Burn This Previews — Page 2

Miles2Go2 said: "amygbrooks said: "I saw this tonight. It was my first time at a first preview, and I wasn't familiar with the text beforehand. I am not a theater expert by any means, so please take this with a grain of salt.

...

That's everything I can think of. Again, I am not expert, this was just my own experience of the show."

Thanks for your report from tonight! You paid your money to see the show and you attended it. As such, your opinion is just as valid as anyone else that was there tonight or anyone else on this message board. Again, thanks for the report!

"

Thank you for saying this! Honestly, I am often hesitant to post here because it seems like posters are frequently attacked for the tiniest things. I see about 10 shows a year in New York (plus a handful of the ones that tour), but often feel like if I don't have complete encyclopedic knowledge of any and every show/actor that I'm going to mention, then I better not say anything because someone will call me out on some aspect I wasn't aware of, probably in a really bitchy way.

I know that's probably silly, but it can be hard to take the plunge sometimes.

amygbrooks said: "Miles2Go2 said: "amygbrooks said: "I saw this tonight. It was my first time at a first preview, and I wasn't familiar with the text beforehand. I am not a theater expert by any means, so please take this with a grain of salt.

...

That's everything I can think of. Again, I am not expert, this was just my own experience of the show."

Thanks for your report from tonight! You paid your money to see the show and you attended it. As such, your opinion is just as valid as anyone else that was there tonight or anyone else on this message board. Again, thanks for the report!

"

Thank you for saying this! Honestly, I am often hesitant to post here because it seems like posters are frequently attacked for the tiniest things. I see about 10 shows a year in New York (plus a handful of the ones that tour), but often feel like if I don't have complete encyclopedic knowledge of any and every show/actor that I'm going to mention, then I better not say anything because someone will call me out on some aspect I wasn't aware of, probably in a really bitchy way.

I know that's probably silly, but it can be hard to take the plunge sometimes."

Your review was PERFECT!! Why?? Because it was YOURS!!!!! Entertainment is an art, not a science. Never a right or wrong and always in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I appreciate your honesty in the above post and your courage to post your review notwithstanding how others may opine on this forum!

CT2NYC said: "FYI, some $59-69 balcony seats are available for Monday, 4/15, which I believe is the unofficial opening night for the show, similar to what The Boys in the Banddid last year."

hey- can you clarify? I see tickets aviable for the 15th and 16th- Which one is opening? Playbill is listing the 16th.

Oh i see thanks that makes sense.

A handful of other shows have done opening night celebrations/invited performances the night before. The main reason being that everyone gets to enjoy the show and the party without worrying about reviews.

re: "... often feel like if I don't have complete encyclopedic knowledge of any and every show/actor that I'm going to mention, then I better not say anything because someone will call me out on some aspect I wasn't aware of, probably in a really bitchy way. I know that's probably silly, but it can be hard to take the plunge sometimes."

It's not silly. I rarely post after I see a show unless I'm chiming in on someone's post, usually agreeing with a point. While I think things have gotten better, perhaps a little kinder, on these boards, past ridicule (even shaming) generally steers me away from sharing much.

I greatly appreciate the boards' breadth and depth of knowledge and experience. I've learned a lot. Occasionally I'm compelled to say something. But mostly, even after nearly 20 years now seeing many shows a season, my grasp of all things theater is barely measurable when compared to most anyone else's here.

Better to enjoy what I enjoy and stay mum for the most part.

I was definitely surprised by how funny it was. It seemed like there were more comedic moments than dramatic/heavy ones, which I was not expecting at all based on the promo material.

Spoilers ahead...

For what it's worth I had a hard time buying into the idea that there is all this uncontrollable passion between Pale and Anna. They had a little fling, she was pretty clear all along that it was not serious, and yet it seems like the audience is supposed to believe they are in love. I did not feel like they were in love. Pale/Adam and Anna/Keri both SAID they'd never felt this way about anyone...but I don't think those feelings came across well. They kissed and were seemingly choreographed to keep getting physically closer (especially during their first encounter) but it didn't feel borne of any true magnetism, just...direction, I guess.

I really liked how the play dealt mostly in friendships (especially using Larry/Brandon Uranowitz) yet treated those relationships (rightfully) like family.

It also felt odd to me that there was so much talk of dancing as a profession/obsession, and there was a barre as part of the set, but we never saw anyone (especially Keri) dance. Not that I would have expected some amazingly professional performance, but just some little bits to show us that dancing was the central piece of her life. It was supposedly the whole reason why she wasn't married yet, and why she wasn't interested in Pale, etc. I would have an easier time buying that as her character's central motivation if she even just did some stretches at the barre.

There was a part of a scene where Burton, Anna's boyfriend, is telling Anna and Larry about a time when he was younger and he was walking through New York in the snow and met someone and had an unexpected homesexual experience. I found his anecdote very moving, and much of the audience gasped while he was telling it and got to the climax (haha sorry) of his story. It was like a glimpse of the real drama and suspense this play could contain.