Cast recording of Comet cc @joshgroban

I got the cast recording of "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812" ("Comet")  I saw this show twice already, and blogged about it

April 2017 viewing
October 2016 viewing

This is the very first time I have ever seen a Broadway show twice.  When I was there, one Grobanite told me she had seen it 12 times -- or maybe it was more.

It's really an amazing show and Josh is amazing in it.  I was thinking of going again on July 2 -- his last day, but I see that there are only premium seats available that day.  I guess I'll pass.

But listening to the cast album allows me to re-experience it.  Listening has also clarified the show a great deal for me.  I notice a lot of new details: subtleties of plot, exactly how each performer is using his or her voice to achieve mood, how the complex instrumental arrangements supports the plot.

I read the wikipedia excerpt of War and Peace and was surprised to see that Natasha and Pierre eventually end up together, which I didn't expect.  I've been fantasizing that maybe after the book she outlives Pierre and ends up going to look up Anatole, who I think is younger.  I want to believe that eventually he is reformed, regrets his mistakes, and really loves her.  But that's, I think, a reflection of the power of the performances, that they capture my imagination like that.

I feel Josh has learned to bring more acting into his singing, over time, with this performance. Another Grobie remarked to me that she thought he had really grown in this role.  Listening to his voice, I feel that I hear the Josh who I think I know, or at least the Josh that I hope he really is.  Pierre has become a much more lovable character than I felt he was during the previews.

There are some exceptions to the similarities of the real Josh to Pierre; Josh is thin; Josh doesn't have big hands; I don't think Josh would duel -- and, especially, I don't think the real Josh is so free at giving away his money, except to kids who need musical instruments.

Maybe people don't understand Grobanites. I believe we are people who like musical innovation and complexity, but not of the loud rock variety, more of the modern classical variety.  I just adore the way discord is used to create conflict and suspense in this musical == and also how really strange sounds are used to create mood.  I feel this is done masterfully.

I was thinking I really should go see the "Dear Evan Hanson" thing, because it won so many Tonys.  On the other hand, I looked at the Tonys performance.  Yeah, this guy act and sings well.  On the other hand, musically, this work seems pedestrian compared with "Comet." It's more like business as usual for Broadway.  I saw another song from the show, and it was of the same ilk.  The Tonys went with the more formulaic, traditional show. Bah humbug.

Do non-Grobanites understand that Josh has always been musically innovative? There is this stereotype of these goofy older fans who have crushes on him, but, IMHO, these fans are actually looking for something musically new more than younger fans are.  We've heard a lot of music in our lives.  We want intellectual stimulation.

Personally, I have never really liked most of the music that I've heard in my life.  I'm really grateful to Josh that he has led me to so much music that I do like.

The remarkable thing here is that there are so many fans who want to hear this complicated, exotic music.

Another thing I'm noticing is the rich female characters in this play.  I have had a concern about discrimination in the context of Josh's music: blog about discrimination When Josh performed in "Coffeetown," I was very critical (blog about this movie) of the character breakdown there.  The female was a love interest.  Most of the action was about the interactions between the guys. When he was in "The Hollars," (blog about this movie) there were still more male characters than female, though at least there were two female characters including one who was -- miracle of miracles -- older, though, predictably, dying.  It was nevertheless a step up from Coffee Town in that respect.  Here in "Comet," the female characters seem equal. There are lots of them.  They interact with each other in interesting ways.  I don't know if Tolstoy was really feminist, but there is much to celebrate here in the context of feminism.  There is even an older female character (Marya) who is even not dying; tho, rather predictably, she is played by a woman who seems a lot younger than the character.

Josh said he waited a long time to find the right show for him.  I was wondering, while listening to the album, whether perhaps the rich female characters had any influence on his choice -- and whether, perhaps, my blog might have influenced his thinking. Meh. Probably not. Probably just the amazing music -- and the fact that the Pierre character is well suited to his type.




Spoiler alert: Don'r read the following if you haven't seen the show

I'm also intrigued how there are plot twists that keep looking as there will be tragedy. Someone might die in a duel.  An innocent virgin might be destroyed by a cynical cad.  A heartbroken young girl might succeed in committing suicide. Yet, ultimately, they all seem to be tempests in a teapot.  I like that.

Addendum:

The wikipedia article also had some interesting points about Pierre that aren't clear from the play

First, Pierre was allegedly really dying because of a series of strokes. This brings some clarity to the song "Dust & Ashes," but the play doesn't really tell us about the string of strokes.


