Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)

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

Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)
List Price: $24.99
Our Price: $15.10
You Save: $9.89 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases


(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD Cover Information

Actor: Donna Murphy, Gregg Edelman, Jere Shea, Marin Mazzie, Tom Aldredge
Director: James Lapine
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 114 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment

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

Movie Review: THIS is the #1 worse musical I have ever seen in my LIFE!
Summary: 1 Stars

...and THAT rating is not just from me but also my friend who I saw it with...it was so painful to sit through that the both of us looked at each other and we laughed the entire second act...and then it wins the Tony Award for Best Musical.....WOW...something's wrong with the universe

I just want to say that I've been going to musical theater since the 60s, so I know what I like and what works

Summary 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

Drama DVD Video

DVD Video
Movies most talked about in Broadway Musical DVD Must-Haves
Barnum ImageBarnum
Release date: 2001-09-02; DVD
Best price: $17.10
Price in other shops: $29.95
Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert ImageLes Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert
Release date: 1998-11-17; DVD
Best price: $109.99
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (London Stage Revival) ImageRodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (London Stage Revival)
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2003-11-18; DVD
Best price: $13.97
Price in other shops: $24.99
Pippin ImagePippin
Release date: 2000-10-31; DVD
Best price: $10.82
Price in other shops: $19.99
Cats - The Musical (Ultimate Edition) ImageCats - The Musical (Ultimate Edition)
Release date: 2001-10-30; DVD
Best price: $79.95
New Faces ImageNew Faces
Release date: 2006-01-31; Published: 2004; DVD
Best price: $29.89
Camelot (Broadway Version) ImageCamelot (Broadway Version)
Release date: 2007-05-01; DVD
Best price: $18.73
Price in other shops: $29.99
Alice at the Palace (Broadway Theatre Archive) ImageAlice at the Palace (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Release date: 2002-06-25; DVD
Best price: $13.29
Price in other shops: $24.99
Tintypes ImageLynne Thigpen, Trey Wilson - Tintypes
THIGPEN,LYNNE; Release date: 2005-03-29; DVD
Best price: $12.26
Price in other shops: $24.99
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ImageJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
OSMOND,DONNY; Release date: 2000-03-28; DVD
Best price: $11.69
Price in other shops: $19.98
Similar DVD Movies
Pippin ImagePippin
Release date: 2000-10-31; DVD
Best price: $10.77
Price in other shops: $19.99
Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall / Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close ImageSondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall / Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close
Release date: 2006-11-21; DVD
Best price: $13.15
Price in other shops: $24.99
A Little Night Music ImageA Little Night Music
Release date: 2007-06-05; DVD
Best price: $17.18
Price in other shops: $24.95
Leonard Bernstein's Candide (Great Performances) ImageLeonard Bernstein's Candide (Great Performances)
LUPONE,PATTI; Release date: 2005-05-17; DVD
Best price: $15.09
Price in other shops: $24.99
Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together: A Musical Review ImageStephen Sondheim's Putting It Together: A Musical Review
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-12-12; DVD
Best price: $12.04
Price in other shops: $19.99
Into the Woods ImageInto the Woods
PETERS,BERNADETTE; Release date: 1997-08-27; DVD
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops: $24.98
Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Concert ImageStephen Sondheim's Follies in Concert
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2001-07-24; DVD
Best price: $15.08
Price in other shops: $24.99
Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase) ImageSweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-04-15; DVD
Best price: $6.69
Price in other shops: $14.97
Company: A Musical Comedy ImageCompany: A Musical Comedy
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-05-20; DVD
Best price: $15.10
Price in other shops: $24.99
Sunday in the Park with George ImageSunday in the Park with George
PETERS,BERNADETTE; Release date: 1999-03-23; DVD
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops: $24.98
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners