Anyone going to see Wonderland this week?- Page 5

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 6:32pm

"for anyone who has seen CATCH ME IF YOU CAN....

don;t you think the songs in WONDERLAND are better ?

i liked ONE song in CATCH... and MANY in WONDERLAND..."

There are a few catchy songs in Wonderland, but the scores aren't even comparable in overall quality. I guess if you're into derivative pop garbage the show is fantastic.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 7:15pm

I'm personally a Wildhorn fan and I have friends who love Jekyll & Hyde. But the more I listen to him, the more I realize just how valid the criticisms of his music are. I'll hear a number and think, "Oh yeah, he TOTALLY didn't write that to be the shows' Top 40 Hit." Now I pretty much said that in my last post but to be perfectly frank, I'm not wild about these changes at all. I thought they had a pretty solid concept when Alice was actually descended from the original Alice. I'm gonna hold off on giving a solid opinion of this but from the sound of it, it doesn't sound like it's gonna run very long.

Of course, that's the vibe I got from the reviews of Memphis and look how THAT turned out.

[Midnight Radio]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 7:20pm

Oh yes, lets just clarify: Last night's audience pretty much ate it up and was very receptive, with a majority giving it a standing ovation.

Not that it was good...

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 11:08pm

I haven't seen it yet but several of my friends have and it's all been negative feedback that I've heard. I want to see it myself before I decide, but I CAN say that the design (from what I've seen circulating) is HIDEOUS.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 11:18pm

What an utter disappointment.

No standing ovation at all in the orchestra til Janet came out. Not receptive where I was (front, center orchestra) (but sounded like some people were really into it)... looked like people were falling asleep. Murphy's lyrics in most cases have gotten worse, song placement has gotten worse, etc.. More later.



Also: "Also, what is up with this recent notion that in big budget musicals you need an obligatory chorus number where everyone is dressed as the lead? Wasn't it bizarre enough in Spiderman?! "

This has been in many early WONDERLAND scripts, and was also in the 2009 world premiere and every production since... so I believe Spider-Man stole it from Wonderland.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 11:34pm

I actually thought it was one of the more effective moments in Spider-Man.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 11:41pm

^Same.. isn't it supposed to show that "anyone" could be Spider-man?

In WONDERLAND it's used for comedic relief... the audience loves it, I didn't realize people on this board are that hard to please!

[dramadude]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 11:44pm

It's hard to believe that this show has had three out of town tryouts and is still uncertain of itself. It has SO MUCH POTENTIAL that it's almost hard to watch at certain moments. When it works, it really works between the music and staging, but that only accounted for 25% of the show, and I think I'm being generous. Janet Dacal did an alright job for stepping into some bigger shoes as a leading lady. She really hit a home run with "Finding Wonderland", but some of her moments were lacking throughout the show. Kate Shindle is ofcourse great, but it sounded like her opening of Act II "Defying Gravity"esque was just a recycled version of Wildhorn's "Life After Life" from Dracula. For about half a minute, the music sounded like the beginning of "Rise Above" with a Young Frankenstein set to match!

The finale by far is the strongest point and number of the show with a great tableau of the Wonderland characters once Alice is back in her apartment. The beginning of the show is the weakest, where the once upbeat "Worst Day of My Life" about a career driven author has been turned into a depressing, ballad-ridden duet between a has been author turned public school teacher and her sarcastic, sad daughter. Not a good way to start a show. The original opening number on te concept album was amazing!

[philly03]

Posted: 3/22/11 at 11:49pm

The new opening is so atrocious. I felt like I was going to fall asleep watching it!!!! Awful! You need to hook the audience... which is not what they did. A slow, soft-rock duet? Why!

Why did they have Danny Stiles sing "Down the Rabbit Hole"? This was the "I Want" song people have been saying Alice's character lacks - She flat out says I need to find myself in Wonderland (& my daughter) in the song, but now it's not even enjoyable.

It also just makes no sense why she's in Wonderland anyway... Chloe should lead her there. And there relationship seems perfect. Why are we not introduced to Jack at all in the beginning? What is the point of Karen Mason as the grandmom?

I agree - This was so dumb to open cold turkey with THIS version on Broadway. Even Tampa '11 if that transfered I'd like it more...

[HBBrock]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:10am

Saw this show tonight. I was one of the people who actually had hopes for this one after listening to the concept recording....

What a piece of crap show in every aspect. The set sucked. The book sucked. It was boring, and there were only a few good songs. Changing "Worst Day of My Life" was a terrible idea.

This is going to be a major flop.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:13am

And yes, people were standing at the end of the curtain call - but it had nothing to do with Janet. Everyone around me was getting up to put their jackets on and stretch after that long 2 hours and 15 mins...and then they just kind of stood there and politely clapped.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:17am

Hahaha that's what I was originally thinking HBBrock...

I mean I happen to have had a bit of a softspot for DRACULA, the musical... but that could have even been better than that. At least that had amazing sets, amazing effects, amazing costumes, amazing seasoned performers, etc etc.

This has a mostly rookie cast: Neither Shindle, Dacal or Ritchie can command the stage unless it's their solo number... with a dud set save for some pieces.... and nothing flashy about it.

