10th Annual NYMF Thread

Can this be the thread for everyone to discuss what they've seen at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in the coming weeks?
NYMF Site

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My first NYMF show of the season was JULIAN PO. I'll be surprised if it's not my last if that's any indication of this year's quality.

That had to be one of the most interminable shows I have ever seen. Even though it was only 100 minutes it felt like 1,000. I haven't seen the film since it was released 15 years ago but can't imagine why anyone thought that was good source material for a musical.

None of the character motivations make sense. Barely any of the "jokes" landed. The whole town is apparently made up of 7 people for some inexplicable reason. Actually inexplicable basically sums up everything about the proceedings. Everyone is so obsessed with this strange man coming into their town located in some place with horrible accents. This obsession leads to by far the most WTF, head-scratching endings to a musical I have ever seen.

The score was godawful and nothing I would ever want to subject myself to again. There was even a song with the lyrics "Rise Up" that sounded like a poor man's LOF or SCANDALOUS. The lyrics were so horrendous. One example that really did it for me was a song sung by the obviously gay character and Julian about how the gay man wants to marry but it's not in the Bible. Julian gets in on the action saying that he wants the same thing...just not with a man. Brilliant!

I wish there was something positive to say but alas there is not. Chad Kimball did his best squinting and slouching around the stage. Whenever he opened his mouth to sing it was dreadful. Malcolm Gets was horribly underused and I'm not even sure why he took such a nothing part. Everyone else was whatever. Don't even get me started on the "Muses" who stand in the back and play instruments interjecting laughable exposition. They looked like rejects from ONCE though so that was something, I guess.

On a technical note, I have seen my share of smaller productions and shows at festivals but this had to have been the most shoddy. There were so many instances of feedback that I lost count. The head mics were so staticky and I'm not sure why they were even needed for such a small space. Other times I just couldn't hear the actors when the mics supposedly did work.

Needless to say I would stay far, far away from this.

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I already have my tickets for Julian Po for tomorrow. I'm sorry to hear it's not great. I think I'll probably still go see it anyway, since I already paid for it.

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I saw the staged reading of THE WATER DREAM tonight. Overall, I really enjoyed the music, especially anything sung by J. Robert Spencer ("Brave" was great) or with the whole company.

As much as I'm a RENT fan, I don't love Anthony Rapp's voice, so the fact that he sings a lot of the songs (he's the main character, so that makes sense) did not appeal to me at all. Also, I wasn't charmed by Karmine Alers as Emma, the main love interest, and she has a lot of songs too.

My favorite characters were the friends/professor played by Shawn Cody (who also wrote the book/music/lyrics), Josh Lamon, and Doug Chapman - great comic relief. In general, I enjoyed the side characters/ensemble more than the two leads :

Anyway, seeing as this was my first ever NYMF show, I was pretty impressed despite everything.

I actually loved Julian Po. Yes it needs work if the producers want it to go anywhere, but NYMF is for writers to get their start. The concept is cool and it is definitely unlike anything most of us have seen in a musical. Chad Kimball, however, is fantastic. I don't know what you were watching if you thought he was anything else. His first song, Julian's Dream, brought me to tears. Don't Let Go, sung by Chad and Corbin Reid is also stunning. And Luba Mason is just outstanding.

I won't bother trying to convince anyone else to see it because the rest of the performances are sold out. That plus all the press the show is getting is definitely saying something.....

You caught me! I listened to the music on the official website and youtube page where the songs are listed.

Anyway, if anyone sees Volleygirls or Songs For A More Funnier World let us know your thoughts...

If anyone comes across a "must see" show, please post. The offerings this year seem so uninspired. Then again, I'm the idiot who didn't even bother to check out Feeling Electric years ago, and that became Next to Normal, so what do I know?

Castle Walk seems lovely. I'm excited for that one.

So far at NYMF i have seen developmental readings edition):


ALICE UNRAVELED: great music, good performances, but the story needs work... (and please don't narrate every single stage direction in your show!) Interesting to see what happens with it, lots of college and just out of college students involved with this.

ROSE PETALS: i LOVED this, though i feel like we saw a sketched in version. The music is awesome, check it out: there are 3 demos available on the NYMF Soundcloud.

CRACK IN THE CEILING: Surprisingly delightful 3 person musical about a single mother trying to find a man... and someone who can fix the mysterious crack in the ceiling. All 3 actors (2 adults, 1 kid) were outstanding. And THIS one you can still see, it has another performance this Saturday at 1pm.

THE CRAZY ONES: about Steve Jobs. They are only presenting the 1st act, and it also has one more performance, Saturday at 4:30.

Be warned, the chairs in the Studio at Theatre Row (where all the readings are held) are dreadful.

