Anyone seen NEXT TO NORMAL tonite?- Page 4

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:39pm

umm emcee, i do know how much a show can change, I saw the FIRST PREVIEW of the recent Sweeney Revival, then i saw a few months later and it was dramatically different. Same thing with Trailer Park at Dodger Stages Saw it 3 times in previews and it was different every time. But none of the changes made to EITHER show were as drastic and crucial to the story telling as the changes that NEED to be made to N2N


and Uptown girl. about your list. According to the current staging of the end of N2N it's unclear about whether Diana comes back or not. So that really doesn't belong in your list. The ending is a husk of its former self. A weak, pathetic husk

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:41pm

The recent Sweeney revival had run IN THAT INCARNATION before it came to Broadway. Not the case for this show. It's not so formulaic.

The constant spewing of unnecessarily condescending "ummm"s is really unbecoming.

Updated On: 1/17/08 at 07:41 PM

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:43pm

and you completely ignored my other refence. UMMM GOOD SHOW MATE.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:44pm

I didn't see Trailer Park, so I can't comment on it. I don't believe in talking about things I know nothing about.

[joniray]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:47pm

Well the good news is that, unless someone burnt earlier drafts, the original version/ending still exists. I imagine they could revert back to what made Feeling Electric work so well if they wanted to without a huge amount of work involved from the creatives. The question is will they.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:49pm

hell they could go back to the original ending without adding much to the running time too. and with most shows as it tightens up more and more the time gets less and less so the addition would be nominal.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:55pm

Because they've spent the past two years workshopping for nothing!

Updated On: 1/17/08 at 07:55 PM

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 7:56pm

if they don't fix the ending then yeah, they have been workshopping for two years for nothing.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 8:03pm

Right, because the people who are creating a show know nothing about theater and have no idea that it's an issue. They're never ever going to fix it and the entire show is going to suck forever.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 8:04pm

Honestly, i don't see a ton they could do to get back ANY of the greatness lost in the transition. Where it was last night was a long way from where it was 27 months ago, maybe a lottle too far away to get back.

[the_musical]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 11:22pm

Honestly, i don't see a ton they could do to get back ANY of the greatness lost in the transition. Where it was last night was a long way from where it was 27 months ago, maybe a lottle too far away to get back.


I agree the ending could use some work, and I don't doubt that it will happen.

However I disagree with the idea that the only good ending would be throwing in another attempted suicide. Liverpool was all of the show's "greatness" completely tied to the second suicide attempt?

I also don't think the only reason they might have cut that part was to "palate down" the show to a broader audience. While I didn't see the NYMF production, I feel like the second suicide attempt is too much.

[Cugirl]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 11:38pm

I watched this last night and I thought it was fantastic.

I agree that the ending certainly wasn't as powerful as Feeling Electric and I also agree that all that hugging was really confusing. I'm on the fence though whether I think they should completely keep the ending as it was in FE. I always thought the ending of FE, while powerful, was a little too dark and heavy. I never had any use for Natalie's suicide attempt and Dr. Madden's big boring speech to her. I was quite disappointed, though, that they only lightly touched upon the revelation that Dan now sees Gabe.

But most of the FE is still intact and the slight reworking of the ending did not ruin it for me at all. I thought most of the rewrites worked last night.

The Natalie character makes so much more sense now. Natalie is more likeable so that the theme of "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" actually has a purpose. Before, I didn't really care that Natalie was the Invisible Girl -- she seemed to deserve it. She was never quite part of the family and the only purpose of her character in FE was to swear and whine. N2N Natalie is way more integrated and another layer was added to the musical by showing more of her relationship with Diana.

They got rid of most of the flashbacks. I never thought they brought all that much to the story, especially the flashback of Gabe dying. I could've lived with a leeeetle bit more flashback of Dan and Diana in their college days, but what they have now is okay.

Overall, a thumbs up from me. I wish I lived in NYC to watch it again, but I'm glad they were playing the one night I was in NYC! I got to take a picture with Aaron too, who was just absolutely fantastic as Gabe.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 12:33am

I just got in a while ago from tonight's performance.

