Rocky Previews- Page 22

[MrFerriero]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 1:25pm

My QUICK opinion: Saw the show last night, other than possibly 1 lighting issue it seemed to run VERY smoothly. I see, pretty much, everything each season (I'm theater obsessed!) and must say, as of now Rocky is my front runner (although I've only seen Bridges in previews so far). I can't wait to see the final version. The star of this show is, without a doubt, the crazy awesome sets. Honestly didn't expect that. Andy Karl deserved a nod - no questions asked - the guy works his butt off and does an amazing job!

I didn't care for Margo in Act 1 but she 'won' me over in Act 2 (pun intended). All in all -- really enjoyed this show -- especially since I thought I would leave making fun of it. Bravo!

[ARTc3]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 1:30pm

Question for anyone seeing a preview... Has the sound improved? When I saw it (6 preview) the sound was dreadful and often unclear. I know they were aware of this issue and were working hard on correcting the problem. Has there been any noticeable improvement?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 2:22pm

I was having problems with backdated tickets. Mrs R made 1 call and yesterday we got 2 mid orchestra dead center seats and saw it.

All I can say is WOW. What a great show. It follows the movie pretty closely. The understudy played Apollo and he was great. Both leads were spot on and Mickeys part was played by Dakin Matthews and he was fine although I will always remember Burgess Meredith in the part.

When I first heard of a musical Rocky, I thought they were out of their minds. I take that back. This show will be around for a good long time. The staging was fantastic. I cannot see this show touring as there is too much involved with staging it. The visuals, the realistic sets the actual ring and the flashing lights all around making a touring version problematical

The score while not up to Ragtime standards is competent and is tuneful. It should be nominated for many tonys including Musical, score, leads and technical ones as well. In the rear, noticed Meehan and Flaherty and Ahrens . Would have approached them to talk to them but they were busy speaking to others.

All in all, great seats and a great show. By the way, they really check so if you are thinking of making a video of the show do not waste your time.

Updated On: 2/27/14 at 02:22 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 2:54pm

I'm seeing this on Saturday and am very curious. I hope Terence Archie (Apollo) is back in the show by then.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 4:33pm

Mr. Roxy, mazel on the backdated tickets being honored. May I ask how Mrs. R. got it accomplished with ease?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 6:12pm

She was lucky and was at the right place at the right time. I think it depends on how helpful the Rep you get wants to be.

[broadwayghost1]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 10:16pm

Heres a look at the backstage. Its in German.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHWl4sZ3Nvg

[ZiggyCringe]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 10:57pm

My God, what a stupid musical that was.

The first act, which clocked in at about an hour and 45 minutes, in which nothing whatsoever happened. My husband had the foresight to leave at intermission, I stayed for the second act, which is another hour of my life I'll never get back.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 11:05pm

To each his own.

[bdn223]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 11:34pm

Just got back from the show and all I can say is...WOW!!!
The show did start of a little rough, but once it got started, which I will say was after Adrian's first song it moves full speed ahead!!
The sets were just awe inspiring. The transition from the south side Philly to the office was simple yet so effective. The ring in the end was just SOOO EFFECTIVE!! Andy is amazing, and Margo's transformation as Adrian was just as impressive.
I honestly have to say that Rocky did right everything Spiderman did wrong. Especially when it comes to the montages, they were just fantastic.

My only qualms were Adrian's first song, Raining, which was just too slow...it felt like it went on forever.
And Apollo's song, Patriotic, which begged to be a big production number and fell flat and felt too constrained.

Updated On: 2/28/14 at 11:34 PM

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 11:46pm

Updated On: 2/27/14 at 11:46 PM

[sephyr]

Posted: 2/28/14 at 1:24am

Saw the show Wednesday night and it ran smoothly and I was very impressed. I liked the score a lot! Margo had the best songs IMO with Raining (beautiful melody/chord structure) and I'm Done (she was so passionate and completely blew me away). I liked the other songs too, especially the Act I closer. The set is massive and the pieces flowed seamlessly! The crew should be given a hand. Loved the ring and the final 20 minutes were thrilling! Andy was amazing and perfectly embodied the Rocky character, making him very likable. the ensemble was great too and all in all it was a very special night.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/28/14 at 10:27am

"The first act, which clocked in at about an hour and 45 minutes,"

How did that act, which runs one hour five minutes without a pause, suddenly grow to an hour forty-five? Amazing.

