ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (2017) Previews- Page 4

[Patty3]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 1:40pm

Wick3 said: "Patty3 said: "Looking at seating and there is a strange gap on the left side of the seating chart that cuts a path through rows AA to D (in the 200s -odd numbers). For those who have seen the show can you tell me what this is? And would seats in that area be OK?"

Those are great seats! If you get the front row of the small triangular section that looks like an island in itself, you literally walk on the set (sand) to get to your seat.

Tehre reallly is no bad seat in the theater and it feels immersive like you're in the island as well but there is no explicit audience participation during the show (so in case you're nervous to sit in the front row, don't worry!)"

Thanks for the help with the seating. I picked row C which is on the path. If anyone else is looking for tickets, they extended some of the discounts until Dec 24. I got an email and it is also on Playbill Club discounts. 

I sat in the Riverbank seats at Circle in the Square for The River and that was an amazing experience.

Updated On: 11/13/17 at 01:40 PM

[Patty3]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 2:13pm

Just went to add this to my calendar and realized that Dec 3 is opening night. But I was able to buy tickets on Telecharge for that date. I hope I don't get an email canceling my order. I did a search online but could not find any info that the opening night date was changed. I would think by now (3 weeks out) they would know what they are doing with the opening. There are very few dates that work for me for the month of December.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 2:19pm

We sat  with a group just above this area. second row from the top.  

It's a walking area for actors to come in and out  from backstage = and pull up and down chandeliers for busy and long move to the palace scene.   Used for Salonga  & 20 young children who enter on the final song (like at  some community versions) to show how the "story" continues to be told to youth by the young girl who watches the show.   I think it's a spot for a telephone pole  that stands up  by the end of the play..  

The stage action confused the story.    The man who plays the woman character was great and the other guy in several spots.   To the surprise of our family, the gods who we thought would represent our community better. they seemed to get the parts to make a particular vision happen instead of help the story of the play . casting could have been better.  movement of story was confusing sometimes.   Enjoyed the choreography when not distracting even if seen similar before.   There's $ in this play making the vision work but doesn't always help the tale.  felt forced.  Happy to have the show near our home  - but it's a little all over the place for the great white way.  Three women we sat next to had done the play before were happy to have seen it but also felt the play had sacrificed a lot.  An okay night at the theater for our family.   play is good. the circle in the square version is fine but not great or the tony winner. 

Updated On: 11/13/17 at 02:19 PM

[Patty3]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 2:20pm

oops duplicate - please delete

Updated On: 11/13/17 at 02:20 PM

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 3:46pm

Patty3 said: "Just went to add this to my calendar and realized that Dec 3 is opening night. But I was able to buy tickets on Telecharge for that date. I hope I don't get an email canceling my order. I did a search online but could not find any info that the opening night date was changed.I would think by now (3 weeks out) they would know what they are doing with the opening. There are very few dates that work for me for the month of December."

Opening night is on evening of Dec 3rd; not matinee. You probably bought tickets for the last preview, which is on Dec 3rd matinee.

[Patty3]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 6:28pm

Wick3 said:

Opening night is on evening of Dec 3rd; not matinee. You probably bought tickets for the last preview, which is on Dec 3rd matinee."

I am surprised that there would be a 2 show day on opening night. I hope you are right. I wasn't able to find a time for the opening night performance.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 8:14pm

This production is flat out spectacular. I didn't think it was possible but as someone who adored the original, this tops it by like a thousand percent.

I feel like anything I could say about it, including the pre-show, including the immersive set, including the ever evolving costumes, would be major spoilers.

Every aspect of this production is theatrical perfection, except maybe for the sound. At many points, the actors are hard to hear, and we were in the second row. But I have hopes that the sound will be adjusted during previews. Also, the thing at the end with the children is strange, but in no way did it make me love this any less.

This is the first show in years that I feel I have to see again, and maybe again after that.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 10:39pm

Well, I guess I will have to stand as the voice of dissent in this thread. I found the whole evening to be highly over-directed; Arden truly throws in everything but the kitchen sink- well I guess the kitchen sink gets thrown in too. I genuinely believe the guy is talented, but it's like he had an idea for every word in every song and book song and self-editing never came into the equation. It was as if someone told Arden this was the last show he was ever going to be allowed to direct so he might as well play every trick he had up his sleeve. I think Once On This Island is a small, sweet show, but this revival is cranked up to eleven. 

I did think the casting was strong, with Kenita Miller and Phillip Boykin as my two favorites. They really grounded the piece for me and added some earned emotional oomph to the ending. Lea Salonga also sang "The Human Heart" with much warmth and restraint. 

