BROADWAY SECRETS: Wherein we confess our controversial opinions- Page 16

[Alex M]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 1:05am

-Book of Mormon is the best musical i have ever seen live
-Fish in the Dark is the best play i have ever seen live
-Heathers is a great musical
-How to succeed is a great musical
-Its Only a Play is a great play
-Mama Mia is one of the worst things ever made
-Patti LuPone sounds like a broken trumpet
-The only good thing Jason Robert Brown has written was Parade
-The musical version of Carrie is the ONLY good version of Carrie
Thats just what i think you can disagree Updated On: 3/29/15 at 01:05 AM

[pacificnorthwest]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 1:11am

Alex M: Why is "Fish in the Dark" the best play you've seen (live)? It holds no appeal for me based on what I've read, but I'm certainly open to having my mind changed.

Meanwhile, one of my Broadway Secrets is that while I enjoyed The Book of Mormon, except for most of the scatological "humor," I saw "Catch Me If You Can" the same weekend and LOVED it.

Hope I won't take too much of a beating for that.

[Alex M]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 1:19am

pacificnorthwest : I LOVE Larry David so his style mixed with broadway is just perfect for me! I could understand how people could not like the show but if you love curb and you love broadway then Fish in the Dark is perfect! I also did enjoy Catch Me If You Can not in my top 5 but i still really liked it!

Updated On: 3/29/15 at 01:19 AM

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 1:22am

"Patti LuPone sounds like a broken trumpet"
Thank god I'm not the only one who thinks so!

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 1:28am

- I loved Mary Poppins, the Evita revival, and the Annie revival.
- I don't understand all the love for Kinky Boots. Matilda should have taken Best Musical and Best Score.
- I think somebody else on here posted this but Sutton Foster is the luckiest chorus girl alive.

[rcwr]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 1:36am

I want Finding Neverland to cut the Indians out of the show. I fully understand how iconically connected they are to all Peter Pan stories, but I care less about that than about the racism of portraying Indians as fantasy characters in the minds of white boys and men.

[nicnyc]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 2:12am

My "controversial" opinions:

- CHESS is one of the best Broadway shows I have ever seen (flaws and all) and the late David Carroll is on of the most memorable performances I have ever seen.

- I don't enjoy Hugh Jackman at all.

- I wish Ramin Karimloo was playing the Beast in the upcoming Beauty & the Beast film.

- Jeremy Jordan should be leading Finding Neverland instead of Matthew Morrison.

- I liked the revival of The Last 5 Years so much I saw it twice. It's my fav JRB score.

- I don't "get" Kelli O'Hara. I can appreciate her voice on a technical basis but her performances in Piazza and Bridges both left me cold. I was much more impressed by Stephen Pasquale. Steven Pasquale deserved the Tony for Bridges Of Madison County.

- I thought Viola Davis absolutely blew Denzel Washington off the stage in Fences.

- I loved the Evita revival and thought it was wonderful on the nights Max VonEssen was on as Che. I loved Elena Rogers and Michael Ceveris and the characters/relationship they created together. I saw the show three times (only once with Ricky Martin - yikes!).

- I usually go for the darker fare, but I loved Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels so much I saw it five times - and I truly couldn't decide who I preferred between John Lithgow and Jonathan Pryce.

- Aaron Tveit didn't have enough charisma to be the lead in Catch Me If You Can. If it weren't for Norbert Leo Butz performance, I would have fallen asleep.

- Ahrens and Flaherty's Ragtime is one of my favorite musicals, I saw the OBC three times and wept like a baby

- I hated The Lion King other than as a "spectacle" and didn't think it should have been the given Tony over Ragtime. Also thought Frank Galati should have won Best Director.

- I hated Anne Hathaway's performance in Les Mis and was totally annoyed they gave her an Oscar for it.

- I completely agree with the previous poster that said Joe Papp would be ashamed at what Shakespeare in the Park has turned into - selling the best seats to corporate sponsors.

- I would be absolutely fine with Hamish Linklater doing one of the Shakespeare in the Park shows every summer. I think he is an absolute master. I could do with less of Lilly Rabe though...

- I thought Alex Timbers musical adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost was truly creative and brilliant.

- I think Orlando Bloom was too old to play Romeo and the best things about the production were Christian Camargo (Mercutio) and Friar Laurence (Brent Carver).

