Passion

So, haven't managed to blog in awhile, but it has been crazy lately! A couple of weekends ago was the Macy's Day of Music here at the CSO and we had over 10,000 people show up! Needless to say - it was a long day. But, I did make time last week to go see a show with a friend from grad school. She got reduced tickets to Sondheim's Passion which is playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater starring Ana Gasteyer (of SNL fame, although she did premier, as Elphaba, in the Chicago Wicked). I didn't have huge expectations, Sondheim is often hard to pull off, Passion was the shortest running Best Musical ever, and Ihad my doubts about Gasteyer's singing. Oh, and how wrong I was - the show was amazing! Very intimate setting, great voices, really tight staging, strong chorus - loved it. I'm not a diehard Sondheim fan - I have really fond memories of Sweeney Todd as the first show that I worked on in a professional setting and now I love it. Sunday in the Park with George (ahhh, Mandy Patinkin) and Into the Woods are other favorites. Passion, will not, I think, be a show that I listen to repeatedly, but it is in and of itself a very dark and gripping story: unrequited love, adultery, isolation, ugliness, betrayel, and sickness. Those elements make for a great Law & Order:SVU episode, but aren't something I typically look for in my musicals. The stars aligned for this show, however, and Ana Gasteyer's realistic, incredibly believable performance as Fosca really brought the show to a higher level and I have to say, although rather depressed as the last note was sung, Passion lives up to its name.