Second, Pierre was the bastard son of a nobleman, yet he was able to recover some inheritance from his father's estate, prior to our segment -- which is why he has so much money.  This is a difference with the law of England, which I'm more useful to reading/hearing about. In English law, the bastard son of a nobleman would not necessarily get anything in inheritance.

I'm used to the topic of bastard sons coming up in Shakespeare, where they are mostly depicted as Biller and jealous because their 1/2 sibs have so much more money, power and status.  Here Pierre is depicted as the nice guy, which is not the trope I'm usually expecting to see.

Wonder Woman and the Quixotic Quest

Spoiler alert: probably not such a great idea to read this if you haven’t seen the movie yet

The concept of a childlike faith: in this case the belief that war was a god called Ares and that if Ares could be killed war would end.

This brings up so much stuff for me.

First, the Quixotic Quest for the World Anthem, that I’ve been pushing on this blog for several years.  

Michael Jackson had a childlike faith that getting the whole world to sing together would bring us closer to peace — that people could be transformed by singing and dancing together.  He had this faith, because of what he had seen in his audience during his performances.  And, in fact, many people who were in those audiences did feel that something transformative had happened to them.  

I think he was right. I don’t know that the event that he proposed, an event where the whole world would sing and cry together, would permanently end war, but it would certainly start changing how we see each other — bringing us closer to a world where it isn’t us versus them, but only us.  As I’ve said, I feel there’s a more general action item here: creating international holidays or cultural events that we could all share, so that we could feel like one people, rather than multiple peoples.

Second, pagan gods.

I grew up in a Protestant environment.  In this environment, the idea of pagan gods was threatening.  They were violative of the first commandment.  We would be punished if we believed in them.

In the fictional world of comic books and comic book movies, Gods become superheroes or supervillains.  They have great powers but they are no different from The Hulk or Superman, at some level -- fiction.

Personally, as an eclectic universalist, I have a dislike of the mentality that people will be punished for their honest attempts to worship the divine in the best way that they knew how.  I am attracted to the Baha’i’ belief that all religions worship the same God — that any apparent differences are due to a universal human failure to understand God, not due to failings of selected groups of people to worship the correct God.  The Baha’i’s teach a God centered approach to religion that looks at the individual worshipper’s personal relationship with God.  Many religions adopt a more coercive approach, where the worshipper tries to pressure others to have the same beliefs or worship the same way -- and, moreover, believers tell those with different beliefs that God will punish them.

As I mentioned in a recent blog, I never actually became a Baha’i’, but I’m still attracted to this concept.

I was intrigued with an Internet meme that attributed the ascendancy of Donald Trump to the intervention of the Norse God, Loki, a sewer of chaos, associated with the color red.  The red of Loki was likened to the strawberry blond color of Trump’s hair.

The Nordic peoples are predominantly Protestant now.  But someone in Norse history recorded the Norse legends for posterity, so they can be remembered — unlike, for instance, the Druidic tradition, which is obscure and poorly understood, because details were kept secret.

And, because someone took the trouble to write down Norse legends, they persist.  Thor and Loki appear in movies.  Similarly Greek Gods are constantly featured in drama.  Witches, vampires, werewolves, and other monsters are also featured. 

Fundamentalists are often disturbed by such drama.  

Wonderwoman posits that Gods might die. Can Gods die? Can the memory of them be suppressed? If they are remembered can they not always be used as the metaphor for reality that they always were? What, in fact, is wrong with the concept of such metaphors?

Fundamentalists condemn Hindus, for instance, for worshipping more than one God.  Some Hindus counter that they believe in only one God, but they use these other personae to focus their minds during worship on the needs they are trying to address at the time -- as a sort of metaphor.  

So, similarly, the idea of Donald Trump as a manifestation of Loki, has the threatening implication that such metaphors could be acceptable — that coercive monotheism is wrong.

So, ultimately, Wonder Woman’s actions and her childlike faith are moving, yet we suspect they are futile. Still, we like the metaphor.  Still, we want her to keep fighting, trying to kill Ares, all the while suspecting that he’s likely to return in another movie, even if apparently dead.

And I suspect that even if my proposed event were to occur — the annual event where the whole world cries and sings together — war will not really be gone.  Still, I think it will make war harder. 

Re-seeing The Comet 170423 cc @joshgroban

I went again to see Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.  This is absolutely the very first time that I went to see a Broadway show twice.  I just don’t do this.

There was a convention of Grobanites.  They met for lunch before the show at something called Russian Samovar.  I didn’t hear about the lunch until after its as full. I wasn’t checking my twitter enough.  

I did hear soon enough to get the last seat on the stage.  And I got to have dinner with some of the convention group after the show at Juniors on 44th.  I saw quite a few Grobies I knew both in the theater and after the show.

