Bandstand--poor name & marketing?- Page 3

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/30/17 at 1:06am

I agree Bandstand's title didn't cut it for me.  When I first heard the title and nothing else, I thought it was a tribute to Dick Clark and the American Bandstand show which was spoofed in Hairspray.  The words Bandstand and D Clark were synonymous for decades.  Until I read its summary, I didn't know it was vet related. Was a good show and unfortunate it's closing.

Take it to Tampa, the home of the Defense Dept's central command.  Vets and active duty folks would love it.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 8/30/17 at 4:31am

larcen26 said: 

Having seen it this weekend, and really really enjoying it, I was struck that it was two shows that were competing with each other...

One was a happy "let's put on a show" piece, and the other was an examination of PTSD in Post WW2 soldiers and the ability of music to cut through the crap...and it was often jarring.

*****************************************************

Here’s another: What is “Bandstand” truly about? Wartime musicals are a tricky business. From “On the Town” to “South Pacific” to “The Sound of Music,” they all have to balance martial reality with theatrical flair. Here, the push is toward “let’s put on a show” jollity, shadowed by a more somber impulse to examine what it means to come home half-broken. This gloomier inclination is more compelling; there’s a wrenching number toward the end of the first act when Mr. Blankenbuehler uses dance, in “Right This Way,” to suggest the psychological burdens these men carry. - ALEXIS SOLOSKI

Your review is pretty closely related to the Times review above in the mention of "let's put on a show" and the gloomy and the cheerful existing uneasily together.

I would call it a serious weakness if the production just let the light and the dark coexist together. The reason for the existence of the show, I think, is to highlight the PTSD of many returning soldiers and how it was never recognized after WW II the way it was after Vietnam (not that noting its existence did much to help the returning Vietnam vets). I see a cause and effect relationship. 

Danny was getting desperate when he could not find a place that would pay him to play his music. He gave himself hope based on the rather optimistic plan that he could put together a band of all combat vets and beat out 47 other bands to land roles in a major film. Not just for Danny, but for the five others he recruited who also were still suffering from the war, forming a band and forging camaraderie among its members and finding success and acceptance playing its first gigs helped all to find their place again in the land of the living. (Well, I'm not sure about the drummer.) The remedy for self-centered gloom was joy. 

And I even have some lyrics to cite from the song "Breathe."

Jimmy:
The promised return

Jimmy and Johnny:
To life the way it was,

All:
And we can have this all because, I look to my left and look to my right, 
And see other guy who fight the same fight. 
And during those few short hours a day, the noise in my head goes away.

And I, breathe through the instrument. Breathe through the end of the phrase. 
And as everyone plays. It gets easier.

Pretty nice lyrics, actually.

Poisonivy2, I'm not posting this review of Laura to contradict your take on her acting.

I'm a lousy judge of acting myself. I saw Roundabout's Cabaret with Michelle Williams and with Emma Stone. I think that I saw Emma's debut. I was watching her closely, of course, and in the end I thought that Emma had done a pretty decent job for a Broadway debut. She hadn't messed up anything and had a warm reception from the audience.

So the next morning I look at the reviews and everyone is raving about her. I had no clue that I had been watching a great performance.

I know Laura did Carousel in Chicago last year and I was very curious how she would perform that line, "He's dead, Nettie. What am I gonna do?" Could she say that line with real pathos or would she just say it matter-of-factly, (or stiffly?) as if too stunned to react emotionally.

I never saw her in South Pacific, but I also wondered how she would handle the demands of the scene in which she is introduced to Emilio's children. In her favor, she had played Nellie during Kelli's maternity leave and Bartlett thought enough of her to bring her back in the lead of this expensive and prestigious production which ran for another seven months.

So here's someone who was very complimentary about her acting. Our old friend Charles Isherwood.

Osnes, too, deserves some major love for revitalizing what might be a plain-Jane ingénue role. She has become a reliably excellent musical theater actor, her gifts sometimes underrated or taken for granted. (Guilty as charged.) With fresh faces bursting onto Broadway every year, it’s easy to forget how rare her combination of talents is. She sings with beautiful purity and tone, acts with a fine simplicity, and here gets a chance to prove that her dancing chops are in fine working order, too. Osnes never pushes her character’s feelings on the audience; she reveals them slowly, as people do in life, allowing us to discover them for ourselves.

I'll link his whole review. Although it starts out unimpressed, he keeps warming up to it as the review progresses. 

He also mentions the "Put on a Show" theme, has high praise for Corey, is happy to see a show with "an abundance of dance," and singles out the song "This is Life," which a couple of people here found to be special.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/theater/bandstand-review-broadway.html?_r=0&mtrref=www.broadwayworld.com

His conclusion, with which most may agree:

In a season so full of new musicals, I could wish that “Bandstand,” like some others, had a little more room to breathe. It’s a populist crowd-pleaser, performed with such ebullient energy that you find yourself rooting for the boys to win the big prize, sentimental though it seems. And while the show certainly has its imperfections — few shows are without them — I found myself rooting just as happily for it, too.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 1:27pm

I finally had the opportunity to see Bandstand.   Loved it, loved it, loved it.  Yes, it could have been created in 1964, but what's wrong with that.  So was Hello Dolly and Funny Girl and, not much earlier, She Loves Me and not much later Fiddler.  Don't knock shows from a certain era.  