- I much prefer Audra McDonald's broadway singing over her operatic.

- Patina Miller was dreadful as Sarah in Ragtime at the Lincoln Center Concert. Norm Lewis wasn't much better. Lea Salonga was the best Mother I have ever seen (and I was lucky enough to see Marin Mazzie).

- Nine should have won the Tony over Dreamgirls. Raul Julia should have won over Ben Harney. I still will never understand how Lillian Montevecchi beat out Karen Akers or Anita Morris.

- As brilliant as James Corden was in One Man, Two Guvnors, I think the late Philip Seymour Hoffman/Death of a Salesman was robbed of a Tony. I also think Andrew Garfield should have won for Featured.

-The Realistic Jones' was the best show I saw last season.

- There is only one Norma Desmond and it is Glenn Close.

- And perhaps most controversial, there is only one Engineer and his name is Jonathan Pryce.





Updated On: 3/29/15 at 02:12 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 2:48am

"- I completely agree with the previous poster that said Joe Papp would be ashamed at what Shakespeare in the Park has turned into - selling the best seats to corporate sponsors."

I admit I don't know all the facts behind this, but it seems to me that the people who sponsor Shakespeare in the Park deserve the best seats in exchange for helping to make tickets free for everyone else.

[nicnyc]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 3:22am

JBroadway - Just so you know the facts, it used to be (for years and years) that they alternated rows between sponsors and free seats. Now (in the last couple years), my understanding (as explained to me by someone at The Public box office) is that big money corporate sponsors sit in the front half - and the back half alternates rows between regular "summer supporter" sponsors and free tickets. As a "summer supporter" for years and years now, I am somewhat frustrated that I am now spending $800 a summer for a pair of tix (which is a LOT of money to me but I am a shakespeare lover) to both shows and don't even have a shot at ever getting good seats again. I think that the previous policy was what Papp intended and gave everyone an equal shot at good seats. There have always been tons of corporations, private summer supporters (like me), etc that have been willing to ensure that many, many people have the chance to experience Shakespeare in the park for free - I don't think this policy shift was in any way necessary to keep Shakespeare in the Park free. It just shows a change in thinking in the leadership at The Public and I agree with the previous poster that it was not for the better or in keeping with Papp's vision.

Updated On: 3/29/15 at 03:22 AM

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 3:38am

While Jonathan Pryce set the standard as the Engineer, Jon Jon Briones is doing an amazing job as the Engineer in the current London revival. And so lucky I have seen both in the role!!

Updated On: 3/29/15 at 03:38 AM

[nicnyc]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 3:45am

ebontoyan, I have heard good things about on Jon Jon Briones performance but have not been lucky enough to see him. I will definitely be buying tickets to the revival if/when it comes to NYC and hope to see him in it. Unfortunately, I have yet to see another Engineer who compares to Pryce.

[Dr. Kitchell]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 7:33am

When I saw "The Scarlet Pimpernel, a show I really did not like, I was shocked that a bigger fanfare was not given to Douglas Sills. At the time, I thought there wasn't a breakthrough performance that great since Lupone in "Evita". Oh... and I don't like Jekyll and Hyde either.

[maureen_johnson2]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 3:29pm

Hi, I'm new on here :) Thought I'd pitch in some of my, if not controversial, then unpopular opinions.

I have a bad habit of changing tense a lot :P And changing topic. Past tense just means I haven't watched in a while.

"Next to Normal has a fascinating story, but I absolutely HATE how the show is put together. I find the songs bland and corny and the book poorly written. I also don't find the appeal in Aaron Tveit (past the fact that he's gorgeous).
Hopefully I'll eventually learn to love it, but I currently can't. "

Well, I liked it. And I liked RENT. Especially the last performance filming thing. The only thing I didn't like about the OBCR was Adam Pascal. I just find his voice really irritating. But I do like his "One Song Glory". And "Elaborate Lives" in AIDA. And that's about it. #sorrynotsorry

I liked LND, except for BAMS (Stockholm Syndrome?) and I absolutely love Gustave's parts. Horrendous original "Beautiful" lyrics aside.

I used to love PotO, but have not been really into it lately.

I love Wicked, and the original cast. I do understand why some people don't, but I adore Idina and Kristin.

