13: anyone interested? — Page 3

C'mon guys, it may not be the best, but watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF1IDE6PAFY

It doesn't look that bad! I'm not excited per say, but it looks like a pretty cute show. And I for one am very happy that a show like this has the chance to open on Broadway. It gives us hope that broadway won't just be a home to big, flashy theme park shows, but also new and original concepts like this! When was the last time a show with the entire cast and band was made up of all teens! It's a cool new concept, and we should all just give it a chance! Let's at least not judge it until previews, guys.


edit: I just watched the video again, and I'm wondering, when was the last time you saw that much energy at Broadway in Bryant Park? They were giving it their all, and you could tell they were having fun!

---

Updated On: 8/16/08 at 11:57 PM

"It gives us hope that broadway won't just be a home to big, flashy theme park shows, but also new and original concepts like this!"


Two or so seasons ago the most original show ever opened "In My Life" and no one saw it, that show was the most original concept ever!

---

To answer the OP's question: A big fat NO.

---

You're disappointed in JRB for writing this? Good lord. It's not as if it's a show entirely about poo. (And even if it was, who's to say it wouldn't work. Urinetown? Come on.)

I honestly entirely fail to understand anyone who reacts to this show negatively (though a few (a minority) of my friends have). Maybe I have a blind spot for it, I don't know. It's just so much fun, and reminds me simultaneously of what it was like to be 13 and the types of stories I liked when I was 13. So ok, it's not Parade. If every musical was, Broadway would be a depressing place, and if that's all Jason wrote he'd be a boring composer.

At Goodspeed it was immensely better than it was in LA, and if what I heard at Bryant Park was any indication, it will be even better on Broadway. If you don't want to see it, fine. Don't. But stop telling me that that is the opinion of everybody else and therefore it will surely close after a day and you'll all be laughing at JRB and everyone else who put time, energy and money into a miserable failure. Why be so negative? Is it fun? It doesn't seem fun.

---

I heartily commend JRB for writing this. I may not want to go and watch kids onstage, but I sure as heck was a kid who wanted to be onstage! I think part of what spawned '13' in the first place was a certain cringing JRB felt when encountering young teenagers singing songs from his other works (I've actually heard him express discomfort with teenagers singing lines like "take me inside you"), but where some composers might just go "ugh, teenagers inappropriately singing my work, icky!", he's taken the time to go "well, this isn't appropriate, but they obviously like what I do, so I'll do something for them". Bravo!

---

"I don't believe I'm speaking for everyone, but in my dual experiences with this show, I've failed to have a great interest, and I've simply shared my opinion. Put down the damn pitchfork."

That's good you saw the show and still don't have an interest. I was speaking about the people who are reacting negatively without much basis for their opinion. So, thanks, but I have a right to my opinion just as much as you do then. Geez.

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpUek-yc5_Q&feature=related

The first time I watched that, I said to myself, "This has got to be a joke." It honestly looks like a poor man's end-of-summer-camp pastiche video with a smattering of Nickelodeon's "All That".

---

I went to boarding school in England for 6 years and left when I was 14 because I wasn't comfortable with all the drinking/smoking/sex that was going on around me. And haven't you see the movie 13? 13 the musical is taaaaaaaaaaame.
In a good way.

After Goodspeed, I believe they just replaced one lead cast member and got rid of one of the alternate Evans. Hardly half the cast.

---

I am actually interested in this show. The title song to me is pretty catchy. I really hope this does take off. I think it will be great for tweens to see. I remember what it was like to be that age, it's confusing and the kids are mean. And yes, kids that age do want to get drunk. Where I live even the middle school has problems with drugs and drinking. Peer pressure is hard on kids that age. I think this could actually help some teenagers, they will realize they aren't alone and will maybe talk to someone. Plus I think it could very well get kids at a younger age to discover Broadway.

I might see it in Nov. I'm still undecided if I want to see this show or Shrek again.

they got rid of the alternate and recast 5 parts.

I will probably see it (If I can get a cheap ticket). I love JRB's music...though I haven't yet heard anything amazing from this show (granted I've only heard 2 or 3 songs). I think part of the problem may be that writing songs for a 13 year old's voice is a bit different than writing for an adult's, and may put a lot of limitations on the score. If older teens or young adults were playing the roles, the songs would probably sound very different.