Images:
Opened:
December 8, 2002
Ended:
June 29, 2003
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
New York
Company/Producers:
Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Emanuel Azenberg & Bazmark Live, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Korea Pictures/Doyun Seol, J.Sine/I. Pittelman/S. Nederlander & Fox Searchlight Pictures. Assoc Prod: Daniel Karslake/Coats Guiles/Mort Swinsky/Michael Fuchs.
Theater Type:
Broadway
Theater:
Broadway Theater
Theater Address:
1681 Broadway (53rd St)
Running Time:
2 hrs, 30 min
Genre:
Opera
Director:
Baz Luhrmann
Review:
The only thing "radical" (and, to my mind, objectionable) about Baz Luhrmann's production of La Boheme, which is re-set in mid-1950s Paris, is that he gets a little cute with the subtitles, both in modernizing the slang and in using kooky fonts for emphasis. Otherwise, it's a tasteful and emotionally faithful mounting of Puccini's opera, boasting a ravishingly beautiful mise-en-scene for the cafe scene and a group of appealing performers. (Three different casts play in repertory to conserve the singers' voices.) The romantic duet of act one is, as ever, touching, though I confess the final moments left me unmoved, especially considering the intimacy of seeing grand opera in a Broadway space.
Parental:
adult themes
Cast:
Alfred Boe, Eugene Brancoveanu, Jessica Comeau, Ben Davis, Jesus Garcia, Chloe Wright, William Youmans, Daniel Webb, Ekaterina Solovyeva, Adam Grupper, Lisa Hopkins, Wei Huang, David Miller, Daniel Okulitch
Technical:
Set: Catherine Martin; Costumes: Catherine Martin & Angus Strathie; Lighting: Nigel Levings; Sound: Acme Sound Partners; Orchestr: Nicholas Kitsopoulos; Music Coord: John Miller; Tech Sup: Brian Lynch; Casting: Bernard Telsey Casting. PR: Boneau/Bryan-Brown.
Other Critics:
PERFORMING ARTS INSIDER Richmond Shepard ! / THEATERSCENE.NET Jeannie Lieberman X / TOTALTHEATER David Lefkowitz + Anne Siegel ?
Miscellaneous:
Sung in Italian, with English sub & supertitles.
Critic:
David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
December 2002
