Between the Lines — Page 2

What is the run time?

I saw the show yesterday. It started at (roughly) 8:10 and let out at 10:30. I got the tickets through the TodayTix digital rush (seats were J3-4). I thought it was a really entertaining show and better than at least a couple of shows currently running on Broadway. Having said that, I think it still has a lot of room for improvement and is just a fairly good (but not great) show at the moment.



The set and projection design (especially the way they used the scrim) was incredible. I thought (potentially with the exception of 2 moments) that the projection design seemed to add a TON to the overall show… and I usually HATE shows that use a lot of projections. Like others mentioned, the production quality (costumes, set, projection, etc.) was really high.



I also echo a lot of the spotlight concerns. Almost anytime a character was moving, the spotlight moved either too early or too late . It seemed better in act 2, but it was still a problem.



I feel like the score is pretty good, though not groundbreaking. I honestly can’t remember a lot of the melodies so I’m not sure if the score is super-memorable (I did have them stuck in my head while walking out of the theater though). Still, I would love to listen to the songs again and would definitely buy a cast recording. The book could use a bit of tightening. The first act felt like it was a little long (at least if you consider the amount of the plot covered in it). The ending of act 2 felt a little rushed too (though its not that bad). Some songs didn’t really contribute to the main plot of the story and seemed like an unnecessary detour; as hilarious as they were, the “inner thought” songs fell into this category. The “inner thought” song (and its reprise) developed the side characters for essentially no reason; the songs/development didn’t really explain their motivations and didn’t contribute to the main character’s arc either. The side teen characters didn’t really have any sort of character arc, despite being fairly interesting. The mom’s relationship with the main character (Delilah) was ok, though imperfect. Like someone in this thread mentioned, it’s like a less impactful version of Dear Evan Hansen (or the arc told through Anybody Have a Map, Good for you, So Big/So Small).



I’m pretty sure that I saw the first performance with Arielle Jacobs since she recovered from COVID. She nailed the role and was phenomenal (both acting and vocally). I saw her in Aladdin a few years ago and remember really liking her performance in that too (even though I never found Jasmine to be the most developed character in the musical). This show gives her more to work with and is probably a lot more challenging than Jasmine from Aladdin (Delilah is on stage for at least 70% of the show). In general, I find Jacobs to be an incredibly likable performer, regardless of what show she’s in… and that’s true here. Her portrayal of Delilah made the character seem likable and (to me) felt very relatable. Her mannerisms (as well as the costumes) actually made her look like a 17 year old girl, and not like a fully-grown adult playing a girl (which I’ll admit is what most of the cast of Mean Girls looked like to me). The rest of the cast did a great job as well.



Overall, I think the show needs more work and if the goal is Broadway, the show could benefit from doing another out-of-town tryout with a tightened/rewritten book. I liked it a lot. However, it isn’t perfect and could be improved a bit.

Updated On: 7/2/22 at 09:15 AM

Tonight was opening night at the Tony Kiser Theater.

Theatermania: "Who needs brutal realism when you can escape into a moment of fantasy?"

https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/reviews/review-between-the-lines-second-stage_94021.html

Updated On: 7/11/22 at 10:13 PM

Is it necessary to read the book before seeing the show?

Absolutely not required to read the book first. I went in completely blind and came out a fan. Enjoyed this one a lot, it’s quite cute and really sticks the landing with its message. Wish they gave Julia Murney better songs to sing. I’ve been hyping it up to my friends.

Saw this last night on a total whim knowing nothing about it, and enjoyed it overall. I wish I'd known Arielle Jacobs was otherwise engaged. Aubrey Matalon was very good, but I suspect Jacobs gives a better performance. Vicki Lewis was also out. Jake David Smith was by far the standout of the production in terms of the cast. Otherwise, would echo a lot of what's already been said - the production values are very high (costumes and projections - though Aubrey's ballgown looked terrible and wasn't the same as the one you see Jacobs wearing in the promo video). I noticed the same spotlight problems that others have mentioned (and I had not read this thread before seeing the show). Act One could do with some trimming. I also am not sure how I feel about the ending, which feels a bit like a cheat from a plot perspective. Won't say more for fear of spoiling. I agree with others' comments about the tone of the show being a bit all over the place. Jodi Picoult also talked after the performance I saw - talked about the history of the development of the show and did Q&A.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it, and there were a lot of sweet, funny, and whimsical aspects to the production. If it's going to transfer to Broadway, it still needs significant work.

I thought this was a cute show with a good score. I've seen it twice and still get the music stuck in my head. I agree with others that it could use some fine tuning, though.

The first time I saw it, Aubrey Matalon was on for Delilah. Now that I've seen Arielle Jacobs, I honestly prefer Aubrey. Arielle is a great actress and can really sing, but I couldn't get past that she's double Delilah's age. I think she's miscast.

The rest of the cast is uniformly great. Though some of the other teenagers don't read as teenagers either, it's less jarring since their parts are so much smaller.

I know they want to transfer, but it doesn't seem to be selling well off-Broadway. I'm not really sure why, because I think it's a better show than its ticket sales suggest. I wonder if they're just getting caught up in the bad luck of opening during this run of inflation when people have less discretionary money to spend. I doubt they'd do well on Broadway unless something really changes with their momentum.

It's interesting the shows that get trashed on here and the ones people praise, or give passes to.

Let me just say I disagreed. I think they could cut an hour out of this and even then...

BJR said: "It's interesting the shows that get trashed on here and the ones people praise, or give passes to.

Let me just say I disagreed. I think they could cut an hour out of this and even then..."

I think a lot of it is expectation. I had low expectations for this and was surprised I was entertained for much of it. Also, I felt like the intentions of this were good and the piece had a lot of heart, even if it is imperfect. It didn’t just feel like a hollow cash grab like some shows do these days.

DaveCSparty said: "I really enjoyed it. I hope it gets more interest from word of mouth so that they can re-work some bits and make a transfer to Broadway, or at least stick around a bit."

It’s not coming to Broadway. Various reasons, but mainly mixed reviews and no “names” / unfamiliar source material to the masses. MTI has also acquired the licensing rights.

Are there any active discount codes for this? Hoping to see it one more time before it closes.

That Twitter thread also mentions a potential stream of the show in the future, in addition to the upcoming cast album. So that's good.