"Bullets Over Broadway" Previews- Page 2

[harris007]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 7:56pm

I wish this had a original score,i really do

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 8:00pm

Not the train wreck most had hoped it would be and that turning it into an interpolated musical really works for the material.

Did I miss a thread? There was never any expected train wreck expectations at any point in the buzz regarding the musical. The only implication of any mention of 'negativity' was the possible backlash the musical due to Woody Allen's recent slander attempt by his daughter in the press. That disappeared as quickly as it came plus his work/films were never ignored or boycotted due to his personal life. He and his work stand alone - regardless of what goes on in his personal life.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 8:31pm

I was not indicating to anyone on here, just people who I have talked to thinking that this wasn't going to be good because of certain factors.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:04pm

JUST got out. Almost three hours long!!

I thought it was okay overall. Sometimes, pretty good, even. It is not nearly as funny as it should be, at least not consistently. They need to do some major trimming. It's all very polished and well presented (absolutely amazing sets), and it's entertaining, but I thought the cast was uneven and (mostly) struggling to wash away memories of their film predecessors. The book needs more laughs and a faster pace. The musical numbers are wonderfully interwoven and the orchestrations and arrangements are great, but none of the numbers are a real knockout in the way I hoped. Cordero and Yorke got the two best numbers in my opinion. And they killed it. Yorke is hilarious. Braff carries the show with great charm. Mazzie is fine, but she's certainly no Diane Wiest. She's still fighting to find some of her laughs.

I'll post more later, when I'm at my computer, but I hate to admit I wasn't blown away.

It reminded me a lot of NICE WORK. But raunchier. (And more polished.) Completely enjoyable, tolerable, passable, and at the end of the day, forgettable to an extent. Updated On: 3/11/14 at 11:04 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:13pm

Can you post a song list later? Thanks for the quick update! :)

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:14pm

I've gotta get up early so will write more tomorrow, but...

I thought I would hate it but...

It's fantastic. A nearly flawless first preview. The cast is incredible. The score is dynamite, thanks to the wonderful arrangements. Wolfe and Mazzie are magificent, but Heléne York is hands down the best thing about the entire evening.

At 2:45, they need to trim 15 minutes from the show. But it is so chock full of joy and laughter, I'm not so sure how they'll choose what goes.

Honorable mention to the always wonderful Karen Ziemba who gets a hundred laughs in the finale alone.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:15pm

I absolutely adored this from beginning to end. Musical comedy heaven. Susan Stroman has done some fine work here. The set is MASSIVE. I really really loved this. The book and pace need a little bit of work, but nothing that can't be ironed out in a month long preview period. I will post more when I'm not on my phone.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:16pm

Gonna get lots of different opinions on this one it seems. But I laughed my head off, and I am NOT a fan of Woody Allen's in the slightest.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:18pm

So what's the song list?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:20pm

I will post a picture of the song list in the play once I am back at my hotel

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:20pm

I will post a picture of the song list in the play once I am back at my hotel

[holdyourbatboy]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:22pm

It was just okay for me as well. Nice production values, but it moves too slowly and the cast is uneven. Well done Zach Braff - fine Bway debut! Loved Helen Yorke. Marin fell flat for me, and I'm a fan of her's. She wasn't getting the laughs she should have, but maybe it was nerves and she certainly has time to improve. The first act is LONG. Overall pleasant but forgettable. Nice Work the sequel.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:27pm

I'd love to hear more about the sound of the show. Are the songs performed with what sound like authentic 1920s/30s period arrangements or have they all been newly orchestrated by Doug Besterman? Is it a sizable orchestra?

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:32pm

Was Woody in the house?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:38pm

Didn't spot Woody anywhere.

I thought Marin was hilarious, although I've only seen the film once and years ago. So, for me, most of the original was gone from my memory.

Nick Cordero leads an EXCEPTIONAL tap number with the other gangsters that is a real show-stopper. The choreography is phenomenal and makes you wanna stand up and shout, "STROMAN IS BACK!"

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:39pm

And HorseTears, very few numbers sound a tad more contemporary. But I think it's otherwise quite well done, and the orchestrations definitely do transport you.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:42pm

So, I thought the show was good. Not great. I really wanted to love it, but in all honesty it wasn't all that funny. The dancing, the sets, and the acting are all phenomenal. Zach Braff did a great job of carrying the show. The shows true problems lie in the book and the pacing. I am sure this is all stuff that they can work out in the very long preview period. I will be returning closer to when the show is frozen.

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:42pm

wickedrocks, you hit it on the head-Bullets is like a better Nice Work.

I agree with much of what has already been said-the show certainly needs trimmed and tightened. It does drag a bit. Also agree that it needs to be somewhat funnier. It is well on its way though.

Surprised to hear the Helene Yorke love, I thought she was rather unoriginal. The rest of the cast was excellent though, and I think Mazzie has never been or looked better.

