Geffen Playhouse - Main Stage (Los Angeles, CA)
Filled with stunning bluegrass and soulful country music, Atlanta is unlike any musical you have seen. Grammy award-winner Marcus Hummon, a true Nashville star, and Adrian Pasdar, star of NBC's Heroes, have taken on an epic subject and infused it with intimacy and spirit. This progressive new musical, set during the Civil War, mixes select prose by William Shakespeare with original bluegrass music and country tunes.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
All dates for this event have expired.
The last event was Sunday January 13, 2008 / 2:00pm. (view all dates)
What a shame. The cast had wonderful voices and solid musical backup, but the play was a mess. Not so bad that we had to walk out, but we both wondered about the choices made by the author and songwriter. All the nice production values could not make up for the flaws in the story. It was interesting to discuss what went wrong. However, I would not recommend it.
...The story premise was good; the writing, weak...the cast was amazing and did well with the direction they had...they were all vocally strong and masters of their craft, however having SAID that, the manner in which the characters were directed to use the props was in this humble attendee's opinion unforgiveable; if a character doesn't play the banjo...DON'T give him a banjo to play! If the script calls for a meal to be served...don't hand the characters empty plates as though they were attending a 2 year old's tea party and for heaven's SAKE, if the script calls for the plucking of a chicken, PLUCK the chicken and DON'T throw the pretend feathers into the pot in which the food is being cooked! Additionally, stage combat 101; if one character MUST slap another, make it believable. The ending was confusing....we all felt as though we had blinked and missed a HUGE chunk of the show...this production has potentional but it's not there yet...
This singers and musicians were wonderful. Great voices and great energy. The staging was simple and very creative using enlarged photos as backdrop. The musical scoring was good, although I don't think this show will produce any memorable tunes, but the story line was weak and the acting of the Lieutenant was really overdone. It was a pleasant experience, but I wouldn't recommend it. There are too many other wonderful shows to choose from.
Thanks Goldstar for great tickets to this show.
Atlanta is a new play about a Yankee soldier trapped behind enemy lines towards the end of the Civil War who disguises himself as a Rebel soldier to survive. He's found by a Southern colonel and pressed into the colonel's "acting troupe". The play uses folk music and bits of Shakespeare to explore race relations and the futility of war.
The play itself is a bit uneven, melodramatic in many instances but interesting. The music is quite good. Maybe as the actors have more performances under their belts things will flow a little more seamlessly.
Atlanta is a tale of the old south during the civil war. A confederate soldier kills his enemy in battle, and finds a series of love-letters on the body of the deceased soldier. He begins to read the letters and falls in love with the woman who wrote them, although they have never met. At a time when death was constantly looming, forbidden passion and lustful desires lived. Great songs, and great cast! The Geffen is a perfect venue for stage plays and musicals. Great view from any seat in the house!
We went to a Saturday matinee. Our seats were wonderful! Row G aisle seats. Perfect for my 6'6" husband.
The players were excellent...the dancing and singing performances "Top Notch"! We enjoyed the musicians too!
The Geffen Theater is a beautiful, historic venue.Not just a white box, but timeless stone and an open Tuscan type garden seating area, to wait for the Curtain Call Chime.
Inside the theater...Sound quality, seats and visuals could not be better!
Thanks! Goldstar!
Geri & Joe
Inaccurate depiction of the events in our Civil War’s History. The story line was jumbled and confusing. The overall performance reminded me of a high school play.
"Atlanta" was a HUGE disappointment. I'm an avid theatre-goer, and I work as a production manager for theatrical and special events. That being said, I'm the furthest thing from a theatre snob, and I generally tend to enjoy all types of theatrical presentations. Despite my usually like-able nature, I found "Atlanta" to be an absolute trainwreck. Everything about the show - book, lyrics, score, casting, performances, technical choices, etc. - was far from acceptable for a production at the Geffen. This show needs to go back into workshop immediately if it intends to make it further than its already too long run at the Geffen, though I'd recommend that "Atlanta" be put away in a box and never seen again. I only WISH that I was exaggerating with this review, but sadly I must call "Atlanta" a joke - a huge disappointment all around, and a major shock for a Geffen production.
The remodeled theatre is gorgeous....this production-not so much. The songs all sounded the same and the story line was stale and uninteresting . The actors did what they could, especially Merle Dandridge who has a gorgeous voice. I was shocked this actually got produced. The mostly empty theatre showed that it probably shouldn't have been.