I'm obviously in the minority with this opinion, but I found myself longing a John Doyle meets Peter and the Starcatcher production with just a dozen chairs and a piece of rope.  

[barcelona20]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 11:06pm

Good to see Whizzer as the sense of reason.  Everyone here has to be skeptical of positive reviews on the board because Davenport has all these interns pretending to be real fans. It's sad really.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 11:13pm

Well, to be fair, people like Matt Rogers and CurtainPullDowner are longtime posters whom I respect and enjoy reading- definitely not Davenport shills. 

[Golenboybway]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 11:13pm

I saw the show tonight and it was unbelievably fantastic.. I loved every moment. Tonight they let everyone who entered the lottery win so there were no losers! Really happy with the whole experience!

[Alfie6]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 11:26pm

Bit of an interesting evening, there were about 50 people at the lottery tonight and right before the staff member was going to start drawing names Ken Davenport showed up and told everyone they won the lotto and there was no need to draw any names. I think people just assumed he was making a joke but once it settled in there was a mad rush of people to the box to claim their winner lotto tickets. My seat was really awesome, third row center.  Once inside if you instagrammed/tweeted the show you got a pair of OOTI sunglasses. I found the plot a little boring but the music and the production itself it was so beautiful I really enjoyed it.  If this was a really scaled down production without any bells or whistles I probably would have been bored out of my mind. I can definitely see Alex Newell getting a tony nom. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 11:28pm

Ok, this thread now reeks of Davenbots.

[dave1606]

Posted: 11/14/17 at 12:04am

I saw this tonight courtesy of the added benefit of everyone winning the lotto. I am have to say I sadly fell on the side of Whizzer. Over-directed was the first thing I said when the show ended. I love immersive shows, and I appreciated what Arden was going for here, but it seemed like everything going on was meant to distract me from the actual show. 

Walking is quite a sight with the sand on the stage, the water, THE GOAT, THE CHICKEN (WHY IS THERE A CHICKEN?), and all the actors doing bits of business. The water which is near a main entrance used by actors created an added distraction as anyone who entered from that side had to slosh through. 

Again it's great that Arden is trying to create this world, but it is quite overwhelming.  I never knew where to look and always felt like I was focusing in on the wrong thing. In the second half of the show, there was a candle-lit scene that involved a seemingly never-ending parade of candles. They were all lit in twelfth night style and hoisted up on the ceiling. I don't think I heard a line of dialogue as I spent the entire scene watching them light these! 

I did really enjoy the cast. I thought they were mostly quite strong. Lea Salonga sounded wonderful and I agree about Miller and Boykin. The real issue is that adding in all these devices, keeps you at arms length from really being involved with the story. (I was more invested in the goat who looked pretty scared).

This was my first time seeing this show and I really enjoyed the score. And at times I enjoyed this production, I think that Arden has some good ideas, but needs an editor. I wanted him to drill down on few of these things rather than put them all up at once. 

Also, and genuine question: 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Where did all the children come from at the end? Are they in the playbill? 

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/14/17 at 12:10am

Most of the positive reports in this thread are either from regular posters, or people who made their accounts a while ago - I guess the latter group could still be Davenport's interns who already had accounts or whatever but it doesn't scream "shill" to me. 

I won't deny that it's very in character for Davenport to pull a stunt like that, but it's also very in character for cynical BWW posters to come up with ways to discredit people who disagree with them to make themselves feel more secure in their minority opinion. It's like BroadwayWorld message board 101 at this point. 

[Alfie6]

Posted: 11/14/17 at 12:15am

@dave1606, before you enter the theater there is a sign that says something like this production uses kid actors from Rosie's Theater Kids with all of their names. 

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/14/17 at 12:25am

I don't put it past a producer to slip in a few raves on a message board, but this show doesn't need them. I've now seen it twice and audience response has been very, very, positive.  I don't understand the "over produced" comments. A musical needs to move, it needs imagination and a Director who takes risks. It needs to be clever. Arden fills the stage with wonders but then he lets it slows down and allows Leah Salonga to just walk across the stage and sing that beautiful song so gently, it's a stunning moment and there are many more.

I respect Whizzer.... opinions, but I totally disagree, the Direction is flawless in telling the story using the music and that whole theatre.  There will always be naysayers but the sparks and warmth of this show just shine.  And yes Miller and Boykin are exceptional in a hugely talented cast, they are the heart of the piece. That said, I think the 2 young leads are incredibly promising and exciting to watch. I am glad to see the positives overshadowing the negatives on this board.  Go see it for yourself.  I might be there, it is such a joy to sit through.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/14/17 at 12:53am

I can't tell... Which section is the "center-most" for this production?

