Posted: 11/9/15 at 12:43am
These reviews aren't much worse than the On Your Feet! reviews overall. Unfortunately this show needed the good reviews much more than On Your Feet!
Posted: 11/9/15 at 12:45am
JBroadway said: ""While it's great that an Asian cast is telling a chapter in its own history, it's through an old-fashioned, stereotypical style that's out of touch with where Broadway is going."
-Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
I do feel bad for Allegiance because quotes like this are inevitable. Of course they're going to compare to another historical musical, if not in name, to Hamilton. Hamilton is going to be the anomaly, so I hope critics resist the urge to compare all the new original musicals this season to "where Broadway is going."
Posted: 11/9/15 at 2:10am
everythingtaboo said: "JBroadway said: ""While it's great that an Asian cast is telling a chapter in its own history, it's through an old-fashioned, stereotypical style that's out of touch with where Broadway is going."
-Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
Hamilton is going to be the anomaly, so I hope critics resist the urge to compare all the new original musicals this season to "where Broadway is going."
Agreed JB, I think if producers rush out to to finance 10 more hip hop musicals they may be unpleasantly surprised.
most of the recent biggest hits on broadway box office and awards wise have been wonderfully diverse and dont indicate any megatrends to me.....
Book of Mormon Once Kinky Boots Fun Home American in Paris Mathilda Gentlemans Guide
Beautiful Hamilton
Posted: 11/9/15 at 2:10am
everythingtaboo said: "JBroadway said: ""While it's great that an Asian cast is telling a chapter in its own history, it's through an old-fashioned, stereotypical style that's out of touch with where Broadway is going."
-Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
Hamilton is going to be the anomaly, so I hope critics resist the urge to compare all the new original musicals this season to "where Broadway is going."
Agreed JB, I think if producers rush out to to finance 10 more hip hop musicals they may be unpleasantly surprised.
most of the recent biggest hits on broadway box office and awards wise have been wonderfully diverse and dont indicate any megatrends to me.....
Book of Mormon Once Kinky Boots Fun Home American in Paris Mathilda Gentlemans Guide
Beautiful Hamilton
Posted: 11/9/15 at 2:06pm
These reviews are in line with the out of town tryout. It's clear now the problem is with the book and music . Apparently, they tried to fix it to no avail. Hopefully the cast, which again gets the raves, can carry it through for a respectable run.
Updated On: 11/9/15 at 02:06 PM
Posted: 11/9/15 at 4:04pm
This does appear to be a cast-carried show, so having those stars should help (for now). As posited in the preview thread, the underlying artistic issues that kept surfacing in certain feedback were probably entirely "fixable" only by changing director, writer, and composer, which obviously wouldn't happen. But these sorts of assessments may be more indicative of award seasons in competition with other theater pieces, not necessarily a commercial run (maybe like Finding Neverland? But definitely not as hot). It does have its audience, going by word-of-mouth.
Updated On: 11/9/15 at 04:04 PM
Posted: 11/9/15 at 4:37pm
Pootie2 said: "This does appear to be a cast-carried show, so having those stars should help (for now). As posited in the preview thread, the underlying artistic issues that kept surfacing in certain feedback were probably entirely "fixable" only by changing director, writer, and composer, which obviously wouldn't happen.
I think that It was more difficult to be objective and to really fix the book, music and lyrics of Allegiance when the principals of the lead producer (Sing Out Loud Louise) are the composer, lyricist and two of the three writers of the book.
"
Posted: 11/9/15 at 4:59pm
ramsay15 said: "I think that It was more difficult to be objective and to really fix the book, music and lyrics of Allegiance when the principals of the lead producer (Sing Out Loud Louise) are the composer, lyricist and two of the three writers of the book."
I agree all this role-sharing likely didn't help, but when a common criticism is "mundane lyrics," for example, no amount of tweaking can change that without switching out the actual talent responsible for songwriting. Style and creativity can't realistically change over the evolutionary course of a work from "banal" to "inspired," however these things are subjectively evaluated. But with all the variables in the equation, hopefully a paying audience will find more to like than dislike. It's particularly unfortunate to me that the music is a stated sticking point for some critics and viewers alike, when it seems "good" (i.e. catchy) music can cover for a weak book and/or direction.
Posted: 11/9/15 at 6:34pm
I felt, as I was perusing the reviews, that some of them had been written by the same person through the use of the phrase "missed opportunity."
All joking aside- what a shame. Have the songwriters of Allegiance had any prior successful projects? It would seem kind of odd for an inexperienced pair to take on a show as ambitious as this one and then bring it to Broadway. Maybe I'm missing something...
Posted: 11/9/15 at 6:39pm
Lin Manuel-Miranda tweeting that Allegiance is good is in no way going to keep it open.
Posted: 11/9/15 at 7:21pm
Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "I felt, as I was perusing the reviews, that some of them had been written by the same person through the use of the phrase "missed opportunity."
All joking aside- what a shame. Have the songwriters of Allegiance had any prior successful projects? It would seem kind of odd for an inexperienced pair to take on a show as ambitious as this one and then bring it to Broadway. Maybe I'm missing something..."
According to the Playbill Vault, no. Marc Acito's only credit is Allegiance (book). Jay Kuo has produced some other things, and Allegiance is his first experience with book/lyrics/music. Thione likewise has only experience producing some things, and Allegiance is his first credit with book. Lynne Shankel has at least had consistent theatrical experience with arranging and conducting without crossover, but none of them were successful I believe. Stafford Arima has only been credited as associate director for Ragtime/Seussical/A Class Act. Andrew Palermo was a performer (ensemble, U/S, swing) and this is his first choreography credit. And so on--I think the Broadway experience part is either thin to nonexistent for everyone involved except Lea Salonga.
