LYSISTRATA JONES Reviews- Page 2

[E.Davis]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 8:12pm

Otherwise you have the Caliber of Soul Calibur.

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 8:59pm

Guess whooooo?

Tired-businessman theatre has a long and proud tradition, but even it is not without its limits. These are sorely tested by Lysistrata Jones, by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn, which just opened at the Walter Kerr. I suppose it's possible that this isn't the most inconsequential musical ever to play Broadway, but it's difficult to remember — or imagine — another so violently, unapologetically one-dimensional that it threatens to upend the very laws of physics.

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:02pm

So relentless is this show in its meaninglessness, in fact, that it makes Beane's previous bubble-gum tuner, Xanadu, seem as emotionally resonant as The Iceman Cometh. Neither librettist Beane, composer-lyricist Flinn, nor director-choreographer Dan Knechtges has provided a single reason to justify the rampant, haunting emptiness that is masquerading as a free-for-all musical comedy. They simply unleash it, polished to a migraine-inducing gleam, apparently in hopes that by saying nothing it will speak for itself. Needless to say, it doesn't work.

Needless to say...see you in hell, Matthew!

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:06pm

As one critic just mentioned, part of the winning nature of LJ when it was at the Judson was that it was "stumbled" upon and that the quality of the production and the material were better than anticipated. That certainly does make for a guaranteed Broadway hit.

I remember when I was a young theater student L O N G ago, being excited by the premise of the original LYSISTRATA. Unfortunately, I think that's the main reason the play is still recognized as significant -- the premise, not the play itself, which is not so terrific. I re-read the play every 10 years or so, hoping to like it more, but never do. Obviously weak source material has trouble translating into something much stronger in 2011.

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:07pm

The AP is mixed-to-negative

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/14/entertainment/e174136S12.DTL

Updated On: 12/14/11 at 09:07 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:10pm

Nevermind, that was an old review.

Updated On: 12/14/11 at 09:10 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:15pm

That's the new review!

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:17pm

>> Obviously weak source material

There's nothing weak about it, if you really know the context. But that's the problem: Aristophanes was a very topical playwright, and getting the jokes now is like looking at an earl 1980s SNL sketch and wondering why people thought it was funny. Still, if you know the jokes, he's damn funny.

As for LJ, I saw the off-Broadway run last spring and thought, Meh, whatever, nothing special. I was pretty surprised when they announced a Broadway opening, because the show just isnt Broadway caliber. It's a cute little off-Broadway piece, sorry. What makes the difference, you ask? Simple: who in their right mind is going to shell out a hundred-bucks-plus to see this? It's just empty, when you come down to it: not an especially memorable score, a vapid storyline (I mean, sure, vapid storylines have a long tradition, but usually when they're accompanied by scores by Cole Porter or George Gershwin), and — if the OB production was any indication, a well-meaning but not terribly good sense of production design. So someone tell me: whats the upside here that would merit this kind of cash for tickets to this particular show?

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:18pm

Oh, no. I posted one from Variety, but it was not from the Broadway run.

[winston89]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:32pm

Mister Matt,

You're right, getting a show on Broadway is all about raising the money. Last I checked there were no rules (as far as the material in question is concerned) about what makes something a Broadway show or not. That's why, as far as I'm concerned, Gypsy is as much of a Broadway show as Mamma Mia or Lysistrata Jones for that matter.

And, ALittlePriest, so you're saying that a performer who is doing a show that is off Broadway is not off good quality due to them not being in a Broadway show? You do realize that an off Broadway show does not equate a cast that is not as talented as the cast of a Broadway show. It just means that it is smaller in production values and costs less to run. I have seen casts of Off Broadway shows that have blown me away. I have also seen casts of Broadway shows leave much to be desired. Your point is not a valid one and you're an idiot for thinking that.

[srg129]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:50pm

The Philadelphia Inquirer is Positive:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20111214_Broadway_Review__Lysistrata_Jones.html

[srg129]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:53pm

Entertainment Weekly is Positive (B):

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20553340,00.html

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 9:57pm

Backstage is a Rave:

"When I heard that 'Lysistrata Jones,' the nifty little musical presented Off-Broadway by Transport Group earlier this year, was making the leap to the Main Stem, I wasn't sure if its intimate charms would survive in a larger house. This cute update of Aristophanes' classic comedy worked quite well at the gym at Judson Memorial Church, where set designer Allen Moyer and director-choreographer Dan Knechtges transformed the space into a basketball court and a variety of settings at a small college, where the titular heroine wages a war against indifference.

