BAD CINDERELLA to close on June 4 — Page 26

Jordan Catalano said: "As much as I love Carolee, they need to get Jinkx in the role and save that show."

Mmmm...no.

What I find so fascinating about this show is that it got so much WORSE in the transition from West End to Broadway. I genuinely enjoyed it in London. Was it high art? No. Was it rather ridiculous? You better believe it. But the performances were stellar; it was high camp; and there were moments of genuine wonder. Here, though, it all looks more cramped on a much smaller stage, leading all of the design to look more garish and misguided. And the cast just can’t elevate the material like Carrie Hope Fletcher, Ivano Turco, and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt did. Carolee comes closest, but there’s only so much one actor can do.


I was suspicious of the incredibly negative word of mouth on this one because I did have a lovely time seeing it in the UK. But oof, this didn’t translate well. Everything that worked is diminished, awhile all the pieces that were rough have simply been amplified. The less said about the handling of the fairy godmother in either production, the better.



I feel bad for all involved in either side of the pond. Everyone has been underserved by this show, and I suspect there’s a lot of blame to be shared all around.

How is this still running?

Because they've sold enough tickets to keep running - a large percentage, I'm guessing, from BEFORE the reviews.. I'm sure they are trying to hold out to see if they get any Tony noms - which won't likely help, even if they do - most real "bumps" in ticket sales only show up for the winners of the big categories: Best Musical, Best revival -etc.

That being said, it doesn't sound like this is going to even get many nominations.

Sure Jan!

Has anyone heard if there is going to be a cast recording for this?

I may well be in the minority but I really hope there will be one, preferably complete.

Danny1984 said: "Has anyone heard if there is going to be a cast recording for this?

I may well be in the minority but I really hope there will be one, preferably complete."

I'm with you... especially with the broadway orchestra which is much bigger than the London one was.

But I'm highly doubtful of that. The critical reception of it definitely has taken a toll. And the fact that ALW's son was integral with the recording of the original/ it was grammy nominated - even for sentimental reasons I could see them not moving forward, which is too bad.

CATSNYrevival said: "chernjam said: "I'm with you... especially with the broadway orchestra which is much bigger than the London one was.

But I'm highly doubtful of that. The critical reception of it definitely has taken a toll. And the fact that ALW's son was integral with the recording of the original/ it was grammy nominated - even for sentimental reasons I could see them not moving forward, which is too bad."

All of that would make sense and especially since ALW is probably back home with more important family matters to attend to. But, if they plan to license the show with the new songs and the new title, a new album would be helpful."

Anything's possible. Hey they have 3 recordings of By Jeeves including an "American Premiere Recording" and I'd definitely be in favor of a new one. Would love to hear the lyric changes as well as the new cast singing some truly beautiful music by ALW

I love the new television ads for the show. All of them quote the British reviews. I mean how sneaky/brilliant is that.

Finally caught up to the US version of this and it really is worse for its transfer. On the West End they at least had Carrie Hope Fletcher, who had charisma and great chemistry with Sebastian. Linedy’s version is screechy and unpleasant - her banter with Sebastian feels less playful and more just mean. They’ve also, for some reason, scrubbed a lot of the better lyrics (that lovely bouncy line about plexiglas houses sticks out) but that’s kind of like complaining that they wiped the lipstick off a pig.

Besides the fact that the show also now makes less sense, and features even fewer payoffs, revisiting ALW’s music showed up its flaws. While it’s still lovely to hear a good old fashioned earworm, his music has never been very nimble, and when paired with Zippel’s awful lyrics the songs all wear out their welcome pretty fast. Each song has two melodies and they’re hammered over and over, never progressing, and completely unsupported by the lyrics, which grind endlessly in place.

It reminds me a little bit of a comment on these boards about how everyone remembers “Poor Little Person” from Henry, Sweet Henry because it’s just a twenty-second jingle repeated ad nauseum, which is fair, but it’s a bouncy one. There’s not much bounce to this score, or to much else onstage, except maybe the pecs of those hunks. I mean, damn.

Honestly, I've thought the marketing to be some of the better parts of this show. Some of the ads have been clever and funny and do give a good representation of the fun parts of the show (like the Desperate Housewives ad and the fake paparazzi photos). I could see how retooling it to harken back to R&H Cinderella could possibly get more butts in seats but at this point I don't know if people would suddenly start to be interested, and if anything they might be more disappointed after seeing the show.

I don't think there's anything that's going to turn the show around at this point.

If Christine & Steve Schwartzman want to sink cash into this, that's a better use of their money than supporting the GOP. But the agency works at the direction of the producer and firing them is not going to help much.

If they really wanted to try something different, lean into the camp element. Engage Drag Queens and the gay community. Be punchy and tongue in cheek with the ad copy and quotes and campaign. Put the Stepmother and Queen front and center. Show off Prince Charming. etc.