LaCageFans: CORAM BOY Review

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 12:12am

Oy Vey! Not my thing, at all.

https://nycriticscorner.broadwayworld.com/coramboy.htm

[sidjones09]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 12:35pm

***SPOILERS***

Saw it last week, and I have to say that I agree with a good bit of this review. Granted the show is not going to change much between now and opening, being a transfer from London. Melly Stills staging is stunning. Even with the flaws of the writing, she makes everything interesting visually. I have to say that the burial scene in ACT 1, is one of the most beautiful pieces of staging I have seen in the theatre and is almost worth the entire price of admission. I would go back 100 times just to see that scene again. Breathtaking. Even more so than the drowning scene which is also beautifully staged.

That being said, the script DOES have problems. I think a lot of it stems from the piece feeling like it was wriitten for children at times with some of the elementary dialogue. But it is much too dark a piece for children, so it is trapped in this world between theatre for children and theatre for more mature audiences. The use of music is nice, but I found it repetitive at times. The same musical passages being used over and over with some thematic connections and then other times no thematic connection.

Most of the acting going on is wonderful. Most notably Angela Lin, Brad Fleischer, Ivy Vahanian, and Xanthe Elbrick. It's a huge cast for a play.

I think that this is one of those plays that we are going to hear very mixed things about. I think people are either going to love it or hate it. And what's funny to me, is that I think I loved it, even though I don't love the play. The directing and acting brilliance in this piece outweigh the fact that I didn't care much for the characters or the story, but I wanted to if that makes any sense at all. Either way I would encourage people to see it. I'm curious to hear some other opinons.

*edited for spelling*

Updated On: 4/25/07 at 12:35 PM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 1:55pm

Act II as a cheesy movie is EXACTLY how i described it to my friends, lol. While I thought much of the physicality was there in the acting and the effects, the story left much to be desired. It's basically a piece of fluff posing as high art. Kinda like LoveMusik, lol.

[joshy]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 2:58pm

Except Coram Boy isn't posing as high art. It knows it's a big ripping yarn of a melodrama, and it doesn't deny that at all.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 3:16pm

STOP PLAGIARIZNG!!

You said: This pair, more hindered than helped by Otis' backward son Meshak, have a nice business going in taking up illegitimate babies from distraught mothers. They have the apparent desire to do a good deed by taking the infants to Thomas Coram's Foundling Hospital where they will enjoy a good life. In fact, they slaughter the innocent and pocket the cash. Ahhh, baby murders!

They said: This pair, more hindered than helped by Otis' backward son Meshak (Jack Tarlton), have a nice business going in taking up illegitimate babies from distraught mothers.They have the ostensible desire to do a good deed by taking the infants to Thomas Coram's Foundling Hospital where they will enjoy a good life. In fact, they slaughter the innocent and pocket the cash - shades of Burke and Hare.



You said: As Toby is billeted with an evil pederast and white slave trader, his friend is apprenticed to a disciple of Handel. From there, it is only a small step towards a family reconciliation for the newly returned Alexander and a chance for Aaron to meet his parents. As one might see coming from the second the over the top plot sets in motion; a moral tale for older children and teenagers – and oh, guess what - by the end the baddies have also got their just deserts. Surprise, Surprise!

They said :From there, it is only a small step towards a family reconciliation for the newly returned Alexander and a chance for Aaron to meet his parents. As one might expect in a moral tale for older children and teenagers, by the end the baddies have also got their just deserts.


You said: Alex is the star pupil at Gloucester Cathedral and has the good fortune to be a son of the richest man in the county. However, he is also good natured and protects poor, bullied Thomas. Unlike Alex, though, he does not have the ambitions or the ability to become a famous composer. Everything goes swimmingly until the pair turn up at the Ashbrook family estate. There Alex fights with his father, Lord Ashbrook over his future and then, after initial reluctance, falls head over heels in love with Melissa. She is a 15 year-old who has fallen on straitened times following the death of her father. The upshot is that Alex runs off seeking fame and fortune, leaving Melissa literally holding the baby.


They said :Alex is the star pupil at Gloucester Cathedral and has the good fortune to be a son of the richest man in the county. ... Everything goes swimmingly until the pair turn up at the Ashbrook family estate. There Alex fights with his father over his future and then, after initial reluctance, falls head over heels in love with Justine Mitchell's Melissa.

She is a 15 year-old who has fallen on straitened times following the death of her father. The upshot is that Alex runs off seeking fame and fortune, leaving Melissa literally holding the baby.





Seriously. Write your own material if you say it is yours. How pathetic. Especially since you persist in doing it.




http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/coramboy-rev.htm

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 5:38pm

Why is he allowed to constantly plagiarize without being banned??

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 7:01pm

Seriously.

Well how was the audience reaction? Did they seem to enjoy themselves? How is word-of-mouth for this show?

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 10:57pm

The word of mouth is excellent, as is the audience reaction.

I have seen the show 3x , and it keeps getting better- the acting is wonderful, and the voices are excellent-

visually, the last 20 minutes are some of the best that I have ever seen on a stage, and the ending can bring a tear to your eye.

See it for yourself- Personally, I think its phenomenal !

[Katurian2]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 11:02pm

Oh. My. God. How is this person still allowed to post these horribly plagerized reviews? This is like....what? The tenth time that he has done this?!

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 11:21pm

Saw the show in London- enjoyed the first act, had serious issues with the second act. The story just didn't carry over into the second act well at all.

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/25/07 at 11:29pm

My friend in New York called me here in Denver as he was leaving the theatre to tell me to put the show on my list of must sees when I am there in June.

[sciguy]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 8:58am

STOP THE MADNESS!!
STOP THE PLAGARIZING!!

[Luvinbroadway]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 9:58pm

Sticktopriest..good call!
He should be banned and his "reviews" deleted...That is terrible...and illegal.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 10:26pm

Why do you keep doing this?

It would seem like it would take more time to search the internet for a review you can steal than it would to just write the review by yourself.

Do you even see these productions?

Why is this behavior allowed to persist?

kmc

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 10:27pm

Which poster is plagarizing?

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 10:33pm

LaCageFan, and it's not the first time.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 11:09pm

What other reviews has he done it in?

[Miss Mona]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 1:00pm

All of his "reviews" are plagiarized.

[DARTH]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 4:11pm

First, thanks for continuing to bring the matter of this individual's plagiarism to everyone's attention. I am new to these Boards and was unaware that this was an issue until I read this thread. I have now read LCF's previous posts, and this is a very serious matter.

Plagiarism is not just morally wrong, it's illegal. The sources from which La Cage Fan is "borrowing" are almost all copyrighted. Even those that are not individually copyrighted are protected by general copyrights which cover all material that appear in the public domain, including websites.

One of my firm's staff has ongoing dealings with the editors of BroadwayWorld.com, and I have asked that he bring this matter to their attention. At a minimum, it would be prudent to ban this member; if those from whom LCF has liberally "excerpted" find out about this, the sanctions will be far worse.

Thanks to StickToPriest for being vigilant.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 6:30pm

I always enjoy La Cage's reviews. Keep 'em coming!

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 6:50pm

Darth- What?