A STRANGE LOOP On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 37

[binau]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 7:21pm

Do you think they have lost more money now with all the cancellations and refunds than hiring extra to begin with? Seems short sighted on the producing front. 

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 7:35pm

L Morgan is on Instagram Live right now talking about 8 shows a week and is also talking about message boards and probably this thread in particular. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 8:10pm

popular_elphie said: "L Morgan is on Instagram Live right now talking about 8 shows a week and is also talking about message boards and probably this thread in particular."

 

I guess these aren't viewable once they're done.

 

[vegas3]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 8:11pm

By the time I started watching, they had moved on to other topics.  What did they have to say about 8 shows, etc.?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 8:23pm

vegas3 said: "By the time I started watching, they had moved on to other topics. What did they have to say about 8 shows, etc.?"

I missed the beginning, too. It was alarming to hear neither of them seemed thrilled to do the show with Jackson as a concert version when someone asked the question.

[ooblogway]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 9:19pm

I can understand the cast not wanting to do a concert version; it shows neither their performances nor the show in an optimal light.  And the performers know that audiences have paid for a full production.

[Peppa222]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 9:22pm

From what I've heard, my GUESS (emphasis on 'guess' ) is that the company has voiced an issue with the lack of coverage for a while and was either ignored/given vague answers. Nothing changed, and now they're in the weeds, being asked to perform the show in a limited capacity with a very high health risk.

The question of whether these actors should work again is pathetic. If what I understand is true, these actors are being put in a compromised position after asking for a solution that would've avoided this a long time ago. 

Updated On: 1/8/23 at 09:22 PM

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 9:27pm

vegas3 said: "By the time I started watching, they had moved on to other topics. What did they have to say about 8 shows, etc.?"

I'd rather not summarize the 8 shows a week talk because I did miss the very beginning and I'd rather not mischaracterize, but she did say she was out of the show last night because:

- She wanted to be fully ready to do two shows today

- She wanted to give an understudy the opportunity to go on in her role before they close

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 9:32pm

ACL2006 said: "vegas3 said: "By the time I started watching, they had moved on to other topics. What did they have to say about 8 shows, etc.?"

I missed the beginning, too. It was alarming to hear neither of them seemed thrilled to do the show with Jackson as a concert version when someone asked the question."

The other thing to keep in mind about suddenly being told to do the show as a concert is that it’s basically having a new performance style sprung onto you. I don’t blame the actors for being unenthusiastic about that. 

Yes the material is the same, but that’s still a major brain adjustment to make, especially when the show has been set in their muscle memory for so long - reverting back to, essentially, sitzprobe is a wide gear shift for anyone. 
Like one of those improv games: “Now do the scene in the style of a B-grade horror movie!” 

It might look like they’re doing less work from the audience, but they’re truly doing more work inside their heads. 

Updated On: 1/8/23 at 09:32 PM

[AngInFL79]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 9:35pm

I have tickets to the final show next week and have been following what’s been happening and whew. Hoping for the best come next Sunday.

Also, just saw the latest Insta Story by Spivey and could be totally off, but with what’s going on makes ya wonder. Yikes.

Updated On: 1/8/23 at 09:35 PM

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 10:08pm

popular_elphie said: "vegas3 said: "
I'd rather not summarize the 8 shows a week talk because I did miss the very beginning and I'd rather not mischaracterize, but she did say she was out of the show last night because:

- She wanted to be fully ready to do two shows today

- She wanted to give an understudy the opportunity to go on in her role before they close"

Again, if she's sick, she's sick. But sounds like shes saying.... she isnt? And had two absolutely ridiculous reasons for missing a show *when they are barely able to string together a cast* ??

Certainly sounds like two things are happening here: the producers understaffed the company, and are now paying for it, literally, with canceled half-assed productions. If these actors want to say that, let em say it! The cryptic hostility is childlike. 

Flip side of that coin is why are all these actors calling out so much? And if the answer being given here *when they can't roster a full company* is that the actors are missing shows to "be fully ready" for future shows, or to give understudies a shot, then seems like the issue isnt just about not having enough covers.

as i said earlier, what a mess.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 10:38pm

popular_elphie said: "vegas3 said: "By the time I started watching, they had moved on to other topics. What did they have to say about 8 shows, etc.?"

