The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews
May 31
2011, 02:39:41 PM
"Zippel uses tissue-thin relationships between the lyrics and performances to seamlessly glide from one song to the next. And as the evening goes on, the consistently high quality of lyrics Coleman worked with - from the colorful street-wise vernacular of Carolyn Leigh and Dorothy Fields to the intricate wordplay of Zippel himself - becomes startling. But everything about this revue is sublimely first rate."
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The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews
May 27
2011, 10:02:27 PM
The Entertainment Weekly review is just remarkable. Who complains about a lack of coherent plot in a revue?
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The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews
May 27
2011, 06:01:35 PM
Times was fairly mixed, haven't seen Variety or AP yet. Anyone got links?
I've linked to another love letter from David Finkle, and here are a few more good ones and one or two not-so-goods:
THE GOOD:
"If you had lyrics dripping with sex and money, you needed Coleman to bring them to musical life." [Obviously this man hasn't listened to enough Dr. Dre.] http://theaternewsonline.com/NYTheaterReviews/IVEGOTYOURNUMBERS.cfm
http://theandygram.com/Broadway-Reviews/2010-2011-Season/Off-Broadway-Review-THE-BEST-IS-YET-TO-COME-THE-MUSIC-OF-CY-COLEMAN.html "The cast is perfect, the band is hot and it looks like a million bucks."
http://talkentertainment.com/c-27718-The-Best-Is-Yet-To-Come-The-Music-of-Cy-Coleman-–All-I-Can-Say-Is-Wow!.aspx "All I can say is WOW!"
THE MIXED
http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/theater/reviews/the-best-is-yet-to-come-at-59e59-theater-review.html?hpw "Coleman’s music has plenty of style and flash of its own. It’s not really necessary to sock it to us with quite so much insistence."
It sounds like the most consistent quibble with the show is that it's too big/loud/flashy for 59E59's space. Why didn't they pick a bigger space? Are they planning on moving it?
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The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews
May 26
2011, 11:06:25 AM
TalkEntertainment is another rave.
I heard NY Newsday is a negative review, but I think it's behind a paywall. Anyone able to link to it or quote?
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The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews
May 26
2011, 02:41:21 AM
If it ends up being a success (which, from the looks of some of these reviews, might not be far-fetched), why would a cast recording be unlikely? Or do theatre recordings have to pay different rates? Confused non-theatre recording artist longs to know. In my world a good record can cost less than a half-week of performances does in theatre.
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Your Favorite Pop Top 40 artist that writes for the Broadway Stage
May 25
2011, 07:34:32 PM
I've still been hoping for an Elvis Costello musical ever since his Bacharach collab a decade or so ago. Anyone think we'll see anything from him sometime soon?
Scissor Sisters sound like they know what they're doing, too - looking forward to hearing their new musical.
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Here Comes GODSPELL!
May 25
2011, 07:30:42 PM
Nonsense. Davenport's a smart guy; there's no way he hasn't worked out what happens in the possibility of a flop. Anyway, this is just a theatrical extension of the incredibly successful business model that just about every art form has taken up the last decade - kickstarter, etc. As a DIY artist, I'm excited to see how it influences investing, whether the production works or not. Opening up investing opportunities could help get Bway out of this really unoriginal rut it's fallen into...
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Just listened to HOW TO SUCCEED samples on Amazon, and....
May 25
2011, 07:26:58 PM
Haven't heard the album yet, but I was shocked that the H2$ orchestrations didn't win Drama Desk. They were one of the fullest uses of such a small ensemble I've heard in awhile. It's a shame if, like some are saying here, that doesn't come across on the recording.
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Thoughts on Spider-Man
May 25
2011, 12:26:22 PM
Getting briefly back on topic, does anyone know if the orchestrations have been changed? I remember them sounding great independently but getting rather tiring over the course of the show.
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The Best Is Yet To Come - First Reviews
May 24
2011, 09:28:22 PM
First review of revue called "Rave Revue" is a rave.
Starts with:
"New definition of joy: 85 uninterrupted minutes of my friend Cy Coleman's songs at the 59E59 Theater called 'The Best is Yet to Come.'"
Ends with:
"But you won't be sitting long. You'll be on your feet, joining the ovation for the happiest show in town."
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The Best Is Yet to Come: Cy Coleman Songs
May 21
2011, 08:27:14 PM
That's perfectly reasonable. Then again, I'm a musician, so I appreciated being able to listen to awesome musical theatre songs without filler dialogue. Patter's typically my least favorite part of a revue (now, a solo act or a book musical, that's another story). Personal taste, I suppose.
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The Best Is Yet to Come: Cy Coleman Songs
May 21
2011, 08:11:57 PM
Thanks for the welcome. I still don't see how a single lukewarm review means that it was not well-received. I was mistaken in calling it a rave, I give you that. But you were mistaken in calling it anything other than well-received with a few qualifications.
I for one appreciated not having song introductions or historical background. If I want historical background, I'll go to a college lecture (or Side by Side by Sondheim...but that's another story  ).
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The Best Is Yet to Come: Cy Coleman Songs
May 21
2011, 07:57:15 PM
As I understand it, a lot of the David Zippel songs come from a show that he and Cy were in the process of writing when Cy passed away, which explains their presence. I thought the opportunity to hear some never-before-heard Cy songs alone was worth the price of admission. At the performance I went to, McGillin's "I'd Give The World" stopped the show.
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The Best Is Yet to Come: Cy Coleman Songs
May 21
2011, 07:51:20 PM
What do you mean, "not well-received"? To which negative review are you referring? Do you mean the LA Times rave, the Hollywood Reporter rave, the BroadwayWorld.com rave, the Backstage West rave, the talkinbroadway rave, or the Variety rave? Backstage West and BroadwayWorld gave it a Critic's Pick. Please, link us to a single negative review from a major press source.
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