13 - Insulting and Amaturish.- Page 2

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:01am

The first act finale is called HERE I COME and it's meant to be this big moment with a huge dance number and big belty song...

The song is pretty terrible and extremely banal.

And the choreography...oh my dead God.

It takes place in the arcade of a movie theater and the main character, Evan starts to play with the Guitar Hero-esque game during the dance break (cringe) and then plays some other video game during the break (double cringe) and THEN....and then....he jumps on the DDR game and starts dancing like a crazy on it until (OH EM GEE cringe times 3080302) he starts to dance on it to the beat of the song.

And then (one of the worst moments I've ever seen on a stage) the entire cast comes on and (very sloppily) dances the DDR dance with him for way too long while the lights of the arrows from the DDR game shine over the audience...and then he sings one more thing and the song ends.

I laughed out loud. I couldn't stop myself.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:14am

Oh dear God.

WickedRocks, your description of the act 1 finale clinched it. I need to go see this myself this week before they start cutting things!!!

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:18am

I think by "dancing pads" they thought you were talking about menstrual pads. Which. Would be hilariously bad.

I just set up my DDR pad again after moving into a basement apartment from a 5th story walk-up. I'm still pretty good.

I think, WickedRocks, you want this show to be more serious than it is. Not to bring it all back to my personal experiences, but at that age I was far more concerned with making friends and romance and being popular than I was with any growing hair or the start of my period. (Only insofar as the growth of my boobs would make me more popular and the start of my period triggered massive paranoia about leaking everywhere.) But do you really want to watch a show where a character talks about getting her period? Or growing hair down there? THAT would be Carrie 2. I wanted to get into the rated R movie. Why is it so ridiculous to you that that's what the kids in 13 are doing?

I loved Here I Come at Goodspeed (where there was no DDR). It's certainly the only song you could pick out of the show and say "That was written by Jason Robert Brown." Not that any of the other songs are less valid.

Question, though:
It appears they've put Brand New You (the finale from LA) back in. At Goodspeed it ended with A Little More Homework, which was super effective. Is this right? I'll be really disappointed if it is. Brand New You is a decent song, but totally ruins the tone of the end of the show.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:26am

I definitely didn't want it to be more serious.

I can have fun at shows that are not serious and I have. I just wanted it to be, well, better.

It's just very flawed and very poorly constructed. I never want a show to fail. When I write about a show being bad, I actually feel bad about it but realize I need to put my honest opinions out there and what I've said so far are my honest opinions.

And if a show is going to talk about terminal illness and divorce, it should have moments of groundedness and seriousness as opposed to almost forgetting the whole divorce thing and adding a song about mental illness that is offensively upbeat, unfunny, and out of place.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:35am

Wow...that first act finale sounds dreadful!!

And you can talk about periods and puberty in a realistic, yet funny way. Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love anyone?

[Robert Taylor]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:41am

It sounds as if Brenda Hampton's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" was vomited onstage along with chunks of music from "The American Mall."

Am I right in that assessment?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:42am

That is a compliment.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:42am

It's not a song about mental illness at all. (This is though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_RZ8v8mWwE). It's a song about a kid with a degenerative disease being able to persuade guilty jewish moms into doing things normal kids wouldn't. It's funny because it's true. No one says no to a boy with a terminal illness. It may be offensive how Evan uses Archie, but let's face it, most of Evan's actions are kind of douchey.

(Bear in mind I haven't seen the Broadway version yet) 13 does has moments of gravitas - the 'when i turned 13' section of A Little More Homework, for example. But I don't want to see a kid moping around because he's crippled for life. That's a depressing show, and not true to life.

As for the divorce thing - I kind of agree that it's overlooked. The LA version had a great song called Getting Over It that dealt a little more with it, but I much prefer If That's What It Is, so I'm not complaining too much.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:47am

I don't know anyone with a terminal illness who would do what Archie did.

And who would be upbeat about it. And joke about it.


The people I know and knew who had a terminal illness preferred not to talk about it, which is better than what this show does, almost making it look fun. They never mention how hard it is for him to live day by day knowing he's going to die. And maybe they shouldn't have even made him have a terminal illness, because the way they are dealing with it now will offend people. They just seem to introduce all of these heavy-handed themes and never do anything with them...or take them in a direction that is ridiculous.

I didn't think it was true to life at all. But that's just me.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:52am

It sounds as if Brenda Hampton's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" was vomited onstage along with chunks of music from "The American Mall."

Oh holy god no. That is a horrible horrible TV show.

And who would be upbeat about it. And joke about it.

Anyone who's been dealing with it for more than a year or so, in my experience. People don't want to live their day to day lives completely miserable. You make the best of what life gives you.

