ALMOST FAMOUS On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 3

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 5:44am

kwoc91 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I won lottery tix for tomorrow eve, but I decided not to pay for the seats based on these mixed reviews.

My concerns are justified. Since it was very easy to win lottery early on (a rarity for me), I don’t think this is making it past the holidays.
I just can’t imagine what the audience is forAlmost Famous.

I can't fathom why you wouldn't just see the show for yourself and form your own opinion rather than pass on reasonably priced lottery tickets based on a handful of first preview reviews. And to say your concerns are justified because of an easy lottery win is ridiculous. You are not the arbiter of what will and won't succeed on Broadway.


"

"

To add to this: are only shows that are immediate blockbusters considered "good"? And even if it flops, it STILL might be something YOU loved. 

Jordan and I don't always agree on shows, but I'd take his opinion as a better starting place than most others on here. He's not wrong,  how could he be ..its his opinion.

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 5:53am

EDSOSLO858 said: "I won lottery tix for tomorrow eve, but I decided not to pay for the seats based on these mixed reviews.

My concerns are justified. Since it was very easy to win lottery early on (a rarity for me), I don’t think this is making it past the holidays.
I just can’t imagine what the audience is forAlmost Famous.

The amount of faulty "logic" in this post is baffling. Not seeing a new show on discounted lottery tickets based on a handful of mixed reviews? Really? And how do you know this is an "easy win"... did you see how many people entered the lottery? And predicting a closing date after one preview? Jeez.


"

T

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 9:11am

"I just can’t imagine what the audience is for Almost Famous."

Anybody 40 or older and has a love of 1970's rock.

[alli2]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 10:09am

I never post on here anymore but I'll say this show is a lot of fun, but it doesn't need to be freaking 3 hours long. Cut, cut, cut!

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 10:10am

alli2 said: "I never post on here anymore but I'll say this show is a lot of fun, but it doesn't need to be freaking 3 hours long. Cut, cut, cut!"

VERY few shows should be 3 hours.

[bdn223]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 12:35pm

Saw the show last night and I have mixed feelings. It clearly needs some work, which I hope they will use the preview process to do, but the bones are there and well defined for a good piece of theater. 

Its hard to describe Almost Famous as a musical because it goes against most of the rules of what a musical is supposed to be. There is no true plot conflict and most of the score does not advance the plot let alone give the audience a view into the mind of any of its characters. There are some songs that do the later, but most of Tom Kitt's score is there to set the mood as action happens around it. It honestly feels like if Hair attempted to have a narrative plot, but not in a bad way. Kitt's score truly transports the audience back to the world of 1973.

I really liked how only songs that take place either in the Miller's home or sung by Elaine Miller were written like traditional musical theater songs, with the rest of the score being more vibe and rock focused to delineate the two worlds. I do wish that there was one more song for either Elaine Miller or even William's sister Anita in the middle first act to truly define these boundaries in the score. This is so it isn't so jarring in the second act when Elaine Miller all of a sudden sings a traditional comedic ballad that feels so out of left field compared to the rest of the score as the audience hasn't heard a traditional musical theater number since the beginning of the first act. 

Regarding the first act that is where all of my real issues like which is setting up and defining the characters. The opening number, "1973" feels like bad mash up of Kitt's "Just Another Day" and Be More Chill's "More than Survive". I understand Kitt is trying to set up William's world view, but it doesn't work especially as the show starts with a book scene between Lester and William that sets up the world pretty well, we more just need to understand more about why William is so sheltered and make the song focus more on interactions at home rather then at school. 

My Second problem is Penny Lane needs more development in the first act to actually make the audience understand why she is who she is, as instead we simply get she "allegedly" wants to leave the rock world and retire to Morocco. We don't get any real development of Penny until the middle of the second act, and if we got even an ouce of her backstory in the first act instead of her arc in the 2nd act would work so much better. I understand she is purposely meant to be a mystery hence why we don't find out her name until the second act, and the fact that she always talks about not living in the real world, but I just want 1 verse of Morocco, the shows "I want song" to include some tidbit of her backstory. I want to know she's a Bandaid because she came from a broken home where she wasn't loved and instead found "love" on the road. Especially as Penny is given the show's I want song, the audience doesn't know why Penny is wanting what she sings about. I know that sounds like a massive flaw, but its should be a simple fix and really doesn't impact the overall show much as its so atypically written/structured. 

Its hard to criticize other aspects of the show because its clear that any other negatives I may have will likely be worked out by the time it opens as performers settle into their roles. Casey Likes gives a Ben Platt in Dear Evan Hansen level performance as William that makes me wish he played Evan in the movie. Solea Pfieffer does wonders with what's she's given to work with and I hope that they are able to make Penny more then just "VIBES" and an actual person, by the time the show opens. Once you get about a third of the way into the 1st act its just a good and fun night at the theater. The show clearly needs some fine tuning, but I think they should be able to fix most of the problems by its opening night. 

