China Doll Previews Thread- Page 6

[mamaleh]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 10:27am

I stopped at the box office to check the veracity of the statement that standing room for this show is $67.

Indeed it is.  What colossal greed and nerve on the part of the producers.  And what stupidity of those who enable such outrages.  I hope no one opts for SR so that this will be only a temporary aberration from sanity and will not spread like the plague of premium seating.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 10:51am

Once something like this is instituted , like taxes, it  never goes away. Remember facility fees? How about premium seating?

 

The only way to stop it is for people to stop buying the tickets. Anyone who hears horror stories about China and still buys tickets, I have no pity for them. You deserve what you get.

Updated On: 10/30/15 at 10:51 AM

[actorsnonactors]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:49am

Aren't Playbills always black and white during previews?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:57am

No.

[actorsnonactors]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:58am

'kay.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 12:03pm

Even if only half of what Riedel writes is factual, this production seems to be setting a new standard of unprofessionalism... A careless playwright, a hostile and dejected star, and a director saddled with individuals too disinterested to try to make any changes.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 12:09pm

Didn't Bono pull a disappearing act during the trials & tribulations of Spiderman? 

[Tom5]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 1:07pm

What's the point of having previews if the playwright isn't present to fix things?

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 1:11pm

I think Bono & Edge were always planned to be away during the process, so I wouldn't call it a disappearing act. Probably the same with Mamet-- that they knew he would be out of town. But that doesn't make it a good idea.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 2:05pm

I won't see this show but I saw Al Pacino in Hughie in Mark Taper years ago and I was thoroughly disappointed. I'm sorry to say he is not cut out for a live theatre any more.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 2:11pm

Don't forget that Elton John was no where near any of his shows at all during the creative process.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 2:14pm

Considering most of his shows have been hits (Lestat excepted, obviously), that worked out just fine for him, didn't it Jeffrey?

[PianoMann]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 2:47pm

Jeffrey, nobody is saying that nightly attendance and revision of composers or playwrights is a prerequisite for a Broadway production.  China Doll is a highly anticipated new play making its first stage debut, though. Elton John's Aida had out-of-town tryouts, for example, and whether he was physically in Atlanta watching the production on a nightly basis or not, he subsequently cut songs and repurposed others for the Broadway premiere.  With China Doll, on the other hand, Mamet appears to have written one draft of the play and abandoned the development process during the production's one opportunity to make any changes. Tremendously different situations that are foolish to compare...

[ramsay15]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 2:52pm

The word I am hearing is that some producers of the show are pushing to postpone the opening date in order to maximize grosses before the reviews come out.  Has anyone else heard that?

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 3:01pm

ramsay, I hadn't heard that yet but would not be at all surprised.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 3:21pm

I know Elton John was a little more involved with Billy Elliot through meetings with Lee Hall and Stephen Daldry, as well as phone calls.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 3:29pm

Wow, I was remotely interested because of Pacino's involvement, but this whole thread about it is horrific. Out of curiosity, I checked Twitter to see what sort of word-of-mouth might be out there... And found this hilarious thing at the top: 

2 CHINA DOLL AL PACINO PREMIUM CENTER ORCHESTRA ROW F 11/21 GERALD SCHOENFELD NY: $1,199.00 (ebay)

 

Anyway, only in the past week-ish, there were a couple iffy tweets and a bunch of positive ones like one calling Pacino's acting a "masterclass" and a very positive tweet from some ESPN guy with 900k followers. Interesting. I wonder if the praise is colored by the desire to be in the same room with a legendary actor or, as someone suggested, obligatory due to paying for the ticket prices (we'll never know).

 

At the rate it's going with grosses, would reviews really matter?

[Knowitall]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 4:24pm

Saw the show last night.  Loved Pacino, the show could be better. Standing ovation and cheers at the end. Mamet was in the audience. Does anyone really believe Reidel's crap anymore?

Updated On: 10/30/15 at 04:24 PM

[wexy]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 4:28pm

My friend somehow got $52  orchestra seats for Thursday.. Haven't seen Pacino so if it makes one of my bottom five worst things  that I've ever seen it could be worth it. If it replaces "The Secret Rapture" as the worst play ever I will be impressed...

[bfreak]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 4:41pm

This whole thing has really been intriguing. I wonder how much of what Riedel wrote was crap if Knowitall saw Mamet last night. I think that the Pam McKinnon thing is proabably an exaggeration. I doubt she's "pacing nervously around all night at the back of the theatre." And if Pacino is so depressed after the show, why has he been doing the stage door after night with a huge smile and signing and taking pictures with fans? I'm going to check this show out for myself.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 4:43pm

Given that most of the stuff I saw (in brief skimming) was in the "Pacino was great, play is meh" vein, I think as long as someone goes in with low expectations of the material and a healthy appreciation for Pacino, it might turn out a better night. Unfortunately that rewards these commercial Broadway shenanigans, but such is the business.

[bfreak]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 4:47pm

wexy, if you could find out how your friend scored $52 orch seats let me know. I'm going but maybe could take someone else with a ticket that price. Thanks.

[Blender2]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 10:40pm

Why are so many people so mad about this play?  It's not that they didn't like it, it's that they are seething about it?  Is it just the ticket price?  Are other star vehicles similarly expensive?  I read that NY Post article that someone linked. Why would they spoil the ending of the show?  I know a poster on this board complained that the Playbill listed someone's job and that job suggests what might happen in play.  But Riedel just spoiled the ending.  What's up with that?  (He also reviewed the play a bit. I thought you were supposed to wait until the show opens.  I guess that's a thing of the past too.  I'm glad that they are making new Mamet plays and not just doing his classics over and over again.  It's a short run, right?  But selling well.  I assume they'll try to find another actor to play the Pacino character.  Is there any talk of that.  Or is that premature. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:10pm

mamaleh said: "I stopped at the box office to check the veracity of the statement that standing room for this show is $67. Indeed it is.  What colossal greed and nerve on the part of the producers."

 

To be fair, you only have to stand for one act. There will be seats for you to sit in for act two.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:12pm

Blender2 said: "I assume they'll try to find another actor to play the Pacino character.  Is there any talk of that.  Or is that premature."

 

The last thing they would want to do is give every advance ticket buyer a chance for a refund, given the word of mouth. Especially as a bunch of them are going to see Pacino moreso than Mamet.