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Special Features
- Audio-only extended version of "No One Has Ever Loved Me" performed by Jere Shea
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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
Product Description
Customer Reviews
From end to end, Passion is of a single piece. The scene transitions and the dropping in and out of song are incredibly smooth, and Lapine's book is more refined and generally more enjoyable than his work on Sunday in the Park... or Into the Woods. The performances are marvellous, particularly Donna Murphy as Fosca, who comes off even more spectacularly here than in the cast recording. Jere Shea and Marin Mazzie more than hold their own, but Murphy is undoubtedly the star. Her character is so compelling that the story really makes sense.
But the great thing about the filmed version of Passion is how appropriate it was. It is exquisitely filmed - moreso than Sunday or Woods - and the direction lets you get close to these amazing characters. The costumes are gorgeous from end to end, and the physical acting was often fairly subtle on the stage. That means that it all came off the better on film. And the way the musical was produced was absolutely appropriate for film. It feels like you're seeing a really interesting filmic version sometimes rather than a staged production. That's the real triumph of this DVD: it feels like the show was meant for it.
If you even remotely like Sondheim or serious works of musical theatre, you owe it to yourself to buy this DVD as soon as possible.
"Passion" tells a devestating story: Giorgio (Jere Shea), an Italian soldier in the mid 1800s, is transferred from Milan to a small provincial town, leaving behind his married lover, Clara (Marin Mazzie). When he reaches the town, he meets Fosca (the absolutely unbelievable Donna Murphy, in the best musical theatre performance of the latter half of the 20th century), the sickly and ugly cousin of his superior (Gregg Edelmann). She falls instantly in love with him, but he wants only to be friends. His heart belongs to Clara, who will never leave her husband. What follows is one of the most beautiful scores in recent memory, and Sondheim's most accomplished score to date.
Mr. Shea is terrific as Giorgio, and Ms. Mazzie knocks it out of the ballpark as Clara. In smaller roles, Mr. Edelmann, Tom Aldredge, and Linda Balgord also shine.
On October 20, 2004, at the Ambassador Theatre in NYC, "Passion" was reproduced for one night only. Ms. Murphy and Ms. Mazzie reprised their roles, and the excellent Michael Cerveris, who starred in the Kennedy Center production in 2002, played Giorgio. It was magical. Let's start lobbying today for a recording of this performance!
But the biggest and best reason for buying this DVD can be summed up in two words: Donna Murphy. Oh my God, her Fosca is unbelievable!!! Her Tony-winning performance is unforgetable and will stick with you for weeks (maybe even months) after you first see it. I have never been so moved by a character in a musical before. She had me near tears, and I hardly ever cry while watching a show. I cannot begin to put into words the kind of depth Murphy brings to the tortured soul of Fosca, the longing for acceptance, the rudeness, and yet the unbridled love that Murphy layers into her performance. She steals ever scene she's in, and if the show had her on stage constantly for its almost two hours you wouldn't hear me complain. In fact, the notes of the insert have book writer James Lapine reminded everyone that the show is actually about Gregio, not Fosca, showing just how much attention Murphy must have gotten. I didn't really follow theatre back in 1994 when the show opened, but I imagine Murphy was the talk of the season and she deserved every compliment paid her and more. Her Fosca is a master class in acting, not just for musical theatre but for all theatre, and I can only sit in awe of her. Absolutely stunning.
This is a must for every Sondheim fan!!!
The one thing that would make my life perfect (well,almost) would be if the concert performance from Jazz at Lincoln Center were... Read more
