Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)

Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)
by James Lapine

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DVD details

Actor: Donna Murphy, Gregg Edelman, Jere Shea, Marin Mazzie, Tom Aldredge
Director: James Lapine
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment

DVD Reviews of Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)

DVD Review: Lapine Shines, Sondheim Falls Short
Summary: 4 Stars

I love Sondheim. He is a god to me. Every work of his I've ever seen is one I've loved - Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Company, Sunday in the Park With George. I ordinarily credit him with all the greatness of each musical, despite the profound efforts of his collaborators - Lapine, Furth, Wheeler, etc. - because I always feel that his score and his lyrics so perfectly capture the entire essence of the characters and the play itself that the writers deserve very little credit. However, that is not the case in Passion.

Don't get me wrong - the music is gorgeous (I hear a little Sweeney in there), and the lyrics are great. They just aren't his best. I didn't feel the characters quite as strongly through the music as I did through the scenes, which just isn't usual for a Sondheim show. Hence - Lapine shines, while Sondheim falls short of delivering the way we're used to, which I wouldn't credit any less than near perfection - no doubt, a lot to live up to. More than forgivable.

That being said, it's a good show. I can find fault in many places. There is an expectation of the audience to identify with Fosca by the end, which is not plausible considering the entirely creepy way Donna Murphy portrays her. Perhaps it is not so much her performance as it is the costumes and make-up. Granted - she is not supposed to be beautiful. But that does not mean she is supposed to be hideous or mortifyingly stalker-ish. It is hard to identify with someone who blatantly disregarded the will of the one she loved, following him anywhere he went.

That being said, Donna Murphy's acting was incredibly emotional and moving. Jere Shea and Marin Mazzie, less so, but still good. Tom Aldredge shines as well. The entire show itself is simply top-heavy with emotion...not surprising, considering the title, but a little humor or applause to break the tension would have been entirely fitting. It is just incredibly mentally taxing to sit through 2 hours of - literal - passion.

All that said, good show, and good performance. Just too much, for lack of a better term.

DVD Review: Sondheim's Masterpiece!
Summary: 5 Stars

This is undoubtably Sondheim's masterpiece. An almost 2 hour rhapsody beautifully sung, acted, staged and filmed.
This is a must for every Sondheim fan!!!

DVD Review: I love this work...
Summary: 5 Stars

I love all Sondheim but this is my favorite.
The one thing that would make my life perfect (well,almost) would be if the concert performance from Jazz at Lincoln Center were also released on DVD so I could have both, with their different emphasis, to enjoy.
Till then this is the more "human", the other walks into catholic mysticism, of the two great performances and it's devastating.

DVD Review: True Passion
Summary: 5 Stars

I have had the recording of Stephen Sondheim's Passion for quite some time now. I love Sondheim, but I never could really get into the music very much. The notes and tempos are extremely irregular and are veyr hard to remember, so it seems you are hearing it for the first time every time you listen to it. But then I saw this DVD and I realized the brilliance of the music and the show itself. It plays perfectly into the story. I shouldn't be able to remember the music very well, I shouldn't think it is light and fluffy. It's not at all. My God, this show tore me apart when I saw this. I had no idea how wonderful it was. It is a perfect example of how actors are not just voices, they are people who bring these characters to life. Sondheim's lyrics and James Lapine's book are exquisite and work so well together, you'd think they were written by the same person. The music flows in such a way I would have never imagined listening to the recording.

Donna Murphy! She brings one of the most brilliant performances to the stage that I have seen in years. She tore me up inside, made me cry, made me laugh even. I couldn't bear to watch yet she entangled me and made me watch. She's also got an amazing voice to match. I am absolutely in love with her now. Jere Shea is also very good. His voice is pure and melodic and perfect. His acting is very good too, I was surprised. Marin Mazzie is also perfectly convincing as the woman who loves her torrent afair yet wouldn't sacrifice a thing for it. Again, a beautiful voice.

