Abud, Butz, Peil and more to lead CORNELIA STREET musical off-Bway — Page 2

willep said: "Theatre3232’s proposed switch had nothing to do with the timing of each show. His point was that Far Country belonged in the smaller space and Cornelia Street in the bigger space."



I understood what they were saying, but it's a moot point - why even bring Far Country into the conversation, if it wasn't in competition with Cornelia Street for the larger space?

Like I said, I think the scenic design for Far Country made it pretty clear why it belonged in the larger space, but even if Far Country had a simpler set, they had no inventive to put in their smaller space while their larger space was available.

Updated On: 1/21/23 at 12:44 PM

Really anxious to hear about this one. Anyone see it yet?

The only reactions I've seen are 2 horrible reviews on Show-Score.

Those are absolutely the worst reactions I have ever seen on Show Score and I hope they are outliers because I have tickets in February.

Updated On: 1/22/23 at 09:13 PM

I’m seeing it in a few days, will report back!

Interview: Mary Beth Peil Takes a Trip to Cornelia Street

I saw this tonight. The Show Score reviews may have been somewhat harsh, but unfortunately the book is predictable and cliched, and the music is just a series of songs, that aren't particularly well integrated into the narrative.

On the positive side, the music is nice enough, and the band contains a french horn and a harp. The cast are all earnest and committed.

So my bottom line is if you have tickets, and reasonable expectations, you won't suffer, but the whole endeavor feels sort of half baked.

If you sit on the right side, you might not be able to see some of the band, but you will see everything on the stage, which contains a pretty standard restaurant set.

Will someone please post the running time?

newyorker1410 said: "I saw this tonight. The Show Score reviews may have been somewhat harsh, but unfortunately the book is predictable and cliched, and the music is just a series of songs, that aren't particularly well integrated into the narrative.

On the positive side, the music is nice enough, and the band contains a french horn and a harp. The cast are all earnest and committed.

So my bottom line is if you have tickets, and reasonable expectations, you won't suffer, but the whole endeavor feels sort of half baked.

If you sit on the right side, you might not be able to see some of the band, but you will see everything on the stage, which contains a pretty standard restaurant set."



Thanks for posting this! I feel much better now. I'll go in with an open mind and realistic expectations. I love to see new musicals off Broadway, and unfortunately I end up kissing more frogs than princes. But still, it's fun!

Updated On: 1/25/23 at 10:17 AM

Norbert Leo Butz is terrific in this! And Mary Beth Peil! Spectacular! The entire cast is just excellent. Norbert's emotional journey in this show is harrowing and he's one of those great actors who never strikes a false note. His singing is as great as always, but it's the vivid portrayal of this character's life that struck me deeply.

Having said that, the show its self is not great. It's not really a musical, in my opinion. It's a play with songs, which is fine, but the songs do nothing to heighten the story, and sometimes the lyrics are so pedestrian it hurts. There are some moments where the music comes to life, but then weirdly peters out. Really strange.

But the commitment of all the cast to the material and each other is beautiful to see, especially when it's in such an intimate space, I'm glad I saw it, and I pray that something comes along worthy of Norbert's talents in a real musical.

Well, I can't say I wasn't warned. Believe the bad reviews. They are way too kind.

Why the hell is this awful thing basically sold out? Why the hell did a prominent non-profit like Atlantic Theatre Company think that this material was good? Why did Butz, Peil and other talented actors accept this job? These are mysteries we will never understand.

A few tickets were released today and having no plans tonight, I decided to take a chance and grab one. Bad decision all around.

This show is absolutely and completely horrible. Right from the very first song that has something to do with a night out.....or something.....when all the characters parade onto the stage to sing about how they want a nice night out....or something.....with very basic and bad lyrics that could have been written by a twelve year old child....we know we are in for something spectacularly awful. The songs do not get better from there. In fact, there is not one song in this show that is worthy of being in an off-Broadway production at such a well respected theatre. I was guessing what the rhymes in the lyrics would be before they were sung. It is that basic. The score is unmelodic and uninteresting. I believe someone said this would have been better as a straight play, and I agree with that, even though we have seen this entire plot before, multiple times.

I guess the set is okay, although it seems like a lot of people in the audience will have obstructed views, depending on where they are. There are tables and chairs all over the place, and a bar on the right hand side. If you are in the front, it seems like lots of views will be partial, at best. My seat was actually labelled partial view, but I could see everything, unfortunately.

I will say that Butz and Peil are excellent in parts that they are too good for. They are doing heroic work, as is the rest of the cast, but it is not enough to prop this dog up.

I will never understand how this thing got produced.

This was really, really rough. I was shocked that for his first leading role in a decade, this is the vehicle Norbert chose. The performer who comes off the best is Mary Beth Peil, but that's not saying much. Yikes.

Melissa25 said: "What was the choreography like? Curious as it says it is choreographed by Hope Boykin."

Virtually non-existent. And when it is, it's sloppily executed at best.