The previous time that i saw the show, I was in the upper balcony, quite far from the stage.  This time I was actually on the stage.  

It was an interesting contrast.  I felt, on the stage, that I was part of the show more. The performers seemed less like they were bigger than life.  They seemed more immediate, more human.  Sitting behind Josh and seeing him mostly from the back was different, as well.  I’ve seen his back before, because he does concerts in the round.  His slightly rounded shoulders, which he got from his dad, seemed very appropriate to this role.

The sound was very interesting. They use computer effects and the wave properties of sound, to project the sound right where the performers are, making the sound seem to come from them.  I didn’t notice that so much in the upper balcony, because I was far from the soloists most of the time.  On the stage, it was very noticeable.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I was hearing, because the sound seemed to come from the performers, and yet it also sounded amplified.  Later someone told me that there was something written somewhere about the special sound effects used in the show.  It is really quite remarkable.  i have a background in physics and engineering, so someday I should read up on how they achieved this effect.

The voices are all very interesting and different.  

Brittain Ashford who plays Sonya has a very unusual sounding voice.  It’s interesting, because it’s more of a folk sound, rather than a Broadway sound.  Of course, you can see her on YouTube. 

I’m clueless as to why these talented performers don’t have recording contracts.  Her song is really riveting IMHO 

She sounds like someone I’ve heard before, but I can’t figure out who.  I was just going through some YouTube videos of performers who I’ve heard before (Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, Ronnie Gilbert, Holly Near, even Grace van der Waal) and none of them were quite the same.  Can someone tell me who I’m missing here?  Probably Ronnie Gilbert was closest?

It’s intriguing that they cast a low alto to be the “good” girl and a very high tenor to be the “bad” boy.  Usually, lower voices are used for bad characters.

Lucas Steele, the “bad” boy is an extraordinary singer: incredible high notes.  He also plays violin during the show.

Yet, you can see why he’s cast as a villain.  Despite his being so handsome and having such a beautiful voice, there is something very sinister about him.  I guess he was still in character when signing autographs?  I certainly never saw him crack a smile at us.  He might have been trying to save his voice also, because he signed silently, not saying anything to anyone.

Josh by contrast was very social and chatted casually with fans.  He didn’t allow any selfies this time. I guess he now is putting a priority on autographs.  Maybe also his management wants people to pay for a meet and greet to get a selfie?  

I found the story easier to understand this second time round, because i knew what was coming.  They make a point at the beginning to say that you should consider yourself at the opera and refer to the libretto in the program to follow the action.  This time I really didn’t need to.

I got to see how they used discord in the music to correspond to discord in the plot.  This was what I found most interesting about the music, when it sounds more like modern classical and less like Broadway.  I really like the “opera” scene, where they make the opera bizarre, spooky, discordant, and ominous, because something bad is happening to Natasha in the audience during the performance — 

Josh recently called this show a “circus,” which is apt in a way.  There are all kinds of amazing things going on.  Dancing, playing instruments, varieties of costumes — and performers running all over the theater.  I couldn’t see the ones out in the audience as well from the stage. 

Sitting on the stage has the disadvantage that you’re especially not allowed to be up and about, because performers are trying to run by.  They had warned us not to be in the aisles even in the rear balcony, but they’re especially worried about that on stage.  The ushers were all asking everyone if they were sure they didn’t need to go to the bathroom before the show as it would be an hour and a half before intermission.  I did go, some didn’t, but, being one of weak bladder, it was a bit nerve-wracking knowing that I couldn’t get out of my seat without totally bollixing up the show.  It turned out not to be an issue.  I didn’t have to get up, but I was worrying about it all through the show, which detracted from enjoying the performance.  

Also the restrooms are up on the mezzanine, which is a hike from the stage.  

The line extended down the stairs almost to the stage when I went out at intermission.  They had people directing traffic throughout the line and in the bathroom, where there were 16 stalls.  They had to keep reassuring us that we would all get in.  That this happens at every intermission for them.  They must have had at least six people dedicated to managing the intermission restroom line.  The line did move fairly quickly.  Still it was an adventure.

Normally, I choose aisle seats, so I can dash out at intermission and get near the head of the restroom line.  This time I took the last seat on stage, so I wasn’t on an aisle, plus we were told to walk down the stage, rather than backstage (which was where we came in from) to get to the restroom, so I had to walk to the back of the theater, across the back, and then back up toward the front to get to the end of restroom line, which was not the shortest way at all, and made me get more toward the back of the line.

