"On the Town" Preview Thread- Page 11

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:27pm

brdway411, you know the difference between something being dated and being a period piece, right?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:31pm

Was the design the same at Barrington?

Seems to be the same concept but the scale is larger, especially in the dance scenes, which seem to be quite beautiful from the few photographs that have surfaced on social media:

Updated On: 10/2/14 at 11:31 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:31pm

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:31pm

[brdway411]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:33pm

yes, but even my husband who saw the original, said it was long, boring and dated. We both agree it needs a new book, or at least an update. Again, the house was half full and the audience was not overly enthusiastic about the show either. They should have held the opening until the spring and gone into the Richard Rodgers which is a dance stage and a smaller house.

Four people in front us left at intermission, they were bored. The people behind me kept talking during the show also agreeing that it is too long and not enough action to keep them interested.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:39pm

I just saw it again. Was hardly bored. The dancing is stunning. The performances are fun and wonderful.

And for those talking about the sound -- they seem to have fixed it. The lyrics were crisp and clear tonight. I agreed with you all last time, but tonight was a vast improvement!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:39pm

I just saw it again. Was hardly bored. The dancing is stunning. The performances are fun and wonderful.

And for those talking about the sound -- they seem to have fixed it. The lyrics were crisp and clear tonight. I agreed with you all last time, but tonight was a vast improvement!

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:48pm

Yes, it is a lengthy show as most were back in that age. Needs an update? What, to the Viet Nam or Iragi War? I don't think the material would work in either of those periods. I certainly respect your opinion, and those of the bored people sitting in front of you, but at least 90% of what I've heard has been positive. I'll decide for myself when I see it in a couple weeks.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:50pm

Nice feature story on Joshua Bergasse and the dancing in the show in this month's Dance Magazine:







DANCE MAGAZINE: Comeback Story: On the Town returns to Broadway with a choreographic makeover

Updated On: 10/2/14 at 11:50 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:51pm

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:52pm

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:52pm

[Feste]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 11:59pm

If you're talking during the show, it doesn't matter what the show is like, it's rude.

[Feste]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 12:00am

Joey, those sets look wonderful! See... not everything has to be Sunset Blvd!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 12:05am

I do love the dance backgrounds (which aren't completely removed from Smith's open stage designs for the ballet scenes in the original.) PalJoey, that Dance Magazine piece was great:

"Bergasse’s take relishes old-Broadway nostalgia. “We kept asking, ‘How would this have been done in the original production?’ ” he says. “Well, none of the sets would have been on tracks.” So he had the actors push scenery onstage themselves. He and Rando also redeveloped the number “Gabey’s Comin’,” which was cut from the original show. And “Do Re Do” was redone to reference a Robbins scene from a different musical of the same era, High Button Shoes, where the choreography involves a lot of mystery doors."

I didn't realize that the full Gabey's Comin' was back in.

[brdway411]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 12:07am

I was not talking, the people behind me were. and what they were saying was more entertaining than what was going on onstage so it didn't even bother me. there were maybe 50 people in the balcony.

[Feste]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 12:15am

Oh I remember the High Button Shoes number from Jerome Robbins' Broadway, and I loved it!

[getatme]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 12:35am

I saw the show last Wednesday matinee from the front orchestra and loved it. I returned today having won the TodayTix lottery and the seat was the second row of the dress circle. The show carries beautifully back there. The sound was crisp and clear--with the exception of a lot of Jackie Hoffman's lines and lyrics--and the choreography was just as thrilling from back there as it was from up close.

This really is a love letter to musical theater and broadway. The cast is really wonderful and clearly having the time of their lives performing the material. It's a completely joyous and and exciting production.

[lynnetoomey]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 12:49am

Updated On: 10/2/14 at 12:49 AM

[lovebwy]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 1:38am

brdway411, do you mind if I ask your age?

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 2:25am

Is brdway411 exaggerating or have the houses really been this empty? I'm really hoping this one can make it through the Spring.

[newintown]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 8:12am

I don't know if it's improving this week, but last week's grosses can only be described as dismal - less than 30% of the potential gross taken in (although the average attendance was 70% - I guess there was a lot of paper last week).

Still, it has plenty of time to pick up; I don't think Joey's saturated social media campaign alone will do the job, but maybe word of mouth will go crazy?

[ddenoff2]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 9:58am

"A helluva musical" doesn't begin to describe this new hit show!

At the bows, you can see the joy on the actors faces as 1900 people in the audience CHEER! That itself is worth going for!

John Rando and Joshua Bergasse have staged a non-stop excursion of joy (how's that for a pull-quote) with the most brilliant cast ever to grace a stage and speak the hilarious words of Comden & Green ! If some of the actors' names are not yet in your daily vocabulary, just wait!

But don't wait to get tickets to hear the gorgeous 28 piece orchestra play Leonard Bernstein's score exactly as he intended.

Because if you wait too long, getting tickets to this will make Book of Mormon look easy!

[brdway411]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 10:09am

I bought my tickets for the show about 6:30 day of, $37 balcony just off center GREAT SEATS. Pretty much anywhere up there is good. I actually recommend sitting up there. You can see all the dancers and it's not that far away from the stage. And the 28 piece orchestra sounds great up there.

I HAVE TO LAUGH at the above comment. There is no way this will ever be harder to get than BOM tickets. Maybe if they had waited for a smaller theater. There were maybe 50 people sitting in the cheap seats last night. This show had better hope for good word of mouth and reviews and that people show up in droves. Also, based on last night's attendance and last weeks grosses, I doubt there were ever 1900 people in the theater for this show at the same time.



Updated On: 10/2/14 at 10:09 AM

[lynnetoomey]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 10:34am

Brdway411 - We get it, you LOATHED it! So, your husband saw the original, which makes you how old? Perhaps your complaints about the length are because you needed potty breaks? And, anyone writing ANY show off because of soft sales after ONE week of previews really needs to relax. This is a revival with no stars. Of course it is hugely dependent on the critics, and last I checked, they do not weigh in for several weeks.

Updated On: 10/2/14 at 10:34 AM