Bare

[Kofler222]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 1:04am

Hi everyone! I'd love to read your thoughts about this show!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 3:04am

If you search there are past threads on the subject.  Especially the revival (which was pretty awful).

 

 

 

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 4:46pm

I love Bare. It is a bit heavy handed at times, and occasionally feels like an after school special; however, it has some good tunes and a story that keeps you engaged through its duration.

The revival that played off-Broadway was pure garbage. Everything that made the original a decent show was butchered, and everything that was wrong with the original was amplified. It really destroyed  a pretty good thing. The rewrites by Lynne Shankel and Jon Hartmere  were atrocious, and it suffered from misguided direction by Stafford Arima. Thankfully this is not the version that is licensed to theatres. 

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 5:43pm

I got to see the LA Revival which has the original and best version of Bare. It has stuck with me. I hear the 2007 Studio Cast Recording all the time. As a young gay.. this story and beautiful score will always have a place in my heart. I love "Role of a Lifetime", "Bare", "Once Upon a Time", "Best Kept Secret", "Ever After", "All Grown Up", & "Queen Mab".. basically the whole score. What you hear is what you see in the actual show.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 6:50pm

To me, the show is just "eh". I saw the original and thought it was ok, with one or two songs that were decent. Then I saw the revival and realized that this is just not a very good show at all. At least to me. 

[ARTc3]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 7:51pm

I am only responding because the original poster wrote, "Hi everyone! I'd love to read your thoughts about this show!" I am assuming negative thoughts are also warranted.

I was bored by Bare. I saw the original New York production (not the revival) and found it sophomoric and trite. Who cares? And, I'm gay. Perhaps, it was its religious tone. I remember sitting there thinking this was just awful. A tribute to internalized homophobia.

Maybe it was my age. When I saw Bare, I wasn't a teen struggling with coming out angst. In fact, desperately wanting "gay art" I often found myself watching Logo and renting off of Netflixs the latest gay themed movies. I think I reached my saturation point for young gay men self-loathing. What a bore.

Just my thoughts...

[Ranger Tom]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 9:35pm

My thoughts - between bare and Spring Awakening, I look forward to see bare again.  Spring Awakening, not so much.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 2:30pm

I adore it (the original-- not the horrific "revisal". Sure it's heavy-handed in some spots, but I can honestly say, having been educated in Catholic schools, it is incredibly true to my experience (and other gay Catholic kids I know). 

It's very successful in a few areas. It was "It Gets Better" before there was "It Gets Better." Also, it does show the divide within rank and file Catholics. I was taught by priests and nuns who preached love, acceptance, and "You were born this way!" But I was also taught by priests and nuns who preached conversion, judgement, and "It's your cross to bear!" Bare captures that perfectly. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 4:30pm

The "revival" was not really a revival. The creators said that the original was not the finished product, so to speak.  I spoke with Damon after a performance of the 1st production and I remember him telling me the show was not done and they still wanted to make changes to it. 

Saw both and enjoyed both. Missed a few things from the 1st production I wish they had kept in though.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 7:53pm

"I spoke with Damon after a performance of the 1st production and I remember him telling me the show was not done and they still wanted to make changes to it. "

And yet, Damon had no interest in working on the new version--he gave it his blessing, I've read, but that's it.

Updated On: 9/2/15 at 07:53 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 8:29pm

^^ Yup.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 8:34pm

LYLS3637 said: "It's very successful in a few areas. It was "It Gets Better" before there was "It Gets Better." "

Is there really anything in the show that suggests that things get any better? It's a depressing two hours with an even more depressing conclusion.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 9:28pm

^ thank you!!!!!!

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 10:27pm

It's suppose to be like Romeo and Juliet.. Obviously THAT'S the ending. It gets better for Peter, because he isn't hiding who he is anymore. Sister Chantelle has his back.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/2/15 at 11:41pm

And IIRC in the original his mom comes to accept him.  Of course the mom (and her song--a highlight in a score that IMHO really shifts from good to bad depending on the song) isn't in the revised version...

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 9/3/15 at 2:07pm

Again, it shows the juxtaposition within the Catholic Church. Yes it didn't get better for one of the main characters, but the overall "point" of the entire show is "Love is love and while things might be rough now, there are people love and accept you for who you are, and God will always have your back because he made you just the way you are."