I greatly enjoyed the Les Mis movie, aside from Russell Crowe and Hugh's "Bring Him Home."

I have loved Aaron Tveit in everything I've seen him in (Les Mis, Wicked, N2N, Rent) He's gorgeous AND has a gorgeous voice.  What other "appeal" were you looking for, icecreambenjamin? Not that I'm judging you or anything.

I do like Sierra Boggess, moreso in Little Mermaid than in PotO, but I do think she can act. I won't deny that she did look a little plastic during the 25th anniversary "Final Lair". At least in the beginning.  But she got better towards the middle/end.

I did (and still do) like Frozen, which seems to be a less popular opinion than disliking it. I realize that it is hugely overrated, but I still thought it was a good movie.

I liked Thoroughly Modern Millie. I think Sutton is hilarious and has a gorgeous voice.

I couldn't stand Michelle Williams in AIDA. Probably because I'm used to Heather Headley. If Heather had Will Chase as Radames I'd be happy.

Don't kill me guys, I'm just stating my opinions, which I think is allowed *(checks Constitution)*.

[1971FolliesFan]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 6:38am

"Angela Lansbury is a legend and a national treasure but I thought she was absolutely dreadful in Blithe Spirit. It seemed like every time she forgot a line she pretended she was having a premonition. She also couldn't remember her lines in Deuce. It all made me doubt what the fuss was about.

A painful night of theatre."

Dear Bettyboy72,

She was absolutely not forgetting her lines, she was acting the part of a deranged medium who would not necessarily talk as if she was reciting a poem in front of her 5th grade class.  She could not have forgotten lines in the first place anyway, because she cares too much about her audience and wears an earpiece. I am absolutely appalled at the un-respectful comment. 

[Fantod]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 4:06pm

I'm pretty sure the earpiece rumor was a lie, and a mean spirited one at that.

[A1st]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 4:09pm

I thought Gentleman's Guide could not have been more boring, and that Hand to G-d was the worst show I have ever seen.

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 6:32pm

Fantod, the Washington Post's article about Blithe Spirit and Angela Lansbury included that she wears an earpiece just in case she needs to be prompted on a line.

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 7:15pm

"I thought Gentleman's Guide could not have been more boring, and that Hand to G-d was the worst show I have ever seen."

 Agree with GG

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 10:07pm

"Don't kill me guys, I'm just stating my opinions, which I think is allowed *(checks Constitution)*."

Ok, you checked the U.S. Constitution. What does it say? 

[maureen_johnson2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 8:18am

 ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 - Freedom of speech.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 8:25am

" ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 - Freedom of speech."

 You are clueless. The Constitution has nothing to do with a privately owned forum on the internet. 

[1971FolliesFan]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 9:53am

Yes that's true. And she does so because the is a professional actress who wouldn't want to stop the flow of the play (unlike a lot of actors nowadays). 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 10:02am

"While Jonathan Pryce set the standard as the Engineer, Jon Jon Briones is doing an amazing job as the Engineer in the current London revival. And so lucky I have seen both in the role!!

"

 I have seen Jonathan Pryce - and he was certainly amazing at creating the role. But Jon Jon is totally The Engineer to me.

Sort of like Bertie Carvel as Ms. Trunchbull. His creation of the character and performance were awesome for sure but to me, the best and most memorable Trunch is Chris Sieber. I can't really say better (or worse) - just more suited to what I enjoyed. When I saw Bertie, I couldn't understand why the Trunch was considered a LEAD actor role at the Tony's...I thought he should have been nominated and won the best SUPPORTING actor. With Chris, I can't see his role as supporting at all.

[matildathemiracle2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 12:30pm

I love Shrek.

Matilda deserved the Tony over Kinky Boots.

I loved the Annie revival and Lilla Crawford and think she should have gotten more recognition.

I like Wicked, but don't understand how people could be SO obsessed with it.

Side Show and Violet are two of the best shows I've seen on Broadway.

Jeremy Jordan should be playing Barrie in FN.

I liked Honeymoon in Vegas.

Sutton Foster and Laura Osnes can do no wrong.

Its Only a Play was one of the worst things I've had to sit through.

I hated the Les Mis movie and don't think Anne Hathaway deserved the Oscar.

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 1:30pm

Don't know how unpopular this is, but I thought Jeremy Jordan was just okay in Newsies. Corey Cott was much better.