I saw this on the weekend, and LOVED it. I was mesmerized by the staging/choreography. There was a large cast in a small space, constantly in motion. The cast was excellent through and through. The principals had beautiful voices, but the supporting cast was equally talented. The energy was palpable. I found several songs beautiful and memorable. "We"ll take a glass together" was joyful, energized, beautiful, but then I have to say there were several other songs that played equally well. I walked out smiling, and very, very happy to have had the privilege of seeing it. This could be moved lock, stock and barrel to Bway tomorrow, and should!
How could anyone write a review of "Grand Hotel," mentioning John Barrymore and Greta Garbo, without tipping his hat to Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore whose performances in the original were at least the equal if not greater than The Great Recluse and the Great Profile.
I'm looking at the Playbill title page in this day old clam dip revival of GRAND HOTEL,the musical. Everyone involved with the show past and present gets due credit EXCEPT (are they kidding !!) Tommy Tune.
The mind boggles.
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And Yvonne Marceau and Pierre Dulaine - whose part in this magnificent production was performed this week most elegantly by Junior Cervilla and Guadalupe Garcia.
Mr. Brantley must have fallen asleep to have missed the highlight of Encore's "Grand Hotel": the spectacular tango dancing. It gets no mention, not even a whisper, in his review. How that be????????? Junior Cervila and Guadalupe Garcia were simply magnificent! Perhaps he should see it again!
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I agree. This is a complicated show, with multiple performers whose lives rapidly brush past one another. But these two dancers are the thread that holds everything together from opening to ending. One cannot take eyes off them.
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I thought the set was awful. Why on earth have these amazing dancers be stuck under scaffolding? I wanted to really enjoy the dancing in this but I just thought the staging was off with that set.
Shout out to Linda Cho for the amazing costumes! Sarah Etsy’s dress should be put in a museum. It was that beautiful. I loved almost all the performances especially Helene York and the tango couple but overall it was a bit sloggish for me.
I loved it in 1989 and i will love it again on Sunday. Go find Michael Jeter and We'll take a glass on Youtube and his subsequent speech after his Tony win. What a special man.
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Saw it Wednesday... instant standing ovation! Lovely production!
Notice an usherette clapping after "We'll Take A Glass Together"... what does that say?
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Mr. Brantley noted: "Small wonder that when “Forbidden Broadway” did its (priceless) parody, it was called “Grim Hotel.” "
Yes, and I recall the great Forbidden Broadway "Grim Hotel" was such a mix of love shown for the Broadway musical mixed with laugh-out-loud funny funny funny. Ms. Montevecchi's spoof character reacting to being given song revisions and singing "I can't learn this song so quickly, Maury must be crazy." Potshots during perfromancesn a spoof can be easy. Mixing love with being pointed by Mr. Alessandrini - as Mr. Brantley said: Priceless, indeed!
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As much as I loved "Grand Hotel" itself, I was the first one to be screaming when first listening to the unforgettable "Grim Hotel" Forbidden Broadway parody. From the announcement of "Rafaella: Six foot two Italian American lesbian confidante... with a designer haircut" to "It's German Expressionistic: You have to imagine the walls" and "Sets with black girders show-ing..." I played that as often as i did the cast album. How right you are Freddie. I hope you're working on your next set of lyrics. I showed "Have you seen the things that go out on twitter? Coming from the President..." to everyone i know.
As is often the case when critics look at a piece that has known a previous life, the review ends up being an iteration of preconceived ideas. That appears to be the case here. I saw the original Broadway production and had mixed feelings; however, since then I have come to really like the score. What surprised me most last night when I saw Encore's production was the real craft behind Mr. Stone's book (knowing his work, I think he deserves the credit). Given the limited time you spend with each character you nevertheless have real empathy for many of them. Mr. Stone has tightly woven the evening together. The cast is, for the most part excellent and a particular shout out to Mr. Uranowitz, Mr. Snyder and the amazing tango couple. The chorus is among the best out there right now. The show looks absolutely gorgeous and moves with beautiful fluidity. Encore's Grand Hotel is far better than most of the current offerings on Broadway. I came home last night and immediately went online to purchase a ticket for tonight.
