Alice By Heart (PREVIEWS)- Page 4

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 7:33pm

pac2015 said: "Hi, do I have one show lined up each month. I can certainly skew my budget to also add this show. Will it be something I regret not seeing? I know it's a vague question and I read through this thread, but just hoping for any insight.



I guess, would a concert or a nice meal be better than getting a ticket? Thanks"

 

You would be much better off going to a concert or treating yourself to nice meal than shelling out money for this show. I usually encourage people to see shows they are interested in even if I didn't care for them because they may very well enjoy it, but I can not in good conscience recommend that anyone pay to see this mess.

 

Updated On: 2/19/19 at 07:33 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 10:06pm

Hmmm. Just got back from this. Costuming is pretty awesome. Loved the set, loved the choreo. Enjoyed much of the music. The cast was terribly dedicated.

And yet, it still just doesnt work - and almost entirely due to the book. There just isnt enough there there.

Sigh.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 10:37pm

This wasn't my favorite thing by a long shot, but it seems a bit over the top how offended people are by it. It wasn't that great, it had a few actors in it I like, and it was 90 minutes long. It's not even in my top 25 of bad shows, though.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 10:57pm

Lol....not in my bottom 25, either.

[rg7759]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 4:15pm

I loved it. It's in a very polished state and yes the score is the highlight, but isn't that what you want for a f%@king musical? Christ if all you could conclude is that you couldn't follow alice in f$@king wonderland I really feel very very bad for you. Where are the great comet and spongebob peeps? Grace and Wesley are just as good here. If the audience isn't going apesh#t it's because the location lends itself to the snootiest, most 'over it' selection of crowd. It's well worth admission. Im sorry again I listened to anyone, I loved it

[Vinosippycup2]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 5:31pm

Agree with many people here. 

Beautiful music. Great design & costumes. Amazing, inventive choreo and a great theme, but the book meant the moments didn't emotionally connect. 

It would probably make the writers vomit but maybe they need a grown up Alice to chaperone us through it, so atleast it makes sense and they can keep the staging etc as is.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 5:40pm

dramamama611 said: "Lol....not in my bottom 25, either."

So, Alice by Heart or Cursed Child, which was better?!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 6:20pm

Right now? No contest -- Alice!

[perfectliar]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 6:57pm

rg7759 said: "I loved it. It's in a very polished state and yes the score is the highlight, but isn't that what you want for a f%@king musical? Christ if all you could conclude is that you couldn't follow alice in f$@king wonderland I really feel very very bad for you. Where are the great comet and spongebob peeps? Grace and Wesley are just as good here. If the audience isn't going apesh#t it's because the location lends itself to the snootiest, most 'over it' selection of crowd. It's well worth admission. Im sorry again I listened to anyone, I loved it"

Get a grip.

If good music was all we expected from musicals, we could stay home and listen to them on Spotify.

You're allowed to have a differing opinion without everyone who disagrees with you being crazy or "snooty."

[Ellie'sdad]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 8:25pm

The show is "enhanced" (i.e. financed) by Broadway producers -one of whom I am friends with.  The goal is to get to Broadway.  IMO only a rave Times review can make that goal happen - which is extremely unlikely.  As I posted previously, this show has been "developed" for years and I saw this version at Vassar last summer.  According to the posts here, the show did not get the reworking that it needed and that those who have invested in the show deserve.  Books are fixable.  It is irresponsible if not downright arrogant to insist that a show works when it doesn't.  To compare this to Great Comet is wrong.  Great Comet was based on a passage from Tolstoy (if I remember correctly) that very few people alive have actually read.  Thus it was novel.  Everyone has read or seen something to do with the Alice - whether Through The Looking Glass or in Wonderland.  Both of those books are thrillingly complex and Freudian.  But I doubt many average theatergoers know those books and their characters intimately as opposed to a general knowledge.  So, to layer these complex stories and characters with a completely arbitrary other story about the London blitz is a little crazy.  Especially when very little work was done to make the two stories line-up, either character to character or story to story.  That the producers have now decided to add character descriptions in the program (according to someone's report here) is a sign that they have given up - acknowledging that the story telling is disastrous, but not living up to their responsibility to do anything about it except infuriate their audience.  