Knowing the story as to how George Takei was approached, I can't help but feel the creators pulled one over him, though their intentions weren't bad.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 1:08am
Kuo had a good run with a show called Insignificant Others in SF, which I attended several times, but that was more of a fun, campy project.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 2:53am
Indeed, Kuo's Insignificant Others enjoyed three successful runs in SF, each one moving to a bigger venue than the last, the biggest of which ran a year I believe.
He also has another musical, Homeland, that seems to have fallen off the face of the earth but was also performed (in concert I believe) in SF.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 10:35am
Have they pulled the digital lottery now? I went to the link and got "page not found."
Posted: 11/10/15 at 10:39am
lite2shine said: "Have they pulled the digital lottery now? I went to the link and got "page not found."
"
They literally just posted this a minute ago on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/allegiancebway/status/664104623993679872
The lottery page on our site is temporarily redirected to this link: http://allegiancelottery.socialtoaster.com/ ENTER BY 3:00PM FOR TODAY’S SHOW!
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:11am
tourboi said: "Indeed, Kuo's Insignificant Others enjoyed three successful runs in SF, each one moving to a bigger venue than the last, the biggest of which ran a year I believe.
He also has another musical, Homeland, that seems to have fallen off the face of the earth but was also performed (in concert I believe) in SF. "
Interesting. The only thing I got out of a search is that "Insignificant Others" was a romance comedy of some kind, which isn't exactly a genre transferable to the meatier subject matter at hand. I didn't find much about "Homeland" except that it was workshopped, and that was it? The description here implies that there were more dramatic elements than just a romance/comedy. Actually, I wonder how much of Kuo's "Homeland" was assimilated into the structure of Allegiance, merely going by bare description (I don't suppose anyone saw both).
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:14am
Kuo and Blair Shephard also wrote the "It Gets Better" song sung by the broadway community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeKI8biAglU
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:39am
Pootie2 said: "The only thing I got out of a search is that "Insignificant Others" was a romance comedy of some kind, which isn't exactly a genre transferable to the meatier subject matter at hand."
Aside from Kuo, there is no connective thread between Insignificant Others and Allegiance at all. It was very camp and inside about living in SF, and sexuality, and shopping at the hip, vegetarian grocery store, and all of that. Here is a promo for its last incarnation there: https://youtu.be/a4lO-XFhiDU
That said, I don't know that people should be fenced in and only write one sort of thing.
I never did get to see Homeland, as I think it only did a handful of performances and I didn't attend for whatever reason, but I don't think there is anything brought from that over to Allegiance, since it was a very different show. When I interviewed him, he mentioned there being gay characters who end up together in it, and although I didn't yet see this incarnation of Allegiance, I'm guessing that isn't in there? 
He also wrote a poker-themed musical entitled All In. Not sure if that ever got staged, though.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:59am
(I can't listen to audio at the moment, though only the lyrics for "It Gets Better" don't strike me as anything special. I'll listen/watch that and the promo a bit later.)
haterobics said: "That said, I don't know that people should be fenced in and only write one sort of thing."
They shouldn't, but when hiring someone for a job that requires a certain range of talents, we can only look at their resume. It's useful to see a job applicant who has successfully applied multiple skills in a single role (e.g. phone customer service plus database management), just as it's useful to see if a creative has written in different genres and/or a good range of song styles and lyrics within a given show.
haterobics said: "I never did get to see Homeland, as I think it only did a handful of performances and I didn't attend for whatever reason, but I don't think there is anything brought from that over to Allegiance, since it was a very different show. When I interviewed him, he mentioned there being gay characters who end up together in it, and although I didn't yet see this incarnation of Allegiance, I'm guessing that isn't in there? "
No, but the bit that stood out to me was the "romance across political lines" or something as the central description, which made me think of the nurse and internee.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 12:09pm
Pootie2 said: "when hiring someone for a job that requires a certain range of talents, we can only look at their resume. It's useful to see a job applicant who has successfully applied multiple skills in a single role (e.g. phone customer service plus database management), just as it's useful to see if a creative has written in different genres and/or a good range of song styles and lyrics within a given show."
No one hired him, though. He created his own gig and ran with it.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 12:16pm
haterobics said: "No one hired him, though. He created his own gig and ran with it."
Well, yes, he (together with Thione?) basically sold himself to Takei who didn't look any further since Kuo already sent him a song. Hiring the first applicant, I suppose.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 12:44pm
I think you're reframing the origin story with Takei taking the lead on making this happen... I always saw him as being the passenger.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 1:12pm
haterobics said: "I think you're reframing the origin story with Takei taking the lead on making this happen... I always saw him as being the passenger."
No, you're right, Takei was taken along for the ride despite this being inspired by his own story; but he had to have agreed on some level as well for them to actually go forward based on that inspiration. I don't know all the details, of course, but Takei did mention that Kuo sent him a song out of the blue, and Takei "knew this was the guy" to write/compose for the musical. If he's going to make a special point of mentioning this development, then I think that explicit acknowledgement counts for something in the whole decision, especially when it's being marketed heavily under Takei's name.
Posted: 11/10/15 at 3:56pm
Finally used some Audience Rewards action to book this and Spring Awakening for next week, so will finally see what is up on stage! heh.
Posted: 11/11/15 at 7:35pm
Rave from Rex Reed.
http://observer.com/2015/11/two-musicals-only-one-worth-seeing/
(He hates On Your Feet in this same article. Oh, and I should add that this review lays out all the spoilers, I think?)
Updated On: 11/11/15 at 07:35 PM
