The Bandwagon- Page 2

[AntV]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 9:08am

If someone could PM me the P2P code i would really appreciate it.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 1:51pm

Someone actually told me that Laura is a wonderful dancer and is an amazing tapper. I guess we have never seen her do anything like this role before

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 12:30am

The critics usually go easy on Encores, knowing that this little treasure is always on shaky financial ground. Everyone connected with the creation and performance of The Band Wagon must be pretty hurt by the highly mixed reviews.

"Yet this “Band Wagon,” a troubled musical about a musical in trouble, only rarely shakes off its torpor. It’s not for want of exertion, or for promising and essential ingredients like a rousing vintage score (by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz), a charismatic star (in the person of Brian Stokes Mitchell) and a supporting cast packed with pros polished and quirky (including Laura Osnes, Tony Sheldon, Tracey Ullman and Michael McKean)."

"Yet somehow these ingredients, old and new, never combine into the longed-for theatrical energy drug that sends audiences kick-stepping into the streets. You well may leave this “Band Wagon” humming its tunes. How could you not when the numbers include “Dancing in the Dark” and “That’s Entertainment”? But don’t be surprised if those tunes now echo with melancholy.

I guess Broadway is off the table.

Big Ben Review

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 7:28am

Ben was quite rough on the LuPone Gypsy at Encores and then did an about face one it opened on Broadway, so it might move ahead even without his ~blessing~.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 7:39am

Ah lord Brantley has spoken

So let it be written
So let it be done

Cue the eye role

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 8:08am

I'm glad to see that the most talented Mr. Tony Sheldon is getting the recognition he deserves.

[followspot]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 8:11am

"Yet somehow these ingredients, old and new, never combine into the longed-for theatrical energy drug that sends audiences kick-stepping into the streets."

Except that's exactly what this generally stoney theatergoer did. (Well, thankfully, only metaphorically.) I was at the performance Brantley attended, and the audience roared with laughter and appreciation. For me personally, after a shall we say 'challenging' week, it was just the jolt of uplifting energy I needed to reset my mood. I generally ignore critics as a rule, but when they take it upon themselves to speak for "the audience," it's especially obnoxious.

I'm not saying the production is perfect — it's a typical rag-tag Encores! production, this time with a mostly untried new book. Broadway-ready? Hardly. (Was anyone actually going expecting a Broadway-ready production? Based on what? Michael Reidel?) But in a show about putting on a show on the fly, any roughness felt fitting and easy to move past toward its many, many pleasures.

"You well may leave this “Band Wagon” humming its tunes. How could you not when the numbers include “Dancing in the Dark” and “That’s Entertainment”? But don’t be surprised if those tunes now echo with melancholy."

The Band Wagon happily travels in theatrical clichés — they can now add the "melancholy" critic. Poor Ben.

Updated On: 11/10/14 at 08:11 AM

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 8:19am

I really fail to see what market this show will fill on Broadway. On the Town is already here and An American in Paris is coming. Is it being fantastical to suggest that the potential market for this-a show many people have never heard of (based on a film many have never heard of)-might be rather stretched at the moment? And the reviews are not that impressive.

The difference between this and Gypsy is that Gypsy is a known show(and arguably LuPone is a bigger draw).

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 8:21am

When even Kathleen Marshall can't make something like this frothy, the problem is with the translation from film to stage and with the casting.

I worship at the feet of Brian Stokes Mitchell but light comedy and song-and-dance are not why we revere him. Hugh Jackman is a song-and-dance man. Michael Berresse is a song-and-dance man.

Song-and-dance men make you smile with their feet.

Updated On: 11/10/14 at 08:21 AM

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 8:35am

There seems to be very little interest on this board in the reviews, considering a possible Broadway transfer was in the offing (but probably not after Ben said "nay").

