CRY-BABY: I'm Still Crying - 3/24/08 — Page 4

LOL, well, the curtain was about to go up, and I was rushing them inside, all the while pantomiming to my treasurer "don't do it!" "don't say yes!" He was an awfully nice guy, and I half expected him to obey their wishes. He didn't!

---

I have tickets to see "Cry Baby" next month and I'm really looking forward to it. Withoutatrace and I are good friends and we have very different opinions on some shows. We are mature enough to respect one another's opinions.

yeah, you still cant let anyone negative comment about PS go without bashing ITH, its kinda pathetic actually. i mean, are you Stew or something?

Yes, Liverpool, I am Stew. You got me.

What agitates you so much about ITH having a poor book? Isn't that an accepted fact by virtually everyone? I was simply trying to make an argument that discredits withoutatrace's comments about PS, and used the most recent example of his love for ITH. I would be more than happy to have used something else, say if he professed his love for In My Life for example.

I know you prefer to resort to name calling instead of actually responding to my logic.

And I guess your skull is thicker than I thought.

Um I'm not upset by ITH's poor book. I also thought the book was pretty weak, but the show was still amazing. Your need to tear it down every time someone makes a negative comment about PS is sort of sad and obsessive.

...& neither has anything to do with CRY-BABY!

Here is a photo of me with Thomas Meehan....who should win a Tony for Best book for CRY-BABY..so there!

---

I wonder why all of the reviews gave this show ok to positive reviews in La Jolla when 4 anonymous posters on a chat board are so clear that it's an absolute train wreck.

I'm not in this show (though I do have friends that are in it), but I'm in another show and whenever I tell my friends at the theater that I read/post here, they roll their eyes and ask why since in their view, these boards are "mostly bitter theater queens who claim to love Broadway, yet tear apart almost everything from the sidelines because they weren't ever good enough to be a part of a Broadway show themselves."

Now (for the most part), I don't think that's true and I DO think this show needs work. But when the same small but loud group of people take so much joy in overstating how awful something is and how "you have to see it because it's so bad," I have to wonder why you can't appreciate that people are trying to create something great. And you know what? It's really hard. But this creative team and cast are not insulting the audience a la "Good Vibrations" by shoehorning a ridiculous plot into a Broadway show. These are talented people trying to make a truly funny show (which is much harder than making another sad/romantic show).

So to those of you crapping all over this show, I ask you why you think Variety and all those other critics said the show was good to great? How did ALL OF THEM get it SOOOO wrong?

I would give anything for any one of you to try to create even one scene and then I wish we all could come see it. I would love for you to see how hard it is to get 1 truly funny joke to really land. Then imagine trying to get 80 more. I know, I know, "I don't have to be able to write a great musical to critique one!" Of course you don't. But maybe if you tried to create something for once in your life where other people saw it and your talent was on display, you would be much more appreciative of those people trying to do something special and extremely hard that you either couldn't or wouldn't do in your own life.

---

Brian S,

I totally agree with your sentiments. I wonder what kind of lives, if any, these people have?

---

In defense of myself, if you read some of my other posts, when I really like a show, I say so. When I don't, I also say so. But to call someone who states a negative opinion about a show, "a bitter theatre queen" is totally out of line.

I went into last nights show, wanting to like it. I have never seen the movie, "Cry-Baby" so I had nothing to compare it to. I went in with an open mind. I stated what I liked about it, but unfortunately, it wasn't much.

---

since you quote him in your sig, i assume you mean that as a compliment.

Just the other day, I looked back over the Xanadu First Preview, which had a number of severly negative reviews. Some said to see just to see how bad it was. And sure enough, a lot of people actually liked it!

So I say that, given the means or opportunity, one should give as many shows as possible a shot - whether because of, or in spite of, these early reviews.

---

BrianS, as a professional TV writer myself, I understand what you are saying and I agree ! However, this is a board where anyone can express his opinion ! I respect that right for everyone, even if some comments are infuriating ! Some people will love the show and some will hate it ! But both sides have an equal right to state what they think ! Their comments are personal and come from their personal taste and they should be taken as such ! I have no problem with people who say their opinion ! The tragic thing is when they think that only their opinion is the right one and everyone else's is wrong ! As if there is a right or wrong in art !!!