I'd rather not summarize the 8 shows a week talk because I did miss the very beginning and I'd rather not mischaracterize, but she did say she was out of the show last night because:

- She wanted to be fully ready to do two shows today

- She wanted to give an understudy the opportunity to go on in her role before they close"

I don't know if I quite buy that. When I met her, she was super sweet and I do think she'd be the type to skip a show to let an understudy have a chance to go on (although I'm surprised Zachary hadn't already gone on for her, maybe just for Thought 2?). But, if that was the case, why was her Instagram just "I'm not in the show tonight?" She didn't hype up Zachary at all. Julie Benko has been hyping up Ephie Aardema going on next week for months at this point. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 10:51pm

Zachary has absolutely gone on for L. Morgan Lee before. They were in that role when I saw it at the beginning of December last year.

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 10:59pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "

Again, if she's sick, she's sick. But sounds like shes saying.... she isnt? And had two absolutely ridiculous reasons for missing a show *when they are barely able to string together a cast* ??"

She said multiple times in the Live that she is not sick. 

 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/8/23 at 11:42pm

It sounds like she was resting up in order to do two shows the next day (instead of tiring out and calling out both shows). Also, she might not have known who was going on in the show due to all of the outs.

I side with the actors in this scenario. It sounds like they’ve been overworked because of the lack of coverage, and possibly the brutal show schedule. Having to do a different version of the show at a moment’s notice with a new lead (who happens to sort of be your boss) is not the job. They likely had an additional rehearsal to accommodate this, basically an additional performance. While I would agree this is a big mess, it doesn’t sound like the actors are at fault, and I can see why they’re less than thrilled to be doing the show in concert, if that’s the case.

Wishing them all a good day off to rest up and recover for the week to come. I hope they go out strong from here.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 12:21am

HeyMrMusic said: "

I side with the actors in this scenario. It sounds like they’ve been overworked because of the lack of coverage, and possibly the brutal show schedule. Having to do a different version of the show at a moment’s notice with a new lead (who happens to sort of be your boss) is not the job. 
"

Just to be clear, by "overworked" you mean "doing the show exactly as they were contracted to do," right? Because if she wasn't ill, she was being asked to.... go to work.

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 4:14am

PipingHotPiccolo said: "HeyMrMusic said: "

I side with the actors in this scenario. It sounds like they’ve been overworked because of the lack of coverage, and possibly the brutal show schedule. Having to do a different version of the show at a moment’s notice with a new lead (who happens to sort of be your boss) is not the job.
"

Just to be clear, by "overworked" you mean "doing the show exactly as they were contracted to do," right? Because if she wasn't ill, she was being asked to.... go to work."

She mentioned MULTIPLE times during her Instagram Live that many of the cast who performed were pushing through ongoing illnesses and having to do so was taxing them even further. When John-Andrew Morrison joined, they talked about being not “overtly” sick (compared to others in the cast), but still weren’t really at 100%. L. Morgan mentioned she had really only called out since she, vocally, was struggling and she knew she had the coverage available to be able to rest her voice that night for the next two show day.

JAM and L. Morgan also mentioned that the “concert” format, as others have stated here, was a completely different (and difficult) performance experience, as their bodies are basically programmed to perform the show as designed currently, and so returning to the “sitzprobe” format threw them off a bit since it conflicted with the blocking/stage business and timing that they’ve come to be familiar with.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 7:27am

As an actor who has been in a similar situation, no, doing a concert version isn’t more taxing with “what’s going on in their heads.” You literally are in a music rehearsal and just sit. It’s very simple. 
 

And no professional, at this level, should be calling out to let an understudy perform. Sorry. That’s not how this works. This is a professional job. You also don’t call out to rest up for a two show day. Especially after you’ve been doing the show for a year. Learn how to save your energy for the show. 
 

Sounds like a mix of bad producing but also casting actors who aren’t capable of performing 8 shows a week. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 8:43am

SouthernCakes said: "As an actor who has been in a similar situation, no, doing a concert version isn’t more taxing with “what’s going on in their heads.” You literally are in a music rehearsal and just sit. It’s very simple."

How long had your physical production been running before you switched to a concert version? When a performer is “used to” getting a visual or physical cue for motivation/inspiration etc, and that’s not there, their brain has to conjure it. Now multiply that by dozens.

