BWW TV: Broadway Beat Sneak Peek of BYE BYE BIRDIE's Big Opening Night!

[Craig]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 4:57pm

Click Here to Read BWW TV: Broadway Beat Sneak Peek of BYE BYE BIRDIE's Big Opening Night!

[Marlothom]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 6:27pm

thanks for the great clip!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 6:49pm

Oh, dear.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 6:54pm

Yah, that pitch, does not a happy face make.

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 7:19pm

The sets, lighting, and costumes look GREAT! i dont know about the rest, but the tech elements are definitely spot on from what i saw in the video

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 7:28pm

Yikes, Stamos, Gershon and Irwin look terrible. Yet, I cannot resist this show, mainly it's score. "Rosie" just about makes my heart melt...and Allison sounds great in the finale. I loathe the projection backdrop though.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 7:38pm

Stamos is NOWHERE as bad as some people on here are making him out to be. At least he tries to sing well. Trimm sounds fantastic in the new finale.

Now, Gershon and Irwin should never go near a musical ever again (and after their reviews, I doubt any producer/director with any sense will let them). Spanish Rose was just painful; we get that you're not actually spanish Gina, no need to sing the entire thing with a forced spanish accent. Irwin's "harmony" in "Ed Sullivan" is not very loud, so at least he doesn't kill the number. I can only imagine what "Kids" sounds like

No matter, I'll be purchasing my tickets soon anyway. The production looks like it has some redeeming qualities (Trimm, Funk, Doyle and Hoty all seem great, and the technical elements looks great).

Updated On: 10/17/09 at 07:38 PM

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 8:01pm

The way Irwin sings "Kids" is absolutely ridiculous and hilarious

[goodoneinlou2]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 9:46pm

Ouch... that WAS bad.

I've taken a lot of the dissing of this production with a big grain of salt... figuring it to be the scapegoat show of the season.

But OUCH!

Seriously, it looks to be on the scale of a really good community theatre or really lacking regional theater level.

I've not followed the production closely, or read the reviews... so bear with me while I make a few comments or ask a few questions...

- The girl playing Kim seem far too.... umm... innocent. Obviously the part wasn't meant to be a sex kitten ala Ann M. However isn't the whole jist of the character that she is maturing into womanhood? I just don't think an actual juvenile can fittingly protray a maturity they have yet to experience themselves.

- John Stamos is, of course, lacking when compared to Dick Van Dyke... however, in the clips he didn't seem that out of place. Jason Alexander in the TV Movie was much more embarassing and mis-cast IMO.

- Gina... poor thing. I think she was dealt a horrible injustice by ever being allowed into a realm where she's obviously not meant to be. I blame those that cast her far more than I ever could her. I mean, c'mon... Chita originated this and the role was created around her talents and abilities. That's a big enough hurdle. But it's like Ms gershon is trying to pound a square peg into a round hole.

- I disagree with whomever said the sets, lights etc looked great. I think they look amateur and flat. For instance sooooo much could be done these days to make "Telephone Hour" a visual materpiece. Instead we are treated to children twirling aluminum frame flats on casters. Are they all supposed to be on payphones? Tsk tsk.

- Does Bill Irwin sing every song like Kermit? I don't know much about him, but that clip of "Ed Sullivan" sure sounded like the frog to me.

- Is there a new trend to cast overweight persons for comic relief? Harvey Johnson is, um, plump... ala Roger in the recent Grease revival. Quite honestly... overweight kids were a rarity in the days before the convenience of McDonalds. I think it's a turn off to watch them, and I don't enjoy the visual joke, as awful as that may sound.

Overall this production strikes me as juvenile... everything about it. It seems far beneath what I consider to be Broadway standards. But *sigh* I am sure it will sell tickets because, quite frankly, there isn't much to choose from on Broadway these days that isn't juvenile.


Updated On: 10/17/09 at 09:46 PM

[allofmylife]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 9:48pm

From out here on the left coast, it sounded like this was s on a shingle.

The footage shows it's not THAT bad; certainly not as bad as it was made out on this site. I thought we were talking nails on a chalkboard but some of this looks good and the young girl is absolutely adorable.

And Bill Irwin.... I've seen far worse in shows that ended up running for years.

I have never been able to get Gina Gershon's love scenes in "Bound" out of my mind when I think of her, so playing Rose is a stretch but I'd pay to see her breathe, so what the hell....

BTW, nice use of the boothes in the end of the Telephone Number.

[FeelingElectric2]

Posted: 10/17/09 at 10:13pm

Judging from the clips, I didn't think it was THAT bad. Yes, totally not the best, but it wasn't as terrible as I expected it to be.

On the other hand, Allie Trimm is impressing me more and more. I find her to be so talented at her age, and she looks/sounds great as Kim.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 10/18/09 at 12:38am

Despite the horrible reviews, the catastrophic performance on GMA, the negative comments on here, the terrible clips from this video... I still want to see this. I'm so repulsed by these clips, but I just can't look away and I know I'll probably be the same way sitting in the theater. Maybe it's because I just want to witness this hot mess for myself? It's like so bad it's almost good... but not really. I don't know. I kind of still want to see it. There must be something wrong with me. LOL.

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 10/18/09 at 1:32am

I agree, I was prepared to absolutely hate this show, but it does not seem THAT bad... and I definitely agree about the Telephone Hour. They boxes are not phone booths, and I think it was a great way to stage the number instead of using the usual sectional boxes. The use of the treadmill was a great idea

[jovie27]

Posted: 10/18/09 at 1:32am

I was watching this clip today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uba7AwP-FcY

[Eris0303]

Posted: 10/18/09 at 2:18am

Spanish Rose was just painful; we get that you're not actually spanish Gina, no need to sing the entire thing with a forced spanish accent.

There's a lot to pick apart over Gina's performance but I don't think her over exaggerated accent in Spanish Rose is one of them because it's parody. Rosie may be of Spanish decent but she is not what Mae believes her to be. So she's throwing it Mae's face by being over the top.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/18/09 at 2:57am

Of course it doesn't seem that bad. It's a couple of minutes of select footage, hello?!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 10/18/09 at 3:31am

Pippin: The Commercial

90 seconds of wonder representing 90 minutes of crap?

That theater in the round version I would have enjoyed. It's amazing, when you don't have to stunt cast or hire stars, there's such a lot of talent around.