 

Finally (and thanks for your indulgence), it makes no sense to open a flawed show Off Broadway rather than workshop it and further develop it out of town.  That's what regional and LORT theaters are often for.  Another producorial misstep in my opinion.   

[Famebroadway2]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 8:56pm

Any discount codes for this? 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 9:21pm

 Wonderland flopped on BWAY...this has no future and won't land there either is what my souces in the industry are saying.

[Up In One]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 10:04pm

I do love all the criticism around an Alice adaptation being “confusing” when the source material itself is purposely riddled with riddles alternating with hallucinogenic passages. Critics have been dissecting the original for meaning for ages. Speaking of Disney there’s probably a reason Alice is not as beloved as the other “Princesses” - she has never been the most accessible of the characters. Considering the dumbing down of the musical of late I welcomed the challenge and found it very pleasurable and moving if a bit dense and quick at times. This is what off-Broadway was all about once upon a time - regardless of whether or not there’s a fairy god father with cash hoping to move it to Broadway. The market decides these things and there is obvious some interest in what’s going on way over there in the 50’s. 

Updated On: 2/20/19 at 10:04 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 10:33pm

Ellie'sdad said: "The show is "enhanced" (i.e. financed) by Broadway producers -one of whom I am friends with. The goal is to get to Broadway."

That goal isn't happening.

Ellie'sdad said: "To compare this to Great Comet is wrong. Great Comet was based on a passage from Tolstoy (if I remember correctly) that very few people alive have actually read."

I think a lot of people have read War and Peace.

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 1:05am

Ellie'sdad said: "The show is "enhanced" (i.e. financed) by Broadway producers -one of whom I am friends with. The goal is to get to Broadway."

@Ellie'sdad: Out of curiosity, who are the producers? I didn't see any listed in the Playbill. 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 8:17am

Ellie'sdad said: "To compare this to Great Comet is wrong. Great Comet was based on a passage from Tolstoy (if I remember correctly) that very few people alive have actually read."

I would guess, about the same number has read both.  Maybe even giving the edge to War & Peace.  The Alice that most people think of is Disney cartoon ...and now MAYBE the more recent film.

 

 

Posted: 2/21/19 at 1:32pm

At the end of the musical not a single person stood. Considering how cheap a standing O is, and for a musical especially, I do not think the audience is liking this piece.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 1:40pm

IntoTheWords said: "At the end of the musical not a single person stood. Considering how cheap a standing O is, and for a musical especially, I do not think the audience is liking this piece."

When I saw, the whole crowd stood, so... there lies the issue with anecdotal evidence.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 2:20pm

Much of the audience stood when I was there on Tuesday night as well...which I found surprising as the response was tepid throughout the evening.

I have found off- beay audiences are no where as quick to a standing O as bway.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 2:46pm

dramamama611 said: "I have found off- beay audiences are no where as quick to a standing O as bway."

We're not on the hook for as much $$$

[joytobroadway]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 5:43pm

I attended the Wednesday matinee yesterday and must say that I loved it! So much about it was absolutely fantastic that it made up for the few areas where changes could be made, if the creative team wanted. The music is fantastic! After each song, I told myself that one was my favorite. Hopefully there is a cast album release. The cast is so dedicated and really gave a top notch performance! Sets and costumes were well utilized and creative but not too the point where they took away from the cast or the material. But most importantly, the staging/choreography! WOW! Truly exceptional and inventive! I had chills at many moments by the simplest of gestures.

Certain layers of the book were harder to grasp than others, but the overall theme and plot is there and evident. Could it be cleaned up? Sure, but I do not want to see the introduction of a narrator.

