Posted: 4/13/19 at 10:20pm
Posted: 4/13/19 at 10:48pm
Posted: 4/13/19 at 11:46pm
Saw it today - ugh, I don't know what to think. I enjoyed it, but I didn't take anything away from it. It's really hard to review things on this board, as the general concensus here is vastly different than the general publics, which is different than other theatre goers. I found this to be an all around superior show to The Prom / The Cher Show, from a sheer entertainment and production standpoint, but found it to be inferior to Be More Chill, and extremely so, Hadestown.
I just couldn't believe how lame the characters are. I could've cared less about the Maitlands, I hated how neutered Delia's character is, and Lydia's material is so poor it's hard to relate to her.
This is will be a TKTS staple, and I can see it sticking around for a new year 2020 closing. It'll make far more money on the road than it will in the Winter Garden.
Posted: 4/14/19 at 10:39pm
Posted: 4/15/19 at 9:19am
Jordan Catalano said: "I saw the show this week and I’m pretty shocked that so many people seem to hate it so much. While the show isn’t without its problems, I had a really great time. The set design is one of the most inventive I’ve seen in a long time and while the music wasn’t Sondheim, I didn’t find it to be awful. Add to that performances that were uniformly very strong and it just made for a very enjoyable couple of hours."
I saw this last weekend and agree pretty much 100% with this review, Jordan. It wasn't great, but it's Beetlejuice, so I wasn't expecting it to be anything more than eye-popping and passingly entertaining. It was both. The sets are really cool, almost like optical illusions when they move forward and back and seem to grow or shrink. I didn't love Brightman, but I wasn't sure how much was his performance and how much was the writing. The songs were mostly bland but they were by no means terrible.
I also agree with whomever said this wasn't even the worst musical of the season (hi, King Kong!), let alone one of the worst I've ever seen. It's fairly middling, but based on reactions during and after the performance I saw, it's hugely satisfying for fans of the movie and the Beetlejuice character and for tourists looking for spectacle. It's definitely a better translation and spectacle, as a whole, than some other tourist traps on Broadway at the moment (again, hi, King Kong!).
Posted: 4/15/19 at 10:15am
But it is still unbelievable that we are discussing which is worse of two pretty bad shows this season: Beetlejuice or King Kong.
I actually could sit through King Kong again but I absolutely would not, could not sit through Beetlejuice a second time.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 3:06pm
Posted: 4/15/19 at 3:18pm
TobiasRagg said: "The official trailer for Beetlejuice was released today!
https://youtu.be/KIY3Cxz37ag"
It looks cute!
Posted: 4/15/19 at 3:44pm
I've had my tickets for June 8th for awhile now...
It sure as fvck isn't Sondheim, but I don't think it always has to be?... That trailer makes the show look SO fun. The score and writing may not be perfect but, that's that I guess. I'm not saying we should holistically settle for mediocre writing on Broadway and that it's criticisms aren't justified, but that trailer does a really good job of selling a spectacle and sometimes that's all I can ask for in a fun, upbeat, movie-to-musical show like this. Call me ignorant, but I'm still super excited to go see it this summer. Looks really fun.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 3:45pm
It looks great but the parts of the score they chose to highlight make "Everybody Say Yeah" sound like Sondheim.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 3:58pm
Posted: 4/15/19 at 5:31pm
Posted: 4/15/19 at 5:47pm
TobiasRagg said: "The official trailer for Beetlejuice was released today!
https://youtu.be/KIY3Cxz37ag"
Set design looks incredible! Dewey as Beetlejuice though... not sold on the casting there. Really, really impressed with that set though!
Posted: 4/15/19 at 5:50pm
TobiasRagg said: "The official trailer for Beetlejuice was released today!
https://youtu.be/KIY3Cxz37ag"
I have had no interest in seeing the show -- I hated the movie -- and this board's postings in general have not invented me to rethink that lack of interest. I still have no interest, but I thought that commercial was very good visually, although the little bit of music did not impress at all.
I am surprised that Alex Brightman is being so trashed. He seemed perfectly in character during the 75 seconds.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 6:11pm
Posted: 4/15/19 at 11:34pm
The trailer does make the show look like a lot of fun but most trailers do. What does seem obvious is that the score is not very interesting if that’s the best they have to highlight.
___
Went a second time after having seen it in DC, and sadly, I got no joy from it. I feel bad for the actors on stage, and for the audience who have paid to see this epic cheerless effort. Gone by October sadly.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 11:47pm
NYCblurb said: "Went a second time after having seen it in DC, and sadly, I got no joy from it. I feel bad for the actors on stage, and for the audience who have paid to see this epic cheerless effort. Gone by October sadly."
I likely won't get to see the show unless it tours. I'll reserve judgment until I hear the cast album but the two songs they've released so far and the two song samples in the trailer aren't doing much for me. Of the two demo songs I did enjoy "Say My Name" a bit more than "Dead Mom." It's hard to imagine what the rest of the score must sound like if they feel these are the best songs to sell the show.
Posted: 4/16/19 at 12:05am
Posted: 4/16/19 at 12:20am
Posted: 4/16/19 at 12:33am
Saw the show tonight and once I gave in and said, "Okay, this is just going to be full-throttle from minute one" I actually really enjoyed it. Yes, it's Alex Brightman doing Alex Brightman, but he is playing to his strengths, and the audience is eating it all up. I actually liked the score, though like most new scores nowadays, instantly forgettable. But it was a feast for the eyes that never really felt like it lagged. And it was funny! Though with 3 or 4 F-bombs, I couldn't help but think, "This is the more family friendly version?"
Lots of merch, though I heard they're already having trouble keeping up with demand.
Anyone notice who much Kerry Butler and Sophie Ann Caruso's singing voices sound really similar?
Posted: 4/16/19 at 12:55am
YvanEhtNioj said: "Take a shot at the bar for every "I think it's horrible but the audience loved it I don't understand " comment. "
Im sorry, but this argument to undermine critique is so illegitimate. Watch a Trump rally.
Posted: 4/16/19 at 7:19am
As soon as anyone sees a promo code that’ll work for a mid-July evening performance please post it. I’m ready to buy but not at the full $190 price for front row balcony. This will save me from waiting in the TKTS or Rush line and being disappointed. All I’ll have to do then is to get my afternoon matinee around 10:30 when the TKTS line dies down and head out for my birthday lunch at Junior’s and a free slice of cheesecake. :)
Updated On: 4/16/19 at 07:19 AM
Posted: 4/16/19 at 7:52am
dmwnc1959 said: "As soon as anyone sees a promo code that’ll work for amid-July evening performance please post it. I’m ready to buy but not at thefull $190 price for front row balcony. This will save me from waiting in the TKTS or Rush line and being disappointed.All I’ll have to do thenis to get my afternoon matinee around 10:30 when the TKTS linedies down and head out for my birthday lunch at Junior’s and a free slice of cheesecake. :)"
Why don't you just go to Lincoln Centre where there is no lines x