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/14/17 at 6:02am

I'm not sure if there is a center-most part seating section. I saw it for the third time last night when my friend 'won' the lottery (I was the plus one) and I sat in the even 200s on the right side. From that angle, I saw more of what happened towards the upper section of the theater but didn't feel like I missed out on anything that I had seen in other seats (sat in lower right section of the theater and lower left section of the theater.) Also, from where I sat last night, I noticed that Alex Newell actually cooks! He cut some veggies and fruits and we heard sizzling and even smelled the delicious aroma in the pre-show. That's something I didn't notice sitting from the bottom part of the theater (where the water/lake is.)

I'd say the theater was 90% occupied last night. My friend and I saw Michael Arden and Nikki James sitting on the left side last row of odd 200s so if that's where the director and asst director are sitting it must have a great view (personally i don't think there are any bad seats in the house.)

Compared to the performances I saw last Saturday, the rain is back!!! Also, the wind gusts I felt from my seat were more subtle but definitely gave a feeling that there was an impending storm coming. Also, the students don't enter from all the aisles; they just enter from the upper part of the stage which I thought was a smart change (makes the song less 'cheesy'. One kid was even late lol! 

One thing I forgot to mention that I really appreciated was how there was an usher who explicitly told every one that this is a 90 minute show without intermission. 

As for Davenport, I think it was a smart move to let everyone wwho showed up at the lottery win. At the moment, this show needs good word of mouth and free advertising to help with advanced sales by opening night. I noticed from comparing the OOTI and Wicked lotteries that for the most part OOTI lottery starts after the Wicked lottery (perhaps to attract Wicked lottery losers?) The exception would be Saturdays when both lotteries occur at the same time for some reason. Anyway, since it was Monday evening, Wicked didn't have a performance so there weren't that many people for OOTI rush lottery. The person who sat next to me had gone to several in person lotteries in the past and told me that's what happend with annual spelling bee as well when it was at the Circle in the Square several years ago (its in person lottery was always after Wicked's too.)

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 9:16pm

https://leasalonga.com/calendar/

On Lea's website, it says she is in the show until June 24th. Thought that was a default set because of the onsale thru date, but tickets are onsale through December of next year (how crazy is Davenport?). Just thought that was interesting to add. 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 9:29pm

I really can't wait to see this next week.

[ellbellthomps]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 9:54pm

I'm front row in a few weeks, are those good seats or not so much? And do they have sand everywhere front row or just that triangle.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 10:07pm

LesWickedly said: "tickets are onsale through December of next year (how crazy is Davenport?)"

LMAO. Oh, Ken.

[Bobster159]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 11:03pm

I loved sitting in the front row, the action happens all around you and it feels totally immersive. The sand goes all around except the pool end (the bottom of the seating chart). I was sitting at the other end so am not quite sure what the setup is but the front row can't quite reach the sand there I don't think because you have the water in front of you. If you're the far end from the water, where I was, you get an unconventional view for one song but it still works pretty darn well, it's just a very different perspective.

Overall I thought this was fantastic. I barely knew this show and have been listening to the old cast recording ever since. Can't wait for the new one. Great cast, Alex Newell is beyond awesome. An ingenious staging and the choreography is a blast, very different to most of what you see on Broadway/West End.

[lady_luck]

Posted: 11/17/17 at 9:55am

I saw this last night and absolutely loved it. From the moment I walked in I was mesmerized, it felt unlike any other production I have seen. Full disclosure: I am a relative new comer to the theater world, and am not familiar with the original source material. But I thought the production was spectacular, and the audience was entranced the entire performance.The staging made it feel intimate, and the use of light and sound transported me for the entire 90 minutes. There were technical issues that clearly need to be worked out, but I am sure those will be resolved by the time previews end. I have to be honest, there are elements of the story line that I find troubling, but I thought it was well done and I enjoyed the production overall.

Now...let's talk about Hailey Kilgore. OH MY WORD. She is a breath of fresh air. My jaw literally dropped when she started singing "Waiting for Life". She completely gave herself to her performance and it was both beautiful and heartbreaking. I truly think she deserves a Tony nomination for her performance, and I can't wait to see what she does next. I was also excited to see Alysha Deslorieux in this production, as I originally saw her stand in for Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton and LOVED her performance. She was phenomenal, and had the audience in the palm of her hand during her scenes. I don't think this production was groundbreaking, but I think there were a few standout performances and all in all it was a fun night at the theater! 

Updated On: 11/17/17 at 09:55 AM