Lastly I did not realize this show was nearly 3 hours long, you do feel it a bit in the first act, once again that first 1/3 of the act needs to be cleaned up but after that you really don't feel it drag in terms of runtime.

Updated On: 10/5/22 at 12:35 PM

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 12:51pm

bwayphreak234 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I won lottery tix for tomorrow eve, but I decided not to pay for the seats based on these mixed reviews.

My concerns are justified. Since it was very easy to win lottery early on (a rarity for me), I don’t think this is making it past the holidays.
I just can’t imagine what the audience is forAlmost Famous.

The amount of faulty "logic" in this post is baffling. Not seeing a new show on discounted lottery tickets based on a handful of mixed reviews? Really? And how do you know this is an "easy win"... did you see how many people entered the lottery? And predicting a closing date after one preview? Jeez.


"

T"

Agreed. One of the most ridiculous posts I’ve seen on these boards. 
 

Was turning down the lottery meant to be some “gotcha” to the show? Why even enter the lottery? 
 

People are nuts… 

[ItsMeRaul]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 1:11pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "I won lottery tix for tomorrow eve, but I decided not to pay for the seats based on these mixed reviews.

My concerns are justified. Since it was very easy to win lottery early on (a rarity for me), I don’t think this is making it past the holidays.
I just can’t imagine what the audience is forAlmost Famous.


I've been here a long time (a decade before I registered) and this post ranks in the top ten of weirdest comments I've ever seen here. 

"

 

Updated On: 10/5/22 at 01:11 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 1:32pm

ItsMeRaul said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I won lottery tix for tomorrow eve, but I decided not to pay for the seats based on these mixed reviews.

My concerns are justified. Since it was very easy to win lottery early on (a rarity for me), I don’t think this is making it past the holidays.
I just can’t imagine what the audience is forAlmost Famous.


I've been here a long time (a decade before I registered) and this post ranks in the top ten of weirdest comments I've ever seen here.

"

The poster in question has had quite a few howlers in the past.  My favorite was when he wrote about how he sends his Playbills to the stage managers with a list of who he wants signatures from and expects the stage managers to collect said signatures and mail it back to him!

And of course there's the "stalking" of the conductors and orchestra at the pit...

 

[sondheimianrhapsody66]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 3:14pm

Might be a little early for this, but does anyone happen to know where the lotto seats are? I just won, and am planning on claiming them, but don’t want to sit in the mezz if I can just rush and get orch seats. does anyone know? 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 3:31pm

I wouldn't expect to see any major changes given they've had, what, years to work on this?

[Robstriker]

Posted: 10/5/22 at 4:15pm

My seat thru TDF was Orchestra Row D right side. 

[Luscious]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 2:14am

For the love of God, NO MORE JUKE BOX MUSICALS!!! Thankfully, this is not that! Seeing it in two weeks, and can’t wait! With the exception of a few long time posters, whose opinions I respect, I’d swear that the majority of people on this message board are theater haters, rather than lovers, rooting for shows to fail! Anyone taking these Debbie Downers with more than the tiniest grains of salt would be ill advised. Don’t allow them to dissuade you from seeing a show you want to see or ruin your enjoyment of it.

[jbird5]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 2:21pm

RippedMan said: "I wouldn't expect to see any major changes given they've had, what, years to work on this?"

I agree.  I think the show is pretty well “fixed”.  Maybe they could add a nude scene ala Hair.

Expectations are the key here.  I went in not expecting much and was entertained.  The 2 leads here give star making performances.  Solea has some tough competition from Julia Cassandra as Estrella.  Chris Wood is perfect as Russell.

The mother has 3 songs which is 1 song too many, but her 2nd act opener is really the only memorable original.  It’s tough when you have to compete with “Ramble On” and “Tiny Dancer”.  I could have used more of the sister, maybe give one of the songs to her.

Drew Gehling hams it up as Jeff Bebe a departure from his Dr. P.  I didn’t recognize him at first with his wig.  I thought “that’s the world’s oldest teenager”.  I think he recognized me from the multiple times I was front row at Waitress and threw his prop copy of Rolling Stone to me (or at me).  Sucker has a good arm for an actor.  (If you sit up front a prop may go whizzing at you).

the leads are mostly white (Solea is very fair skinned) but the ensemble and understudies are diverse.  It should put an interesting complexion on the show when they step into the roles.  Gerald Canonico as Lester Bangs may be worth another trip.

Oh yeah, don’t do drugs.
 
Edit: Actually her song is the second song in act 2, but I didn’t remember the first.

Updated On: 10/6/22 at 02:21 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 3:21pm

bdn223 said: "My Second problem is Penny Lane needs more development in the first act to actually make the audience understand why she is who she is, as instead we simply get she "allegedly" wants to leave the rock world and retire to Morocco. [...] I understand she is purposely meant to be a mystery hence why we don't find out her name until the second act, and the fact that she always talks about not living in the real world, but I just want 1 verse of Morocco, the shows "I want song" to include some tidbit of her backstory. [...] I hope that they are able to make Penny more then just "VIBES" and an actual person, by the time the show opens."