Two things to focus on:  

-- In the last 50 years, has there been anyone on Broadway who is as gorgeous as Laura Osnes AND has such a beautiful voice?   I was asking myself multiple times 'why has Hollywood not knocked on her door yet.'

-- Why was Corey Cott so lost in the awards season shuffle. Sure it was a good year, but Christian Borle's reviews were fairly mixed if anyone goes back and checks, and David Hyde Pierce and Josh Groban were really stars in large supporting roles (even with Penny in My Pocket added for Pierce).  Cott's performance had me fighting back tears at least twice during the show.  I should point out that I was sitting very close and was incredibly impressed by his performance at the end of Act 1 in particular.  Add to that his good looks and beautiful voice, and he should already be a name.  

I think it is sad that this didn't find an audience.  To the naysayers, I know it was a little too convenient that Julia happened to be a singer and happened to write little poems that could fueled Danny's songwriting; so what, it was a minor cheat in a show that had a very good score, Tony winning choreography (admission: it would not have won in many years...it was still very entertaining), terrific performances, and a strong emotional core.  I also know that the discovery of Bayer's /MGM's sleazy contract inclusions was a little too pat...so what, this is a musical; it was a way to cap the show with the excellent Welcome Home number, which brought down the house. Small issues, especially compared to trying to explain what was happening on-stage at TGC (which I actually liked a lot, although I was bored periodically throughout the show) or trying to listen to the cast recording of GHD without wanting to turn it off 30 seconds into any song).

Conclusion: this joins Hallelujah Baby, Darling of the Day, The King of Hearts, Cyrano (Plummer version) and a handful of others on the relatively short list of shows I loved that never found an audience. 

[Margo319]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 2:04pm

Bandstand was perfect.  The sets, lighting, costumes, choreography, the chemistry with the cast, just everything.  I think people didn't understand what it was about based off the title, they had most likely never heard of Corey and Laura, and young people didn't care about seeing a show involving swing dancing and PTSD.  I will always cherish this show.  Everyone in the audience responded so well every time I was there.

The one thing was was totally off the mark?  Those rapey shirts that say "You know who tells me no? NOBODY!!!".  I always cringed when I passed the merch stand.  Ewwww.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 2:25pm

-- In the last 50 years, has there been anyone on Broadway who is as gorgeous as Laura Osnes AND has such a beautiful voice?   I was asking myself multiple times 'why has Hollywood not knocked on her door yet.'
 

Probably, though the question is ridiculously subjective, but Laura Michelle Kelly and Audra McDonald immediately spring to mind.  And I agree with others regarding the title.  "Bandstand" is such a generic title, it needed to steamroll the country with a massive campaign that would cement some sort of iconic imagery with the show.  I think the cast recording is great and I sincerely hope it tours because I would love to see it.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 3:18pm

I actually do think based on the posters and the way Laura Osnes is styled, people could get a sense of the time period in which the show was set. I actually think that may have hurt it some what because I don't know if people are as interested in watching a show that people think may have music styled from the sounds of that period about people living at that time as they were say 20 or 30 or so years ago.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 7:20pm

Nonsense.  People still enjoy swing dancing, jitterbug, lindy hop, etc. and the musical style has never truly fallen out of favor.  But as far as I could tell, there was so little buzz and word of mouth on the show, ever since the Paper Mill premiere.  After the much-touted openings of Great Comet, Come From Away and Dear Evan Hansen, Bandstand needed to roll into Broadway on a tidal wave of money, buzz, raves and star wattage.  Unfortunately, it just didn't have enough of any of those elements.  Had it been a season like Memphis, it might have won (though I thought American Idiot deserved to win that year).

[Jarethan]

Posted: 9/16/17 at 4:24pm

Timing accounts for so much with most awards.  Absolutely agree re Memphis analogy.  I enjoyed Memphis, had no interest in seeing it a second time, and think it pales compared to Bandstand.  Because it opened when it did, it ran for almost 3 years in a much larger theatre.  Show biz!!

[coreman009]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 3:08pm

Ultimately it was a really tough year. If it waited 4-6 months, it could've had a real chance at winning the Tony (it'd be one hell of a battle with The Band's Visit). Because in a year of Spongebob & Jimmy Buffett, it would stand out. But against Dear Evan Hansen & Come From Away, it's incredibly tough. 

[jtishere]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 4:38pm

It really is a shame because it deserved much more. In most other years, the show would have been up for a number of Tony's, and certainly Cott should have been in the running this year. "Right This Way" is one of the most galvanizing Act I closers I've ever seen. The passion in his performance in that number and throughout is really quite something. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 7:36pm

Tonys

no apostrophe

[tomwsjr]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 8:14pm

The name is fine.  The musical has heart, but to put it bluntly, it's just not a good musical.  

