This City Center 'Encores' "concert version" was groundbreaking in a several ways. Director/Choreographer Rob Marshall restored a duet cut from the original Broadway production called "Lies", sung by Jenifer Lewis as Peggy Olson, and Terrence Mann as J.D. Sheldrake. Most importantly, it was the first incarnation of the musical 'Promises, Promises' that anyone, anywhere had EVER decided to completely choreograph Burt Bacharachs' wonderfully rich music of the "Overture". The original Broadway production did not have choreography to that, and the audience just looked at the curtain and listened to the Overture. This alone, was a herculean task for a (open-script) 'concert version' that had only 1 week of rehearsal to do it in. Yes, back then, City Center Encores only budgeted a single week of rehearsal with the cast; and to land a week-and-a-half long job performing in a 'Encores' production was endearingly referred to as "Summer Stock with the A-Team" . The L.A. Encores version mimicked Rob Marshall's concepts for their 'Promises, Promises' production, as did the Broadway revival.
I'm just kind of dumbfounded that none of these revivals used the original dance captain to stage it (Betsy Haug). I am sure it would have been complete and exciting then.
zzindorf Hi I hear you on Besty Haug but this isn't the original choreography so I don't see the point. Although it's always good to give Betsy a chance. After seeing the "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the Broadway revival this version although not as good as the original beats the revival hands down.
Wow...a lot of urbane as well as eristic comments here, and some of them even brutal. 'Encores' productions were mostly about restoring original script and music that was often cut from the Original Broadway production. Sometimes these cuts were when the production was in gestation and never heard by any of the public, even in previews. That was the whole point of having the orchestra on the stage during an 'Encores' production, with open scripts. It was a concert version performing some of the restored material for the public for the first time! This particular Encores production was considered elaborate at that time, with the poles, the hanging silver mylar, and the minimal A-line dresses and grey suits for the chorus, that had to suffice as their one outfit for the entire concert. One would also hope that with this famous number; that some very cultivated folks here would realize that this 1:35 minute clip was the last one-and a-half minutes of a 5+ minute long marathon number, which they first had to sing and dance before the actual dance arrangement itself began.
It really wasn't as bad as people are saying it is. It is MUCH better than the Broadway revival. The lead dancers were dancing very hard and there was actually a lot of energy. If anything, it was the choreography that wasn't as exciting. We all have high standards from seeing the original broadway cast. Talent doesn't come like that anymore so we should stop comparing them from standards set 40+ years ago.
I know Cynthia Onrubia was the "McKechnie" track...who were the other 2 principal dancers? I saw it and was surprised it didn't transfer....much better than the revival...and who recreated the choreography?
The skirts are the right length. The original production was produced in 1968 and the show took place in the present. Mini skirts were in. The 2011 revival dialed back the time period to 1962 I believe, closer to the time period of the show's source, the 1961 Billy Wilder film, "The Apartment".
@@bradleyscarton3931 Exactly. And setting it back to 61 set up the dumbest rewritten line in the history of musical theater. In the original, Chuck tells Fran to meet him at "the new Garden, the old one's been torn down." But because the old Madison Square Garden was still standing in 1961, they changed the line to have him tell her to meet him at "The old Garden, the new one hasn't been built yet."
They set it in 1961 because, sadly - Mad Men was popular on TV when the revival was mounted and it was abysmal. Every single year of the 1960s is specific - and to try to use this book as 1961 talking about LSD and tripping - made no sense whatsoever. The two added songs were favorites of Kristen Chenoweth - but did not make sense in the story. A House is not a Home and I Say A Little Prayer didn't fit HOWEVER - WIVES AND LOVERS, I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF would have been much better choices in the story. Alas, the very wonderful Sean Hays was miscast as was Chenoweth - but Eric McCormack and Meagan Mullally would have been interesting choices. Just glad it didn't go to Sutton Foster and Josh Groban! @@epaddon
This dance was the only true stand out element of a show that's only okay. They should have licensed the original choreography and presented it within the Encores production. Looking back at the book and score of a show from an earlier era is great. But sometimes the choreography is worth seeing again, too.
