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Hello Again: A Musical
The joys of sex are here for the asking in this adult musical fantasy suggested by Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde. As though seen through the lens of a combination time machine and bawdy, old-time kinescope, HELLO AGAIN crisscrosses beds and jumps from decade to decade, intimately examining the painful secrets that drive characters into each other's arms and towards the bruising effects of reckless passion. With a score that saturates the mind, HELLO AGAIN has an unforgettable, dreamlike quality-and all the luxuriance of an insistent seduction. "Mr. LaChiusa's smart, beguilingly world-weary work was the best original musical of the season..." -NY Times. "LaChiusa is an artist with a puckish, damn-the-torpedoes imagination...his deliriously eclectic score is like tuning into a radio station with a serious President Clinton It wants to please as many listeners as possible. For the camp mavens, there is a devastating pastiche, from "shlag"-heavy Viennese operetta to Yiddish boogie-woogie. For the Sondheim freaks, some devious wordplay. For the 'they don't write them like they used to' crowd, a plangent and hummable ballad...HELLO AGAIN scores." -NY Newsday.
72 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 10, 2021
My original thoughts after a first reading.
6M, 4F 1 Act, 10 scenes. 2 Actors per scene, with minor characters every so often. Musical.
Scenes take place in various locales and are scattered throughout each decade of the 20th century, except for the 90s (though the last scene take place in "The Present and The Past," which I suppose includes the 90s).
Interesting conceit, that one character from each scene continues on into the next scene, until all the characters have taken part in two scenes. The entire show, every scene deals with sex and lust and betrayal. None of the characters are sympathetic. none are interesting or likeable. I don't care about the characters.
An interesting conceit can make a good show great. It cannot save a good show, which is what this play is. Perhaps the music is phenomenal, but I doubt it. Ultimately, this play's message seems to be that human connection is an illusion; that everyone will betray and leave you; that no one is a worthwhile human being.
Lighting is important for mood and isolation of scenes. Costumes of various social classes from various decades of the 20th century would be interesting to find/create. Scenically, I am less interested in this show. It seems to have ten mini-sets that constantly change, which movement ballet could make the scenic choreography interesting; however, none of the individual locations are interesting enough to make the design work compelling.
Not a show I want to design.
6M, 4F 1 Act, 10 scenes. 2 Actors per scene, with minor characters every so often. Musical.
Scenes take place in various locales and are scattered throughout each decade of the 20th century, except for the 90s (though the last scene take place in "The Present and The Past," which I suppose includes the 90s).
Interesting conceit, that one character from each scene continues on into the next scene, until all the characters have taken part in two scenes. The entire show, every scene deals with sex and lust and betrayal. None of the characters are sympathetic. none are interesting or likeable. I don't care about the characters.
An interesting conceit can make a good show great. It cannot save a good show, which is what this play is. Perhaps the music is phenomenal, but I doubt it. Ultimately, this play's message seems to be that human connection is an illusion; that everyone will betray and leave you; that no one is a worthwhile human being.
Lighting is important for mood and isolation of scenes. Costumes of various social classes from various decades of the 20th century would be interesting to find/create. Scenically, I am less interested in this show. It seems to have ten mini-sets that constantly change, which movement ballet could make the scenic choreography interesting; however, none of the individual locations are interesting enough to make the design work compelling.
Not a show I want to design.
Displaying 1 of 1 review