#126
Posted: 3/14/14 at 1:00am
SPOILERS?
Some technical glitches tonight: the "shooting the curtain" bit in the overture, and the end of Act One had some rough mic problems. Some dropped hats, some stuck costumes, but given how big this show is (and truly, it rival Aladdin and Rocky as the mammoth show of the year), I think it's in pretty incredible shape for a first preview.
It has potential. A TON. of potential. Just a little tweaking and it will be perfect, and as of now, a very strong contender for Best Musical.
Some notes:
Whomever said Betsy Wolfe's part was over-written is COMPLETELY right. I'd recommend either cutting her first act song, or giving significantly more of it to Braff. Her second act number should come as a bigger moment, and keeping Betsy's voice until the second act would really make that moment stick.
In general, the intros into songs need work.
You could lose the first song of Act One (in the club), go right to introducing Braff and set up the show from there. He wants creative control of his show: THAT'S what's important. Introduce Olive and the Gangsters in the next scene. Also gives the show a focus it slightly lacks right now.
Marin is delivering a tour-de-force performance. Seriously, absolutely incredible. She had the audience in the palm of her hand the entire night, and if she's in the featured category, it's not just in her bag, it's on her dressing room shelf.
The set is CRAZY. Seriously. C.R.A.Z.Y. Between this, Aladdin, Rocky, and... whatever else ends up nominated, we're spoiled for choice. My vote goes here, probably because of the three, this is easily the strongest.
You can easily cut the scene where the cast sees David's first revisions after Cheech's first suggestion. Instead, cut to David showing his revisal to Cheech, and Cheech flat out just rewriting it. This way, there's a better flow into the accompanying number, and all of the revisions that the cast likes come squarely from Cheech.
Also, I know Stroman always ends in a big musical number, but the Banana song is not. that. number. If ANYTHING, have David leave the cast party after Helen says she doesn't love him, have him chase after Ellen, win her back by renouncing his artistic ambitions, a sweet number, THEN curtain call dance number... with Bananas... or something
It's in pretty great shape considering that it just started previews three days ago, without an out of town tryout or anything. It's just a little over grown. But with almost a full month of previews, I'm sure Stroman will get it right :)
Some technical glitches tonight: the "shooting the curtain" bit in the overture, and the end of Act One had some rough mic problems. Some dropped hats, some stuck costumes, but given how big this show is (and truly, it rival Aladdin and Rocky as the mammoth show of the year), I think it's in pretty incredible shape for a first preview.
It has potential. A TON. of potential. Just a little tweaking and it will be perfect, and as of now, a very strong contender for Best Musical.
Some notes:
Whomever said Betsy Wolfe's part was over-written is COMPLETELY right. I'd recommend either cutting her first act song, or giving significantly more of it to Braff. Her second act number should come as a bigger moment, and keeping Betsy's voice until the second act would really make that moment stick.
In general, the intros into songs need work.
You could lose the first song of Act One (in the club), go right to introducing Braff and set up the show from there. He wants creative control of his show: THAT'S what's important. Introduce Olive and the Gangsters in the next scene. Also gives the show a focus it slightly lacks right now.
Marin is delivering a tour-de-force performance. Seriously, absolutely incredible. She had the audience in the palm of her hand the entire night, and if she's in the featured category, it's not just in her bag, it's on her dressing room shelf.
The set is CRAZY. Seriously. C.R.A.Z.Y. Between this, Aladdin, Rocky, and... whatever else ends up nominated, we're spoiled for choice. My vote goes here, probably because of the three, this is easily the strongest.
You can easily cut the scene where the cast sees David's first revisions after Cheech's first suggestion. Instead, cut to David showing his revisal to Cheech, and Cheech flat out just rewriting it. This way, there's a better flow into the accompanying number, and all of the revisions that the cast likes come squarely from Cheech.
Also, I know Stroman always ends in a big musical number, but the Banana song is not. that. number. If ANYTHING, have David leave the cast party after Helen says she doesn't love him, have him chase after Ellen, win her back by renouncing his artistic ambitions, a sweet number, THEN curtain call dance number... with Bananas... or something
It's in pretty great shape considering that it just started previews three days ago, without an out of town tryout or anything. It's just a little over grown. But with almost a full month of previews, I'm sure Stroman will get it right :)
