Awards Season: Grim and Bear It - Page 2

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 4:55pm

It is possible, perhaps, to have a sunny outlook on life in general despite a hatred for modern theater and any tastes that differ from your own.

Who can get a revival of MARY, MARY going?

[Musical Master]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 4:58pm

Updated On: 10/29/14 at 04:58 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 5:31pm

Are we posting our favorite gifs now? Awesome.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 7:07pm

I'm probably near as old as After Eight (maybe 150, but we vampires don't show our age) and remember the golden age of Broadway. And loved it. And wouldn't trade today's Broadway (yes,sometimes too commercial) for anything. There is still fresh tent, fresh ideas and yes -future classics out there if you open your mind



Wasted post I know Updated On: 10/29/14 at 07:07 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 7:14pm

Fresh tent AND fresh taint.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 7:27pm

Damn I hate Autocorrect! Fresh TALENT (not tent, nor taint. Although the taint is fresh)

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 7:36am

Updated On: 5/3/15 at 07:36 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 9:07am

We all know After Eight is crazy, but isn’t GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE the counterexample that should, theoretically, destroy his whole worldview? He chalks the success of, say, ONCE, BoM, or any Sondheim show up to the public – who really want the happy-go-lucky, tuneful shows like those of his precious Golden Age – being hornswaggled and strong-armed by the intellectual elite who pass these dirgicals off as “real art.” (Word-of-mouth does not exist in this world view.) Sure, it’s an impressive, borderline-insane kind of self-validation he’s constructed, but that’s the theory.

So, along comes G’s GUIDE. Even After Eight liked it! It’s light! It’s tuneful! It’s both popular and critically acclaimed! (You’d think the critics’ cabal would be more careful, pushing a show like this, but I guess they have to make their machinations look legit.) In theory, this is the sort of show the public has been wanting all along, even if they didn’t know it -- a step back toward the old-fashioned form, a step away from the overwhelming dreariness and ugliness and Sondheimification of the American Musical Theater.

With none of his theorized factors working against it, this show should be a vacuum sucking in the public’s long-pent-up desires and should, in theory, snap theatergoers out of the stupor the intellectual elite has hypnotized them into and run for at least 50 years. And by the same logic, ON THE TOWN should be doing boffo box office! But it’s not, and G’s GUIDE, wonderful as it is, will eventually run out of steam, too, probably sooner rather than later.

I don’t know how he accounts for these anomalies. I mean, I do know how – he’s got a screw loose. And he has me blocked, so he won’t see this. I mean, he will because he’s too narcissistic not to read things about himself. But I’d love to hear him offer an explanation.

/allthewastedtime

Updated On: 10/30/14 at 09:07 AM

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 10:03am

Why the hate for Mary, Mary? I've read the play and it seems to be quite enjoyable and harmless, but I have never seen it live. Here's a good photo of the production.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 12:43pm

AfterEight, my comments were meant largely in your defense, despite being a bit tongue-in-cheek.

I would actually love to see a revival of MARY, MARY. Sounds like a lovely play.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 12:49pm

Don't ask him to think in more than one direction at once, Nowack. C'mon.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 12:57pm

When you live to be 317 years old the brain starts to calcify.

We must treat AE with patience and love. He's too old to really understand how hateful he is.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:07pm

"Why the hate for Mary, Mary?"

Fantod,

Consider the source(s.) You like Dear World. Think of the song, "The Spring of Next Year." Think of the characters who sing it.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:25pm

I just went back through the thread and I don't see any hate for Mary, Mary. Am I missing something?

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:28pm

I never like to think that there are those who truly wish for others to be miserable, but then I remember that Michael John LaChiusa exists
As for the Mary, Mary hate, I was referring to Nowack who appeared to be making fun of the comedies of yesteryear, with Mary, Mary being his example.
Updated On: 10/30/14 at 01:28 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:29pm

You're not missing anything, Wilmington, just people trolling.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:33pm

"I never like to think that there are those who truly wish for others to be miserable,"

You've got a lot of living to do.


"As for the Mary, Mary hate, I was referring to Nowack who appeared to be making fun of the comedies of yesteryear, with Mary, Mary being his example. "

What he has is a failure to communicate ---- properly. Updated On: 10/30/14 at 01:33 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:37pm

That show was cited because After Eight uses it as one of his favorites, I believe.

[JPeterman]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 2:39pm

I very much enjoy After Eight's posts. I look forward to them.

Sometimes I agree with him or her, and sometimes I do not.

Usually the details are irrelevant to me because I enjoy After Eight's writing style. I find it to be sardonic yet fresh and very, very entertaining.

And regardless of my own opinion, I always appreciate and consider someone else's if they express it eloquently.

For myself, I have boldly and liberally added the descriptor "dirgical" to anything in my life that I find to be unnecessarily a Debbie Downer. I laughed when I read the original post, as I think it was intended.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 3:03pm

And regardless of my own opinion, I always appreciate and consider someone else's if they express it eloquently.

Just wait until you're on the receiving end of Afterbate's arrogance. Just remember, Afterbate never EVER appreciates or considers anyone's opinion unless it is identical to his own (which is as rare as it is relevant).

I laughed when I read the original post, as I think it was intended.

Afterbate is always hilarious, but unintentionally so.

Updated On: 10/30/14 at 03:03 PM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 3:33pm

I hope "Milk and Honey" wins the tony!

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 3:49pm

Yes, MARY, MARY was chosen because it's known to be one of the OP's all-time favorites. I have nothing against it either.

[Sauja]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 4:08pm

I'm sorry, but I simply cannot believe that someone who thinks theater today is filled with wretched, dispiriting, offensive horrors also believes that they walk into the theater optimistic and believe they may see a masterpiece each time.

And I wonder why you would keep going back to see shows by the same writers, composers, or companies again and again if you loathe what they do. Take Playwrights Horizons: you seem to be particularly repulsed by every single show they put on. Why go back? You KNOW that you hate their play selections. So why bother? It can't be optimism--you're much too negative for that.

Also, I don't mean this as an attack: I find great amusement reading most of your posts. I absolutely get a chuckle out of most of them. But I still can't figure out the why: why you go, why you go back, why you spend even more time on the board talking about what you don't like...

It's just befuddlement on my part. Not anger/hostility/etc.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 4:20pm

He answers this question at least once a month.

But, hell, let him do it again!

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 4:27pm

It's his money that buys the tickets and he spends his time to go see them, so he should be allowed to dictate what he sees. Pretty simple.