All About Me's final performance - anyone go?

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 8:17am

I went to see All About Me this past Saturday (the day before the final performance) and I enjoyed myself immensely! I laughed from beginning to end. The entire audience was roaring. What a shame it had to close. Before the show, I actually ran into Barry Humphries who was walking from the theater towards 9th Avenue. What a nice surprise that was!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here was lucky enough to go to the final performance on Sunday. If so, please let us know how it was! Did Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein do anything special for the final performance?

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 10:42am

I also wonder what Barry Humphries is doing next. I know he's in his late 70's so I wonder if he'll ever retire. I hope not!

[jeffmiele]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 12:01pm

the only thing special they could have done is to not have gone on

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 1:31pm

This is the first Bway production of the current season that I didn't see. And I kinda wish I would have, just to say I did, but I heard nothing but terrible things about it. Was the theater crowded, Mimi?

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 1:38pm

The theater was actually almost full. I noticed that an entire section of seats was empty (in the back left orchestra). I couldn't see how the mezzanine was doing. So I would say that about 30 seats in the orchestra were empty but the rest were filled up. It was more crowded than many Broadway shows I've seen recently. It helped that the audience that was there was extremely responsive.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 1:42pm

I still think this would have had a nice little run if they had eliminated Michael Feinstein and made it a solo show for the Dame.

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 1:49pm

Dame Edna definitely could have done this by herself. She didn't need anyone up there with her. I did, however, enjoy watching Michael Feinstein.

I wonder if the show could have continued had they taken out Michael Feinstein (if that's what they determined was holding it back, which I'm not sure about).

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 1:57pm

"I still think this would have had a nice little run if they had eliminated Michael Feinstein and made it a solo show for the Dame."

Completely agree.

[hotjohn]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 2:50pm

I'm really sad and confused as to why this fantastic show had to close so quickly. Well, I know that due to bad reviews people weren't buying tickets, that's obvious, but why were the critics so unhappy with it? It was, without a doubt, the highlight of my recent stay in New York - I didn't stop laughing for the whole show (yes, even when Michael was singing - but I was still laughing at Dame Edna's previous gags, of course!).

My theory is that 'All About Me', being something of a hybrid show, is not easy to describe in one short sentence - was it a comedy, cabaret, musical theatre, entertainment? It was all those and more - what it wasn't was a Xerox of other shows, something that gets watered-down to appeal to the lowest common denominator and the widest possible audience. For having the courage to do something different everyone involved with the show should be proud (if a little poorer).

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 2:59pm

I would hardly call what this show had "courage" to do something different. I would call it "balls" to sloppily toss together some slapdash jokes from Edna and some standard songs Feinstein's been singing his entire career and have the tenacity to put it in a Broadway theater and charge $116 for it.

[hotjohn]

Posted: 4/5/10 at 3:09pm

So MiracleElixir, what did you really think of the show?