BYE BYE BIRDIE first preview... — Page 6

Nice to hear. Thanks!

From one of the adult cast members' twitter

"don't. read. chatrooms. sad sad sad toxic people. lets lift, edify, and celebrate theatre and the brilliantly talented people who entertain."

and in a reply to another tweet

" wasn't-there are snarky bway chatrooms that rip on everything-deserved or not-It's grossRTwhat were you doing in a chat room"

Updated On: 9/11/09 at 02:27 PM

Those "sad, sad, sad, toxic people" are the people who are paying to go see the show...

I love how quickly cast members get bitchy and defensive against the message board if the general consensus is negative but are positive and cheerful if we liked it.

This is going to sound "snarky", but for the amount of money that each of those actors and directors are getting paid to do a job that they love, a little criticism is the least of their worries compared to what a professional review will do.

I think the show has its faults and its high points like many shows in previews, but I for one would want to know the general public's perception and overall opinion. Maybe some of the reviews posted here are obvious and will correct themselves throughout previews, but these chat rooms, as "snarky" and "toxic" as they may be, serve a purpose to inform and discuss.

Some of these actors and directors may in fact gain more knowledge into their craft if they take into consideration how they are being perceived on and in some cases, off-stage.

Maybe some of the reviews posted here are obvious and will correct themselves throughout previews, but these chat rooms, as "snarky" and "toxic" as they may be, serve a purpose to inform and discuss.

I agree. Many theater critics seem to think that we, since we are not trained theater critics, have no right to share our opinions, or at least that we're always wrong and negative. Which is not true at all. WE aren't getting paid to do this, as theater critics are, we are sharing our thoughts because we care about theater and love theater not because we want to rip every new show to shreds. What would be the point of that?

The public and BWW members are the ones shelling out anywhere from $25-$130 to see these shows and are going to be honest about whether or not they got their money's worth. The critics get to go for free and can most likely return any time they want on comps. The public opinion and reviews from theater lovers on BWW are unbiased (for the most part) and honest in whether or not we got our $130 worth of entertainment. The theatergoers and general public and BWW posters are the ones who ultimately keep these shows running and their opinion is, ultimately, more important than the critics'.

The public (like us), not the theater critics, are the people who truthfully hold the future of a show in their hands and can make it a success or a failure and I think that scares both Broadway actors when they read negative reviews on message boards and theater critics when they realize that they don't have as much power as they used to and that word of mouth can turn a critically panned show into a phenomenon or vice versa.

(Sorry for that run on sentence. Ha.)

Updated On: 9/11/09 at 03:15 PM

I'm all for critiquing a show- it's an intrinsic aspect of the art that, thanks to the Internet, is more easy to engage in- but I'm finding this thread to be a bit much. It's the first performance of a preview period that is over a month a long. Clearly, with such a long preview period, there is a lot of room for change and growth. And yet, the feeling I get from this thread is "Who can insult the production the best?" There's a difference between saying "X was good, but I think Y and Z could be made stronger by doing 1, 2, and 3" and saying "This production makes me physically ill, and So-and-So should be barred from the stage or, better yet, killed".

Actors appreciate useful criticism. Which I am not seeing a lot of here. I'm seeing a snark-off.

(I'll be honest- I haven't seen the show yet. I would probably not want to see a show in its early previews, unless it had recently transferred from another venue and basically already in top form. But sheesh.)

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I know that no one rushed the show yesterday and that it may be too early to have have a clue of what it is like, but if people try today, how is it? Also if you try the student rush (1/2 hour before curtain, compared to the general rush (when BO opens) Which one do you think I'd have a better chance at?

I'm hoping to see it after Broadway on Broadway, but I'm not sure how to rush the show as well as get a good spot for BonB.

I work for Roundabout and attended the invited final dress rehearsal on Wednesday night. I think the show is in great shape. Of course, things need to be re-worked and tweaked, but I think it's on its way to becoming a good production. Give the actors time to settle in and I'm sure they'll become their character soon enough. I'm looking forward to seeing how this show morphs and progresses. I'm sure it'll sell out and have a successful run.

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I find the message board here fascinating and funny, and I throw my opinion around as well so what I am about to say may seem hypocritical... but I do think the problem with Message Board criticism and why I believe it really can be detrimental to the arts is the anonymity of it all.

Any yahoo can ANONYMOUSLY throw their opinion up for the world to read and unfortunately it DOES affect and bias people's opinions before they get the opportunity to judge for themselves.

And you say, so what? Critics get to give their opinions. what makes them different from me?!

it is VERY different from straight criticism (like that from critics in the media) because those people put their names and reputations behind what they critique and therefor there is some accountability for what they say... it forces them to be thoughtful and accurate... to critique things they actually have seen and to speak intelligently about it. This message board is full of idiots who blast shows (sometimes shows they haven't even seen) and post their opinions with no accountability for their words. It is cowardly and that is why artists get annoyed with the boards.

If we really believed we were contributing to the community we would all man up and attach our REAL names to our criticism. We would make ourselves accountable. I personally believe if that were mandatory we would find much less "snarky" posting and more thoughtful discussions. I for one would gladly be a part of a message board outing if that could ever happen... but it won't... so until that day i will continue (with obvious and intentional irony) to be a "snarkywannabedreamer."

I'm shocked to hear that Gina's vocals weren't strong. I thought she sounded great in Cabaret. Hopefully there will be a large improvement from now to opening night. I'm very saddened to be reading all of these negative reviews. If the reviews are correct, I sure as hell hope that the show will improve by opening night.

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I just got finished with the show (Short critque)

Bill Irwin was great and sung what he had to sing pretty good for just actor; I wish he had more stage time.

John Stamos; Was "good" but I expected better for some reason. Maybe hes just shy to the part right now. Not bad by any means though. I just got two diffrent vibes with his character. Sometimes he was the nerdy nice guy and then other times he was a a$$hole. Is that how the character is supposed to be?

Gina Gershon- HORRIBLE. A very nice woman and a good actress but for the role of Rose? Absolutly not. She gave me a headache and not only couldnt hit a high not; couldnt really hit any note. Why they had a Jewish girl portray a hispanic character is BEYOND me.

The Teens were very talented and pretty good; And Jayne Houdyshell had me laughing everytime she came out.

Overall the show was GOOD, didnt live up to all the hype but was still pretty good.
7/10

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You saw it here, love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjBO8gCzhmY

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