I have been sn Encores subscriber since the beginning and saw the original Promises, Promises twice. I know very well how the Encores rehearsal period works snd have seen outstanding work through the years, but let's face the facts, Rob Marshall has always been an uninspired choreographer and this proves the point, short rehearsal period or not. However, Rob Ashford, with adequate rehearsal and previews did even worse. The unfortunate truth is thst AIDS robbed us of great talent and many of the people hailed as great now are just average workers. Of course, there are a few exceptions.
@me3054 Well, you have to understand that Encores! has a VERY limited rehearsal period-about a week long. This is actually pretty great choreography considering that they had a week to learn and stage the ENTIRE show.
@stevenwishnoff This is even better than the most recent Broadway productions version of this song. That terrible piece of rubbish makes me ashamed I even want to be on Broadway. It's just dreadful.
Why oh why do men have to have clothes covering every inch of their bodies with a tie to make sure not a stray hair shows on their neckline, but women can be half nude all the time? I HATE THAT!! I'm always hot!!! It drives me crazy that men can't have bear legs and arms like women when formal.
I'm sorry, but Turkey Lurkey Time without the original Michael Bennett choreography is like a turkey dinner without gravy, buttered mash potatoes, cranberry sauce and a dry as fuck bird. It might taste okay, but it does NOT satisfy at all.
If you play it at 1.25 x speed it almost matches the energy of the original cast performance on the Tony Awards. 😀
This City Center 'Encores' "concert version" was groundbreaking in a several ways. Director/Choreographer Rob Marshall restored a duet cut from the original Broadway production called "Lies", sung by Jenifer Lewis as Peggy Olson, and Terrence Mann as J.D. Sheldrake. Most importantly, it was the first incarnation of the musical 'Promises, Promises' that anyone, anywhere had EVER decided to completely choreograph Burt Bacharachs' wonderfully rich music of the "Overture". The original Broadway production did not have choreography to that, and the audience just looked at the curtain and listened to the Overture. This alone, was a herculean task for a (open-script) 'concert version' that had only 1 week of rehearsal to do it in. Yes, back then, City Center Encores only budgeted a single week of rehearsal with the cast; and to land a week-and-a-half long job performing in a 'Encores' production was endearingly referred to as "Summer Stock with the A-Team" . The L.A. Encores version mimicked Rob Marshall's concepts for their 'Promises, Promises' production, as did the Broadway revival.
Thanks, loved the Encores of Promises Promises, one of the best I've seen (up there with Chicago). Cynthia Onrubia was fantastic.
I'm just kind of dumbfounded that none of these revivals used the original dance captain to stage it (Betsy Haug). I am sure it would have been complete and exciting then.
zzindorf Hi I hear you on Besty Haug but this isn't the original choreography so I don't see the point. Although it's always good to give Betsy a chance. After seeing the "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the Broadway revival this version although not as good as the original beats the revival hands down.
The point is to use the original if you can't do a whole lot better.
Please check out the Broadway revival. It's really dismal compared to this.
Wow...a lot of urbane as well as eristic comments here, and some of them even brutal. 'Encores' productions were mostly about restoring original script and music that was often cut from the Original Broadway production. Sometimes these cuts were when the production was in gestation and never heard by any of the public, even in previews. That was the whole point of having the orchestra on the stage during an 'Encores' production, with open scripts. It was a concert version performing some of the restored material for the public for the first time!
This particular Encores production was considered elaborate at that time, with the poles, the hanging silver mylar, and the minimal A-line dresses and grey suits for the chorus, that had to suffice as their one outfit for the entire concert. One would also hope that with this famous number; that some very cultivated folks here would realize that this 1:35 minute clip was the last one-and a-half minutes of a 5+ minute long marathon number, which they first had to sing and dance before the actual dance arrangement itself began.