There was a handicap restroom near the stage, but it was guarded by someone who was making sure only handicapped people used it. Perhaps I should have brought a cane.

Still it all worked out.

Anyway, I do like the show, though i think it was less affecting from the stage than from the audience, because being on the stage was de-mystifying.

Now if you’ve been following this blog, you know it’s been characterized by criticizing Josh’s singing errors.  So I would not be true to myself if I failed to note that he did go nasal a couple of times during the show, though generally he sounded good — very commanding, with a great aura of gravitas.

More concerning to me was that both he and Grace McLean did some rough singing.  Now I have never been a fan of rough singing and one of the things that attracted me to Josh was that he didn’t do it. Apparently, he has found a way to do it that he feels doesn’t endanger his voice, which may or may not be true.  Still, I suspect now that he’s gotten into it he’ll be doing some rough singing in his concerts as well. That’s not going to make me a happy camper.

I *am* hoping that the reason that Josh is leaving Comet is that he’s planning on doing some touring this summer.

He does actually dance during the show.   For those of us following him for a long time, this is a bit surprising in and of itself. And, curiously, his kicks are actually getting quite high, almost shoulder level.  During the Marvin Hamlisch memorial at Lincoln Center he had asked to be excused from high kicks — and characterized his having been excused as “merciful.”  I gather he has a history of falling while dancing, from the stories he’s told.  He didn’t fall. He certainly doesn’t look as graceful as the other dancers, but that is in keeping with his character, still I think he kicked higher than I could, and I do yoga and consider myself fairly flexible, so I was surprised.

He does play piano and accordion.  I may be mistaken, but I think he was playing more this time than he did the last time I watched, or maybe I just noticed more, because I was closer to him.  There is another guy there who can play, but I think Josh really likes to play the piano.  He starts out playing the accordion at the beginning, but doesn’t play long.  This time I could see that he used the accordion  at least one other time during the show, though one of the ensemble — a very attractive, and scantily clad woman — seemed to be playing that instrument more often than he.

As to his acting, he did seem very natural to me.

At the end, he and Lucas Steele went out on stage to ask audience members to donate to Broadway Cares.  Lucas spoke quite movingly of the medical services he received there when he couldn't afford other healthcare -- and said he didn't know if he would be here at all if they hadn't been there.

I took some pictures during the autograph signing

I didn't get photos of most of the performers, because I was too busy getting signatures -- and, also, didn't think of it until Josh came out.  Then I had to spend a bit of time getting my phone turned back on.

Here's my signed program

It's hard to decipher who is who, but I think the other performers left the white part with the title blank so that Josh could sign there.

They're very strict about not taking pictures in the theater.  I saw them making one woman delete photos from her camera. I was very good.  I had my phone completely turned off during the whole show.

****

Addendum 10/25/17

So I posed the question above as to who Brittain sounded like.  A reader from twitter,  @Gennyxxxx kindly offered that she was reminded of Judy Collins singing "Turn Turn Turn."  

Yes, there is some similarity, though I don't think that this was what I was thinking of.

Alumni Survey cc @joshgroban

I'm going back for my 40th college reunion.  They sent out a popular culture survey.  One part was on popular musicians.

You will note that Josh Groban is listed for the 2000's, but not for the 2010's.  In fact, no musician seems to be listed for more than one decade.  Still I only care about Josh.  Well, at least he made the list for the 2000's.

Jackie Evancho vidoes

I'm trying to keep track of some obscure Jackie Evancho Videos, so I'm putting them here.  I know I wanted to tell someone about them, but now I can't remember who.

I wonder how many performers are trying simultaneously to do opera and pop

Conchita Wurst "Don't Put the Blame on Me"

It is one of my personal idiosyncrasies that I'm attracted to gay men, or any men who can't have sex with women.  

I went through this major obsession for a while thinking that Michael Jackson was a castrato.  After a while, I came to realize that the high voice and gender non-conforming behavior was not intended to be effeminate, nor was it due to a hormonal issue.  It was just an act, because he was obsessed with never growing up, being Peter Pan.  I realized that there were examples of him singing baritone -- that all the baritone voices in the choruses of a lot of his songs were actually him, doing multiple tracks.

I think my obsession had something to do with my mother telling me that my father wasn't interested in sex any more after she was 40.  Some weird neurosis.

Anyway, I really fell for Conchita as a performer.  I got his album and was eagerly awaiting more work.

Then I found out that my own older child was gender fluid, which made me feel horribly guilty, as if he had been somehow intoxicated by my strange proclivities.  My child insisted that they had to start doing hormone suppression and estrogen right away, because they were 25 and they would only be able to pass as a woman if they started now.  This was received wisdom that they had learned from other transwomen.