Here is one from Newsday:
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/the-band-wagon-review-modest-but-fun-production-not-quite-ready-for-broadway-1.9601230

And one from the Post, a bit more positive:
http://nypost.com/2014/11/09/its-short-on-strutting-but-the-band-wagon-has-got-legs/

And more good news from Huffington Post:
http://article.wn.com/view/2014/11/09/The_Band_Wagon_is_Worth_Jumping_On/

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 9:31am

Methinks old Ben is a nasty individual in real life

Old Ben would never lie in his reviews.Perish the thought. The fact that he has an ounce of relevance or credibility is amazing

Read 100 reviews he has written. I guarantee 75% are negative in some way.He would have you believe 75% of shows have problems mostly unfixable and therefore the show is unworthy of Broadway in his eyes.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 9:47am

Jayinchelsea, BWW has a round-up to most of the reviews. The link is below.

Roxy, Brantley is far from alone in his opinion, and I actually felt he was a little charitable, suggesting that the show can be fixed,

"Michael Berresse is a song-and-dance man."

Yes, Pal Joey, and what a cruel joke it was to put him on a stage in a show about dance and then have everyone but him dance.
Bandwagon reviews

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 11/10/14 at 10:15am

I saw this yesterday and I have to say I mostly agree with Brantley. I'm usually pretty forgiving with Encores! productions given that they have such limited rehearsal time, but the problems here were really with the content rather than the execution. Tony Sheldon came off the best by far and elicited the most genuine laughter. Brian Stokes Mitchell is very charming but his biggest strengths really aren't being utilized here. Laura Osnes is lovely as always but she could probably do this role in her sleep. I was also disappointed that Michael Berresse wasn't given any opportunity to dance.

The biggest problem is probably Douglas Carter Beane's book, which is mostly exposition and contains no real character development. I'm all for silly, fun musical comedy (I deeply enjoyed On the Town when I saw it a couple of weeks ago), but this was just kind of a mess.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 11/12/14 at 11:25am

Yes, I agree it was a mess. Saw it last night and was disappointed by book and poor casting choices. Loved "Louisiana Hayride" ( but where was the hay?) and "A Shine on Your Shoes". Sheldon stole "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" right out under from Stokes.

Not enough romance, dancing (between the leads) or humor.

The ensemble, as usual, were terrific. I enjoyed Can-Can so much more. And Berresse gets to dance in Can-Can.



Updated On: 11/12/14 at 11:25 AM

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 11/12/14 at 11:40am

Did anyone see this in San Diego when it was called "Dancing in the Dark" a few years ago? I wonder how much has changed.

I read and interview with Beane a year or so ago where he talked about how they changed the title because he didn't want people coming in expecting the movie. He also very clearly wanted to keep Comden and Green's style and tone and do this as a tribute to them.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 11/12/14 at 11:47am

After reading these reviews and as much as I love Brian Stokes Mitchell, Laura Osnes and the rest of the talented cast this is coming off as a huge misfire, that and I'm not really a fan of Douglas Carter Beane's work and on my budget I have to be really selective of what I pay to see these days. So I will pass on this and stick to the unbeatable original film.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 11/12/14 at 11:50am

I enjoyed Bandwagon very much (saw it saturday night last weekend). I thought that Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Osnes both sounded fabulous and were perfect in their roles, in terms of acting, dancing, and singing. Tony Sheldon and Tracy Ullman gave wonderful acting performances, and i enjoyed the tap dancing in the Shine On Your Shoes song.

I also enjoyed the book, and liked this version much more than the movie version, which i have on DVD but didn't enjoy it enough to watch it more than once (it was in a four-DVD set that i got mostly for singin' in the rain).

Anyhow, I wish i could go back and see it again before it closes, but won't be able to. I hope that it transfers.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/13/14 at 9:32pm

Was Frank Rich considered more of a petty tyrant than Brantley? Wasn't he called "The Butcher of Broadway" or something.

I don't suppose that either will have a theater named for them.

[iagowasframed]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 9:49am

I don't care about reviews I'm so excited never sat 3rd row in a large house before. I'm going to enjoy it for that alone....off to the train!

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 12:44pm

Very disappointed, even after the mostly meh reviews. This show does no favor to the classic film, which was smart enough to treat the topic lightly, and used Astaire and Charisse doing what they did best. No, Stokes is not a musical comedy performer, and having him and Laura mostly stand around in the background while the dancers did their thing in the big "Shine" number only pointed up the problems. And the Beane book? Painful, imo.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 10:05pm

There are times when one has to side with the critics, although that is the last thing that he desires.

