A Less Than Rosy Picture For 'Taboo' - newsday.com- Page 2

[Phantom2]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 4:58pm

You shouldn't. It was a joke. Rosie is a big supporter of all theatre. She believes in her show. That's a good thing. I enjoyed Taboo. Look at the cast list. The actors are so talented. The costumes are wild. The music is cool. It is a bizarre experience. End of story.

Updated On: 1/12/04 at 04:58 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 4:59pm

I guess I'm just curious why you have such a strong desire to see Taboo fall on its face, tkts?

[tkts]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:06pm

No desire on my part to see anything fail. Except maybe the Bush re-election campaign. :)

I will admit I have a problem with people who have money and think that is all it takes to be successful.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:12pm

I agree with tkts. Just because people have money, doesn't mean they have talent.

Taboo is not a Broadway success at this time. People aren't interested in paying $100 to see it. I think if O'Donnell had opened it off-Broadway, she would have had more success. I don't think she is a good businessperson.

[Sunfish]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:14pm

I was just in New York for a week, and have no idea when I will be able to go back and see more shows. My time was at a premium. Nonetheless, Taboo was the only show I saw twice. I loved the music, the vocal performances were strong, visually it was very interesting, and the ensemble was excellent. The book wasn't a problem for me.

The show has not been marketed properly; put Euan out there, not Boy George. Or Cary Shields. Or Liz's "Talk Amongst Yourselves" or Sarah's stunning "Il Adore". I think there IS an audience for this show, and it is wider than conventional wisdom dictates. The potential audience thinks they won't like it...they need to be shown that they will.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:15pm

i think people are scared to see it too. i just went to buy my tickets, and my dad was like "why would you EVER want to see that?!"
it bothered me. then again, my father fell asleep during rent. A sin and another story in itself....

[LC]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:16pm

"People aren't interested in paying $100 to see it"

They don't have to. There are several discount codes out there.

[Sunfish]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:21pm

LC, you are right, but visitors and tourists usually don't know about the discount codes. So it's a major financial decision.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:27pm

I would be interested in knowing the Broadway demographics. Are the most tickets sold to

NYers (people that live or work in and round the city)
individual tourists (individuals/families visiting NYC on their own)
tour groups (people coming as part of an organized tour)

Does anyone have any statistics?

PS: I don't have a desire to see Taboo because I lived through the 1980's.

Updated On: 1/12/04 at 05:27 PM

[sparky310]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:29pm

pardon me for being mean..jeffery carlson is the worst thing in the show. next to the bad direction

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:41pm

ahhh--that is a certain pov. I thought Carlson was hilarious.

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:42pm

This is sort of off-topic, but what do you think is the minimum age for some one to see Taboo? In particular, a friend of mine wants to take her thirteen year old daughter because she's heard the music and loved it. She's a mature theatre goer and has already seen shows like Gypsy and Rent. But would Taboo be to much?

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:44pm

It's probably no more mature than Rent.

[Sunfish]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:45pm

I suspect that nothing in this show would surprise an average urban 13 yr old.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:51pm

Why does everyone have a problem with spelling Jeffrey?????????
I'd pay for Jeffrey Carlson over a T-bone steak dinner anyday. He was funny as hell. What an actor.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 5:57pm

I haven't seen Taboo yet, but the sex in a public restroom scene sounds a bit too much for a 13 year-old if it's depicted realistically. The only sex scene in Rent was staged symbolically and would not be as blatant. How is the heroine addiciton treated. Does it show them shooting up? I loved Tommy, but I know I would not have felt comfortable taking anyone under 17 to watch the Acid Queen shoot up and Uncle Ernie get in bed with Tommy. If the drug and sex scenes are simulated in a realistic manner, I don't think I would bring someone that young whether it would surprise them or not. It's just how I personally feel about it.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 6:02pm

There is no sex scene in Taboo.

[LC]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 6:08pm

"I haven't seen Taboo yet, but the sex in a public restroom scene sounds a bit too much for a 13 year-old if it's depicted realistically"

Ok, I'm in London and haven't seen the the NY version of Taboo, but is there an actual 'sex scene' in the club toilet? In London, BG as Bowery, makes his first stage entrance through the cubicle door and launches into I'll Have You All, which is basically a bawdy comedy song. My understanding is that the closest Taboo gets to a 'realistic' sex scene, is some romantic kissing between Euan Morton and Cary Shields.

For the record...BGs 80s heroin addiction wasn't with needles, he smoked it.

[NBC]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 6:17pm

There is no actual sex scene in Taboo. There is a part in the song in the restroom (I'll Have You All) where a few of the guys put their heads under under Leigh Bowery's (the real Boy George) "tutu" for about three seconds, but that's about it...that may be a little much for some 13-year-olds, I suppose. (It was done somewhat more graphically in previews, but they cleaned it up.)

And in the NY version, the Boy George character does indeed smoke the heroin, noone is shown shooting up.

[pimpernel86]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 6:23pm

I have to admit I was very hesitant about seeing Taboo at first. Only because I heard rumors of hissy fits and delays and troubles with rehearsals. My friend saw it and then took me the following weekend to see it. It was unbelieveable!!!! Raul Esparza singing Petrified is worth the price of admission. This show should not end !! But maybe it should do what Scarlet Pimpernel did a few years ago, and close down for a little while and reopen. The score is too beautiful and the performances are too amazing for this to be a failure. I also think Rosie's legal troubles sort of overshadowed the opening of Taboo and it got a bad rep. The show opened the night after her lawsuit trial ended! The critics were probably already biast.

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 6:43pm

I still have yet to see TABOO so I can't judge, but I have the London recording and think the music is great. I guess things keeping me back from seeing it are: the high prices (even student deals are 40.00) and the fact that if i'm going to spend to see a show without a discount I have about six in line in front of Taboo because the show really doesn't peak my interest.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 7:03pm

The music is certainly the selling point, next to the very great and talented cast. Though I respect the opinions of others, I really am not sure WHO the person who said Jeffrey Carlson was the worst thing in the show was watching. He impressed me much more than I ever expected.

In the very article linked to in this thread, it states that Rosie does not plan on closing the show soon, and is doing whatever she can to keep it open. I think it's great that Taboo has this advantage, because it deserves to run for awhile. I do hope that it doesn't become (or continue to be?) the laughing stock of Broadway for still being in existance, but so long as such positive comments come from those seeing it, as there seem to be, I think that will be halted. Who knows what may happen in the next few months. It may not be great, in fact, it probably won't, but you never know. I'm glad Rosie doesn't plan on throwing in the towel just yet.

[LC]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 7:58pm

"The show has not been marketed properly; put Euan out there, not Boy George"

If you didn't catch George and Euan on The Today Show, you can view this, and other Euan clips here:
Euan Morton video clips

[aurora1958]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 8:19pm

It appears the NY theatre going population is scared of anything too different that isn't buttkissed by every critic. In one I understand, it's big bucks to see a show so I suppose they want to play it safe and see something everyone appears to like instead of taking a chance and seeing something different that they "might" like.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 1/12/04 at 8:42pm

I forgot to mention that I thought each of the characters were fascinating. It showed that friends come in all shapes and sizes. It was interesting to learn about each of their lives.
Mister Matt- You can definitely handle it. So can your nieces.