Beautiful sets, musicians tops, music great----ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING TOPS except the main character who I found amatuerish. The other characters were soooooo great though! A sexy, edgy, creative work.
My friend who went with me gave it a 9 out of 10, though! Seats were great.
I know, I know. Some critics were not terribly excited, but my perception is that some things have been fixed since previews, as I didn't see the "Buffoon" direction of one character my friend had found a bad choice. I saw some wonderful actors with terrific voices and good ensemble work in MANY scenes, some nice effects with lighting, and a great little band. There was really only one surprise, though. The show needed more tension, more build and less predictability. Maybe more playwrights need to get genned into that archetypal energy stuff. Read some Campbell or whatever, although the basic premise offered a nice "shadow" style irony. We had a good time and found a lot of moments to enjoy, particularly some of the short scenes and monologues and the gospel type choruses. Atlanta could clearly use stronger and more dramatic writing and perhaps edgier direction (?), but nevertheless it was a fun evening thanks to the excellent cast and really good musicians bringing up the backstage.
This was the worst show we have seen in avery long time. Although the acting was adequate with quite a line up of talanted people, the story was nonexistant and the songs were truely forgettable. I would not recommend this show to anyone. Save the city! Burn the musical.
The play was corny and poorly written, however, one actor stood out, John Fleck. What a great character. The cast were very talented, great voices, but the play falls short of being enjoyable. Loved the Shakespearian element.
The plot line was a bit scattered and hard to follow. Most of the performances, including the singing were very good. The play itself had a couple of nice surprises.
Goldstar's price certainly made it worthwhile.
My young daughter enjoyed the show quite a bit. We found the story engaging, and the music particularly good. It's not "Big River", but certainly better than many of the negative reviews would have you believe.
The quality of the performances and especially the singing was excellent, but the book, choreography and directing were sadly lacking. There were extremely talented actors on stage working with a sub-par book. What a shame. We sat in the balcony, and many of our neighbors had made a hasty exit during the intermission. We know that probably most of the house were made up of Goldstar ticket holders from the extremely long lines at the will-call box office and from listening to the patrons when we were waiting to go in the theater.
Again, the talented cast members tried mightily to spin gold from dross, but unless there are major changes to this production, we will not be seeing this performed in many other professional venues.
It was interesting, unusual and well acted. The music was wonderful!
I wish there were a star rating for "just ok".
I enjoyed the music, the band, and the actors had some great voices. Talk about talent. However, the story didn't have much of a point, and the direction was strange. I wanted to tell some of the actors to stop over acting, and I had a hard time hearing most of the vocals. I could hear the beautiful sound of the actors voices, but I couldn't understand the words. I don't know if the levels were off or what, but I struggled to hear.
I looked at my watch a few times, never a good sign.
I'll start by saying, I am glad I went to the Geffen. I hadn't been since the theater completed its multi-million dollar renovations. Thank you Goldstar for the tickets. Atlanta...what in the world is it about? Now, I was there and I saw the show, however, I have one big question, WHY? Aside from the script being poor and unclear, I enjoyed a great band, some very nice music and a strong, talented cast. The female leads in particular have strong voices and are 100% commited. I appreciate and applaud the performers. It was also a pleasure to hear Karen Briggs, a great violinist that really captured the style of the music. The show's music blends a mix of Blues, Country, a lil Bluegrass and Musical Theater. Some melodies were beautiful, except I could not understand or follow the lyrics. The sound guy seemed to 'reverb' his way out of the lack of understandble lyrics. In fact, he managed to muffle the sound with the band at times drowning out the voice. This music, however, deserves a listen with these singers. I would suggest that the powers that be go back to the drawing board with the book or just drop it completely and do a revue. Perhaps there is a good show in there.
I did my best to enjoy this show, but the vague and confusing story line made it impossible.
We loved it, great play and great music. A must see play !!!
The Geffen Playhouse is newly renovated, closing for over a year, and re-opening in November of 2005. The renovations are stunning, and provide for improved accoustics and sitelines. In addition to the Main Stage there is now the more intimate Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater, which will focus on newer works for the Los Angeles community.
In just a few years, the Geffen Playhouse ha... More
Written by Marcus Hummon and Adrian Pasdar
Music by Marcus Hummon
Directed by Randall Arney and Adrian Pasdar
Toward the end of the Civil War, in the waning days of the Confederacy, a young Yankee assumes the persona of a Confederate soldier in order to stay alive behind enemy lines. What he discovers is a world of Shakespearean players, the love of an elusive woman, and his true soldier within.
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