Sets, costumes, choreography, orchestrations are all spectacular. Very excited to return opening night!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:47pm

Shocked to hear that in regards to York. Maybe her energy didn't transmit past the first few rows, but from the front row - she was dynamite and had me in stitches every time she opened her mouth.

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:47pm

HorseTears- there are 18 pieces in the pit. Unfortunately, they are underneath the stage and not actually in the orchestra pit (due to the many stage elevators), so it doesnt sound nearly as exciting as it might have if we were actually hearing the music ourselves from the actual orchestra pit as opposed to coming from an offstage room through a speaker. Orchestrations are full and authentic sounding (period wise) to me!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:54pm

[IMG]
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[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:56pm

As the people on this board who know me in real life can testify, I am a huge Woody Allen fan. I have an immense amount of affection for the film, which has one of my favorite performances in one of his movies by Chazz Palminteri. The scene where Palminteri freaks out on the street to John Cusack about how awful Olive is in his play and how she's ruining it is absolute perfection.

I was nervous going into the show tonight for two reasons: would the cast be able to compete the brilliant performances in the film and would the lack of an original score turn this into Nice Work takes two?

Let's tackle the latter issue first. For the most part I thought the song selection was strong and the placement of the songs made sense. Lots of changes have been made to the lyrics so they better fit the characters and they more organically arise from the book than the usual jukebox hackwork that so often is found. Would I have rather heard an original score? Sure. But these songs (mostly) worked well enough.

The book sticks very closely to the film script, with large chunks lifted verbatim. Almost all of the one-liners are there, even if they're moved around to a different scene. The only time the book deviated from the film was in the last 10 minutes, and I strongly preferred the movie ending to the stage ending.

People didn't seem to be guffawing in their seats, but I think that's because it was all so familiar. I honestly felt like I was watching the movie again, and naturally I'm not going to laugh at the same jokes I've heard before like I was hearing them for the first time.

I agree with WickedRocks about the uneven cast. I actually thought Marin was great and didn't do a carbon copy performance of Dianne Wiest's characterization, although it obviously was influenced by her performance. Helene Yorke was a lot of fun as Jennifer Tilly, and her act one number, "I Want A Hot Dog For My Roll" was the musical highlight for me. I full knockout showstopper. She basically uses Tilly's voice, and if not quite an imitation it certainly was an homage to her film counterpart.

I liked Brooks Ashmanskas as Warren and "Let's Misbehave" with Yorke was my second favorite number. Ziemba has very little to do, but she makes the most of it. This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I think Betsy Wolfe had too much to do. She delivers her songs incredibly, but the character takes up too much stage time, and with the overlong run time I would cut down on her stuff first.

Nick Cordero plays my beloved Cheech and I thought he was decent. He has a big number that he pulled off with a lot of help from the male ensemble. He was a little stiff in the part though and I wanted to see him loosen in the second act as Cheech gets more and more desperate to preserve the artistic integrity of the play.

In some ways Braff was a better stand-in for Woody than John Cusack was, but it's tough being the straight man with all these crazy characters around you. His big act two number didn't really work for me.

I liked what Stroman did with the material and I'm sure she'll tighten things up as previews go along.

I think her one big misstep was the ending...and SPOILERS because it is different than the movie

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


David confesses to Helen that he didn't write the play, and that it was really Cheech. Ellen shows up to the cast party and tells David that she wants to get back with him. The who things ends with a HUGE production number to "I Have No Bananas." It's a bizarre song choice and way, way too big.

Gone is that wonderful, wonderful scene on the street where Cusack yells to Mary-Louise Parker and the neighbor across the way joins into the conversation. It's a small and sweet ending to this big ensemble film. He finally admits to her that he isn't an artist and is ready to move on to a life with her.

After all of Stroman's big production numbers she needed to pull a Gower Champion and need Bullets with a "Rosie" instead of another "Honestly Sincere." It's much riskier, but I think it's the right move to make, and really is the only appropriate place to give Betsy Wolfe a song. I wanted them to sing "A Tough Act To Follow" from Curtains here or something like that.


END SPOILERS**************************************************



Overall I thought it was fun and pleasant with lots of spectacle, but far from perfect.

Updated On: 3/12/14 at 11:56 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:58pm

Was I the only one who found the finale to be a bizarro sequence? It was so odd and didn't fit, tonally, with the preceding 2 hours and 40 minutes. I guess they were aiming for quirky and endearing, but I just thought it was just ... weird.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/12/14 at 12:03am

Wicked- I completely agree with you. I thought the play could have ended 10 minutes before it did and we wouldn't have missed out on anything.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/12/14 at 12:04am

I need to revisit the film. I agree the ending could be improved, but I loved Karen Ziemba's verse of "Yes, We Have No Bananas" (I don't want to say why and ruin it, as it's a big joke) so very much that I'd hate to see it go. It was the hardest I laughed all evening.