Hello Again

Michael John LaChiusa's original stage production (based on Arnold Schnitzler's La Ronde) featured current Tony winners and heavy hitters of the 90s Broadway scene such as Donna Murphy, Judith Blazer, Michael Park, Carolee Carmello, John Cameron Mitchell, Malcom Gets, Michelle Pawk, and John Dossett. Obviously, big shoes to fill.

The movie is extremely stylized and achieved the intended result, but slightly missed the mark as a tale of finding one's self as told through the narrative of the senator, played by Martha Plimpton. Plimpton executes the role brilliantly and in this version, the role is now gender swapped. Audra McDonald as The Actress is the star of this project, with Cheyenne Jackson as a close second.

Ultimately, the piece is a good representation of the source material, but somehow lackluster. Musical theatre die-hards will love this adaptation because it's an obscure live letter to an esoteric musical that only musical theatre geeks know and love: myself included.

Not your usual fare, it felt more like some art exhibit - interesting and enjoyable but confusing at the same time.

This is a musical about love affairs of people in various time points.

The music is quite good, and the story is good as well. The segments dealing with gay guys are often the best, such as the segment of two guys on a cruise ship. It is a pity that so little people have watched this.

Very incredible acting and Filming. It's been too long since we've seen Musicals on Film. I was Fortunate enough to have been a part of it! Being seen in the background as an extra. "Senator's Wife" blonde, red sweater mingling with others at a Party, circa 1989. For people who love Musicals especially!! Very interesting Plot. Displayed Beautifully.

Hello Again was advertised as a musical about many shades and faces of love told from the point of view of ten people living in various time periods. Each actor plays two roles and the movie is constructed like a chain with one actor from a couple changing each time. This idea is not new, but it isn't widely used, so it could lead to the creation of a truly great movie. It could if only the stories weren't so bland. I had a feeling I never learned anything about the vast majority of the characters other than they want to have sex. I do understand that is an important part of a relationship, but in a movie consisting of ten stories one would expect a bigger variety of themes. The only story I really liked was the one with Audra McDonald and Martha Plimpton, as it was the only one in which the characters had plans, dreams and ambitions. Sadly, in most of the stories this is not the case and the characters are completely one-dimensional.

Another thing that was poorly done is the songs. As someone who loves musicals I'm used to singing instead of talking and I really like the convention. However, this doesn't mean that making the characters sing dialogues without any metre is the same as writing songs. The songs in Hello Again sound just like that: as if someone just composed any music that would fit what the characters were meant to say without paying any attention to music patterns. In result the majority of the songs is flat and unremarkable, and it gets more and more annoying as the movie goes on. It's definitely not the type of music I'd re-listen, unlike many other musical soundtracks. In the result, it was quite difficult for me to even finish the movie.