AIN'T TOO PROUD - The Temptations Musical Bound for Broadway in 2018- Page 3

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 12:04pm

I had such a great time at the show this weekend. Is it perfect? No but I still loved it. I completely agree with the love for Ephraim--he was stunning as was Jeremy Pope.

 

it was a bit overwhelming to see someone I worked with on my first professional show on that stage. I hope to see it again in NYC.

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 6:58pm

You know yankee fan-i felt the same way when i heard about this show...

and changed my mind completely when i experienced it...

 

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 7:52pm

yankeefan7 said: "Love the Temptations but got to say I am kind of tired of these type of musicals."

And well you should be, but I suggest that you see it during previews if you live in NYC and it opens there.

Saw the show with my Don Gregory Presents group of 20 on 9/10 and enjoyed it overall, but believe that the book needs much work.  The actors are all very good and the Motown/Temps catalog is well represented, but the staging is very, very derivative of Jersey Boys (has Des Mcanuff gone to that particular creative well one time too many?).  Also, we've seen the Barry and Diana story in [the fictional] Dreamgirls and also Motown.  That particular portion vis-a-vis The Temps can be jettisoned.  I wouldn't miss the Smokey Robinson cameo either.  Fill those scenes with more of the actress portraying Otis Williams' wife.  She has a powerful voice and shouldn't be shortchanged with just a portion of one song to perform.  She could stop the show instead of bringing it to a screeching halt as the Supremes/Dreams scenes do. 

I may have more to add to this critique later on down the road, but this is pretty much my impression in a nutshell.   Can most definitely be improved and have a [possibly] long run on Broadway.  Could tour now to less discerning markets, but why not wait until it has played Broadway (after revisions). 

 

[cuz-i-can]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 1:38pm

I haven't seen the show but am a big fan of Rashidra (Otis Williams wife) and feel she has been a long underrated talent on Broad for awhile. From the reviews it seems like people want a lot more from her and I hope they expand her character by the time this show comes to Broadway, I am very excited for this production. Do you think they'll change the cast for the temps to look like they're in the same age range?

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 2:01pm

cuz-i-can said: "Do you think they'll change the cast for the temps to look like they're in the same age range?"

I hope not because they're all perfect in their roles.

 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 2:07am

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/AINT-TOO-PROUD-TO-BEG-Breaks-Berkeley-Reps-House-Record-20171005

all you could ask for in an out of town tryout:

rave reviews

big box office-pretty much every show sold out, two extensions

Goldstar 4.9/5.0  67 reviews

Broadway, Here I Come......

 

[bear88]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 3:58am

Questions and thoughts on a show I haven't seen yet (but have tickets for during its final weekend at the Berkeley Rep):

Ain't Too Proud is playing in a 600-seat theater. The prices aren't at Broadway level but they're not giving tickets away or offering discounts. And it's sold out through the end of its run in early November, except for a few stray seats for people who need special accommodations.

Is that typical for an out-of-town tryout? Did Beautiful, to use a Bay Area comparison that is also a jukebox musical, perform similarly at the larger Curran Theatre in San Francisco during its shorter 2013 tryout?

How seriously should one take out-of-town box office performance as a predictor of Broadway success? Obviously, it's a good thing that the show is selling out and getting positive reviews. But I recall Amelie getting very favorable reviews at the Berkeley Rep a few years ago, and we know how that story ended.

Ain't Too Proud was an easy sell for me and my wife and teenage daughter, because at worst, I figure the show will be fun and well-performed. But that's an easier decision because I live here and have been seeing a lot of theater lately anyway.  

If I were actually going to Broadway this spring, and Ain't Too Proud transfers by then (and I hadn't already seen it), I would have to choose between that show and all the musicals and plays on Broadway. Even in a "weak season," there seem to be plenty of intriguing options.

Ironically, I'm really looking forward to seeing Ain't Too Proud at the Berkeley Rep in a theater smaller than the usual Broadway house, but I doubt I would be as interested in seeing it in New York City. It's possible that I will change my mind after seeing the show. 

The timing might be right for a musical like this. But I'm honestly curious about the connection, if any exists, between how a show does in out-of-town tryouts and how it performs under the harsher glare of Broadway.

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/15/17 at 9:12pm

third viewing of aint too proud this afternoon with my 

buddy who sees 5-7 shows a month

they were filming both shows today with five cameras- likely shooting content for ads for bway

and/or promo to investors

electrifying performances all around. crowd gave spontaneous  standing ovation at cirtain

this show is going to surprise a lot of people when it hits nyc...

see it if u can find a ticket

 

 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/15/17 at 9:12pm

third viewing of aint too proud this afternoon with my 

buddy who sees 5-7 shows a month

they were filming both shows today with five cameras- likely shooting content for ads for bway

and/or promo to investors

electrifying performances all around. crowd gave spontaneous  standing ovation at cirtain

this show is going to surprise a lot of people when it hits nyc...

see it if u can find a ticket

 

 

[bear88]

Posted: 10/15/17 at 11:46pm

broadwaysfguy, any changes to the show since you've last seen it?

