Bayside! The Musical starts tonight! I'm so excited!! I'm so excited!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:16am

I'm SO Scared!!!!

[Wynbish]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:26am

Rock and roll, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 1:00pm

I'm actually semi-interested in this. I've watched each episode dozens of times.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 1:14pm

Well, I'm sure all their friends in the drama department told them it was really hilarious.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 1:16pm

These are the same guys who did SHOWGIRLS The musical, which was pretty F'in hilarious.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 1:29pm

Thanks for the heads up, Jordan. I need to know who will play Mr. Belding! I had just started working at Disney Television (where it originally began before a retool by NBC) during the prolific "Saved By The Bell" era and loved Dennis Haskins unabashedly.

[broadwayghost1]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 4:22pm

I thought SHOWGIRLS the Musical was hysterical. April Kidwell plays Elizabeth Berkley perfectly. I downloaded the Original Cast recording of SHOWGIRLS. It would be funny if NBC broadcast this version instead lol.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:11pm

I saw this tonight and laughed, but it wasn't as funny as some other recent parody shows like Silence! or The Divine Sister.

I was talking with my friend afterward about the true meaning of parody and we both thought that this really fit the definition; it was more of a nostalgic trip with a few knowing winks thrown in. The original material itself is basically a parody of teen high school life so all they needed to do was present the set-ups in a slightly exaggerated form rather than truly parody the material. Jessie being addicted to caffeine pills doesn't need to be parodied- it's already funny.

It might seem like a minor matter of semantics, but basically the upshot is that there will be little enjoyment to glean from this show if you weren't/aren't a moderately hardcore fan of the show.

I grew up on these episodes and got a kick being reminded of some of the hijinks these kids got up to. Yes the caffeine plotline plays a major role, and the actress playing Jessie has Berkley down. The guy playing Slater is pretty great too (and VERY hot).

I do have to be critical about the Malibu beach resort sequence because they called these episodes the SH*Ttiest ones! I loved those episodes and remember them quite fondly. Anyone with me on this?!

The costumes were great, but the sound sucked. I'd give it a few more performances before attending so they can get the sound issues sorted out.

The biggest disappointment was the score. The lyrics were often hard to hear, but the ones I did catch weren't all that funny or clever. The tunes were alright, but nothing too catchy.

I guess I was mixed about it all, but did have enough fun to recommend it to big fans of the show.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:33pm

Semi-interested in this too. Sounds kind of cool and funny, but not sure the material lends itself to this kind of thing. I mean, it's cheesy and stuff, but I don't know. SIlence works because the material is sooo dramatic.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:45pm

I agree RippedMan. Dramatic source material is easier and funnier to parody than comic material.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:53pm

I mean, I've already laughed a billion times to the Jessie freaking out bit. Or all the other cheesy parts. I've sat in my apt with a glass of wine and laughed my ass off, so it's like...why make it into a musical?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/13/13 at 12:41am

I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Yeah, there were a few "first preview glitches", mainly the sound which should hopefully be fixed by tomorrow, but I really did love it and I thoroughly enjoyed the score.

I also agree that parody works best for dramatic themes but also when it's something that's so known (like this or like SHOWGIRLS, to it's intended audience), it doesn't really matter whether it's a comedy, drama, horror, etc. People going to see this know SAVED BY THE BELL so they're going to appreciate (hopefully) that it's being parodied here. That is the point, after all.

And side note - April Kidwell is still brilliant doing her Elizabeth Berkley. She should get a special Tony award for it.

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/13/13 at 2:28am

Has anyone seen this lately?
Surprised to hear its a critics choice from the times......
Has the sound been mixed?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/13/13 at 7:05am

Yep! All "first preview glitches" have been taken care of Nd things are running as smooth as a baby's ass now.

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/13/13 at 12:32pm

Fantastic!
I'm excited to see this one

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/13/13 at 12:40pm

I know that technically I'm shilling for the show but seriously, is absolutely hilarious and selling to standing room only crowds for a lot of performances.

[jbm2]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 1:58am

What's the running time?

Are there any discount codes out there for this?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 9:52am

It runs about 2 hours. And tickets are only $25 so there's no discounts.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 10:43am

Oh this show is so much fun. It keeps getting extended again & again. Performances are packed and the audience is laughing and screaming along. The characters look almost totally like the original Saved by the Bell characters too (including the hairstyles). This is a fun R-rated parody of Saved by the Bell with jokes, situations, songs, etc. You can't go wrong.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:32am

Yay!! So glad you liked it!! Be sure to come back in December when SHOWGIRLS will be back Fri & Sat nights right after BAYSIDE!

[jbm2]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 9:12pm

Do I see this or Buyer and Cellar......?