Broadway Gods! Please Bring Aspects To Broadway!!!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:02pm

with Michael Arden in it.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_ASPECTS_OF_LOVE_At_the_Menier_Chocolate_Factory_20100712

Looks amazing, I doubt they will transfer this since it hasn't been on Broadway in the last 5 years.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:22pm

Of the Menier transfers that have happened only one has been of a show that had been revived recently.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:55pm

I would LOVE to see this come to Broadway! All of the Meiner transfers to Broadway have been successful so there is no reason not to bring this to Broadway.

[tourboi]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 2:29pm

I'm totally for this! Please!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 2:46pm

I'd go in a heartbeat.

[jennafan]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 2:50pm

cool


Updated On: 7/12/10 at 02:50 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 3:11pm

There's a new thread on the West End section of this site with some very POSITIVE word of mouth, so far.

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 4:09pm

Michael's face is starting to fill out. The boy is all grown up.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/13/10 at 2:23am

He looks great.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/13/10 at 5:59am

One of the few ALW's I've actually liked!! Redundancies and all! Combine THAT with Michael Arden.....I'd be there in a heartbeat.

And since we're wishing for across the pond transfers: Please bring over Deathtrap! I think that was my first NON-musical, and think Groff might be wonderful in the role.

[once a month]

Posted: 7/13/10 at 9:28am

My favorite ALW score, although I liked the original NY production, I think I'll pass this time. It's not a show I've given much thought to since.

[Boredathome]

Posted: 7/17/10 at 2:48pm

I do wish this would transfer. Or at least be recorded.

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 7/19/10 at 5:55pm

Agreed, I'd like to get a new recording.

[jennafan]

Posted: 7/19/10 at 6:11pm

I don't see this coming to Broadway. I have a feeling it would be slaughtered by critics here. I think a producer taking it on would have to know he/she will most likely lose money with it. Not too smart to be honest. The original got horrible reviews on Broadway.
Updated On: 7/19/10 at 06:11 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/19/10 at 6:47pm

With the reviews this is getting I would say anything is possible.
The Independent is an out and out rave or as our Brit Friend Phantom of London says: "It's stonking!"
'This brilliant little revival is a musical mini-masterpiece, with a score of insinuating beauty and real emotional muscle..."

Beside the star salaries in the Broadway productions, does anyone have a guess about the cost of the chocolate tranfers?
This could actually be a chance for an ALW redemption, and he sure could use one right now.

[Almira]

Posted: 7/19/10 at 7:24pm

As I remember it, when ASPECTS OF LOVE closed on Broadway it was the Biggest Financial Bomb in Broadway history.

I'm glad there were people who found pleasure in the show, but I - like many, many others - found it a complete bore.

There was a rush for caffeine at intermission to get through the second act.

[jennafan]

Posted: 7/19/10 at 9:16pm

I am curious, what do producers have access to besides reviews?

Do they find out the grosses, etc...?

I live in L.A. and we have had a few "pre-Broadway" runs that never ended up transferring. I have gone to a few shows that have been packed at the beginning of the run, but by the mid/end it's barely filling half of a theatre. That's only for about a 2 month run.

[newintown]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 11:30am

Unless it's been completely re-written (music, book, and lyrics), it's hard to imagine it succeeding.

Some quotes from Frank Rich's 1990 review:

"Mr. Lloyd Webber continues to compose in the official style that has made him an international favorite, sacrificing any personality of his own to the merchandisable common denominator of easy-listening pop music."

"...it generates about as much heated passion as a visit to the bank."

"(the lyrics) seem to have been translated from the original Hallmark."

"The misogyny in this show is more transparent than in other Lloyd Webber musicals... both heroines frequently behave like bitches and whores."

"What neither Mr. Lloyd Webber nor his collaborators can provide is a semblance of humanity."

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 10:36pm

Saw the original. Bored me to tears.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 10:43pm

I completely agree with Scott Briefer.

[D2]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 8:03am

You can't compare this production to the original unless you've seen it, nor can you quote the original reviews - which are over 20 years old. The two productions are entirely different animals despite being directed by the same person.

The current production at the Menier is as intimate as the original was bloated, and the intimacy works in its favor. I agree that it is a flawed musical but when it works it can be a very lovely piece, and this version works far more often than it should thanks to a very simple, straightforward production and absolutely smashing performances from all concerned. In particular, Michael Arden and Katherine Kingsley make their largely (as written) unsympathetic characters likeable.

Whether the show will transfer to New York and succeed here is open to debate. But having seen it, it has as good a chance as any and shouldn't be damned because of the rather unfortunate original. Not just yet, anyway. It is a lovely production of a flawed show. ASPECTS... will never be a top tier musical (its source material isn't that good to begin with), but this production does show it to be a viable one that can work when all the right elements are in place.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 8:35am

I will keep referring to what happened when my college attempted to do this show. The cast did not like this show. The audience was turned off by the kinky story line and the scene where George dies elicited uproarious laughter. To me, that is enough proof to say that this show does NOT have a good reputation in America!

Updated On: 7/21/10 at 08:35 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 9:09am

The production may be different, D2, but you can put a piece of crap in a Mainbocher evening gown and it will still be a piece of crap.

Read more closely - Frank Rich is vilifying the work itself, not the production. He was a canny enough critic to tell the difference between the two.

Lloyd Webber is a pedestrian composer and a terrible book writer, Black & Hart are hack lyricists'book writers. This piece deserves all the oblivion it can get.

I have no problem with advocating re-examination of undeserved failures; Aspects failed because it's just plain bad.

[D2]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 9:45am

Before you ask me to "read more closely," Newt, I respectfully request you do the same.

I may like the show more than you do, but I would never put ASPECTS... in the category of underrated masterpiece. Which I thought I made clear. Apparently not.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 10:00am

Theatremania STILL finds it tedious