In Jill Santoriello’s new musical version of A Tale of Two Cities, one of the characters sings “Buried alive, buried alive, and I must dig him out.” That is akin to how this blogger has felt in trying to dig up reviews of the Broadway-bound musical’s premiere at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Judging from the activity at the search engines, people are clamoring for info on this show, and I aim to please the clamoring public.

Thanks to David for pointing out this one from Sarasota Magazine. “[Santoriello] has managed to successfully streamline this famous book without damaging its core, and, aided by director Michael Donald Edwards and the musical staging of Warren Carlyle, to smoothly handle its swiftly swirling changes of scene and tone while still engaging our hearts, ears and eyes.”

“First praise here must go to [James] Barbour, who perfectly embodies the jaded, world-weary Carton, whose love for Lucie ultimately lifts him to redemption through self-sacrifice; both his acting and his singing are superb….”

From Broadway.com’s Stagenotes: “…this Broadway-bound musical is on the right path, thanks especially to a handful of stirring Jill Santoriello songs, Michael Donald Edward’s brisk staging, Tony Walton’s ingenious scenic design and a strong company led by James Barbour, pouring his soul into a towering performance as Carton.”

son_of_a_gun_25 at the broadway.com bulletin boards says this: “Natalie Toro (Mme. Defarge)- I would go see this show again and again just to see her performance. She is a phenomenal talent and really embodies the rage and revenge that has taken over her characters life.”

And erdrag had this to say in the comment section of Man In Chair: “The first act is long — a complicated story has to be set up, characters need to be established. Midway through the first act and through the entire second act, the story is emotionally engaging. I wish I could see it 10 more times.”

More reviews after the jump…

Thanks to Man In Chair reader, Julie, for pointing me to more reviews:

Bradenton Harold: “This enthralling theater piece is well-produced thanks to the efforts of a stunning cast and crew.” 

St. Petersburg Times: “Santoriello, who is making her musical theater debut with Tale, seems to be coming from an authentic (that is, not strictly commercial) place in her treatment of Charles Dickens’ novel. But let’s face it, any show about the French revolution is going to suffer in comparison to Les Miserables, especially one that so obviously owes a debt to it.”

Other than Jay Handelman’s Sarasota Herald Tribune review resurfacing in Variety, there’s not much in print. As I’ve said before, I have tickets to the now sold out show November 13, so I’ll add my nickel’s worth then.

Related Articles:

• One Tale of Two Cities
• Tale of Two Cities: Sights, Sites & Sounds
• A Tale of Two Cities: Not a Trivial Pursuit
• Everyone Deserves a Second Chance...

2 Comments to “Tale of Two Cities: The Barbour of Sarasota”

1. Julie Rodriguez — October 31, 2007 @ 11:51 am
   

   Couldn’t help but offer feedback, as I know of several other reviews in print for this show. Go to Bradenton Herald, St Pete Times, Broadway.com, Creative Loafing, Longboat Observer, and on and on. Press nights for this play were only on Oct 26 and 27, no reviews were allowed before that time. Really glowing reviews with only an occassional note about the show needing a little something before moving on to Broadway…. but all the big successes on Broadway underwent some tweaking before opening night.

   Try Google searching under the name Asolo Repertory Theatre - the fantastic company that staged it in Sarasota. I hope you keep in mind that Asolo Rep built the set when you rave about it after Nov 13.

2. Eric — October 31, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
   

   Julie–thanks for the extra reviews!! I added links to the ones I could find online.

   I’ll be sure to keep in mind that Tony Walton’s set was built by the Sarasota crew.

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