"Bullets Over Broadway" Previews- Page 8

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/19/14 at 11:19pm

It's the best thing I have seen this season. Top of my list for best musical. They need to drop the Irvin Berlin joke, which landed with a thud tonight and I found offensive. The show is tight. It may not be original music, but they use the score well.

1. Bullets
2. Bridges
3. Rocky
4. Aladdin, or After Midnight
5. If/Then, or Gents Guide
Are my picks for best musical, this is assuming Hedwig stays as a revival.

Updated On: 3/19/14 at 11:19 PM

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/19/14 at 11:26pm

I'm confused why you have 7 top 5 musicals?!

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/19/14 at 11:37pm

Because After Midnight and Gents Guide I am not sure how they will do. I am pretty confident that the top 3 are in, not sure of spots 4 and 5. If/Then will most likely get a nod, but I HATED IT! It was long, boring, and I did not connect with the story or the music. And if Hedwig petitions and gets in for best musical, it changes everything.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/19/14 at 11:55pm

Petition what?

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:12am

If Hedwig petitions to be included in the Best Musical category. It never played on Broadway, so they could petition to have it included for Best Musical and not Best Revival. They could rule that only the book and score could be included for the musical and not allow it in best musical. Or does the show not open in time for Tony consideration? We have to wait and see what happens. The one thing I know is that it is going to be an interesting year.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:21am

Hedwig will most likely go into the revival category. It even stands a good chance of winning there since Les Miserables (which was anticipated to win by default earlier this season) will most likely not be winning.The revival category is interesting this year with the first ever revival of a revival of a production, a national touring production taking residency on Broadway, Roundabout's Violet, and probably Hedwig. It's an interesting mix.
I think the best musical race is pretty much between Bullets Over Broadway and If/Then. I thoroughly enjoyed both for different reasons, and I will be happy with either of them winning.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:23am

I really don't think Hedwig will end up in the Best Musical category, and I doubt its producers would want it to anyway.

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:27am

For the record I am not saying Hedwig will do it, or should do it. I am just throwing it out there, because they could do it.

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:43am

I saw the last of the new musicals today/tonight and I feel strongly that Bullets will take it. The story is tight, it's entertaining and the audience really connected. I am not a fan of Woody Allen humor and I have not seen the movie so this was a totally fresh show for me. I enjoyed it more than anything else this season.
If/Then, just felt to me like the Menzel, Rapp, Lachanze show and who could sing the loudest (Idina wins). I thought the book was weak and the score was boring (Still cannot believe these are the same people that wrote N2N, one of my all time favorite shows, and should have won the Tony over Billy Elliot).

BTW, I saw the first preview of If/Then and the only reason I went was to hear and see the show from the team that brought us N2N, not to see the stars. I really wanted to like it, and it just left me feeling like I wasted 2.5 hours of my time. I am not bashing any of the stars of the show. It was the show I was disappointed in not the performances.
Updated On: 3/20/14 at 12:43 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:49am

If Hedwig petitions to be included in the Best Musical category

Yeah, they should also petition to win the award.

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:57am

Hedwig is selling well and has a huge following as does NPH. It has a good shot of winning revival as another poster said (I think it will come down to Cabaret and Hedwig). Read my past post about them not doing it. Just saying they could do it.

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 1:40am

I mentioned it earlier and read through most of the posts in the thread and surprised no one has mentioned it, but was anyone else surprised/offended by the Irvin Berlin joke? Was it added later? It felt like it landed with a thud in the audience. My friend and I looked at one another and asked each other if they really just said that. She informed me that the line was not in the movie. I understand it is a "period piece", but it just felt unnecessary in my opinion.

[dented146]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 1:44am

Without Yorke and the hot dog number in Act1, I would give it a B. She lifts the entire Act 1 above that grade. But having been a fan of Woody Allen's movies my whole life, I felt that much of the humor was far more silly and didn't have that little edge I'm use to seeing. Also, the repeated use of old music standards was sometimes okay but sometimes quite boring; that is especially true at the end of the show.

I thought it was very well performed. I thought the audience enjoyed it a little more than I did. It will likely be a hit but I don't think it was special.

Most have been critical of the original music in Rocky but, with the exception of one number, I feel that the music in Rocky does much more to develop its characters than the original music in Bullets.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 8:47am

Was there last night also -I have not seen the movie so have no preconceived notions.