[coolkid11776]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:56am

Ok, Don't shoot me for asking this.
I read on here that someone was giving away Comps for 13 for Wednesday night. If you still have them I would be intrested.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:57am

Everyone I've ever known with a terminal illness has avoided talking about it, and doesn't even want it brought up. They've been determined not to let "it" rule their lives, to the extent that they're able. I've never heard of someone joking about it. Staying positive, yes, but joking about it? No.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:58am

Glad I'm not the only one, adam.

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 11:16am

WickedRocks, I understand that your opinion of the show GREATLY differs from mine. However, your comments about how they could have gotten more talented kids, and your little mentions of dancing sloppily are distasteful and rude. Those kids have abounding talent, and are PHENOMENAL. THey sang way better than many broadway performers I have seen before, and acted much more believably as well. This DRESS REHEARSAL of the show was also much tighter and put together than the first preview of A Man for All Seasons.

But your comments of how they could have found more talented performers are just plain rude. Not enjoying the show is one thing, but disrespecting the performers and creators who put so much time and effort into it is completely out of line.

Updated On: 9/14/08 at 11:16 AM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 12:20pm

Okay, that finale sounds horribly awesome.

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 12:27pm

Shesamarshmallow- that song is not about mental illness, either... it's about intellectual disability!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 12:58pm

I don't get the "it's just meant to be fun" logic to justify a crappy show. Now HAIRSPRAY, DAMN YANKEES, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, CURTAINS, HELLO DOLLY, and WONDERFUL TOWN are all fun, musical comedies. That doesn't mean they aren't well-structured shows with solid scores and a coherent book. Just because something isn't supposed to be "art," it doesn't mean it is allowed to be as awful as this piece of work sounds.
I mean there is a song titled "What It Means to Be a Friend" for God's sake! There's lines about concentrating a little so pee comes out! There's a DDR Act I finale! And this is playing on Broadway???? This is occupying a theatre when shows like GUYS & DOLLS and BRIGADOON are trying hard to find one. Sad.

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:00pm

Here's a thought- See the show for for you judge. It is a fun show, with a solid story about teenagers. Enough said!!!

[EugLoven]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:04pm

I'll wait to see it before having an opinion. By wait I mean "wait for it to be papered"

[defyinggravity42694]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:07pm

WiCKEDrOcks, but that is what teenagers talk about, they don't talk about puberty and they sure as hell don't talk about school unless there the kind of kid who has a college in mind from 6th grade. 13 got across the mind of teenagers very well.

The rumor Lucy spread about Evan and Kendra(don't feel like spoiling it for people who haven't yet seen it) was really want a mean backstabbing teenager would do in real life. 13 really was true to life.

Also the divorce in mentioned throughout the show... especially at the end, when Evan is chanting his Haftorah, he says he looked back and saw his parents holding hands, and for a few seconds, well 3 minutes "we felt like a family again." There was no comedic meaning to that line, and I thought that line was very serious, and the house went dead quiet.

Updated On: 9/14/08 at 01:07 PM

[commasplice]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:24pm

You hit the nail on the head, Ray. I don't think anyone's walking into 13 expecting some kind of high-art, life-changing experience. BUT, it's insulting to tell people that because 13 is "fun," we should give it a free pass and ignore its shortcomings. There's no rule that a "fun" show can't also be GOOD.

I love, love, love the song "What It Means to Be a Friend." It reminds me of navigating the emotional minefield of middle school (which was 10 years ago for me). But it's disappointing to hear the score still has a lot of problems. I can't really say anything about the new songs til I hear them, though. (Speaking of, song list, anyone?)

If it's true they've gotten rid of "A Little More Homework," though, I hope they change that, because "Brand New You," even if it predates High School Musical, is pretty much another "We're All in This Together," and I think they want to avoid those comparisons as much as possible (catchy song, though).

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:24pm

It looks like the same three people like it and everyone else hates it. But they have to spend their time trying to make the others like it.


Nothing ever changes around here.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:26pm

Evan definitely sang a song called "A Little More Homework". It was listed as the last song, too, but there was another song after it, though.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:29pm

I love "What It Means To Be A Friend" And Allie Trimm is phenomenal.

I think a lot of people actually like it on the boards. Except for like 3 or 4

[defyinggravity42694]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 1:52pm

commasplice,

Act One
13/Becoming a Man
The Lamest Place in the World
Hey Kendra
Get Me What I Need
What it means to be a friend- one of the best songs in the show, in my opinion
All Hail the Brain
Terminal Illness
Getting Ready
Any Minute
Good Enough
Here I Come

Act Two
Opportunity
Bad Bad News- 0n of the funnies songs in the show
Tell Her
It Cant be True
If That's What It Is
A Little More Homework