First thing...the show got out at 10:30, so either they added some material back in, or the show just took longer tonight than it did Tuesday.

Ok, on to my thoughts.

My first thought on walking out of the theater was, "if this transfers to Broadway, the Tony race is going to get a lot more interesting."

I did not see the NYMF production, so I had never heard the score, or had much idea of what the show was about, other than the blurb on the TDF order page. All of that being said, I, for the most part, LOVED the show. This is a gorgeous score that they've written, even though I can't remember the names of a lot of the songs (no song list in the Playbill). There are some really beautiful melodies in this show. And all of the voices are exquisite.

The cast is impeccable. Aaron Tveit is wonderful, and is always "on," which has to be tough to do, since he spends most of the show slinking around the upper level of the stage. Jennifer Damiano is getting there, and I suspect she'll be phenomenal very soon. The guy who played Henry was good, if a bit over the top at parts. Asa Somers is fine, but I wish he got a little more to do. D'Arcy James, as always, is excellent.

The star of the show, however, is Alice Ripley, who could very easily get herself a Tony is this goes to Broadway (I read a rumor they may go to the Circle in the Square??). The minute she walks out with the glazed look in her eyes, you could tell she was going to be great. Her voice sounded good tonight, but you could definitely hear a bit of strain. Her role has to be very difficult to sing, I would imagine. Her acting was spot on. She nailed the character. I was very impressed with her.

As for the show itself....it's definitely got potential to be a fantastic musical. The first act is just about perfect. The second act needs some work, but I have confidence they're working on it. Michael Grief and Anthony Rapp were both there tonight, and both had legal pads with lots of notes written on them.

As others have mentioned, the second act needs some tightening. The one part of the show that really needs work is that ending. It was FINE up until the point that all six characters come together to embrace. I actually thought they had created a very powerful stage picture when they had Gabe on the top level alone, with Diana and her daughter in the middle, and the other three guys on the bottom level. Why not sing the whole song that way and end it like that? That looked great. The whole coming together for a hug was confusing and cheesy. I couldn't really understand what it meant- did Diana come back after all? Why were they all hugging a character who was never really there to begin with? Whatever metaphor they were going for (because I can't believe it was meant to be taken literally), it is not clear at this juncture. I really hope that they work on that.

Overall, I am anxious to return to this show after its opening, to see what changes they've made. I actually want to buy another ticket to it right now, because I really enjoyed it. Of the new musicals I've seen this season, this is already far and away the best of the lot.

To answer an inevitable question...I got seats through TDF, and was seated on the side in the balcony. They were actually great seats. Sure it wasn't a center view, and there are a couple of moments where someone has their back to you, but you have a LOT of room up there, and no one is right on top of you. It was nice to have some space between me and the next person.

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 1:08am

SPOILERS-

The ending needs work, but is by no means "crap", does not at all mean they've spent all this time workshopping the show for nothing. I think if anything changes as previews progress, it'll be the last moments. I agree that they're confusing. Everything before the last couple minutes or so I think are fantastic. I, for one, am happy they cut Dan's attempted suicide. It seemed forced to me at NYMF. They don't need to show him trying to kill himself to prove that he's hurting. It's obvious enough with the revelation that he sees his dead son, I'd say. And Brian's execution of that scene is so spot-on, it hits just as hard.

The show is definitely going to continue to change and grow during previews - especially somewhere like 2ST, a breeding ground for new works. I believe that by the time it opens, it's going to be really incredible.

[Elphie68]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 1:57am

PREACH! For sure I have to agree with you on that, Emcee. From what I hear, it is an INCREDIBLE show as it stands now. I'm hearing laughter, tears, etc. So I think it remains an extremely powerful show and I completely believe that they will fix the ending.

I cannot wait to see it in about a week!


"luvtheEmcee


Broadway Legend
joined: 12/9/03
re: Anyone seen NEXT TO NORMAL tonite?
Posted On: 1/17/08 at 07:35 PM


Dude, it was the FIRST PREVIEW. That means chances are they had only done it in front of an audience once prior. Do you have any idea how much a musical can change over the course of the preview process? Clearly not.

