Topic: WHEN CAST ALBUMS WERE CAST ALBUMS (Read 543 times)

John G. · « **Reply #151 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:21:17 PM »

Hi, MichaelG!

John G. · « **Reply #152 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:21:31 PM »

How was Act II?

MichaelG · « **Reply #153 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:21:47 PM »

Act II was excellent as well, if not quite as good as Act I. The Cold War framing isn't as effective.

John G. · « **Reply #154 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:22:24 PM »

I love that Chess score.

John G. · « **Reply #155 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:23:18 PM »

Why are people praising Lea M’s Nobody’s Side so much?

MichaelG · « **Reply #156 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:23:36 PM »

Overall, I loved it. They made the three main characters more attractive by softening the men a bit and having Florence make more choices rather than having stuff happen to her.

MichaelG · « **Reply #157 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:24:09 PM »

Quote from: John G. on November 20, 2025, 08:23:18 PM

Why are people praising Lea M’s Nobody’s Side so much?

Because it was out of this world?

John G. · « **Reply #158 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:24:33 PM »

Was it?

MichaelG · « **Reply #159 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:26:42 PM »

Yes, I wasn't kidding! It comes out of the dramatic situation in a believable way, and she sings and acts the heck out of it.

MichaelG · « **Reply #160 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:29:19 PM »

I was worried about Tveit's voice being too low for Freddie and Christopher's too high for Anatoly, but no problems there. They have wider vocal ranges than I knew. Some small transpositions, but nothing that diminishes the effectiveness of the songs. I think Pity the Child was down either a half or whole step, and that's just fine.

MichaelG · « **Reply #161 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:30:20 PM »

And Hannah Cruz, OMG.

John G. · « **Reply #162 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:30:27 PM »

Have you seen Judy Kuhn rip right through it?

https://youtu.be/QMCqxx4sAYM?si=H8qG6sSkuiidEPyQ

John G. · « **Reply #163 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:31:05 PM »

I’m jealous.

MichaelG · « **Reply #164 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:32:05 PM »

Yes, some of the new book didn't quite work, but much of that would be fixable with dialog cuts.

MichaelG · « **Reply #165 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:35:00 PM »

Hard to compare recordings to sitting 6th row center, but I'll watch that over the next couple of days. I have the concept album, the Broadway version, and the Chess in Concert recording in my collection and will surely add this one when it arrives.

John G. · « **Reply #166 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:37:21 PM »

I listened to the concert album. I found Idina’s voice a little thin.

MichaelG · « **Reply #167 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:45:27 PM »

I liked both Idina and Josh, but I liked these performances better. It helps when it's fully staged and they've had a month of previews to really get into these songs. Christopher isn't as buttery a voice as Groban but that's not a bad thing for Anatoly.

MichaelG · « **Reply #168 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:53:45 PM »

Spoilers ahead if, like me, you don't want to know about changes before seeing it:

They cut Embassy Lament and the first part of Endgame. I love them musically but totally get it dramatically. Svetlana has a new-to-me song, He Is a Man, He Is a Child, which I guess was added in a previous Swedish production. Three songs precede Merano now, opening with Difficult and Dangerous times - quiet apropos given the book's tilt away from chess towards the Cold War. Someone Else's Story is now the 10 o'clock number (shows don't go to 11 anymore).

MichaelG · « **Reply #169 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:56:07 PM »

Props to Bradley Dean as a fabulous Molotov, Sean Allen Krill as an effective Walter, and Bryce Pinkham as the Arbiter / Narrator. He gets the thankless task of delivering some bad and unnecessary jokes but does great with his big song.

MichaelG · « **Reply #170 on:** November 20, 2025, 08:58:23 PM »

The ensemble was great - I've sung those parts, I know how tricky some of them are. They danced very well, which we didn't have to do in our concert production.

MichaelG · « **Reply #171 on:** November 20, 2025, 09:00:42 PM »

I don't know how much sleep I'll get before my flight home tomorrow, I'm so jazzed to have seen such a great performance of this. The rest of the audience was having a great time too.

John G. · « **Reply #172 on:** November 20, 2025, 09:01:44 PM »

Safe home, MichaelG!

John G. · « **Reply #173 on:** November 20, 2025, 09:02:05 PM »

I’ll finish that milestone tomorrow.

John G. · « **Reply #174 on:** November 20, 2025, 09:02:17 PM »

Good night, all.

John G. · « **Reply #175 on:** November 20, 2025, 09:06:24 PM »

Why you missed Shaina Taub.

https://playbill.com/article/shaina-taub-to-take-leave-of-absence-from-ragtime-on-broadway

MichaelG · « **Reply #176 on:** November 20, 2025, 09:28:06 PM »

She was out because she was at the Suffs premiere in LA that night. Her leave isn't until after the holidays. It's still very sad news indeed.

bk · « **Reply #177 on:** November 20, 2025, 11:07:19 PM »

Back from a fun rehearsal - fixing, futzing, drilling, and doing some new bits.

bk · « **Reply #178 on:** November 20, 2025, 11:08:34 PM »

After, I got another slice of pizza next door and came right home. I have to say and will say and then will have said that the rain was really coming down. And yet, it seems to have already stopped. But the motor car was being pelted, oh, yes, the motor car was being pelted.

bk · « **Reply #179 on:** November 20, 2025, 11:09:05 PM »

Guess I should write some notes. The pizza slice was even better tonight - I added onions to the mix.

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Author Topic: WHEN CAST ALBUMS WERE CAST ALBUMS (Read 543 times)