I haven't seen it yet, have tickets for the final weekend. (That will be an interesting week of theater: Small Mouth Sounds on a Sunday, Ain't Too Proud six days later.)

I'm still curious about the connection between "successful" out-of-town tryouts and Broadway results. The most obvious analogy would be Beautiful, which had a tryout in San Francisco in 2013 and which had Broadway success I'm sure the producers would be happy to replicate. I don't know if they can find a Broadway theater this spring, or if it will have another out-of-town tryout.

But I'm struck by the reaction from some people who've seen the show, and you're very enthusiastic, and the critics, who have been positive about the performances but dubious about the book, and the people on this board who dread the prospect of what seems like an impending flood of "safe" jukebox musicials. Sight unseen, it seems like there would be an audience for a show like this, especially now, but I'm terrible at predicting such things. The Dreamgirls transfer would be targeting a similar audience, and it's only been four years since Motown: The Musical.

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/17/17 at 12:17pm

hi bear88 changes to the show have been small trims on scenes or take out a verse of a song here and there... nothing major, but enough so that the second act pacing now matches the first so that the show seems to really move from scene to scene in an effortless way

I dont either know what the track record is for out of town success vs broadway success.  My own record on on out of town openings consist of seeing both beautiful and legally blonde and predicting both would have success on broadway, and seeing lestat and Amelie and predicting both would have troubles.as presented. This show feels a lot more like beautiful than lestat or amelie to me.....

I think labeling a show a jukebox can create a lot of bias and pre judgement and i dont think ill use the term myself any more. Jersey Boys was a great musical, and Beautiful was a great musical.(many other biopics were not)imo)  I think other great musicals will come out and be great, especially those from the biopic focus where the songs and performances are a big and integral part of the story. 

I would take jersey boys or beautiful or aint too proud over many of the "original" musicals i've seen that just didnt work well, or have a great story or have great music. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 1:40pm

It's all subjective and a matter of taste. There are good original musicals and bad ones, just as there as good jukebox shows and bad ones. It's all in the execution. I don't believe original musicals are inherently better than jukebox musicals, so comparing a good jukebox musical with a bad original show is a false equivalency. I do, however, think that an original musical has a tougher challenge in that it has to start at square one: You have to introduce your audience to new characters and tunes they've never heard. As opposed to a jukebox show, where people already come predisposed to love the nostalgia of recognizing favorite pop songs.

To me, ''Jersey Boys'' is one of the best jukebox musicals ever, thanks to Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice's book, which cleverly divides the stories of 4 guys into 4 seasons (get it?). It becomes a musical ''Rashomon'' in which each principal narrates part of the whole story. So smart. ''Ain't That Proud'' is put together by the dynamite duo that did ''Jersey Boys'': director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo. The cast is wonderful; the show is slick, and the audience goes wild for the Temptations tunes they know. Given its Motown background, it also invites comparisons to ''Dreamgirls,'' a great original musical by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger.

But for me, ''Ain't Too Proud'' isn't nearly as good as ''Jersey Boys'' or ''Dreamgirls.'' Its characters just aren't as vivid. To be fair, Dominique Morisseau's book has to juggle more characters (because they were so many Temptations and replacements), but few made a lasting impression on me, in a familiar story of showbiz tropes. ''Ain't Too Proud'' even recycles a tearjerking subplot about an absentee parent (that we already saw in ''Jersey Boys'' ). That said, I have no doubt ''Ain't Too Proud'' will continue its boffo office on Broadway, as it has at Berkeley Rep. The audiences are there for the fun Temptations tunes they adore, and they ''ain't too proud'' to admit it. 

Updated On: 10/18/17 at 01:40 PM

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 6:45pm

hey wayman

glad you got out to california to see aint too proud and appreciate your expert/authority feedback on the show...(for those who dont know waymans been a professional theatre critic for many years for top newspapers)

Its really really hard to beat jersey boys... i think for me the performances and dancing in atp took this show to a performance level jb did not achieve..,,

 

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 10:36pm

I saw it and liked it alot.  I think they have a little work to do on the book, but every other element is there.  They need to take this exact cast to Broadway as there isn't a weak one in the bunch.  Loved the sets, the projections, the lighting, the dancing, the songs and the story did move along.  It was an interesting crowd made up of mostly older crowd, which is the perfect premium box office buyers.   Everything is there for Broadway and the tweaks to the book aren't that tough.  You leave the theater thinking you got your money's worth.

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/24/17 at 5:44pm

aint too proud tickets are literally IMPOSSIBLE TO GET for the last two weeks of the show

box office-sold out

stubhub-one pair upper loge for last show $450 each

craigslist nov 2 matinee good orch tix for $275 each

Vivid seats-1 pair for this friday oct 27 495 each first row

average waited on the berkeley rep website 1hour plus....

i cant remember the last time ive seen this level of supply demand imbalance fora bay area show

it was a cakewalk to get good seats for hamilton compared to this show.....