But, like I said, if you would like to convince yourself that it's going to remain crap, by all means. I certainly wouldn't want to convince myself a show I loved was doomed, by hey, that's just me."




Updated On: 1/18/08 at 01:57 AM

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 2:04am

hoping to catch this show tomorrow....!

[buenos_aires]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 2:38am

Since I forgot to ask this last time - is I've Been still in the show? It was one of my favourites out of FE.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 2:47am

It wasnt about the second suicide attempt, it was about the fact that it was more realistic, more believable (and some of that goes to the way Natalie was written previously). the ending was one of hope, but hope stemming from rock bottom, from the fact that each of these characters had hit a point where nothing else could possibly be worse for them so they were finally able to take steps in the right dirrection. This ending is one of sugar coating and confusing hugging that makes no sense in the context of the show. You have no clue what's up with Diana, is she still gone, did she come back? Natalie is COMPLETELY FINE WITH THE FACT THAT HER MOTHER JUST ABANDONED THEM. (oh and the song diana sings to natlalie about everything everyone tells you is a lie where the suddenly bond feels false). they don't spend enough time on the fact that Dan can now see Gabe, it feels like a throw away scene in spite of D'Arcy James' BRILLIANCE. Everything about the last 15-20 minutes feels completely wrong. forced and incoherent.




ETA

BA, as far i recall I've been is NOT in the show anymore. Updated On: 1/18/08 at 02:47 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 6:41am

I wouldn't go nearly as far as to say the ending is crap, nor that the last 20 minutes need changing. I really think it can be fixed by revising the staging in the finale.

The fact that the daughter didn't have much of a reaction to her mother leaving didn't surprise me, and in fact made sense for her character, I thought. I am only surprised she didn't drop an f-bomb (can we say that now??) after she found out.

Having not seen the previous ending, I can't compare them, but I thought for the most part (until the very end) this one made sense. I like the idea that the husband is now seeing Gabe, and ultimately goes in for treatment himself. It's almost like telling us the cycle is going to continue. It sort of brings it all full-circle for me.

They just need to get rid of the hugging because it looks cheesy, and causes a lot of confusion.

[joniray]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 10:34am

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

"I was quite disappointed, though, that they only lightly touched upon the revelation that Dan now sees Gabe."

Please, please, PLEASE tell me that they haven't messed with the "I Am the One" reprise with Dan saying his son's name (repeatedly) for the first time.

I would not miss at all the whole Natalie/Dr. Madden scene and song. I never liked it that much to begin with, so I think that was a wise cut, but it sounds like what may be missing emotionally from this version (please correct me if I'm wrong since I haven't seen it yet) is a moment when Dan is, as Liverpool stated, completely broken down, at rock bottom, his daughter discovers him at that moment (when he was about to take his own life) and she basically takes him under her wing with the feeling of "I'll help you get through this - we will get through this together" which takes us into the affirming and hopeful "Let There Be Light" showing the three family members growing stronger and more determined to emotionally move on and (separately) on a new road to healing.

[RoseStopnikCooks]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 11:55am

Yes, we get it, the ending is forced. But they're working on it. LET IT GO.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 12:42pm

are they working on it?


did any one see it last night? Do they still have the bull**** confusing hugging for 5 minutes that maks absolutely NO SENSE?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 12:42pm

No, it's DOOMED.

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 12:45pm

Hi, did you miss the part where I agreed with you about the very end 'Let There Be Light' reprise being confusing and needing work? Get off your high horse and read what people are writing. And by the way, just because you think it's such crap, doesn't make it true. Last time I checked, your opinion is not fact. Try letting others have one as well.

[RoseStopnikCooks]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 12:45pm

LMAO, Emcee!

Liverpool, the show has the potential to truly be something amazing. Though Grief seems clueless most of the time, Rapp, Kitt and Yorkey are not going to let it look like that in the end. Trust.
Updated On: 1/18/08 at 12:45 PM