And do you know that there’s a difference between rehearsal with no audience and performance with an audience? 

Updated On: 1/9/23 at 08:43 AM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 8:48am

Doing an 8-show week (with a 5-show weekend) when no one is at 100% is being overworked. Someone can call out if they are not vocally able to do a show, especially when they know there’s coverage for them and the show won’t get canceled. A concert version that’s unrehearsed but audiences are expecting a Broadway-quality production requires a lot of mental energy. Just because people make their Broadway debuts doesn’t mean it’s their theatrical debut.

I may not know all of the info and I haven’t been following this too closely, but these are true in most situations and productions.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 8:53am

quizking101 said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "HeyMrMusic said: "

I side with the actors in this scenario. It sounds like they’ve been overworked because of the lack of coverage, and possibly the brutal show schedule. Having to do a different version of the show at a moment’s notice with a new lead (who happens to sort of be your boss) is not the job.
"

Just to be clear, by "overworked" you mean "doing the show exactly as they were contracted to do," right? Because if she wasn't ill, she was being asked to.... go to work."

She mentioned MULTIPLE times during her Instagram Live that many of the cast who performed were pushing through ongoing illnesses and having to do so was taxing them even further. When John-Andrew Morrison joined, they talked about being not “overtly” sick (compared to others in the cast), but still weren’t really at 100%. L. Morgan mentioned she had really only called out since she, vocally, was struggling and she knew she had the coverage available to be able to rest her voice that night for the next two show day.

JAM and L. Morgan also mentioned that the “concert” format, as others have stated here, was a completely different (and difficult) performance experience, as their bodies are basically programmed to perform the show as designed currently, and so returning to the “sitzprobe” format threw them off a bit since it conflicted with the blocking/stage business and timing that they’ve come to be familiar with."

ive said again and again, if she's sick, or if anyone's sick, who am I to judge or suggest otherwise? and if there arent enough covers, thats a valid criticism! but multiple people here have confirmed that *isnt* the criticism she is making, and she apparently confirmed that she *isnt* sick. So I don't quite get their gripe:  the concern format sucks, and is no one's preference. i don't doubt she'd rather it not have come to that. but its the result of not having enough people able to do the show... so is she saying they should have canceled? wouldn't such a performance not be necessary if, you know, this cast showed up capable of doing 8 shows a week?

it sounds like shes saying everything, which is nothing at all. if there's a point buried in there somewhere, she isnt making it (and the attempts here to make it for her are failing). 

[ShowBro]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 9:31am

I told L Morgan “fell better” last night on her IG live and she point blank said “Oh I am not sick” very matter of factly.

What I got from the live session was that it seemed like she was placing the blame on Michael R Jackson for writing a piece without the actors in mind who would actually be playing the roles, as if it was too challenging of a show to be played 8 times a week by actors. It was v eyebrow raising! 

Bless this damn show I love so much, I really hope it makes it through the week!!

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 9:36am

BorisTomashevsky said: "SouthernCakes said: "As an actor who has been in a similar situation, no, doing a concert version isn’t more taxing with “what’s going on in their heads.” You literally are in a music rehearsal and just sit. It’s very simple."

How long had your physical production been running before you switched to a concert version? When a performer is “used to” getting a visual or physical cue for motivation/inspiration etc, and that’s not there, their brain has to conjure it. Now multiply that by dozens.

And do you know that there’s a difference between rehearsal with no audience and performance with an audience?"

About 6 months. I don’t get why it’s some major change? You’re actually required to do less. And yes in know the difference. Condescending much? 

They’re actors. They are equipped to handle change. It’s not that hard. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 9:43am

ShowBro said: "I told L Morgan “fell better” last night on her IG live and she point blank said “Oh I am not sick” very matter of factly.

What I got from the live session was that it seemed like she was placing the blame on Michael R Jackson for writing a piece without the actors in mind who would actually be playing the roles, as if it was too challenging of a show to be played 8 times a week by actors. It was v eyebrow raising!

!!"

Aaaaaand scene. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/9/23 at 9:46am

Is this show that demanding? I haven't seen it yet - hope to so I haven't really listened to anything either - but compared to other shows is it that demanding?