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/25/17 at 12:15am

Very surprised this hasn't been announced for Broadway by now. I think it'd fit well at The Nederlander. Unless they're holding out for a specific theater. 

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/25/17 at 1:12am

I heard that they are trying to find a theater.  

[bear88]

Posted: 10/25/17 at 1:34am

Some of these scalper prices are not normal, even for the San Francisco Bay Area. As broadwaysfguy says, some of these folks are asking Hamilton prices, and it was easier to get Hamilton tickets. It's especially striking given the fact that when the Berkeley Rep announced the two-week extension into November last month, it took about a week for the seats to sell out. It's not like bots swarmed in and bought up everything. My wife was smart and snagged seats for the final weekend in the first row of the cheaper mezzanine section for $95 each (young adults pay less, so the price for our daughter's seat is $67). That's more than we usually need to pay for theater around here, given all the rush ticket offers, but now it feels like a relative bargain. I hope we enjoy the show.

On the right side of my screen here, I see Ain't Too Proud tickets offered for $395 in Berkeley on Friday. Even taking the comparatively small theater size into account (600 seats), that's surprising.

 

Updated On: 10/25/17 at 01:34 AM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/25/17 at 1:56pm

Berkeley Rep has been selling some standing room for $60-$70. There's about 10 spaces or so, and there might even be some stools. So you can call and maybe get lucky with those. (That's kinda pricey, considering there's SRO on Broadway, between $29 and $42.)

You also can keep checking Berkeley Rep's website to see if anything gets released late. Last Thursday, they had a student matinee at 11 a.m., and got back more returns than they expected, so they offered all their mezzanine seats for $50 apiece. 

Tom, a friend of mine who's a HUGE Temptations fan, flew up from Southern California last week to see ''Ain't Too Proud.'' He knows all their songs by heart. He enjoyed most of the show's selections and orchestrations. To him, Ephraim Sykes was the standout (as David Ruffin) and deserves to be up for a Tony. However, Tom really thought Jeremy Pope (as Eddie Kendricks) needs to be replaced; he was struggling with his falsetto. And he felt Otis Williams' character was a cipher. As much as he loves hearing the Temptations, Tom says he thinks ''Dreamgirls'' is a far more fun and dynamic show.

Updated On: 10/25/17 at 01:56 PM

[antonijan]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 1:36am

Nice twist on On my papa was a rollingstone

Updated On: 10/26/17 at 01:36 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 1:44am

I do find it kind of weird that a non-profit is supporting and producing such a commercial product, but okay....

[bear88]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 2:52am

In case anyone was wondering if every reviewer out here loved - or at least liked - the show, here's a rather brutal takedown. The performers emerge unscathed. The musical does not.

https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2017/09/28/aint-too-proud-desecrates-the-temptations-at-berkeley-rep/

Updated On: 10/26/17 at 02:52 AM

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 7:51pm

"do find it kind of weird that a non-profit is supporting and producing such a commercial product, but okay...."

Actually a ton of Broadway is produced first by non-profits who get a nice 1st position piece of the Broadway action.  I think it's 2.5% of the gross if I remember correctly.  If the show is successful on Broadway it could translate into millions of dollars for the theater which can recoup the costs of the initial production easily.

La Jolla Playhouse currently has Come From Away & Junk and past shows include Jersey Boys

Old Globe Theater has Bright Star on tour; produced Tony winners like A Gentleman's Guide and Into The Woods.

Center Theater Group has Crazy For You coming later this season.  They have produced Broadway shows like Curtains, 9 to 5 and Leap of Faith.

5th Avenue in Seattle had Hairspray, Shrek and Aladdin.

 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 7:52pm

John wilkins the kqed theatre critic who ripped aint too proud as "desecrating the tempatations",by the way loved monsoon wedding and was highly critical of :Fun Home....food for thought before anyone elevates his credentials as a musical critic......

Ive only seen him very occasionally review musicals.... hes mostly a play critic (and kept wanting to make this a play with music vs a musical based on his comments)

 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/27/17 at 3:02am

Broadwaysfguy, if you want to strongly disagree with John Wilkins' review of ''Ain't Too Proud,'' you probably could make a better case if you dispute the actual merits or arguments of what he's written. It's tricky to try to dismiss or disqualify someone sheerly for their taste. For instance, Wilkins is hardly the only critic who loved ''Monsoon Wedding.'' Jay Barmann in SFist called it ''exuberant'' and ''infectious'' in his rave review. And if there's a club for folks who are ''highly critical'' of ''Fun Home,'' you can sign me up. ...

Most of ''Ain't Too Proud's'' reviews have been pretty positive. It's not worth it to get so defensive about one of its rare pans. 

Updated On: 10/27/17 at 03:02 AM