Thoughts in no particular order:


The stage deck IS very high, and it just out on the side sections so that row C is the first row (as opposed to the seating chart) The height didn't affect me (I am tall) but there were some in the first row who were clearly not happy

The show ran very smoothly. The set is amazing - cannot believe there were no tech issues this early into previews. Mazzie is perfectly cast and plays Helen to the hilt. Yorke is excellent, as is Nick Cordero. Braff is good, but it feels like he is being outshined by many of the more seasoned Broadway vets.

Betsy Wolfe and Karen Ziemba are solid, but their roles are small (and do not need to be made larger). Just knowing who they are and their body of work you expect them to be doing more.

I thought the show flowed well, the songs (yes, I also wish they were originals) worked well and moved the story. Choreography is wonderful, the orchestrations are really excellent.

I don't get the banana song either (it didn't bother me as much as some here, but it just doesn't make sense). I found the Berlin joke odd (yes, it bombed last night), and some of Braff's stuff didn't land.

Overall I really had a fun night-which is often what I look for in a night at the theatre.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 8:52am

What is the "Berlin" joke?

SPOILERS, I know.

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 11:26am

"If/Then, just felt to me like the Menzel, Rapp, Lachanze show and who could sing the loudest (Idina wins). I thought the book was weak and the score was boring (Still cannot believe these are the same people that wrote N2N, one of my all time favorite shows, and should have won the Tony over Billy Elliot).

BTW, I saw the first preview of If/Then and the only reason I went was to hear and see the show from the team that brought us N2N, not to see the stars. I really wanted to like it, and it just left me feeling like I wasted 2.5 hours of my time. I am not bashing any of the stars of the show. It was the show I was disappointed in not the performances."



THANK YOU!

[mschwager]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:25pm

Does anyone know if they've cut anything yet? When I saw it, it definitely needed to be trimmed.

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:28pm

No idea, it felt and looked tight last night.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 12:45pm

That's what she s-- Eh, skip it.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 2:12pm

" I really wanted to like it, and it just left me feeling like I wasted 2.5 hours of my time."

You can't be that concerned about wasting your time, if you're on BWW.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 3/20/14 at 11:54pm

Did anyone else find this show to be, oh, I don't know…a tad boring? I just left the theatre, and I found myself distracted by EVERYTHING else besides what was actually going on in the story. Songs I love were very uninspiring, and seemed to drag. I found Zach Braff to be really amateurish and Besty Wolfe seemed to be sleepwalking all night (which could very well be an off night. Who's to say?) The general word I had heard was positive going in, so I was kind of bummed that it didn't land with me more. But I guess, different strokes.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 11:43am

I haven't seen the show, but a 2 hr 45 min running time to tell this story seems really bloated. The movie was 1 hr 38 min.

It's not Lawrence of Arabia or Gone With the Wind. Nothing "epic" in scope here.

It sounds like the biggest problem is trying (really hard) to showcase every single character in the ensemble cast. Everybody gets a moment or two or three or five to shine. The movie featured a lot of great characters, but their time to shine was (mostly) brief with a lot of impact. It left me wanting more from all of them which is always better than wanting less.

They need a show doctor, pronto, with a ruthless ax, to start trimming the the excess down---including cutting songs, scenes, and truncating the dialogue. They need to drive the story forward and quit trying to push every single performer for a Tony Award.

A musical comedy with too much material is deadly.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 1:27pm

Thank you best12bars, that's exactly what I couldn't put my finger on! Maybe that was why I was so disappointed with Betsy Wolfe (I love her voice), because she popped out for her two big moments, and then disappeared. This happened so frequently across the board, that by the end, I just hadn't been able to latch on to the story, nor was I invested at all.

[jaxandmci]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:56pm

Yes, beltingbaritone, I, too, was bored out of my mind after about 45 minutes in. As best12bars points out, the movie is 98 minutes long but take away the opening (if there are any) and closing credits, and you're probably closer to 90. Why is another hour needed to tell the same story?

It's technically top-notch but that excruciatingly long book just ruined the whole thing for me.

[bstoll1]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 2:31am

I attended Friday nights performance and after the show was a small talkback with a group of North Western University Alumni of which Zach Braff is an graduate of. He spoke for a few minutes about the process of how he became involved with the production and its trip to Broadway. When asked if Woody Allen had seen the show, contrary to what others have stated on this site, he said that Woody has been at almost every preview. So if you see Bullets in the next few weeks keep your eye out for Woody Allen!