Now, again, I saw the opening night (and very first performance which truly struck me as bold), which also started nearly 45 minutes late between issues with seating and lengthy self-congratulatory speeches. Perhaps after a month or so, they've settled in and found the rhythms and the delicious word play and comedy that is Sondheim's Forum. I will say that Senex's recap in butchered French and English at the top of Act 2 was just right in the comedy pocket...if only the entire show had found that groove.
I'm glad you're here, Ron. Your expertise is invaluable. I was going to upgrade your subscription to Premium but it looks like you're just a guest here, which is fine, but if you want a comped subscription drop me a note at DavidBenkof@gmail.com
I already know what performance of Rocky Horror I'm going to!
Yes, that was a riot! I know some people felt there should have been no French, but I thought it was all fine. The audience needed to be reached.
FORUM is so well-written, it is almost an insult to the authors to adlib within it. Far from a vehicle within which to perform "schtick," it is the ultimate situation comedy – or in many ways the equivalent of an old-fashioned "French Farce" – and so it would seem an easy vehicle for Parisians. The success of a good sitcom/farce has nothing to do (necessarily) with Borscht Belt or Jewishness. It was a great success when done – faithfully – in London with an all-British cast. Why is that so difficult to understand? The show is at its best when a director lets the characters (not the actors) all be crazy, twisting themselves into their own built-in conundrums. I have seen dozens of productions, and have directed 3 myself. Whenever people adlib, making "contemporary" references – as Mickey Rooney did when he did a poorly-received tour – they usually get booed. Phil Silvers and Nathan Lane made a few judicious "planned" adlibs – Silvers in particular prided himself in NEVER straying from what had been planned. His production was a well-oiled machine, which in no small part is why he won the Tony. This production, with all its adlibs and everyone (not just Pseudolus) breaking the 4th wall, sounds just dreadful. No thank you.
I might also add that in the first Broadway revival (with Phil Silvers), the opening of Act Two was changed so that Pseudolus (rather than Senex) was once again "Prologus" and delivered the "let me remind you where we were" speech. This was a vast improvement and made more sense, as it allowed Pseudolus to be the only character who ever broke the 4th wall. I've done it that way in all my productions.
i remember seeing the original production. Zero Mostel brought the house down with an adlib while inspecting the courtesans from the House of Marcus Lycus. He lifted up the beads covering Lucienne Bridou's abdomen and and told Lycus that he couldn't purchase Panacea because "there's a hole there." It's important to remember that the original cast included actors who had experienced vaudeville and baggy pants comedians during their careers. As for the type of adlibbing you're describing in this production in Paris, it reminds me of what my aging mother used to say when she came home from a doctor's appointment. When asked how things went, she would reply "The patient is dying of improvement."
I saw opening night, and I have to say I disagree with this review almost 100%. When Pseudolus starts out by making fun of the play itself because it was written by an American, it doesn't land as self-deprecating, it comes off as insulting as in why are we bothering to do this show. There was some lovely singing, granted, but most of the jokes landed flat as a crepe in the Marais. I was very excited to see Richard Kind because this is really should sit right in his wheelhouse and Rufus Hound just didn't quite get it....I felt that way about the entire production...they just didn't quite get it. The schtick (or lack thereof); the pacing; the timing; it just did not work (but the water feature was fabulous). Now, again, I saw the opening night (and very first performance which truly struck me as bold), which also started nearly 45 minutes late between issues with seating and lengthy self-congratulatory speeches. Perhaps after a month or so, they've settled in and found the rhythms and the delicious word play and comedy that is Sondheim's Forum. I will say that Senex's recap in butchered French and English at the top of Act 2 was just right in the comedy pocket...if only the entire show had found that groove.