AMAZING GRACE Previews- Page 5

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 7/5/15 at 1:15pm

Just catching up with this thread. Lynn2, if you think Whizzer is "caustic," then you haven't read many of the unkind comments on this blog. Whizzer is by far the kindest, most thoughtful scribe we have, and whether I agree with his comments or not, they are always well-thought-out and provocative, and not personally bitchy or mean. I too look forward to his opening performance reviews, as do most of the readers here, and have never found him to be anything else but perceptive and thoughtful.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 7/5/15 at 1:21pm

Let me preface this with I am a lover of what I call historical musicals.....POTO, Le Miz, The Last Ship and more recently Zhivago (yes, I was one of two that enjoyed it).

I learned several lessons from Amazing Grace, John Newton was an evil man, this was not trivialized.  I didn't know a thing about the British slave trade.   I learned about some of it in this show.  The score fit the theme very well and people were walking out of the theater humming.

The costumes were spectacular.  I hope at Tony time if this does not survive the costumes are not forgotten.

As I said, sitting in house left, row C, seat 1 several things happened......Josh sang right into my eyes.  I swooned.  This happened several times. ***SPOILER*** I was soaking wet at the end of act 1 and the actual end of it was magnificent.  Still trying to figure out how it was done.

Sure, there were a couple of draggy moments, but the 2 1/2 hours were fine for the overall impact of the story.  I cried several times, yes, I'm a sap for this stuff.  And the entire filled theater got up on their feet before the curtain went down, after the beautiful chorus rendition of the title's song.

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 1:48am

"Will see this when it shows up on a papering site. Other than that I will avoid it."

Mr Roxy is such a fascinating mess of contradictions.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 9:46am

Can someone spoil the end of act 1 for me and tell me what happens? I am intrigued. 

[newintown]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 9:55am

The audience decides whether or not they'll come back for more.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 9:58am

SPOILER (Not really, but whatever):

 

It's an underwater effect. If you're interested, go on Youtube and look up the shipwreck scene from The Little Mermaid. It's the same effect as AG, but done better.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 9:59am

Or the same as Tarzan without the creative projections.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTFPyMD_XyM

[Anthony Fremont]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 10:13am

"Can someone spoil the end of act 1 for me and tell me what happens? I am intrigued. "

 White guy learns to feel good about himself for realizing slavery is wrong...?

Haven't seen it, but odds are good that's what happens.

[Ericg2]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 11:40am

Did anyone notice that Theater Mania emailed their entire list of subscribers that they can go see Amazing Grace for FREE if they join Gold Club. I feel like this is going to ruin this show. Why would anyone pay to see it now?  The whole point of those services is that only PAID members can see the shows that are being offered.

RIP Amazing Grace.

Updated On: 7/8/15 at 11:40 AM

[BroadwayLuv2]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 12:47pm

I just signed up for Gold Club but didn't see or get this email.  Do you have any more info on this? I don't have much expectation from this show but for free or a few dollars why not? 

 

"Did anyone notice that Theater Mania emailed their entire list of subscribers that they can go see Amazing Grace for FREE if they join Gold Club. I feel like this is going to ruin this show. Why would anyone pay to see it now?  The whole point of those services is that only PAID members can see the shows that are being offered.
RIP Amazing Grace."

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 12:53pm

Still a member until 8/15 & did not see this

Even so, it probably would not change my mind re staying as a member. Amazing will not make it either way so it is probably a wasted effort and/or a way to increase membership.

[Ericg2]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 4:39pm

The email was sent out to all Theater mania subscribers (anyone who gets their emails about show deals or news) not gold club specific. Just really sketchy that they are telling literally every NY theater goer how to not pay for tickets to certain shows.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/8/15 at 5:16pm

Probably the only thing they would have offered even mildly worth seeing.

[Stevie72]

Posted: 7/11/15 at 7:29pm

So any new reviews?

[brdway411]

Posted: 7/11/15 at 10:28pm

would not go to see it if they paid me. 

[temms]

Posted: 7/12/15 at 3:05pm

I saw it Friday night. I'm told what I saw was the frozen show.