[At-the-glen]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 8:37pm

I was interested in all of the parts separately: historical musicals, PTSD, swing dancing, pastiche jazz music, Laura Osnes and Corey Cott. The problem is all together they add up to the most whitebread show in years. Laura Osnes and Corey Cott are just so wonderfully square on their own that they've got to be paired with more daring material or more daring people (that's why Bonnie and Clyde worked for me). It didn't help that the show was so straight, white, male in the rest of the cast as well, it just felt like the story has already been told before. And the name always implied a jukebox musical. 

[jtishere]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 9:14pm

I'm aware it's Tonys. Unfortunately, my iPhone is not and I was posting quickly. 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 10:46pm

"The one thing was was totally off the mark?  Those rapey shirts that say "You know who tells me no? NOBODY!!!".  I always cringed when I passed the merch stand.  Ewwww."

You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think it's bizarre to think those shirts are "rapey". There is zero sexual context to those words within the show. The song quoted is an anthem to dismissing those who would tell you that you cannot realize your dreams. 

Other lyrics say things like "So get outta my way, and find somebody else who gives a fig what you say. Go discipline some one other - the last time I checked you were not my mother". To see "rape" in those lyrics, you have to be looking for it.

Also? Those "rapey" shirts were only available in women's styles.

 

[Margo319]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 12:44am

I'm very aware they were only women's shirts.  Here's the thing, inside the theater, and people who know the show and the songs would be completely fine with it.  So that is like a a couple thousand people? If you wear it  anywhere outside the 8 block radius of Broadway, it does not translate well.  It's just a shirt that says "You know who tells me NO? NOBODY!".  Yep. it's rapey.  As a woman, I get to attest to that.  They were the least sold item according to the merch guy that was there all five times I was.  There is a reason.  Shame nobody is on the appreciation thread about this lovely show.  

I will deeply miss it. 

Updated On: 9/19/17 at 12:44 AM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 5:45am

"I'm very aware they were only women's shirts.  Here's the thing, inside the theater, and people who know the show and the songs would be completely fine with it.  So that is like a a couple thousand people? If you wear it  anywhere outside the 8 block radius of Broadway, it does not translate well.  It's just a shirt that says "You know who tells me NO? NOBODY!".  Yep. it's rapey.  As a woman, I get [to] at test [sic] to that."

You own your own feelings, but you don't get to attest for all women. I'm sorry for whatever happened to you that that a woman wearing a shirt with that empowering quote from the show triggers you so.

I think this show will return at some point. It deserves it (no pun intended).

 

[Rainah]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 9:50am

Yeah, I agree the shirts were a really poor choice. It's not rapey at all in context to the musical - but when you wear a shirt in your every day life, it doesn't give anyone the context. Some people are going to make the jump, especially with sexual violence. Why not use a different lyric with a similar sentiment? "You know who tells me quit? Nobody" Is also in the song, and you could sell it in men's sizes.

[Margo319]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 3:58pm

Exactly!!  Thank you!!

"You own your own feelings, but you don't get to attest for all women. I'm sorry for whatever happened to you that that a woman wearing a shirt with that empowering quote from the show triggers you so."

Um, in nowhere in my post does it say ALL WOMEN. I would never speak for ALL WOMEN because that's dumb.  I stand against sexual violence in general.  Nothing "triggers" me.  That's ridiculous. It's a rapey shirt.  End of story.  

[MCfan2]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 4:04pm

I've listened to the song dozens of times, I've seen the shirt advertised all over the place, and it never even occurred to me to think of it as "rapey" until I saw this thread. 

The fact that it's a woman's shirt really does make a difference. Women are generally not the ones who need to be reminded that no means no. If it came in men's, then, yes, I can see the problem. But obviously someone thought it through (thank God for that -- when you think of all the PR disasters we've seen over the years, it's really remarkable that someone thought it through!) and avoided that mistake.

[Margo319]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 4:25pm

They didn't really think it through too well considering it was the least purchased item there.  I even heard two women commenting on the shirt and how inappropriate it was.  Also, people buy t shirts all the time that aren't "meant for them".  I bought a men's Hamilton shirt in small because I like the way men's shirts fit on me better than women's in terms of the sleeves.  So, men could have purchased those shirts, it's not like the guy was going to say no to them purchasing a t shirt.  

Updated On: 9/19/17 at 04:25 PM

[Emma White]

Posted: 9/19/17 at 5:01pm

I liked the show a lot when I saw it. I had a good time and was never bored. That said, it's not brilliant. It's a good, touching story, but it's not incredible. I think it had a good run for what it was.

Also, and this is coming from possibly one of the biggest Laura Osnes fans there is, Laura's not much of an actor, and her emotional struggle in this show just wasn't believable.