Catch me if you Can Preview Thread- Page 7

[yournamehere]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 4:22pm

I might as well add myself to the list of people saying PM it.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 4:34pm

Please add me to the PM list too!

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 5:08pm

about this being a "chase" musical...no offense, but so is LES MIZ....and we see plenty of the chasee and chaser alone, singing introspectively, and not running toward or away from each other at all. It's the form...it's called "willing suspension of disbelief." And the crime here, like that in MIZ, is not murder or violent...it's just retribution taken to extremes. Yes, folks suffered because of the way Frank Jr. kited checks, and he may have put others at risk in his imposterism. But i liked the epilogue about his real life outcome....it may be in the Playbill, but i don't read that cover to cover as i wait to see the show. The Playbill is a document supporting the art form, not it's own narrative.

[little_sally]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 7:13pm

I saw the show this afternoon and am pretty disappointed. I thought it was dull, and found myself not caring for the characters and their situations. The variety show conceit didn't work for me, the score was unmemorable, and I thought the choreography was so ugly.

Aaron Tveit was alright (loved him in Next to Normal) but I did really enjoy Norbert Leo Butz and Tom Wopat.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 9:10pm

I think the show needs work, but they have something to work with. When I saw the show a few nights ago, the writers & Jerry Mitchell were in the back of the orchestra (as they should be), so hopefully they are doing re-writes and changing things around.

[massofmen]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 9:57pm

there are no amounts of rewrites that can fix this dreadful mess.
Its absolute crap from top to bottom..

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:38pm

I saw the matinee today and loved it. Aaron Tveit was a true star- he's so charming and his voice sounded beautiful the entire show. From his silky high notes to strong belting, he showed such a range and I was mesmerized by him. Norbert was awesome as well. I loved the scene in the hotel room in LA- it was so funny and Norbert played it hilariously. I really enjoyed Tom Wopat as well.
I thought the show was completely entertaining- I felt like Aaron was just throwing himself into it and it was hard not to get wrapped up in it! I really think Aaron could win Best Actor this year. I loved the show girls too, especially Alex Ellis- she has great stage presence.
Oh- and do Norbert and Aaron always laugh during the finale?? Norbert was saying like, "EW, you spit on me..." haha
Updated On: 3/19/11 at 10:38 PM

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:46pm

Was Alex Ellis Cheryl Ann??

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:48pm

No, Alex was Betty- the girl who Frank tells to fold the note. I just always noticed her expressiveness and enthusiasm!!

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:57pm

Oh I see...I have been wondering how the role of Cheryl Ann is played out in the show since I heard that her role has been reduced. Can you tell me what her scene is now like in the show??

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 11:05pm

She just comes up to Frank and he's like, "I know you from somewhere... you're Cheryl Ann... that model!" and she's like, "Ya... I was on the cover of Seventeen... a few years ago"- which got a hearty chuckle. She says,"How much would you pay for a night with me?" and he's like "300?...500?..." and finally says 1,000 bucks. He's gonna go cash a cashier's check for her, but she says for him to give it to her... then they go off together. I don't think she sings as Cheryl Ann...

[kyl3fong2]

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

Oh...what a shame. I was hoping she would still sing a line or two from "You Gotta Pay For Love". I really liked that song from the Seattle show.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 11:46pm

TxTwoStep, that's totally your opinion. It's not the job of a play/musical to tell you every detail of a person's life. I think the show would be better served by ending it with them having their little duet. It just slows down the momentum of the show by having these 4 characters stand there and say this happened to so and so.... it's just boring to watch and listen to. And it just shows a lack of writing skills that they couldn't have worked that in in a more interesting way.

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 12:47am

I saw it tonight and liked it a lot. It's a true musical in that its got style, heart and something to say. I thought Norbert was amazing and Aaron was fine, if a little stiff at times. But unlike so many shows these days, I didn't feel like it was yelling at me or selling me a bill of goods. It told me a story. Some of the music great, some too much homage, but its really an often wondeful show.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 8:19am

RIPPED, our two opinions are like two buttholes. We both got 'em and they both stink.

[massofmen]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 3:04pm

broadwayben, what the hell are you talking about.
Where is the heart in this horrible show? Which songs were good? In what world is this a good musical?

[little_sally]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 3:06pm

It tried to have a heart at the end but all I kept thinking was, "Why should I feel sympathy for this criminal?"

