Anyone going to the first preview of COME FLY AWAY tonight? — Page 2

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm wondering too. I don't really have any special connection to Frank Sinatra, but Movin' Out was one of my favorite theater experiences i've ever had. Though I didn't really know anything about Billy Joel when I saw that either. I was so looking forward to this primarily because I loved Movin'Out so much and because I want to see some fantastic dancing. But now you guys are scaring me.

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"For those who weren't crazy about this, did you like Movin' Out? I was assuming this would be similar, and although I'm not a huge dance fan, I really enjoyed Tharp's take on Billy Joel's music."

Not being a Billy Joel fan, I didn't care much for "Movin' Out." But I think it worked much better than "Come Fly Away." It had a narrative line with which one could connect, and the dancing struck me as more in sync with the songs themselves. Here, there wasn't much of a narrative, and as a previous poster mentioned, seemed little more than a slicker "Burn the Floor." The dancers were terrific, the dancing impressive, but I have to say I found my mind wandering.

It's too bad, because I think that Tharp has imaginative ideas, and possesses a good sense of humor. I don't think they were best presented here.

The best dancing was done to a non-Sinatra sung song, "Take Five." The choreography had a silken, haunting quality that I thought could be the basis of a more poetic, ethereal kind of show, one less literal than people gathered in a night club. I'd like to see Tharp do a show like that.

One strange aspect of last night's performance was that the best dancer of the lot portrayed a character who was so clumsy that he kept falling down. So on the one hand you see him doing the most fantastic moves, and then suddenly he takes a tumble while pretending to be a real clodhopper.

In another sequence, a dancer was shouting over the singing. I guess that can be remedied during previews.

"Considering that this show doesn't open until Mar. 25th and that this was the first preview, maybe it's a bit premature (and overly harsh) to start being critical..."

I'm sorry, but were they not charging $116 to see this show last night? That means that they need to have a product ready to be shown and ready to be judged and critiqued by those who see it.

Well that's fine if they want to consider it a work in progress. Just don't charge full prices for something that isn't complete yet.

And out of curiosity, what percentage of an audience during previews actually knows they're seeing a "preview"? I'd venture to say it's not as big as you'd think. Are those people who go to see something just because it interests them not allowed to form an opinion of what they've just seen?

If you're going to present something to the public, preview or not and like it or not, it's going to be judged. Times have changed in the past 20 years or so. Previews aren't like they used to be. You can't have a first preview that completely sucks and not have the world know about it. That's just not the world today.

I haven't seen the show yet and I haven't slammed it nor would I until I actually see it. Truth it, a show like this that doesn't fully interest me isn't something I'm going to pay for unless I can do rush or standing room or even TDF and I feel I'm in the vast majority with that thinking.

Secondly, if producers reduced ticket prices for previews it wouldn't stop anyone from talking about it obviously, but it would show good faith on their part that that their work is still a "work in progress". As I said, we live in a different time. Shows need to learn to adapt that and whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is unfortunately irrelevant it's just the truth. You need to have a polished, finished product ready to present the minute that curtain goes up for your first preview otherwise it could be detrimental to the run of your show. And really...I don't think that's such a bad thing.

roadmixer- Isn't the point of previews to discuss what is not going well with a show and fix it?

I certainly wasn't "slamming" the show, and I don't think anyone on the thread was either. No one has come out and said, "This is a piece of crap and you should avoid it all costs!"

I paid for my ticket last night and I absolutely have every right to discuss my feelings about the show, negative and positive.

It seems the general consensus is the dancing was technically on point, but the story/emotional connection wasn't there. Trust me, there have been much more damning (preview) reviews on this site for other shows.

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