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 2/28/14 at 5:09pm

I've been to the show twice now and have to say that I really enjoyed it both times (once from Golden Circle, once from extreme side orchestra). I think that Andy embodies the role of Rocky perfectly; he doesn't mimic Stallone's Rocky, but makes the character his own. Both times I went the audience was really excited and it was easy to pick out people who were clearly big fans of the movie. They were out of their minds that they were finally seeing "Rocky" in person and cheered everything. For example, the guys sitting next to me were all about just yelling "Rocky!" any time he did some sort of workout..or cracked an egg. In a different situation a rowdy audience might've been irritating, but here it just built the atmosphere even more. As for Margo Seibert...she's just refreshing. It's so nice to hear a different voice on stage and I thoroughly enjoyed both "Raining" and "I'm Done." I hope we hear a lot about her this season because she absolutely deserves it.

Meehan and Stallone did a great job of expanding on the characters we saw in the movie because they seem more relatable and the love story makes more sense. While still painfully shy, Margo's Adrian is much more accessible to the audience and she gives us more of a sense of why she is so closed off. The songs also do a great job of giving the audience some backstory and capturing feelings that I felt may have been lacking in the movie. As for the set design and staging, there's not much I can say that hasn't already been mentioned. It's the real deal. The staging of "Eye of the Tiger" is incredible and the use of screens and projections just elevates the production. All of the iconic moments from the movie are incorporated and even if you haven't seen the movie they will still resonate with you. I'm definitely going to go back, possibly (probably) more than once.

Updated On: 2/28/14 at 05:09 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/1/14 at 1:52am

Looking forward to the cast album on this.

[phantomcrazy14]

Posted: 3/1/14 at 11:14am

I won the lottery last night and got to see the preview with my friend. I honestly cannot explain how much I loved this show, but I will try. I was nervous there would be technical problems, and after seeing the show I can see how there could be, but the show ran very smoothly.
Overall the show is in good shape. I'm sure they will tighten up some of the jokes and dialogue, but there wasn't a moment where I felt my mind wandering from the action onstage. Andy really nailed the role. As people have said, he's not a cookie-cutter of Stallone's Rocky, but still true to that character. As for Margo, I thought she was phenomenal. I agree during the first act I didn't know how I felt, but during the second I fell in love, and I think that was purposeful due to her character growth.
Technically and set wise, I was shocked. I loved seeing how detailed and huge the sets were instead of being skimpy and relying on projections. Most impressive was the way they moved. We were sitting front row, and seeing the fluidity of the sets from that angle was really cool. I personally thought it very exciting to be in the Golden Circle.And even though I'm not a huge fan of sports or the movie, seeing the story portrayed live was epic. I really recommend this show.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/1/14 at 11:58am

This has a built in fan base and may be critic proof. Glad we saw it as I have a feeling it is going to be huge. Will definitely be in the mix with multiple nods @ Tony time. Nice to finally see 3 dimensional sets

[JayG 2]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 12:17am

Saw the Saturday matinee. Yeah, the score is not great, but the show really grabbed me. Karl is terrific. It was an exhilarating, theatrical experience.

[nyla123]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 1:31am

The score is pretty forgettable, although no worse than say, Kinky Boots, and the first act drags, but Alex Timbers's direction makes it an unmissable show. Aside from the big moments that make up most of the second act, the entire show is really sensitively and intelligently staged in a way that makes sitting through the bland pop Broadway score worth it. I saw Bridges in Williamstown so my opinion of that show is slightly out of date (and sans Kelli O'Hara), but although the score of that show blows Rocky's out of the water I would almost definitely recommend Rocky over that to all but the most seasoned musical theater geek. Go now before it's impossible to see for a couple years.

