Understudy Joined: 6/14/08
Found this on Youtube. This musical just had its San Diego premiere and got excellent reviews. I found it very enjoyable! Any thoughts on it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCOx4XeUdn0 (this one is just a promo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyzUGkqJs7w (shortened version of 1st scene)
Chorus Member Joined: 11/15/06
I'm choreographing this show in Chicago this next season!
I actually think it looks amazing. I heard it described by some as a new musical, which although it is not (obviously based on previous material), the approach it seems to be taking is an altogether new one. I also would rather Broadway be littered with a bunch of literary adaptations than direct movie transfers. It's obvious from the videos which have more thought put into them. Anyone know where I can listen to any of the other songs or listen to those songs in their entirety?
I'm sorry. That looks horrendous. Truly. I appreciate that they're trying a contemporary approach to "Alice in Wonderland," but... really? It just sounds like a high school drama teacher wrote it.
This looks no worse than Wedding Singer or Legally Blonde.
Understudy Joined: 6/14/08
You all have your opinions. And trust me, dont judge anything until you've watch botch clips in their entirety. Remember, this is only Community theatre. NOT Broadway!
Clips? What happened to actually going to see the show and then forming an opinion?
Understudy Joined: 6/14/08
Thats not what i meant... I was saying that one clip was a compilation of songs, the other was one full song. Before they say "this sucks", they should've watched both because it looks like this show has a lot of different types of music and some outstanding talent. It may seem a little bit like a "mediocre pop-rock opera" at the beginning, but in the promo it shows that it is versatile after the opening song.
Understudy Joined: 6/14/08
Swing Joined: 8/5/04
I watched all the clips on YouTube. And I realize it's not Broadway. But I've seen enough original regional theatre musicals to understand when something is good and when it isn't. I can't imagine that the parts they selected for the video are the only rough patches. Isn't a clip montage supposed to highlight the best parts of the show? If that's what they're doing, I think I can fairly say I dislike the high points of the show.
Any new show in development is going to have rough patches. This show was part of the ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop and used to be called Looking Glass Girl. It was more of a new story using the iconography of Alice than an adaptation of the classic.
I think that for a brand new musical that's not on Broadway, it shows a lot of promise. The few I listened to sounds a thousand times better than anything on 13, THE WEDDING SINGER, or CRY-BABY. It reminds me a lot of LEGALLY BLONDE though.
Yes, some of the lyrics are forced (the HAMLET quotes specifically) and it is hardly the next FOLLIES or CABARET but it seems like a great show for a community theater and specifically for high schools. Kudos to the creative team behind it.
Swing Joined: 11/19/08
Well I have seen it in person and I think it's amazing. I would rather sit through it 100 times then go see Tommy again. To say it's crap just because you didn't like the "montage" on "youtube" shows that you are completely close-minded. I feel sorry for you.
I'm sorry, but I think that was awful. And the choreography was terrible. Not a fan.
That doesn't make me close-minded at all. The preview is put out there to entice an audience. If it doesn't entice me, why would I go and see it? Why would I think it has potential if a preview for the show fails to do its job? If a movie trailer sucks, I'm not going to go and see that movie. Why should theatre be any different? I never once said the whole show sucked. I can't make that assessment, as I have never seen the show in its entirety. But the preview did not do a single thing for me. THAT is what I said was awful.
Updated On: 11/19/08 at 01:32 PM
Swing Joined: 11/21/08
I'm sorry, my dear boy, but I think you are a snob! Most of these kids are still in high school! This is an original community theater production, not a big budget Broadway musical, or a national tour of a tried & true classic like "Music Man" - it's actually refreshing! Don't be afraid to try something new or give someone new a chance to shine! This would be boring old world if we kept repeating the same old shows over & over again!
1) Don't talk to me like you're my grandmother.
2) On top of the fact that I said the show looked like it sucks, I also said I appreciate that they're trying something new that could (potentially) be very exciting.
3) I am ALWAYS willing to give something "new" and "refreshing" a listen. I gave this a LISTEN and I wasn't intrigued.
4) If you've never heard of the musical "Paris by Night" written by Curt Columbus and Amy Warren (of the new cast of "August: Osage County"), I suggest you look it up. It started out in a setting much like "Alice." It was performed by people probably about as old as those in "Alice" and no one liked it and everyone said it was atrocious, blah blah blah. They reworked it, brought it to Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI, and performed to basically unanimously 'eh' reviews. While STILL in a small regional theatre setting, farrrrrrr from Broadway. You know what that means? Sometimes, something "new" and "refreshing" can be bad.
Don't tell me I'm a snob. I have reason to say what I say. I know what teenagers are capable of. I'm a teenager. While I don't doubt the great talent of those involved, I do doubt the writing. THE MUSIC DOESN'T APPEAL TO ME! Typically, if I don't like the music to a MUSICal, I'm gonna have to say that the MUSICal will fall flat. For me.
Updated On: 11/22/08 at 10:50 AM
It made me think of last year's "Broadway Bares" and wish that I could go see that live and in person again!
Swing Joined: 11/21/08
Dear ColorTheHours048,
My comment about someone being a "snob" was not directed at you, sorry, but rather someone else, but somehow it was was posted in the wrong order! Please, smooth your feathers, no one is going to tie you to a chair and make you watch musicals you hate, over and over again! No, I am not trying to be your grandmother!
Featured Actor Joined: 9/13/08
The lead girl is SOO sharp....i had to turn off the video
the song is way to high for her, and for most female belters (for that matter)....
the dialogue is terrible. Ugh.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/5/08
Actually, I think they got something here. The choreography and set design need to be pumped up more. I think with more "eye catching" and impacting staging, this could be a winner. However, just like the book version "Alice", it might be a bit hard to follow by the audiences...
I was hoping for the traditional "Alice", though.
Based on these clips, it seems really noisy. A lot of belting/screaming, a lot of rock guitar, a lot of people in constant motion. Pretty bad signal to noise ratio. Very unfocused and cluttered. Too many whirling sets too.
The lyrics are horrendous, a parade of cliches set to bland pop tunes devoid of tone, setting or mood.
Videos