"Babalu" in Miami

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 11:57am

I don't know how many Florida people we have on here, but this starts tonight. If you go, please post about it! And if you weren't planning on going, GO! I saw it in New York and it was just breathtaking.

http://www.arshtcenter.org/tickets/calendar/view.aspx?id=8287

Updated On: 7/8/10 at 11:57 AM

[bryan2]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 12:00pm

Give Lucie props for this. Desi was a talented man
and gets no notice because of Lucy...Lucie is making sure he gets his due!!! My hat is off to a terrifice daughter!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 12:04pm

I live in Miami but I work tonight and the rest of the weekend so unfortunately can't go to this. Raul...so close but yet so far. *Sigh*

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 12:04pm

I live in Miami but I work tonight and the rest of the weekend so unfortunately can't go to this. Raul...so close but yet so far. *Sigh*

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 12:27pm

I second the motion to GO if you can. It is a lot of fun, and will be (presumably) even more lively in a community with a large Cuban population!

[xoffender45]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 1:11pm

I will be there, second row center, on Friday. Can't wait. And I am on a mission to sleep with Raul Esparza.

Did I just say that outloud?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 1:14pm

Judging by the horrible sales in tickets, looks like the Cubans are totally unaware of this show or are keeping away in droves. Kinda sad as it looked like it would be a great show for Cubans and latins, especially for fans of Raul Esparza and Lucie and Desi Jr Arnaz.

I caught this show in NYC at the 92nd Street Y this past January and enjoyed it (though it did drag a bit). The only people I know who are attending it in Miami are going because they are being comped. Otherwise, they wouldn't pay to see it (per their own words).

I think the top ticket price of $70 is keeping people away which is why excellent seats are still in plentiful right now at the box office.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 1:19pm

Plus, the theater is pretty cavernous. There's been a lot of local press over the past few days though, so they're promoting the hell out of this thing, but it might be too late. It sounds like it's being re-worked a little for this run, and might be structured a little more like a musical this time. I hope it's still enjoyable for the people who go, but low sales are a bummer. Though I've remained surprised since the announcement that it would go somewhere so big.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 1:41pm

$70 is a lot to ask, especially in this economy.

[xoffender45]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 2:27pm

To those Miami fans reading this right now, The Miami New Times is having a Facebook contest. Submit your favorite I Love Lucy quote for a chance to win tickets to tonight's performance.

EDIT: Oops never mind. I won... lol
My winning quote:

Ricky: "And that's an Ultimatum!"
Lucy: "An ultimatum?!"
Ethel: "Well, I'm not surprised."
Lucy: "I am! I didn't think he knew how to pronounce it!" Updated On: 7/8/10 at 02:27 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 3:40pm

If you won that Miami New Times contest that quickly and easily... that speaks volumes about how many people actually responded. I guess no one even cares for FREE tickets. Ouch!

[xoffender45]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 4:09pm

Tell me about it, Brody. They had 18 replies in total. Most of them weren't even entries. lol

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 3:21am

Any first hand reports by persons attending?

[emo_geek]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 4:21am

I would kill to see this. Oh how I wish it would come to California

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 8:38am

There's been some talk of touring it, but who knows. It wasn't really ready in New York, much as I enjoyed it, and some of the reviews indicate that it it's still not.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 9:07am

Caught the show last night in the ill-suited Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center in Miami, Florida.

If it dragged a bit for me when I saw it in NYC this past January -- last night was painful beyond extremes. The almost empty house didn't help. It felt like a cheap hotel act, which was depressing. I was hoping a Cuban and Miami crowd would elevate the energy of the revue a bit, but it didn't happen. At all. It was almost tragic seeing how much fun Lucie was trying to generate up there. Raul's rattling vibrato (which never really bothered me before) has completely turned me off to him. Just act, Raul... enough singing from now on. Valarie looked like a top-notch 3rd billing Las Vegas room singer. The crowd had no clue who she was (nor Raul, for that matter). What she's doing in this revue at all evades me. Not a good fit.

I was excited about this production playing Miami when it was first announced. Thrilled, more like it. I thought they would have revamped it a bit. They didn't. It belongs in a tiny cabaret. Maybe not even that.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 11:43am

I'm so sorry to hear this. Does the Cuban American population of the Miami area not remember Arnaz? And as the reviewers consistently mention, adding an I LOVE LUCY element would be more likely to bring in the audiences and liven up the content a little.

[xoffender45]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 12:29pm

I was at last night's performance too, and I had a slightly different view of it. Yes, the audience was lackluster. But since when has Miami theater audiences been reliable for anything?

The first act did drag on, to the point that I assumed that there was going to be no intermission.
Raul's trashy Cuban-talk is about the hottest thing to hit the Arsht Center's stage. It was really interesting to see him perform in Espanol.

Valarie's singing was a little muffled, and I had a hard time understanding what she was singing, even from the second row. However, her "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas" was excellent.

I agree with you though, Brody. It should have been performed in any of Miami's much smaller venues. Perhaps the Fillmore would have brought a different feeling than the stuffy Arsht. And certainly the room would have looked more filled.

However, I say, if you're in Miami, go see the show. We've seen worse.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 3:38pm

I'm bummed to hear it apparently didn't sell very well, but some of the reviews were nice. I wonder what, if anything, will happen with it next.

BWW Powers That Be, could we please get some more of those pictures that are promised in the Sneak Peak thing? You can't keep these things from me.