Wonderful cast. Was Stokes cast outside of his strengths? To whom else would you have given the role? He retained his star quality and seemed to be enjoying himself. Tony Sheldon? No drop-off from the film Cordoba. I was so pleased to see Tracey Ullman. I used to watch her show for her, and not for the brief Simpsons incubation clips that accompanied breaks from the show. Few men can resist Laura Osnes, the reigning Princess of Broadway, and I think from seeing her in Anything Goes and Band Wagon that she has dancing skills yet to be displayed.

A good half dozen or so fine songs, although when I hear "By Myself" I think without hesitation of the down and out Astaire of the film, and his mistaking of the press presence for Ava Gardner as directed at him. (Just the mention of the name "Ava" brings sudden pain to this Blue Eyes.) "Triplets" got the biggest audience reaction of the night.

The production peaked at the end with the driving ensemble tap performance of "A Shine on Your Shoes" followed, after the curtain call, by a rousing reprise of "That's Entertainment." Those who have criticized this song as pap compared to the other anthem "There's No Business Like Snow Business" have not paid enough attention to the lyrics of the former.

The audience around me, where I like to be, in the 2nd row of the orchestra, appeared to be very pleased with the show. But as I stood up and looked around, not much more than a third of the audience was on its feet. To my greater surprise, I found that I had had no urge to leap to my feet. This reluctantly put me pretty much in Mr. Brantley's shoes, acknowledging all the positives yet wondering why the audience was not on its feet roaring its approval.

Is it possible to tinker the production up to a Broadway presence? I'm certainly not the one to ask, but the difference from the film that stands out the most to me is the relationship between Stokes and Osnes. In the film, there is an immediate aloofness of one from the other based on the belief that neither respects the craft of the other (hoofer vs. classical). This in the film is resolved in the classic "Dancing in the Dark" scene that trumps every previously held notion that one had for the other.

In the Encores' production, Tony really has no initial reaction to Gabrielle other than respectful indifference. She, on the other hand, gushes on her love for him as a performer when she was a mere child, bringing out the age difference. I don't think that I could tell you exactly when Tony discovers his love for Gabrielle.

My only poor advice would be to restore the initial antipathy between the two, trace the change in their attitudes more closely, and finally resolve the matter with a dancing "Dancing in the Dark" if they have it in them, and I think that they do. With lots of rehearsal. But lots of rehearsal was no stranger to Astaire.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 10:44pm

^...and finally resolve the matter with a dancing "Dancing in the Dark" if they have it in them, and I think that they do.

Unfortunately I don't think they have it in them. There was absolutely no chemistry between Tony and Gabrielle for me whatsoever. It actually drove me to distraction and I sat there thinking that I would really love to see Stokes revive his Man of La Mancha performance.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 2:01am

You may well be right. I don't think that they were left alone together in the Encores production enough to let anything develop.

Are Tony and Gabrielle, as talented actors, capable of creating a chemistry between themselves that is believable to the audience when such chemistry does not exist between Stokes and Osnes?

[iagowasframed]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 7:20am

I agree with the above review although I still enjoyed the show....a lot. There was a lot of good up there and I love hearing him sing.

I just don't understand the point in changing the book so much. The whole point was bringing the musical to the stage and honestly it didn't have any major book problems that didn't translate to the stage.

Shine was a highlight and the show would have been well served to start out that way instead of ending like that.

However having said that the 2.5 hours flew by and I loved being so close to the actors as it was such a different experience and I love that shows like this allow me to afford to sit up close.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 12:44pm

OlBlue- not so sure such chemistry could exist between Osnes and Stokes but it feels like we're beating a dead horse now.

I had high hopes to see a different Osnes in this but didn't. She's lovely, sweet, etc. and I like her but I really would like to see her do something with a bit more vamp. I thought I'd get that in her performance at Three Penney Opera at the Atlantic this past season but didn't find it there either.

Iago - I agree that it would have been better to open with Shine. Glad you enjoyed it and I am glad I got to see this too. I always like attending Encores!