I question why they even opened this season... fly under the radar?! I have no idea!

[HBBrock]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:31am

For $15 million, that was one cheap looking "set"....

[Kad]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:33am

Fly under the radar? They should be so lucky if they even get airborne.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:34am

Philly, do you still proclaim that the score will be nominated for the Tony?

[philly03]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 12:41am

I'm guessing the $15 MIL includes the $3.2 Original Tampa production, the move to Houston and the return to Tampa production... I don't see what the $15 MIL even with all the projections could've gone to.

I'm optimistic still about the score... It really is a good score, but perhaps it belongs on a compilation of Wonderland ideas as opposed to a set show. As is after the SECOND PREVIEW, no, unfortunately. I can't see what else unless Janet "by default" gets a nod... no one else seems good enough, nor any aspect of the show worth "Wow! That aspect is so good!"

Haha I'm almost ready to surrender my avatar for another picture.

[maxximumvolume]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 1:04am

I really wanted to like this show, but I didn't. At all. As many people have already said I found it quite horrible. Amateurish, sloppy, silly. Granted it's a second preview, but this show has had many tryouts and lots of work done on it. It's a complete mess.

There's absolutely no narrative drive, surprisingly horrible and dull songs (I liked a lot of the concept recording but with the staging they fall horribly flat), horrible tacked on jokes, uninteresting characters. The design is an absolute eye sore. The best part was the elegant curtain design and the use of projections. The performers are all weak too, but I don't necessarily blame them or doubt their talent, there's just no material for them to work with. It was all so hackneyed and ham fisted and it just tried way too hard to be cute and clever.

I guess I kind of laughed at the White Knight boy band number, but that's about it, and it felt horribly out of place anyways. I will not be returning.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 1:14am

Saw this tonight.

Absoutely awful. The one saving grace is the projection / video design. Decal, Mason, , Shindle, Ritchie and company do phenominal work to try to make it work, but the music and that horrible book just beat them to shreds. It's as though Boyd and Murphy watched the movie version of the Wiz, thought "genuis" and just plugged in the Alice characters. Same concept. Same disater. The only one who walks away with his helf high Sven ortel for his projections.

The women behind me were VERY excited at the top of the show and made it VERY known.. by the end, the were openly talking about how bad it was... during the show.

For those interested, it seems that there is no "late seating" point established.. show up at will and be ushered right to your seat in the middle of songs and scenes.. and I only saw a smattering of people stand at curtain call upstairs and a few at the very sides of the front orchestra.

Nice set. A few technical snafus (a set piece banged into a light tower in the wing. It moved a good 4 feet at the base and I was concerned that it would topple onto the stage)... MANY missed sound cues (not helps by a number of flubbed lines).

I am happy to share more detailed thoughts via PM.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 1:24am

Is it too late to just go back to the '11 Tampa book?

Wildhorn shows tend to preview out of town and then open cold on Broadway with a new book. Clearly it hasn't worked out too well in the past so I'll never really understand why the tradition is continuing with Wonderland. You'd think they would have figured it out by now.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 1:25am

For those interested...
Here is a link to Sven Ortel's website. He designed the projections for the show. His site has some pretty nice shots of the set, projections, and lights.
Sven Ortel- Wonderland

[philly03]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 1:31am

^All from the original Tampa production.


The problem with going back to the Boyd/Murphy '11 book is that it was also flawed. They introduced characters in the exposition (Mrs. Everheart), but because they wanted to do the silhouettes at the end (I'm assuming), they just ignored it.. similar to a lot of things. If it didn't fit in right, they just ignored it. Not to mention it had scrapes left over from previous scripts.

Also I forgot how many lines were obviously flubbed tonight...mostly Janet Dacal & Karen Mason, from what I'm remembering.

I'm beginning to miss "Nick of Time" (Which I always thought would make a great Act II opener!).

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 1:49am

Sure the Tampa book was also flawed, but it probably would have been a better idea to try and improve upon that book instead of just opening on Broadway with something untested and clearly just as problematic.

[ABB2357]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 2:03am

I haven't seen WONDERLAND, but I should mention that everything (literally, everything) people are saying about the mess of a book is EXACTLY what Rupert Holmes did to THE FIRST WIVES CLUB. I know a lot of you didn't get to see that disaster in San Diego, so just imagine the same awful jokes, lack of structure (taking 45 minutes for any plot to kick in), cardboard characters and cringe-inducing product placement.

Narrative inconsistencies doesn't even begin to describe it. How he continues to get show doctor work despite the fact that his one big hit was 26 years ago astounds me.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 2:08am

philly, my guess would be line changes made in rehearsal today.. and let's not forget cast members quite literally slamming into each other numerous times during curtain call.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/23/11 at 11:06am

Yes.. and to be fair this is a totally new show from just 2 months ago which had some similiarities.

I do plan to write up a full review comparing it to the try-outs, but I'm still in shock 4 years since the initial workshops in Tampa THIS is what made it to Broadway... I can't believe they allowed them to virtually throw away every plot point that made sense. This is the THIRD book writing "team"! And I'll give them some credit - they made some things make more sense, and clearly Jack Murphy realized the old lyrics to "Together" made no sense in the jail scene!