Lady of the Thread's Sewing Basket

I ended up not seeing “A Little Night Music” today. I got to the theatre and was dismayed to see signs saying that Angela Lansbury was out. I’d decided to try going this week even though I still have things to finish before AnimeNext mainly because I wanted to see her before she left the show. :-/ I bought my ticket on Sunday morning and was slightly worried when she mentioned she was loosing her voice during the Tony Awards that night. (Checked a theatre board after I got home and someone claimed she has laryngitis, which seems feasible considering the other night.) Whatever the ailment is, I hope she’s better soon!

The lady at the box office told me I could get a refund if I didn’t want to see the show without Angela. Quite a few other people also seemed to want to see her especially and asked for refunds since she was out. Debated mentally for a while and decided to take the refund. Although I love the music and want to see the show at some point, I didn’t really care about Catherine Zeta Jones and it wasn’t really worth $141.50 (yeah, that’s how much the ticket was after fees! X_X) to me to see it today. I was glad the box office people were so willing to do refunds, considering Broadway tickets usually say no refunds or exchanges. I figure I’ll wait until Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch come in as replacements and see if any discounts come up. I’d rather see shows with people known for their theatre work than movie stars that don’t normally do musicals. >_>;

So, it was a disappointing afternoon and I wasted about 3 hours going into the city and coming back. Not good since I want to get a bunch of paperwork out of the way before AnimeNext and still have a few small things to do on costumes. :-/ Finished with Kyoya stuff but still have a bit of work on the surprise costume and want to redo the flowers for Youka’s hair. Plus, I need to pack tomorrow.


And if the theatre thing wasn’t enough bad luck for one day, I accidentally sat on a kiwi a while before dinner. O_o; Apparently, it had rolled onto one of the dining room chairs when my mother was emptying bowls of fruit into a bag and she didn’t notice. I sat down without looking and was like, “Huh? Why do I feel something squishy?” -_-;

Could it be? Yes, it’s an entry that has nothing to do with cosplay! *laugh*

Anyway, I thought it was about time I finally got around to typing out a few thoughts about the Broadway revival of Company which I saw last month. (You know you’re behind when you’re writing reviews for a show that closed nearly a month ago. ^_^;;)

Company doesn’t really have a plot. It focuses on the main character Bobby and his interactions with 5 married couples, who are his friends, and a trio of girlfriends. I suppose the best way to describe it would be a collection of vignettes on the themes of love, commitment, and marriage. (My favorite had to be the scene with “Getting Married Today” and Amy the crazy bride having a nervous breakdown before eventually going ahead with the wedding. XD) It begins and ends with Bobby’s birthday but there’s no real sense of time in the piece, whether the scenes actually occur chronologically or how much time passes between scenes or if it’s all just things from the past that he’s remembering on his birthday.

The production was minimalist with no set or costume changes. The set consisted mainly of a piano, a column surrounded by a circular radiator, and large boxes made of thick clear plastic. (I actually found myself wondering if my family’s store helped build the set when I first walked into the theatre and saw those boxes!) The single set served as Bobby’s apartment, apartments of his friends, and a nightclub among other things. The costumes were all black and white. And the minimalist approach seemed to work fine with the amorphous nature of the show.

Also, there was no separate orchestra; the actors also played the instruments. (I didn’t see it but I’ve heard the Sweeny Todd revival a couple of years ago was staged the same way with the cast doubling as the orchestra.) I wasn’t sure how well such a concept could work but I think it did for this revival, considering the show’s lack of a conventional plot. Having heard the recording of the original production and read a bit about it beforehand, I knew not to expect much of a story and went mainly for the music so I wasn’t disappointed.

Hmm… And I just heard the other day that Roundabout will be doing a Sunday in the Park with George revival for next year. Sondheim revivals have seemed popular this decade with about one each year. Follies, Into the Woods, Assassins, Pacific Overtures, Sweeny Todd, Company. Wonder if there’s any chance of a Broadway revival of A Little Night Music since it’s one that hasn’t been done yet… (I know the NYC Opera did it a few years back but I missed it.) It’s one of my favorite Sondheim scores but I’ve never seen it staged.

And on an unrelated note, I should try to get to the Met sometime in the next week or so. I usually try to make it to their fashion exhibitions. And the Poiret exhibit closes next Sunday but I haven’t seen it yet. ^_^;