I pointed out how Conchita was able to look feminine without any apparent hormones.  

But Conchita was about 25 at that point.

Now she's a few years older and looking more masculine -- probably not going the hormone treatments that my child is going through.  And she or he comes out with this song.

It's a very well done and charismatic performance. Conchita definitely has the "X" factor.

But the voice is lower and the face is more masculine.  The performance is tortured, rather than exuberant, unlike his "Phoenix" song.

The words include "I'm only human after all," "Don't put the blame on me," "Look in the mirror," "do you see it clearer," "Just a man. I do what I can,"  

In the past Conchita didn't say "I'm a man."  I feel like he's talking to me about the fact that he's afraid that I -- and other fans -- will be disappointed that he's not the way he was, that he's more masculine that he's not really a bearded woman, that he's really a man, and intends to stay a man.

I still find him fascinating.

Sunset Boulevard review

I had just come out of the Actor's Equity building, where I had been unsuccessful at getting into an audition. I was walking along 46th street, and then, suddenly, unmistakably, I was looking into the eyes of Glen Close. Her hair was in a strange sort of crew cut, and, if I recall correctly, she was walking a very small dog.

I didn't say anything to her. What was there to say? "Peekaboo I see you?" Sort of dumb.

I did report on FB that I'd seen her, and someone told me that she was appearing in a Broadway show, Sunset Boulevard.

That rang a bell.

In the early days of The Quixotic Quest, I ran across some YouTube videos of Kris Philips touring with Andrew Lloyd Webber, in Asia, and singing songs from Webber's musicals, which included two from that show.

I found Kris, because the videos of Kris singing songs from Phantom of the Opera came up after I watched a video of Josh Groban singing one of those songs. If you've been following this blog, you'll have noticed that I'm a Grobanite.

Then, as one does on YouTube, I went around and watched more Kris Philips videos. I was really moved to see that he led a group of singers in singing "We Are the World" at the Shanghai world expo only slightly more than a month after Josh Groban sang that song with a group of USA pop singers to raise money for the victims of the great earthquake in Haiti. That synchronicity made me very hopeful for the quixotic quest.

So I ran into Glen Close, and then I learned she was performing in this show that I felt some connection to and, then, Friday, there was a nice review of the show in the New York Times.

So, this evening, I decided to go see Sunset Boulevard. I had told myself I was going to go see Josh's show again when I got a chance, but I went to this instead. I got a favorable price for a obstructed view seat.

It wasn't nearly as obstructed as the seats I usually get when I go see the N.Y. Philharmonic. There was only a little bit of the front of the stage that I couldn't see, and the performers didn't go there, so I was o.k. It was a bit of a terrifying walk to get to it, as the lights were already off. It was a steep staircase, and a steep balcony, and the passage in front of the seats in my row in the dark was very narrow, with a steep dropoff to the left.

Now I can't say as I enjoyed this show quite as much as Josh's. Still, it was quite nice.

For those of you who don't know, it's a dismal tragedy about a struggling writer who gets roped into being a gigolo to a wealthy retired movie star, who is also manipulative and dotty.

In this production, the orchestra was on stage behind the performers, with a very limited set, sort of like Josh Groban's Chess DVD, except there was also some light dancing by the ensemble.

Glenn Close gave a masterful performance. It was interesting to hear her singing, because she's older than I am, and sometimes sounds it, but that fit with the character. As a performer, I'm still trying to get my head around this whole concept of acting while singing. Her voice was strong, but not, to my ear, beautiful, but certainly fit the character. Still, my ear isn't necessarily the same as that of the majority of audience members, who gave her repeated standing ovations.

She wore an impressive array of magnificent costumes and bling. Curiously, after the show, I discovered that the souvenir shop was selling bling, so fans could sparkle like her character.

David Foster said you know a star, because when they're on stage you can't look at anyone else. Close definitely achieved this effect. It may have just been the spotlight or the costumes, but I think not. There was something about her that drew the eye. Coincidentally, there was this line that her character said about how all she would have to do in a movie would be to show her face.

It was interesting comparing the performance of the male lead (Michael Xavier) with the parts I saw Kris Phillips perform on YouTube. I'd say Kris has the more beautiful voice, but not as good of acting.

The most impressive voice, to my ear, was Fred Johanson, the butler. He had a very deep bass voice that extended up to a fairly high and delicate falsetto. Paul Schoeffler, who played Cecile B DeMille, had an exquisite baritone, also.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that josh's voice coach, Kirsten Blodgette was involved in this show