25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee REVIEWS- Page 3

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:16pm

I loved taboo but I think one of its problems was the theatre. yes it pulled it off in the plymouth but I would much rather have seen it in a different theatre.

the sight lines in the audience are terrible for a musical.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:23pm

That's true. It's a better house for straight plays.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:26pm

And what if Brooklyn doesn't close before the Tony deadline...? Is there anywhere else it could conceivably go?

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:33pm

It doesn't look optimistic...

[magruder]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:35pm

The Plymouth didn't hurt Jekyll & Hyde at all.

(And actually, Umge, the Cort and the Plymouth are almost exactly the same size. Both are just slightly under 1100 seats, but the Plymouth has a single mezzanine, while the Cort has a mezzanine and a difficult-to-sell balcony).

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:40pm

yes but the sight lines in the cort are much better. I was complaining about the sight lines in the plymouth and how none intimate it was as a house. The cort I find much more intimate and better sight lines, even for the same size house.

[Craig]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:42pm

Just got a ticket to "Bee" and will say that if you were planning or were on the fence about going - you best get your tush in gear. It's nearly impossible to find a ticket. And no, I'm not shilling... just being sincere about trying to find a seat during the run...

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:45pm

Heed Craig's advice. i tried to get a ticket to see the show again, and the three dates i tried were all sold out. I guess I'll have to wait till it moves to Broadway for my second viewing...

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:46pm

yeah i have no time to go back and see it again...but it is a wonderful show

[magruder]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:55pm

I love the Cort, but it's really uncomfortable to be under any of the overhangs. I realyl can't share or even understand your disdain for the Plymouth.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:57pm

The Helen Hayes would also be a good theatre; too bad it's already taken by Jackie Mason's sure-to-be-awful new show.

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:57pm

mag have you ever sat in the orch on the sides? you miss a large portion of the sides of the theatre and have a great view deep into the wings

[AbzugFan]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 5:08pm

Regarding the question of whether Brantley will review the show if it moves to Broadway, if the Times follows its custom, then Brantley will NOT review the show if it transfers. The Times usually takes one of two tactics when an Off Broadway show moves to Broadway:
1. Re-print the initial review (they did this in the case of Proof, among many others)
2. Send the initial reviewer to re-review the show (they did this in the case of Urinetown: Bruce Weber gave his opinion of how it worked in a larger theatre, and in post-9/11 NYC)

My guess is that if "Spelling Bee" moved to Broadway, Isherwood would be sent to review it again. I think they do this because it would be unfair to a show to give it a rave, have that show decide to move to Broadway on the basis of said rave, and then have another critic pan it when it opens on Broadway.

[magruder]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 5:16pm

I've sat all over the Plymouth for Nicholas Nickleby, Plenty, You Can't Take It With You, The Real Thing, The House of Blue Leaves, The Heidi Chronicles, Dancing at Lughnasa, Passion, A Delicate Balance, Jekyll & Hyde, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Taboo and Brooklyn, and have never had a problem. Yes, there are lousy seats, but every theatre has its share of crappy seats.

You want to talk about terrible seats that Broadway theatres sell at full price... I saw Into the Woods at the Martin Beck in Row C against the wall, and some terrible full-priced chair seats in the side orchestra for The Will Rogers Follies at the Palace. For both shows, I returned for a second visit in a better seat to see what I had missed the first time.

Updated On: 2/8/05 at 05:16 PM

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 5:22pm

I agree with you that the palace also has terrible sight lines. I just find the plymouth to have pretty bad sight lines. I have sat all over the theatre as well. Brooklyn I was in the fourth row on the left of the house and hated the view. Taboo was towards the back of the theatre on the right and my friend missed 1/2 of the show.

jeckyl and hyde i did sit center orch in the 4th row and did actually like that view.

[BeeBee]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 6:32pm

Why does Jackie Mason keep coming back? Ick! I wish the Helen Hayes would go to Spelling Bee instead. Waaaaah. (OK, I'll stop whining now.)

[Plum]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 6:36pm

Didn't Mason's show last about a week last time? Maybe if it really hurries out again...

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 6:37pm

thats a good place to put spelling bee...

some of his shows havent been terrible flops though...although the last one definitely was!