Posted by Kristen on 10/21/2004, 10:36 am, in reply to "did anyone go?" There were initially a few gasps from the audience at the start of the concert as Marin and Michael Cerveris walked CS, began kissing, as he continued to slip the straps of her dress off. I don't think anyone was expecting that, I must admit I myself was taken by surprise, but for people that had never seen the show, it made them understand what was supposed to be going on during the opening sequence. Obviously, on the loud strident chord Clara is supposed to be having her orgasm. If this wasn't done, the audience might not have understood that Clara and Giorgio were supposed to be in bed together. There were some costumes, but mainly for the men. Marin wore a black silky dress for the opening sequence and the reddish gown she wore for part of the Memorial Day concert on television for the rest, occasionally with different little shawls/wraps draped over herself. Her hair was very blonde and loosely curled in an undone way. It was a very different looking Clara than in the '94 version. She was much more modern-looking. Donna dressed very similarly to the way she did on Broadway. There is not very much you can do with that character's wardrobe. It is supposed to be very plain and nothinig special to look at, as the character herself is supposed to be. Her makeup was very aging, with her eyebrows darkened and bags accentuated around her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a very low bun. Michael wore a variation of the original Giorgio costume. It was less decorated, but had the same colors as the original. Donna Murphy gave a truly impeccable performance. I was not sure what to expect considering this was a concert/reading, but it was basically like seeing her Tony-winning performance in the actual musical itself. Her acting was phenomenal. It was such a real performance. She had tears streaming down her face throughout, and at the curtain call she was still very choked up. It really seemed to be an emotional event for her, revisiting the character of Fosca. Michael Cerveris was brilliant as well. This was my third time seeing him the role of Giorgio, having seen him twice at the Kennedy Center with Rebecca Luker and Judy Kuhn. In my opinion, I like his interpretation of Giorgio better than Jere Shea's. Although, again it goes back to what I mentioned before about Clara. Michael's Giorgio is more modern. His look alone, if anyone knows Michael Cerveris, he is completely bald and looks very young. He was more strapping and his Giorgio was much more angry. He added a great deal of fire to the piece. And last, but not least, Marin of course was fabulous. Her voice has never sounded more beautiful. Something about Stephen Sondheim's music seems to bring out the best in her tone. It was simply breathtaking. I have actually not even watched the video of the Broadway production of "Passion" since I was at the Kennedy Center, so I did find myself doing a lot of comparing and contrasting with the casts. Rebecca Luker's Clara was very frustrated towards the end of the play, whereas, I felt Marin's last night was much more desperate and pained. When Giorgio tells her that he is not going to be returning home, she almost has a mini-breakdown. She begins, in a way, hyperventalating to herself. Her voice became very breathy and nervous. Her performance was stellar. I was lucky enough to get invited to the after-party because the friend that I went with is friends with Michael Cerveris and he gave me a ticket. It was at The Whiskey in the W Hotel. Some noteables were Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Baldwin, Raul Esparza, Norm Lewis, and of course, the three stars. At one point, Marin and Donna began dancing with each other to Madonna's "Like a Virgin." It was a true spectacle!
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This concert was truly amazing. I had never seen "Passion" when it was on Broadway in 1994; only the video and at the Kennedy Center in 2002, so, it was especially neat for me to see Marin and Donna reprise their Tony-nominated and Tony-winning roles, respectively.
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