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I wish the NY Times would balance its "Encores!" reviews with more about the performances and less about evaluating the selection of the piece. And please recognize two things: no one goes to Encores! expecting the original production to be re-created, and the staging should not be compared to the original, only judged on the degree to which it enables the strengths of the piece to be realized. And, most important, please give more credit to the wonderful (full!) orchestra and how it makes listening to the original score an absolute joy. This production was no exception. That is one of the most wonderful things about Encores!
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In my opinions, Encores SHOULD be about the piece and it's merits as much as about the performances. I look forward to critical examinations (in the line of Dramatic Criticism) more the a critique of a given production. I agree with you about what Encores does so well, and the high quality keeps us from being distracted and allow us to focus on the piece itself.
That said, I disagree with Mr. Brantley's review, as I did with Frank Rich's on the original production. I was fortunate to have seen the original production and it is one of my fondest memories of the theatre. I am not a musical theatre buff, and usually opt for the straight plays on or off Broadway. But when I do choose a musical, I love it when something like GRAND HOTEL comes as a pleasant surprise, and I do wish I could see this Encore production though I would miss Michael Jeter's amazing performance.
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I loved the original. None of the neighsayers were incorrect in their assessments but it flowed over me like Creme de Cassis, the darkest hue of all the reds and purples and it tasted of champagne and vampire's blood served in Waterford crystal goblets. The score was the only underrated thing about it and those of us who waited for over a year for it to be made and become available on CD loved it all the more. I was with my show business mentor, 25 years my senior and we had just started a consulting business. It was a strong alliance that lasts to this day even though my mentor isn't able to to leave his East Village home and attend the theatre any longer. We were in row G, dead center at the Martin Beck on a Wednesday night in March of 1991 very close to 27 years ago today and when "We'll Take A Glass Together" began to roar, we were both weeping with joy as Michael Jeter and Brent Barrett (taking over the role of the Baron from David Carroll) were playing an older man and a younger man who had formed an unlikely friendship, the kind we thought we'd never see on Broadway: They were playing US. I'd give anything to be in town for one of these six performances.
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I was lucky enough to see the original cast the first week it opened, also in a (single) house seat purchased right before the curtain went up. Experiencing David Carroll and Michael Jeter perform "We'll Take A Glass Together" was a real highlight of my seventeen years of Broadway theatre going, from George Hearn's "I Am What I Am" and Mandy Patinkin's singing the words, "George is alone." up until Dame Edna: The Royal Tour. I do miss Broadway and wish I was there again to hear Grand Hotel anew.
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One of my recollections is that the early 1990's on Broadway were such that the classy, gorgeous production was advertised with this camp classic TV ad by the time Cyd Charisse was in the show:
Grand Hotel random audience reaction ad
"I'm going to see it twice more... My husband works in this area."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wcf64hp_54
I recall this TV ad was so popular that Mario Cantone did a whole routine about this ad at that year's MAC awards. Those wacky pre-internet days!
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Mr. Brantley, you have obviously seen too much theater and are clearly worn out by it all not to see what an outstanding production of Grand Hotel this is. Perhaps the best production Encores! has ever produced. Maybe all this snow has got you down, but you need to thaw your heart out.
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Thank you, Warren for saying this so aptly!! The staging and performance last night was magnificent. Such powerful pathos in the superb chemistry between Irina Dvorovenko, with her exquisite delicacy of movement and James Snyder--a wonderful tenor--as her jaded Baron lover. The dancing throughout was magnificent -- and special shout-outs to the two Johns, one from North Carolina, one from South who brought "le Jazz hot" to this lively production, and to the pair of entwined tango dancers, who actually did an encore after the full-cast curtain call.
Among the best musical productions the city has seen in years; certainly far superior in every way to the hopelessly dead recent revival of Sunset Boulevard with a drab, lifeless Glen Close.
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The review is spot on - some good individual performances are not enough to lift an uninspiring score and book. One detail Mr. Bradley omits though - a fabulous tango dancing couple who brought the house down on opening night. Definitely worthy of mention.
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