I can add nothing to Whizzer's spot-on observations. It's a vanity project with a vaguely Christian aftertaste. As someone who is neither a "believer" nor a churchgoer the sanctimony of the Finale singalong where everyone stands up and sings a hymn of praise to God after the story of how the arrogant atheist who lost his faith found his truth and came into the light of God just rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't blame the cast and creative team for taking on the project. They gotta eat. I suppose it could have been worse. Harriett Foy's Princess character is from a whole other show but at least she's entertaining. Erin Mackey's character's story was more engaging to me than the main character's, but neither is particular well-told.

The opening number is the only interesting bit of music in the show, and it sounds like the theme from a second-rate old Western. It quickly goes downhill. I kept wishing Chuck Cooper would launch into one of his songs from "The Life" to liven things up but no, just the same non-music with lots of Harpsichord. The comparison to "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" is apt, if insulting to 1776's infinitely better score.

The end of Act One drowning/rescue was the exact same effect as in "Little Mermaid" - it's impressive but we've seen it before. And there was even more gunfire and explosions than "Zhivago", which I have a new respect for. 

In short, it's a musical with the message that slavery is bad and God is good. If that sounds like something you'd go for and you find Frank Wildhorn scores too challenging, then maybe you're the target audience. I certainly wasn't.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/12/15 at 3:16pm

Closing notice going up Friday?

[JayG 2]

Posted: 7/12/15 at 5:05pm

What a sad bunch of bitter show queens all of you are. 

[tazber]

Posted: 7/12/15 at 5:10pm

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[actorsnonactors]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 12:14pm

While I am certainly not in favor of seeing anything that makes it to Broadway crash and burn, this is selling in previews at eighteen and a half percent of potential. Not counting premium seats bought by (people who keep shows alive) people who don't know better, this means the seating potential is a miserable one-in-five.  

There is potential here for an opening night closing, or at least a first Sunday closing. I was under the impression they were selling very hard to church tour groups and religious organizations, so we may see some ungodly (teehee) boost in sales at opening...anyone know the presale after opening night? How's the box at that end?

[Kad]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 12:16pm

"What a sad bunch of bitter show queens all of you are."

Let me rephrase that for you: "Hey, kettle, you're black."

Updated On: 7/13/15 at 12:16 PM

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 12:23pm

"SPOILER (Not really, but whatever):
 
It's an underwater effect. If you're interested, go on Youtube and look up the shipwreck scene from The Little Mermaid. It's the same effect as AG, but done better."

 Does anyone have a link to this?  I can't find it and am curious, but I have no plans to see AG just for the effect. (And no desire to see it at all based on what I'm hearing...)

 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 6:22pm

As someone who is neither a "believer" nor a churchgoer the sanctimony of the Finale singalong where everyone stands up and sings a hymn of praise to God after the story of how the arrogant atheist who lost his faith found his truth and came into the light of God just rubbed me the wrong way.

I had the same problem with the story. The not-at-all-subtle message is "Atheists are bad! See, this guy tortured and sold human beings when he was an atheist, then he turned to Jesus and instead started freeing them!" This, of course, is nonsense; plenty of Christians obviously participated in the enslavement. In fact, John Newton himself apparently traded slaves long after his conversion, which is definitely not how things are presented on stage. 

Otherwise, I found most of the music pleasant and many of the performances (though not Josh Young's) were pretty good. Otherwise, the material isn't worth praising or criticizing at any length.

[bwaybby]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 9:47am

I didn't see this as a religious story at all and kdogg36. Yea, he asked God for forgiveness but that's about it. I don't see how you could find fault with Josh's performance. I could see how one could find fault with the character itself but, at least in Chicago, I thought he was incredible all around portraying a terrible character. I found him to be the hightlight of the show.

Updated On: 7/14/15 at 09:47 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 9:51am

I am wondering when the "Amazing Grace Is Still Struggling At The Box Office" thread will pop up . Will it last long enough for one to start? Will those who revel in a shows failure get their fix?

We shall soon have an answer to all these burning questions.