I have no affiliation with Alice By Heart, just really enjoyed my afternoon spent with this show, so I wanted to add some positive remarks. I did the digital rush tickets and was front row. For those, you are very close to the stage and the stage is pretty high. You cannot see the floor of the stage but that doesn't really affect much. There are actually some really cool moments were the cast comes to the edge of the stage and you are almost face to face, very fun! For $25, definitely worth  it!

[joytobroadway]

Posted: 2/21/19 at 5:43pm

I attended the Wednesday matinee yesterday and must say that I loved it! So much about it was absolutely fantastic that it made up for the few areas where changes could be made, if the creative team wanted. The music is fantastic! After each song, I told myself that one was my favorite. Hopefully there is a cast album release. The cast is so dedicated and really gave a top notch performance! Sets and costumes were well utilized and creative but not too the point where they took away from the cast or the material. But most importantly, the staging/choreography! WOW! Truly exceptional and inventive! I had chills at many moments by the simplest of gestures.

Certain layers of the book were harder to grasp than others, but the overall theme and plot is there and evident. Could it be cleaned up? Sure, but I do not want to see the introduction of a narrator.

I have no affiliation with Alice By Heart, just really enjoyed my afternoon spent with this show, so I wanted to add some positive remarks. I did the digital rush tickets and was front row. For those, you are very close to the stage and the stage is pretty high. You cannot see the floor of the stage but that doesn't really affect much. There are actually some really cool moments were the cast comes to the edge of the stage and you are almost face to face, very fun! For $25, definitely worth  it!

[itsbeengrand]

Posted: 2/23/19 at 8:32am

I’ve been to show a few times between the first preview and now (as they’ve frozen the show). Things have changed a lot and personally I adore this show. The cast is great; there is no weak link. The choreography is just beautiful, Chillin the Regrets in particular. There is a nice mixture of songs. The songs are different enough where they don’t get repetitive and each song matching the character very well, but you can still tell its all from the same show. I don’t know a lot on how to judge a book but I wasn’t confused at all (I also am familiar with the novel) and cried. Also it’s not a very book heavy show. There is only one moment of the show I find boring, but other than that I’m captivated the entire show.

 

But yeah, I love it. It could easily sneak its way into my top five favorites. And its my 2nd favorite show currently running in New York. I’d say if you’re not put down by the negative comments go and give it a chance.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 2/23/19 at 10:14am

Saw the show last night. I left humming music from SPRING AWAKENING but could not remember one of the songs from this show even 5 mins later...

The cast is good, the costumes and staging are excellent and during the musical numbers I enjoyed it but I also found myself confused by what was going on. Alice and Alfred had no chemistry, for a while I thought he was her brother not her boyfriend. There was an insert in the Playbill I read beforehand with info about all the characters which was helpful because I had no idea who the Duchess was or the group of birds...

I don’t think the show is terrible, at 90 mins I enjoyed it, but I don’t think the book problems can be fixed.

[josh147]

Posted: 2/23/19 at 2:10pm

Saw this on Wednesday afternoon when I was in NYC and agree with basically everyone in parts. I really enjoyed it - I found it really easy to follow, but was also OK with being confused a little - Alice the book is confusing in parts! Set looked awesome, and I'm generally a sucker for Duncan Sheik songs - both his own, and Spring Awakening/Whisper House.

I'm glad that someone else was confused by Alice's relationship with Alfred. I was too - at first I thought he was her brother, but it turned romantic quickly. That needs to get straightened out.

Grace McLean - I would watch her in anything. She was perfectly cast as the Queen of Hearts, and her big song near the end was the total highlight for me. On the other hand, the way the show's staged, most every character gets one song, then turns into background. 

Molly Gordon - I'm totally conflicted on her. I thought he voice was great and she did really well in the more intimate/emotional moments, but I really wasn't on board when she got defiant or angry.