That just sounds like the movie. Not disagreeing but I don't know if Crowe could be persuaded to "fix" it.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 3:35pm

It felt more like a play with music than a musical.

I enjoyed it - but.........(and this might be devastating) THE MOVIE IS BETTER! 

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 11:37pm

Saw it tonight

OH MAN, it's even worse than I thought

The only positive thing I can think of is those few moments when Drew Gehling got mad at Russell

 

The book, score, direction, set design, choreography, lighting design .... all terrible 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 11:39pm

jbird5 said: "RippedMan said: "I wouldn't expect to see any major changes given they've had, what, years to work on this?"

I agree. I think the show is pretty well “fixed”. Maybe they could add a nude scene ala Hair.

Expectations are the key here. I went in not expecting much and was entertained. The 2 leads here give star making performances. Solea has some tough competition from Julia Cassandra as Estrella. Chris Wood is perfect as Russell.

The mother has 3 songs which is 1 song too many, but her 2nd act opener is really the only memorable original. It’s tough when you have to compete with “Ramble On” and “Tiny Dancer”. I could have used more of the sister, maybe give one of the songs to her.

Drew Gehling hams it up as Jeff Bebe a departure from his Dr. P. I didn’t recognize him at first with his wig. I thought “that’s the world’s oldest teenager”. I think he recognized me from the multiple times I was front row at Waitress and threw his prop copy of Rolling Stone to me (or at me). Sucker has a good arm for an actor. (If you sit up front a prop may go whizzing at you).

the leads are mostly white (Solea is very fair skinned) but the ensemble and understudies are diverse. It should put an interesting complexion on the show when they step into the roles. Gerald Canonico as Lester Bangs may be worth another trip.

Oh yeah, don’t do drugs.

Edit: Actually her song is the second song in act 2, but I didn’t remember the first."

Someone can still be a POC and light skinned… 

[BroadwayLuv2]

Posted: 10/7/22 at 12:28am

Got rush tickets this morning.  Got to the theater at 11am and my seat was row D all the way to the side.  Marked partial view however I didn’t miss anything as everything is staged center for most part.

the show itself was okay.  It’s a bit slow and there were times I was definitely bored. Cast is great.  
 

Hopefully they take the time in previews to edit and improve. It’s not bad but it’s forgettable.  

[hartless]

Posted: 10/7/22 at 10:22am

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/10/how-cameron-crowe-rebooted-almost-famous-for-broadway

[bdn223]

Posted: 10/7/22 at 11:54am

BroadwayLuv2 said: "Got rush tickets this morning. Got to the theater at 11am and my seat was row D all the way to the side. Marked partial view however I didn’t miss anything as everything is staged center for most part.

the show itself was okay. It’s a bit slow and there were times I was definitely bored. Cast is great.


Hopefully they take the time in previews to edit and improve. It’s not bad but it’s forgettable."

I was afraid to say it, but this is it...the shows biggest issue is that it is forgettable! Its not okay for a show to be bad, but what's worse is a show to be "meh" which Almost Famous definitely falls into. After the first few songs  the show just blends together, which makes for fine night at the theater, but not one I am going to remember to tell my friends about to go buy tickets.

 

Also its hard to believe that the show's scenic design, more specifically the video/projection design, is done by the same man who designed the Tony Award winning set for Moulin Rouge, Derek McLane. The backdrop images used on the screens are laughably bad. They are stretched and pixelated creating a blurriness that is more distracting then it is mood setting. It would be one thing if these were old fashion backdrops and it was would be clear that this was an artistic choice, but that does not appear to be the case here. It only works during the "The Real World" in Central Park when the backdrop screen slowly changes from black and white to color as Penny Lane and William talk/sing, but other then that they are laughably bad.

[BWAY_nyc_fan]

Posted: 10/8/22 at 1:49pm

You must work for the show, I saw it last night and it is truly terrible.  Amateurish, poorly directed, forgettable music, overacted.  It became a parody.   

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/8/22 at 1:53pm

Then I guess half this thread "works for the show". People can enjoy a show without being involved in the production. Just an FYI for ya. 

Welcome to the board, tho!

[dented146]

Posted: 10/8/22 at 3:37pm

Thank you, BWAY_nyc_fan, for joining the board yesterday in order to give us that splendid and succinct review. It will help balance out the 1500 word rave by Charles NcNulty of The Los Angeles Times who has won the Nathan Award for dramatic criticism. 

Updated On: 10/8/22 at 03:37 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/8/22 at 5:13pm

And thank you for joining not quite  17 years ago in anticipation of being able to pounce like a cougar when someone posted an opinion.

Updated On: 10/11/22 at 05:13 PM