This show is also very clever is its staging. The soldiers entrances are always a treat to see. Just the way everything worked together in the show as one is something rarely seen. In this show, something hit home with me and with others I have talked to. Unconditional love, without pretense, without care of sacrifice, true passion is what is shown. Think Shakespeare in Love: if he had written this play instead to show the true nature of love, he would have most difinitively won the bet. If you would like to enjoy the soundtrack, you need to see this first.

DVD Review: How Can Anyone Not Like This Show?
Summary: 5 Stars

First, I must say that comparing Sondheim shows to each other is ridiculous. Would you tell a plumber that you liked his sink installation in one house more than in another? Each piece is completely different and should be judged on its own merits.

Passion explores the themes of love and beauty from a darker perspective than we are accustomed. The performances are quite good--particularly Donna Murphy's portrayal of Fosca. With the DVD, you get a chance to get closer to Fosca and experience the emotions with her. Ms. Murphy is able to find beauty in desperation. She convincingly takes her character on the immense journey from self-loathing to the belief that she is worthy of love. Her portrayal is nothing short of astonishing.

Marin Mazie looks and sounds lovely, and Jere Shea seems to start out a little wooden (although he is paying a soldier and wooden is a desirable trait in soldiers) but has some beautiful and heartfelt moments at the end of the show.

If you are a fan of Sondheim, love stories, or excellent acting, this CD is well worth the price. I guarantee that you will think about the show long after it has ended--and that's the mark of good writing.

Description of Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)

An unforgettable chronicle of the redemptive power of love, this is a mesmerizing musical rhapsody from the Broadway team of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. In 19th century Italy, handsome soldier Giorgio, is embroiled in a steamy affair with lovely, and married, Clara. Giorgio is transferred from Milan to a remote military outpost where he comes into contact with the ailing, homely Fosca, his commanding officer's cousin. Fosca falls instantly and deeply in love with Giorgio, who resists her affections. Gradually she reveals, and Giorgio learns to appreciate, what is truly beautiful about herself. This highly acclaimed Broadway musical features extraordinary performances from Donna Murphy (The King & I), Marin Mazzie (Ragtime, Kiss Me Kate) and Jere Shea (Damn Yankees). A haunting study of obsessive love, this striking production offers a visual and musical feast that will linger in your heart and soul forever! Winner of 4 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Actress (Musical) - Donna Murphy, Best Book (Musical) - James Lapine, Best Original Musical Score - Stephen Sondheim

Based on the Italian movie Passione d'amore, Stephen Sondheim's Passion is a story of obsessive love. Giorgio (Jere Shea), a soldier, and Clara (Marin Mazzie), a woman with a husband and child, are deeply in love, but their idyllic happiness is disrupted when Giorgio is transferred to another post. Here he meets Signora Fosca (Donna Murphy), a homely and ill woman who is the cousin of the regiment's commanding officer. Fosca soon falls in love with Giorgio and pursues him relentlessly, saying "Loving you is not a choice?/?It's who I am." He is repulsed and resists her advances, but eventually he succumbs to the power of her love.

Rather than a succession of individual songs strung together by dialogue, Stephen Sondheim's score is a constant flow of gorgeous music. (The original theater program listed no individual songs.) The plot is conveyed by song, some dialogue, letters between the characters, and a group of soldiers that serves as a Greek chorus. The result is more of a chamber opera than a conventional musical. Passion won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book of 1994.

This video is a stage production filmed for American Playhouse with all of the original Broadway principals, though not before a live audience. To suit television audiences, the producers weakened the opening love scene by removing the nudity of the stage version; instead Mazzie awkwardly tries to keep herself wrapped in sheets as she sings to Giorgio of her bliss. Murphy gives a powerful, Tony-winning performance as Fosca, Mazzie is in glorious voice as Clara, and Shea brings a pretty voice, a pretty face, and a wooden personality to Giorgio. --David Horiuchi

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