Also, I have to mention today that I was picking up my tickets around the time the lottery was happening and it did not seem super hard to get. I wasn't paying super close attention, but it appeared as though more people got tickets than didn't.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 4:55pm

I’ll start off by saying, to this day, I have never seen any of the Rocky movies. I saw the matinee yesterday and have to agree with most opinions I have read on this thread. I was in row Q center orchestra on the aisle. The seat was excellent.

As much as I admire and enjoy the previous works of Ahrens and Flaherty, I feel Rocky was just not the right project for them. The score was actually my biggest disappointment of the afternoon. A story and setting as gritty as Rocky, needs a score with edge, which it did not have. I kept thinking, what would Lin Manuel Miranda have done with this piece. I don’t know if this particular story was calling out to be musicalized to begin with.

The only number that verged on choreography (in terms of dancing) was when the various ensemble members were dressed in hoodies at the beginning of Act 2 as Rocky prepares for the fight. The show definitely could have used more of that.

Although clocking in at a little over an hour, the first act was dull. The 2nd act (even prior to the boxing match) was a lot better (and tighter).

All that being said, I thought the performances of Andy Karl, Margo Seibert and Terence Archie were all wonderful. Obviously Terence is ahead of the game in his characterization, as he played Apollo Creed in Germany.

I really liked the set design, and I’m happy to report that the show didn’t have to be stopped for any technical glitches. The transition getting the audience to the stage for the boxing match went quite smoothly. It was hard not getting all caught up in the action when the actual boxing match took place. Wow!! Is that enough to get me back to see this show? Unfortunately not. Once was enough.

I have to say, the audience yesterday had to be one of the better behaved that I’ve experienced in my last few shows on Broadway. During act 1, I heard a man sitting in the left orchestra section, in a thick Jersey accent say out loud, “Enough with that cell phone. Turn it off!” Good for him!!

Although I didn’t particularly care for Rocky, I’m still glad I saw it, just for the fact that I hadn’t seen The Winter Garden Theatre in it’s regular theatre state since I saw the original production of 42nd Street in 1981. I hadn’t been in that theatre since I last saw Cats in 1992. What a gorgeous theatre.

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 3:42pm

Rocky sure didn't disappoint me. The show will be a hit because it has that built in audience eating every minute up. It was a special evening and my tdf seats were better than usual. Yes, the Winter Garden is a great theater that books long runners. Andy Karl as Rocky lands a real knock out punch with this show.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 11:23pm

I went back again tonight. After seeing it from the center mezz before, I now got to sit in the 4th row of the orchestra thanks to TDF. The seat was great up until the fight, when I had to stand, missing out on a lot of the fight choreography. I'm glad I had the experience up close on a repeat viewing, but I'm wouldn't have been happy if this was my first time going.

Other than cutting Philly Pie there haven't been very many noticeable changes. A few line tweaks here or there, but no new scenes, added songs, cut characters etc. I'm glad they cut Philly Pie because it does help us move the action along considerably, but the downside is that we are stuck with quite a few ballads. Philly Pie may not have been a great song, but it did bring a welcome change in tempo to the proceedings.

I found the melodies easier to hum on a second listen (duh!) and I appreciated the performances even more. Margo, Andy and Terence are just terrific. Act two is much stronger than act one, but I was much less wowed by the final fight due to my seat location.

I'm not completely converted to loving it because the score just isn't strong enough, but I think it's sufficiently entertaining and crowd-pleasing to have a healthy run.

Tons of industry people there tonight too.

[evic]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 11:29pm

Industry people there tonight? All comped I imagine. They must have little advance if on TDF and TKTS all the time. One of the billionaire producers Joop van der Ende from Holland will pour lots of money into this to keep it going if it gets awful reviews.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 11:42pm

"Joop van der Ende from Holland will pour lots of money into this to keep it going if it gets awful reviews."

Why do you think that?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 11:43pm

Whizzer- glad that I am sitting on the mezzanine when I see this next week! Sounds like this is definitely one to see from up higher. Also, are you going to be going over to the Imperial anytime soon to check out Les Miserables? Anxious for a Whizzer preview review :)