CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Previews- Page 21

[DAME]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 1:29pm

I think I found a way for you to get your money back.  Go to the box office and say you don't agree to this.  Or call.

 

https://instagram.com/p/BSkb2_rjvZu/

[Nycat63]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 1:36pm

DAME said: "I think I found a way for you to get your money back.  Go to the box office and say you don't agree to this.  Or call.

 

https://instagram.com/p/BSkb2_rjvZu/

 

LOL wish it were so simple.  Have a teenage daughter who ought to know better but has her heart set on seeing this even if it's a complete bomb.  I'm giving up Sunset and even War Paint to squeeze Charlie into an already packed show schedule.  Going for mother of the year over here.  

But boy that is a good out for anyone else!!!  Great catch.  

[DAME]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:12pm

Let her go on her own.  She will be fine.  Drop her off and pick her up after.  The running time works in your favor .

[Margo319]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:22pm

This show was so horrible it made me super angry.  I pushed that goddamn button in hopes they would just cancel the rest of the night.  AVOID!

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:29pm

Nycat63 said: "...I'm giving up Sunset and even War Paint to squeeze Charlie into an already packed show schedule.  Going for mother of the year over here."

Wow, that's a heckuva lot of sacrifice!

[remark]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:38pm

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSlYWSJDKrV/

Genuinely struggling to believe this is the set of a Broadway production charging $200/ticket.

Actual robbery.

 

[HGorn]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:42pm

The critics are going to rip this show to shreds.  April 23rd will be the new "Black Sunday"

[DebraR]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:44pm

My daughter saw it last night and absolutely hated it too.   She said that not only was the show terrible, the sets terrible, but the kids in the audience would not be quiet, worse than a kid movie.  I told her to go talk to the manager and tell him she wanted her money back (knowing that that was very unlikely) but I agree, that they charge so much for this is embarrassing!

[Nycat63]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:45pm

DAME said: "Let her go on her own.  She will be fine.  Drop her off and pick her up after.  The running time works in your favor .

 

I've started considering that - as it gets closer that may be the path I take.  She'd throw a teenage hissy fit but she could ultimately handle herself.  

I have some time to change the plan for myself so I am still holding out some hope for at least a bit of improvement though it's getting less likely with every passing day.  That picture of the stage and Oompa Loompas someone posted was just sad.  Maybe they were going for a Trump vibe but ended up with Chuckie.  

 

 

[Joshua Boyd-Williams]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:57pm

Honestly looking at these pictures alone, if the stage was for another show, it probably would've worked. Alone, it's not terrible. But because this is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the stage just doesn't work. People expect colorful sets that stand out, and actually bringing us into the world of Willy Wonka. They did that in london. Here, it's just a blue box. How can the same designer stoop so low, when we know that he can do so much better? I still have a hard time grasping onto the fact that someone actually approved this for this musical. I think this show really should've done an out-of-town tryout before going to Broadway. That was probably their biggest mistake.

Updated On: 4/7/17 at 02:57 PM

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 2:59pm

Oh goodness...

Does anyone know if they took out the squirrels tearing Veronica from limb to limb?

Updated On: 4/7/17 at 02:59 PM

[toofunktastic2]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 3:18pm

Being relatively unfamiliar with Charlie, I'm assuming by the understated use of the clouds that this is outside the gate of the factory?

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 3:58pm

The Lunt hasn't originated a musical that has been a hit since the Sound of Music, the latest show doesn't look like it's going to be any different.

[Anna_Elizabeth]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 3:59pm

"Can you imagine how much poor Christian Borle must have to drink these days?  He can't be immune to the negative reactions so far.  Why oh why is he in this?  I could have spared myself tickets (happily bought them before previews bc of him and no way did I see this disaster coming) and now am stuck going regardless of reviews..."

I feel sorry for the entire cast. Going into a new project, you don't know how it is going to turn out. For this one, I'm sure everyone was thinking it would be similar to the London production, which ran a few years. I thought it would be more similar than not. Oh, well.

[jbird5]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 4:11pm

95% of gross potential (~$1M), 100% of capacity last week- it's hardly a disaster commerialy. Yet. Worst case scenario is it's a hit and other producers use it as a model.

[evic]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 5:44pm

Maybe if they change the name to Charlie And The No Set Factory, people won't be so disappointed.

[Joshua Boyd-Williams]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 6:26pm

I did some more digging on Instagram, and I managed to find some more pictures of the stage. The first one appears to be the TV room. Second one has multiple pictures, but the 5th picture is I guess the lobby of the factory?  Apparently, it's before they go to the chocolate room. It's has a red carpet hanging from the ceiling.....I'm not kidding.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSmNf-PBCYE/?tagged=charliemusical

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSU65FYB4Ln/?taken-by=theatreislife2017

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 6:32pm

Please. Don't tell me the grandparents are on bunk beds.

[Joshua Boyd-Williams]

Posted: 4/7/17 at 6:34pm

It sure does look like it. No idea why they are elevated to begin with.

[nonstopmachine]

Posted: 4/8/17 at 12:38pm

So glad i saw the london production last year. I know you guys didn't like it either. But at least it's a remarkable set there and i had a great time. 
 

Updated On: 4/8/17 at 12:38 PM

[BJR]

Posted: 4/8/17 at 1:39pm

While I completely understand this is an adaptation of a beloved property, and responding to those expectations is a huge part of the job for the creative team, it's odd the amount of vitriol on the design for supposedly being "cheap."

I genuinely don't understand the whole needing-to-see-your-money-onstage thing. It reminds me of those who complain when a show is 80 minutes, as if they're paying by the minute. Some of the pictures posted remind me opera sets, which more frequently are expressionistic, rather than representational. It's a different style.

If the concept and approach is not meeting expectations, that's one thing. But to say something more expressionist has less value is silly.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/8/17 at 1:47pm

I would be fine with a minimalist Charlie and the Chocolate Factory if the score and book were any good (I mean look at this year's Sunday revival, which was a beautiful production even though there wasn't much of a set).  What we have here is a poorly written adaption with a cheap production design.  We know it's cheap because we have seen the London set which was beautiful and was what we were all expecting.  They obviously didn't want to put as much money into it as the London production and assumed that the show would sell on the familiarity of the it's name.  They probably expected to make a quick and easy buck on this show by making cuts to the production cost.  Also the design is just awful regardless of the budget or artistic interpretation of the material.  I mean, it's f****ing atrocious.

Btw, is that red(?) Carpet coming out of the ceiling supposed to be the chocolate river?

Updated On: 4/8/17 at 01:47 PM

[Joshua Boyd-Williams]

Posted: 4/8/17 at 2:47pm

Nope. It's just a red carpet. Pretty sad, actually.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/8/17 at 4:50pm

BJR said: "If the concept and approach is not meeting expectations, that's one thing. But to say something more expressionist has less value is silly."

 

It's the concept and approach that is the problem with this show, though. There is nothing "expressionist" about the design. It's just dirt cheap and ugly. And an expressionist approach would never be appropriate for a title like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory IMO.

 

[RW3]

Posted: 4/8/17 at 6:23pm

So how much blame can be placed on Mark Thompson, the set designer?