www.reds-world.com/blog
October 19 2008
Thank God, Charles Dickens and Jill Santoriello for finally getting a magical, dramatic, tender yet powerful, life-changing musical back on the Broadway stage. It?s been far, far too long that we (the musical theatre loving audience) have been waiting for a story to move us as A TALE OF TWO CITIES does.
broadwayworld.com
October 25 2008
Esteemed lighting designer, theatre consultant, and author Richard Pilbrow is the winner of the 2008 Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented on Saturday evening, October 25, at the LDI Awards ceremony during LDI2008 in Las Vegas.
wcbstv.com
October 18 2008
Charles Dickens' immortal epic 'A Tale of Two Cities' has come to life on Broadway. Joining us on Broadway this morning is one of the stars of the new musical, James Barbour.
theculturebuddies.blogspot.com
October 17 2008
The CB's saw a new musical based on A Tale of Two Cities last night and thoroughly enjoyed a great night of theatre, the likes of which you can only see on Broadway--a big cast, great costumes, clever set, terrific talent, full orchestra, and music that soars. The pace of the story line is brisk, and there is a good amount of lightness added to the serious themes of class struggle, revolution, sacrifice, and redemption. The most enjoyable aspect of the production is the talent that has been assembled for this large cast. The voices, down to the most minor character, are crystal clear and lovely to listen to. When the lead, James Barbour, opens his mouth to sing, you know you will be in good hands for the night (it's hard not to swoon, to be truthful).
thebulletin.us
October 11 2008
New York - Famously paid by the word and unafraid to expand sentences in order to plump his paycheck, Charles Dickens' writing is often best when the dated, effusive dialog is skipped over, as any poor student who has slogged through Dombey and Son would surely attest. Yet Dickens' novels have been canonized for many decades for their rich, complex characters and the events these characters set in motion. So if Dickens is to be revered for his characters and vibrant settings, then maybe the act of transferring his men and women from page to stage is just the thing to bring new vivacity to the tale of un-noble aristocrats and the proletariats who paid the price for their cruelty. Triple-threat Jill Santoriello, who wrote the book, music and lyrics to the new A Tale of Two Cities, pleads a strong case for the adaptation from the classic novel about the French revolution to the Broadway stage.
nyc.com
October 05 2008
It's daunting enough reading the works of Charles Dickens?at least for most readers?let alone taking one of his classic stories and retrofitting it for another medium. It's well known that Dickens was paid by the word and that he preferred, by and large, to get as big a paycheck for his work as he could manage. To distill such a book as A Tale Of Two Cities into a 155-minute musical without disintegrating the meat of the story is tantamount to suicide. This is the first place that an adaptation can go inexorably and horribly wrong under the best of circumstances, and yet it's where Jill Santoriello?the librettist, composer, and writer behind A Tale Of Two Cities: The Musical?went unquestionably right.
thealternativepress.com
October 05 2008
This past Friday, The Alternative Press was graciously given the opportunity to sit down with Jill Santoriello, writer of the music and lyrics of the new Broadway musical, A Tale of Two Cities, as well as her publicist, Judy Jacksina, at Joe Allen?s restaurant in New York City.
playbill.com
October 02 2008
James Barbour, who knows his way around musicals based on historical fiction, can currently be seen in the epic A Tale of Two Cities which opened on Sept. 18 at the Hirschfeld. As Sydney Carton, Barbour gets to make the ultimate heroic sacrifice, whereas at the Flea Market, he only had to sacrifice a minute for a chat.
huffingtonpost.com
October 01 2008
Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities begins with these memorable words: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." Set in Paris and London during the late 18th century,Two Cities captures the period of the French Revolution, rife with social and political upheaval. A ruthless monarchy has been challenged and cries of liberty, equality and fraternity pierce the air. If it sounds familiar on the Broadway front; it is. Les Miz covers similar terrain, though A Tale of Two Cities enjoys a more streamlined execution. It's got a rousing score, the company is first-rate and the story's noble sacrifice, beautifully realized by Jill Santoriello, doesn't leave a dry eye in the house.
worldmag.com
October 01 2008
Not only Sarah Palin is running againstThe New York Times. So is a new musical that opened on Broadway last month, A Tale of Two Cities. The Times sneered at the production based on Charles Dickens' novel, particularly its "blasting ballads that let singers prove that they coulda been contenders on American Idol.' Another reviewer, from Toronto, complained about the reaction of apparently ignorant theater-goers: "The audience stood and cheered . . . some even wept."