Wow, I was the first to see this. Life will never be the same. Cheers
I like it -- I didn't realize the Encores! series even did this much staging, I thought Encores! was more or less just a reading of the score
It really wasn't as bad as people are saying it is. It is MUCH better than the Broadway revival.
The lead dancers were dancing very hard and there was actually a lot of energy.
If anything, it was the choreography that wasn't as exciting.
We all have high standards from seeing the original broadway cast. Talent doesn't come like that anymore so we should stop comparing them from standards set 40+ years ago.
I know Cynthia Onrubia was the "McKechnie" track...who were the other 2 principal dancers? I saw it and was surprised it didn't transfer....much better than the revival...and who recreated the choreography?
I’m 99% sure Carol Lee Meadows is on the right
i'm pretty sure the last (on the left) is mary ann lamb
The skirts are the right length. The original production was produced in 1968 and the show took place in the present. Mini skirts were in. The 2011 revival dialed back the time period to 1962 I believe, closer to the time period of the show's source, the 1961 Billy Wilder film, "The Apartment".
I don't know why the revival set it back to 1961 because musically the score is heavily late 60's.
@@bradleyscarton3931 Exactly. And setting it back to 61 set up the dumbest rewritten line in the history of musical theater. In the original, Chuck tells Fran to meet him at "the new Garden, the old one's been torn down." But because the old Madison Square Garden was still standing in 1961, they changed the line to have him tell her to meet him at "The old Garden, the new one hasn't been built yet."
They set it in 1961 because, sadly - Mad Men was popular on TV when the revival was mounted and it was abysmal. Every single year of the 1960s is specific - and to try to use this book as 1961 talking about LSD and tripping - made no sense whatsoever. The two added songs were favorites of Kristen Chenoweth - but did not make sense in the story. A House is not a Home and I Say A Little Prayer didn't fit HOWEVER - WIVES AND LOVERS, I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF would have been much better choices in the story. Alas, the very wonderful Sean Hays was miscast as was Chenoweth - but Eric McCormack and Meagan Mullally would have been interesting choices. Just glad it didn't go to Sutton Foster and Josh Groban! @@epaddon
This dance was the only true stand out element of a show that's only okay. They should have licensed the original choreography and presented it within the Encores production. Looking back at the book and score of a show from an earlier era is great. But sometimes the choreography is worth seeing again, too.
I have been sn Encores subscriber since the beginning and saw the original Promises, Promises twice. I know very well how the Encores rehearsal period works snd have seen outstanding work through the years, but let's face the facts, Rob Marshall has always been an uninspired choreographer and this proves the point, short rehearsal period or not. However, Rob Ashford, with adequate rehearsal and previews did even worse. The unfortunate truth is thst AIDS robbed us of great talent and many of the people hailed as great now are just average workers. Of course, there are a few exceptions.
@me3054 Well, you have to understand that Encores! has a VERY limited rehearsal period-about a week long. This is actually pretty great choreography considering that they had a week to learn and stage the ENTIRE show.
at least their choreographer got the point. Rob Ashford screwed up this number big time in the current revival.
@stevenwishnoff This is even better than the most recent Broadway productions version of this song. That terrible piece of rubbish makes me ashamed I even want to be on Broadway. It's just dreadful.
@stevenwishnoff And I mean that in an "At least this is better than..." way, rather than a "Wow! This is even better than..." way. Haha!
That's not office attire....even if they're at a holiday party.
Sloppy :(
Why oh why do men have to have clothes covering every inch of their bodies with a tie to make sure not a stray hair shows on their neckline, but women can be half nude all the time? I HATE THAT!! I'm always hot!!! It drives me crazy that men can't have bear legs and arms like women when formal.
The lead dancer is the worst of the three!
The girl in the middle is TERRIBLE. Zero technique.
I'm sorry, but Turkey Lurkey Time without the original Michael Bennett choreography is like a turkey dinner without gravy, buttered mash potatoes, cranberry sauce and a dry as fuck bird. It might taste okay, but it does NOT satisfy at all.