[bundy5000]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 6:13pm

*possible spoilers*
I thought there was a emotional undertone in the 2nd act. When the Frank Senior becomes an alcoholic, it reminded me of my grandfather. I thought "Fly Fly Away" was the most emotional song of the show. Most of the songs to me felt dry and generic. If the CD came out with the songs the way they were when I saw it, I would probably skip through half of them. I thought Kerry was good but definitely could have had more stage time and numbers. I also kept on hearing Cleo from Xanadu throughout her time on stage. I thought Aaron was great in terms of acting,vocally, and charisma but most of his songs I could have slept through, which is not his fault.

I think if the story was modified, they could replace some of the songs. I can't even remember most of the song numbers, that is how memorable they were to me. The set was boring. I hated the black background in the few scenes. Mediocre is the best I am willing to describe the show. I think 45 min. of the show was entertaining. The rest made me think about how fun I could of had at Priscilla.

[rjm516]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 9:52pm

I saw this last night (3/19). It was one of the worst Broadway experiences I've ever had - at the theatre, NOT (entirely) due to the show. The ushers were seating latecomers in the upper mezzanine for a good 40 minutes into the first act. Sometimes, the people and the ushers were just standing there in the aisle for minutes trying to figure out how to get to their seats. I missed a good deal of the action, and I was furious (as were people around me). Isn't there a cut-off point for seating latecomers??? That was one of the most ridiculous things!
Then, the person behind me was making a great deal of noise with a candy wrapper. I gave her maybe 5 minutes to unwrap and eat whatever it was, to be polite, but then I realized it just wasn't going to stop and it was really rude and distracting (they DO announce at the beginning of most shows (though not this one) to unwrap your stuff, right??). So I turned around and quietly whispered 'could you please put that away' and the person said loudly, "excuse me??? are you serious? oh my god" then loudly talked to her seatmate about how ridiculous I was. So...yeah. That sucked. Was I out of line?

As for the show - it was...pleasant, for the most part, but they definitely need to make some changes, clean it up, smooth it out. It felt very choppy and disjointed, as though there were good ideas presented at certain times, but no way to thread them together. "Fly Fly Away" was absolutely incredible. Kerry sounds better than ever. She's wonderful. But to have a song like that compared with "The Man Inside the Clues" (such a dud!) and so many other songs...it's disappointing! Norbert absolutely does not get a chance to show off his voice. The most entertaining number is that one with Norbert and all the men doing the amazing dancing (really amazing), but I can't see how Norbert will ever be able to get out more than a shout during it (like last night). How could anyone sing during that! But that was a great number nonetheless. Aaron is fantastic, but they need to give us more of a reason to root for him despite his criminal behavior. The show just jumps in having already made the assumption that we're on his side. While Aaron does a very charming job of trying to get us on his side, he needs some help from the material. I am excited to see it in a few months, provided they make some changes. Anyway, it's worth it just to see Kerry sing that song again.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 10:06pm

I saw the show Saturday afternoon and as much as I wanted to like it, I didn't. It's all very slick and stylized, but it just left me cold. All the up and down the stairs by the ensemble became very tiresome. I kept thinking of the ensemble women in their heels, doing the choreography and walking up and down the stairs and how soon will it be before they start having problems with their legs and feet.

Aaron Tveit did a wonderful job, especially since he seems to be onstage about 99% of the time. I really liked Kerry Butler as well.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 11:09pm

What do you mean up and down the stairs?

[DottieD'Luscia]

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

The stairs of the set.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 11:13pm

Are there stairs built into the orchestra platform structure ?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 11:17pm

There are. The orchestra is on a raised platform and the are two sets of stairs at the front and a ramp which leads to an inclined walkway at the back of the set.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 3/21/11 at 6:23am

I think that's the key difference - the music is very Sinatra jazzy, and if you're not into that most of the score will not be interesting to you. Fly, Fly Away and Goodbye (both of which I LOVED) deviate from the overall tone of the score quite a bit. rjm516 mentions The Man Inside the Clues being a bad song, but it was one of my favorite quiet moments in the show.

Of course the show has its low moments - Jet Set comes to mind - but I don't think anyone expected it to have as a consistent a score as, say, next to normal. (which has maybe two songs I don't care for)