Well, my fears were unfounded. Apart from a few new jokes and some heightened production values, 'Lysistrata Jones' remains unchanged and is as sharp and sassy as ever. The premise sounds paper-thin: A modern-day, cheerleading Lysistrata takes a cue from her ancient Greek predecessor and persuades her fellow pompommers to withhold their sexual favors from the basketball team until the apathetic athletes actually win a game. It sounds as if it could barely support a 10-minute comedy skit. But book writer Douglas Carter Beane, who worked similar wonders with the stage version of the cult junk film "Xanadu," transforms this slender idea into a fully fleshed-out, stereotype-shattering comedy. Beane's dialogue explodes with powerful puns and quips, while Lewis Flinn's lyrics are equally playful and his music spicily combines traditional show sounds with such influences as hip-hop and bubble-gum pop..."

http://www.backstage.com/bso/content_display/reviews/ny-theatre-reviews/e3i45e874211a4a731331ee51d784323260

Updated On: 12/14/11 at 09:57 PM

[srg129]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:09pm

Variety is Positive:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117946753?refCatId=33

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:13pm

The Huffington Post is Positive:

"'I am older than time and there is only ever one story,' says the character Hetaira, a spirit who shadows the action in the new Broadway musical Lysistrata Jones. Hetaira, played by Liz Mikel, is the odd one out, but also the greatest source of wisdom -- and other times humor -- in this irreverent show that updates Aristophanes' Lysistrata for modern times. With Greek tradition in place only for its format and framework, the show runs wild. Douglas Carter Beane's book is chock full of contemporary cultural references to Siri, Newt Gingrich, and sexting. Along the same lines, director Dan Knechtges plays up gags for the audience's delight.

The play centers on Lysistrata Jones (Patti Murin), a student at Athens College who, after learning the history and heritage of her namesake, decides to organize the women of her school to impose a sex boycott on their basketball-playing boyfriends until the team wins a game. After the guys rebel, this standoff escalates to the point where neither side can remember why they ever entered into this no-holds-barred war, and 'Lizzie J' winds up the school pariah. The play never takes itself too seriously, and draws upon both Greek and Broadway traditions..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-groner/lysistrata-jones-aristoph_b_1149689.html

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:16pm

The New York Times is a Rave:

"That blond babe we fell in love with in June is still looking hot in the cold light of December.

When 'Lysistrata Jones' — a musical about a determined cheerleader at a 'less-than-competitive' college — opened for a limited run Off Broadway, it felt as appropriate for the silly season as a suntan-oil-smeared beach book. This giddy production by the Transport Group Theater Company, via the Dallas Theater Center (where it originated), even had a Top-40-style score (by Lewis Flinn) that suggested just what you wanted to listen to while lying on a towel in the sand.

So when it was announced that the show would be transported to Broadway, there were fears that “Lysistrata Jones” would meet the disenchanted end that often befalls resurrected summer romances. Bubbly little shows from small stages (the original for this production was a gym) tend to pop and evaporate in the open air of big houses.

Yet the production that opened on Wednesday night at the Walter Kerr Theater warrants not only sighs of relief but also at least a few lusty cheers. Directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges, with a script by Douglas Carter Beane, 'Lysistrata Jones' has been dressed up (and scaled up) real pretty for Broadway, bringing a heightened touch of summer sun and silliness to what has been an exceptionally gray season for musicals..."

http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/theater/reviews/lysistrata-jones-at-walter-kerr-theater-review.html

Updated On: 12/14/11 at 10:16 PM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:19pm

Hopefully that Brantley rave will sell some tickets. Even if it's not the best musical ever, it deserves to stay open for at least a few months.

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:19pm

Brantley likes!!


Damn... should've taken advantage of those free tickets I passed.....

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:22pm

This is kind of exciting. I can't wait to see if the NYT rave turns into increased ticket sales. I guess it could go either way. Didn't BRIGHTON BEACH get raves and then close after 9 performances?

I wonder if the producers of this show will give it a chance...we will wait and see!

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:24pm

it's holiday week- tourists will want to fill the broad way and catch stuff- it'll do well. its january/february that will make it tough for all.

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:25pm

It's looking more and more like BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON; one of those shows a number of critics embrace but is having trouble catching fire with audiences. The reviews could yield a run, but then again, like BLOODY BLOODY it'll ultimately fail to ignite with theatergoers.

[srg129]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:41pm

New York Mag is Positive:

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/12/theater-review-lysistrata-jones.html

[PopAria]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:48pm

Sorry, a little off topic, but is it just me or does it seem like shows that open in the Fall season don't last as long as those that open in the Spring?

Congrats on the raves LJ!

[srg129]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:52pm

The Chicago Tribune is Negative:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/sc-ent-1214-lysistrata-jones-broadway-review-20111215,0,3330810.column

[srg129]

Posted: 12/14/11 at 10:56pm

Theatermania is Positive:

http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/12-2011/lysistrata-jones_46241.html