If anyone sees Homo: The Musical, please let me know what you think. A friend is in the show (Sam Given aka Millie Grams). Would love to know how he did.

I have tickets for Bend in the Road next week.

I saw Life Could be a Dream this past weekend. With the exception of a "masher" hanging around me I had a lovely time. The show hasn't changed much since the Hollywood days. It's just a fun show.

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It's my first year seeing NYMF Shows I have tickets for...
Bend in The Road
Nightmare Alley
Mother, Wife, and the Complicated Life
Crossing Swords

Since my last report, i have seen:

PRODUCTIONS

MATA HARI IN 8 BULLETS:
Lovely, evocative, difficult to describe. Her performance is incredible, the music is strange and beautiful, and the tech/lighting is just about perfect. One more performance, Saturday at 5:30 - GO!

ANGEL DELUNA: i know a lot of people loved this, and i really wanted to, but - no. Cool circus tricks- and beautiful lighting do not make up for a convoluted story which feels like a mashup of 2 different plays and sadly simplistic lyrics. Some nice performances, and WOW is it cool to see trapeze/aerial work so close up!

SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON: Very entertaining, too long, perhaps a third of the songs should be cut, especially if they are aiming for a family audience. Scene changes take way too long. (The composer's brother is the book writer AND director, which is possibly a problem - they love everything they've written, and don't want to lose any of it.)

BOYS WILL BE BOYS: get your tickets now if there are any left! Such fun - though the "matinee" audience wasn't having nearly enough. Lots of gay humour, and a TON of innuendo, so that should tell you if you'll like it! Excellent performances from the 4 men and 1 woman (Ryan Speakerman's "Giant" and Jeremy Pasha's "Some Gay Boys" are particular standouts)


READINGS
(Today we were in the Lion on the 1st floor, the Studio's a/c had broken. Which means blessedly - ACTUAL theatre seats not the dreadful wooden ones upstairs... It would be awesome if it stayed broken through Sunday.)

PERFECT MOTHERS:
Practically perfect in every way. (With a cast that includes Jenn Colella, Kenita Miller, Adriane Lenox, Amy Bodnar, and Nancy Opel, how can you possibly go wrong?) One more presentation on Saturday at 8pm, free. It appears "sold out", but there's always a wait list.

THE GINGERBREAD PIMP:
Actually a serious musical about domestic (emotional) violence. But there are funny parts too and excellent performances. Today it ran a bit over the stated 2 hours - and they did NOT take an intermission. Oy, and the title - the #1 thing they should change, along with removing all the awkward references/explanations that set it up. They have one more presentation this weekend.

Still on my list:
THE MUSIC BOX
STANDBY
BEND IN THE ROAD
KERRIGAN/LOWDERMILK
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
LEGACY FALLS

maybe:
VOLLEY GIRLS
ICARUS
CROSSING SWORDS
GOD'S COUNTRY

OK, i'll keep going by myself..!

LEGACY FALLS: Brilliant, funny, well produced send up of soap operas, on and off the air. I'd tell you all to run and see it, but there is only one performance left, and it's been sold out for some time. Strong performances by the whole cast, particularly Kevin Spiritas in the lead (though he's had practice, he was a leading man on DAYS OF OUR LIVES for years), mostly great costumes, and a smart use of projections help the show... but with a script THIS funny, and good songs (though we could maybe do with one or two less songs), it doesn't need much help.

VOLLEYGIRLS: A big bundle of fun, with catchy tunes, excellent performances (how do i love Susan Blackwell, let me count the ways) and a good - if predictable story. The often dreadful lyrics can only do so much harm to a package this slick. A friend said "This is the musical LYSISTRATA JONES wanted to be," and i can't argue with that.


READINGS

THE CRACK IN THE CEILING: Surprisingly good, funny, short 3 person musical about a mother, her son, and a succession of men (all played by one actor) who come to fix a mysterious crack in their kitchen ceiling. With a little tweaking, i think this could have a nice life as a family show, though it certainly helps to have this good of a cast.

SEARCHING FOR ROMEO: a sort of strange mash up of modern high school with ROMEO & JULIET with good music, much of it in a doo wop -ish style. ("An Ordinary Man Like Me" deserves to be done a lot more, it's one of the demos on the NYMF page.) There are also quotes from other Shakespeare shows thrown in, but i feel like only about half the audience were really picking up on that. The show has a bit of an innuendo problem, as in they keep making them and they don't really work. There is an entire song "Love is Hard" about what everyone at the party can see in Romeo's tights after he meets Juliet. Eek. Losing some of the more "adult" humor could get this a wider audience - but i think the writers need to find a better defined point of view.

Hmm... have i forgotten anything?

Now, it's somebody ELSE's turn - what have you been seeing that is good, bad, or indifferent?