AMAZING GRACE Previews — Page 6

Just really sketchy that they are telling literally every NY theater goer how to not pay for tickets to certain shows.

Is this that new-fangled definition of "literally" that means the opposite of "literally" that's all the rage now? Like, "the moon is literally made out of cheese"?

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Wrong again Jane. I want shows to succeed and enjoyed shows that many did not. It was not me who called Rocky " a turd". I never push for a show to flop. Maybe you are describing yourself.

Before you make baseless claims , check your facts.

Most of my comments above were made in a facetious vein.Look it up in your dictionary.I was making fun of those who really do what you falsely accuse me of.

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Updated On: 7/14/15 at 03:19 PM

Would that prize match the description of Rocky, Jane?

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Oh, I can't wait to see you Friday!

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My partner and I went to this show today. We try to see as much NY theater as possible. Going into this we were expecting not much and I have to say we both really enjoyed this show!

We were totally into the story and were not bored at all. The performances were wonderful and the voices were amazing. The cast really delivers! Josh Youngs voice is truly incredible. The music is melodic and the story is interesting, I was into it from beginning to end.

The show really was a pleasant surprise and I would totally recommend it. I'm interested to see how the reviews are, I think they will be fairly positive, I really couldn't find that much wrong with this show. I know a bunch of people on here didn't care for it but maybe they made some improvements from the early previews. I'd recommend it and it's certainly worth seeing with all the discounts out there for it.

I just wanted to reply to your journey through the show amazing grace. John Newton was so disliked from the time his God fearing mother died who he loved and adored (which soured him on God and life at an early age). He went to boarding school because his father didn't want him around. He was rude, stole from others and got others drunk so he could embarrass them later. He was drunk a lot. He even turned a very devout sailor on one of the ships from a sweet christian to a blasphemer and the sailor died in the state of hatred of God. John was enslaved (and this is very true) by Princess Pei. She was a black slave trader. She was more cruel than some of the white slave traders. She abandoned her people for the almighty dollar. When she imprisoned John she gave him pieces of her leftover food to eat while he was chained and would put the food just out of reach and he was like an animal trying to get it. He was worked from sun up to sun down even though he couldly barely move. he had to plant a lime tree orchard himself. He became ill over and over and nearly died several times from exposure, disease and starvation while he was a slave. He was branded also. He was a raper of women and it is said that there could be many black individuals who can trace their ancestry to john newton because when he was a slave trader he and all the sailors would rape these poor women. it is astonishing the evil that was done.

When John has his encounter with God his heart is broken and he was horrified as to what he had done to people... such as the devout man he turned into a blasphemer, the black women, the overall horrendous acts he committed. He blasphemed all the time which wasn't appreicated in those days, he cussed, he fought others he was pure meanness. He had so much anger about his mothers premature death and his father's dislike for him and his prompt remarriage to a woman who also hated john. His father went on to have more children that he lavished love upon and yet was cold as ice to John that John could see no good or joy anywhere, The only people who were kind to him were the Catletts, Mary's family. Once they saw how he really was they banished him from their home but Mary was the only that still cared about him. She was the only person who stood by him because she saw his heart creep out now and then. she knew there was a great man in there.

When i saw the show John's composing was mentioned in the first scene when mary and john see each other and she asks him if he was still writing and he says, no, please let's not talk about that again.
He told her he didn't want to try to find patrons to pay him while he spent his time writing music. i don't know if that scene remains or not. In one of Mary's songs she mentions as a boy he was writing songs and lyrics. The show then focuses on his life until the time of his redemption at around 30 years old. His 200 hymns were written much later in his life. Perhaps that is why it would be difficult to include him composing music.

i noticed there is so much i missed the first time i saw it. Every piece of dialogue really tells john's story and it is easy to miss pieces of dialogue with everything that is going on. His life had so many near death experiences that would reform him for a short time and then back to the gutter he would go. There is no possible way all of the near death and hideous capture of him as a slave could be included in the show because there were so many.

It puzzles me that you would say that John and Mary had no chemistry. in several reviews in chicago the reviewers specifically referred to the chemistry between them as almost palpable. Every one sees things so differently.

By the way Erin is Erin Mackey not Erin Davie. Many people confuse them. You are not alone. Thank you for a fair review of the show. Hope you see it again after opening. You will be surprised by all the "fill in the blanks" you will find that can be missed on the first viewing. I think that is true of every show. So much story has to be packed into the few hours. i have seen Wicked a number of times and every time i hear a new interesting, funny or informative line i missed before.

I felt that the major, glaring, distracting flaw in this show is that the institution of slavery just can't be a secondary plot alongside a love story, a father-son drama, etc.

The brutality of slavery, shown very vividly in the piece, (ie; pregnant women beaten and multiple people branded) is a horror that (for me and my companion) completely overwhelmed the other aspects of the plot.

Not sure how this could have been addressed more carefully/ sensitively but this version of Newton's story certainly does not do it justice. I read somewhere about AG being analogous to a version of "Twelve Years A Slave" but focused on the Brad Pitt character and unfortunately I would have to agree with that comparison.

Updated On: 7/19/15 at 10:27 PM

I think the creators of a show can decide what story they want to tell. Our focus ought to be on how well they do it. In the case of this show, the consensus seems to be that they haven't done a very good job overall so isolating how slavery fits into that seems to miss the forest for the trees. I think Jesse Green made an interesting point that, to me, is more trenchant.

You're not missing much if you don't see it. If you do see it, you"re not seeing much.

Updated On: 8/31/15 at 10:02 PM