Saturday in the City

Saturday afternoon I went to see Sondheim on Sondheim (which Leslie had already seen on Monday), and Leslie headed over to The City Center to see a production of Hard Times, based on the book by Charles Dickens.

I really enjoyed the Sondheim show. Barbara Cook is such an icon of musical theater that it was wonderful to see and hear her in person. Vanessa Williams makes singing Sondheim's lyrics seem like the easiest thing in the world. She is a wonderful performer. I was surprised with the voice of Tom Wopat of Dukes of Hazzard fame, Since we have seen several of Sondheim shows in the last couple of year, it made the show even more enjoyable. On my way out of the theatre, I walked for several blocks with a musician from the show who told me that the show will be undergoing lots of changes in the upcoming week of previews with several songs cut and new ones added. He said the show is getting tweaked constantly at this point. I asked him if Vanessa was really as beautiful in person as she looked from the mezzanine and he said she looks even better! Sondheim is a national treasure and it is really wonderful to see him honored with a show during his lifetime. It was also very enlightening to learn more about this amazing man during the show which included wonderful photos and interview clips.

Leslie really enjoyed Hard Times at the 100-seat Pearl Theatre at the City Center and was impressed by the six member cast who played all of the twenty plus roles in under three hours . This show closes on Sunday, so she was glad to have a chance to see it--we're both looking forward to (re)reading the book . . Our Saturday night play was Next Fall, new to Broadway after a successful Off-Broadway run. We both felt that this play was rather weak. The plot revolves around a 20-something gay man who has yet to come out to his ultra-Christian parents. At the start of the play, he has lapsed into a coma in a New York City hospital due to a car accident. In flashbacks, we see his relationship with a somewhat older man, who happens to be an atheist, develop into a four year relationship. Although there were some moments that were moving and funny, the play was flat and rather predictable. We wouldn't recommend this one . . .