BANDSTAND Previews — Page 3

In terms of the standing ovation, I think it's well deserved. Especially if you're looking at it from a plot standpoint. You watch these guys struggle with their PTSD (something that wasn't talked about during that time, it was completely overlooked and so many people who came back from that war were never the same) and struggle with the people around them being completely oblivious to their struggles. They capture all of it in that song and it really hits you. Not to mention, Laura's vocals are killer. She definitely sells it 100%.

As for the book, I do think it needed some tweaking as well. But, being completely devoid of conflict? Not so much. I, personally, think the recurring conflict is the conflict they all face individually (not to give too much of the show away but: PTSD, alcoholism, disability, losing a loved one, etc). That might be a hit and miss for some people, but I don't think it's completely free of conflict either. There's real struggle in this show, and since I haven't seen the Broadway transfer yet, I can't speak to say that it's completely visible on stage.

But, i'm really excited to see the changes they made from Papermill when I see the show for myself in May!

I wonder what the advance on this is. In this crowded season, it seems to be generating very little interest, as evidenced by the relatively light activity on this thread. This might be a show that is good enough to get some positive and mixed reviews, but not special enough to generate the buzz needed to prop it up until it finds its audience. In a less crowded season, it might be getting more attention, but it appears to be in danger of getting lost in the shuffle.

The second preview was definitely a hit with the audience. No questions about the standing ovation. The audience was on its feet before the curtain call.

Having said that, judging from conversations I had with others at the theater and from conversations overheard, it was still an audience with a lot of Paper Mills and others who were predisposed to like this musical.

This is a show whose quality will be divided a great deal along generational lines. Although the original participants in the 20th century wars and in the music of the swing era have mostly departed, their children, the aging baby boomers, survive and carry with them what they derived from their parents: a healthy respect for the wars in which their fathers probably fought and a great affection for swing.

It was good to see the post-war problems of the veterans brought forward, even if given a rather superficial treatment. In the real world, post-war miseries were treated with a heavy dose of sentimental music. The ballads at least were lovely, "We'll Meet Again" "Long Ago and Far Away" "I'll Be Seeing You" "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" "It's Been A Long, Long Time" "I'll Walk Alone"

With the amazing amount of talent in this City, it's sad that an original show like Bandstand, full of energy, creativity and swing, and with so much appeal to a sizeable niche, cannot survive for a long time on those merits alone. Mass appeal is usually required for success, and mass appeal may be difficult for this production to achieve.

Updated On: 4/3/17 at 01:48 AM

Butter Broadway said: "Well we don't know if it's gonna survive. They're even making a ton of changes after the first two performances. Clearly Blankenbuehler is working his a$$ off to make the show successful."

This theater outsider would love to see the process by which major changes are made so close to premiere.

It had a long run at the Paper Mill to sort things out. I'm sure a lot of additional changes were made before and during rehearsals. Once it finally opened its doors to the Manhattan public, I think it would be fascinating to see how they evaluate what isn't working and replace it with something that does work under the pressure of time. I suppose that they must rely on audience reaction; the first previews are probably already stacked with a sympathetic audience.

Still, I hear stories of such changes. "Edelweiss," a late addition to The Sound of Music, was the last song that Hammerstein wrote before he succumbed to stomach cancer. It is performed twice in the film and no doubt contributes to the warm feeling that audiences have for the show. Even in some of those not normally fond of a lot of sentiment in their theater.

"Comedy Tonight" was written and added to A Funny Thing...after the show was in tryouts. According to the source that I heard the story from, it literally saved the show by changing the confused and somewhat dark mood of the audience after it listened to the original opening number to one of happy expectation.

Remember, Sondheim wrote "Comedy Tonight" when he was still a very young man and had not yet learned how to avoid writing fun, catchy tunes that had wide appeal.

I have to say, I enjoyed Bandstand much more than I expected to! Is it a great show? No, but I enjoyed myself much more than at Come From Away (which I found empty) and Groundhog Day (misogyny). It has some problems, but I felt much warmer about the material than I expected to. Some of the music is good, and I was surprised by some of the turns in the story. Great work by Corey Cott and beautiful costumes. I thought Laura was good, but very much the performance we've seen her give in other shows.

It's also at least 20 minutes too long-- it could have potentially been 90-100 minutes with no intermission and vastly improved, IMO

Updated On: 4/7/17 at 09:13 AM

I think that the reviews will be kind, at least. No one will want to come out looking unsympathetic to the veterans who came back damaged from the Second World War.

We know so much about the Vietnam vets who returned as perpetually damaged people. I volunteered at a homeless shelter in well-off Port Jefferson, Long Island in the early 90's and couldn't believe all those vets out on the streets as alcoholics or other substance abusers. And all you had to do to get out of serving was to enroll in a four year college.

Those WW II vets, especially those who fought to the death with maniacal Japanese on those muddy, disease-ridden Pacific islands had to be as traumatized as their Vietnam brothers, but we never heard much about them.

WOW, what a small thread! Not much buzz, huh?

And yet, BroadwayBox is calling their discount for it a "Hot" one...I don't know what their criteria is, but I would think the Great Comet discount would be much more used.

There haven't been many reviews recently, so lots to say after I saw this one tonight. Overall, I liked it, and I'll break it down for you.

The Good:

1) Corey Cott - the man is so charismatic and surprisingly good at real raw emotion. If they have any shot at a Tony nom, it lies with him (although he didn't have great songs - more on that later). I can't wait to see where he goes after Bandstand.

2) The Donny Nova Band - each man in the band played his own instrument and had great moments of personality in their dialogue. I enjoyed each one for different reasons.

3) Patriotism - Whether you agree with government politics or not, it was really nice to see a show that respects the people who have sacrificed for our ability to disagree on those political issues. They deserve it.

The Not-So-Good:

1) Laura Osnes - yes, her voice is beautiful, but that's pretty much where it ends for her. She needs to stick to parts like Sandy, Hope, and Cinderella because all emotion that came from her felt disingenuous. I was not buying what she was selling.

2) The Sound - I was sitting in the front row center of the mezzanine, and there were lots of moments when it was hard to hear Corey and Laura. Perhaps their mics were turned down because they typically sing into a working old-fashioned mic, so their sound gets amplified, but in the scenes and some other singing moments it was truly hard to hear.

The Mixed:

1) Dancing - I wanted more and less at the same time. More swing dancing! This is a show based around that type of music, and when those numbers happened, the show was electric. At the same time, there were too many transition dance moves between and even in the middle of scenes. It was a distraction. So more swing, less movement.

2) Songs - The music was serviceable and allowed the musicians to do their thing, but they need more solo moments to show off their talent (including a showstopper for Corey), and the lyrics/melodies left something to be desired. They were okay, but nothing more.

Butter Broadway said: "I disagree with you on Laura. I think she's showing many different colors in this part, even though it's still an ingenue role."

I'll be most interested to hear what the reviewers have to say about her.

^ The audience was abnormally enthusiastic about Leavel. She was funny, but they were clapping for every entrance and exit like it was Easter, and they'd just witnessed a miracle.

Why is everyone going on about a standing ovation?

Ive never seen a show in NYC that hasn't got a standing O.. whether it be a terrible show or a great one. It seems obligatory.



this show however sounds really boring. I love Osbes and Cott but nothing about it appeals at all.