China Doll Previews Thread- Page 7

[Blender2]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:36pm

haterobics said: "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."

That makes sense.  I went for Mamet. The idea of seeing Pacino (who I've seen in a few of his recent Broadway appearances) was certainly a huge, huge bonus.  But I would have gone no matter who they cast.  Let me ask you this...Behind the scenes do you think they are quietly reaching out to top talent to find someone to take over the part when Pacino leaves. 

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:40pm

After The Anarchist, we needed a break from Mamet

 

In addition, if the play is as bad as people say it is, I do not think they are talking about replacements. They just want to make it thru the run Pacino notwithstanding.A lot depends on how abysmal the reviews are.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/30/15 at 11:45pm

Blender2 said: "Behind the scenes do you think they are quietly reaching out to top talent to find someone to take over the part when Pacino leaves."

 

Probably trying to make it work with Pacino more than anything at present. Although if Mamet isn't there trying to tune the show in previews, an extension sounds optimistic if they don't find the show.

 

That said, I talked to Mamet after an early Anarchist preview, and he seemed delighted with it and said he thought both did an amazing job. That's when I knew it was in trouble. They were doing exactly what he wanted.

Updated On: 10/30/15 at 11:45 PM

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 1:08am

Mamet has been the problem for decades now. He doesn't give a damn about the audience. 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 2:36am

$67 for standing room is beyond disgusting, truly this is theater for the 1 percent. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 8:47am

Do not blame the evil 1%.

 

Blame the greedy producers. Blame those who will pay whatever  is being charged for a show just to have bragging rights to say they have seen "the show of the season". Forget standing room. It only rises according to ticket prices.Broadway has priced itself out the budget of many. Take the hysteria outside If/Then. When you have crazed fans willing to kill each other for an autograph and the need to see a show a gazillion times, the producers know they can charge whatever they want and beyond. This is not true theater going.This is hero worship on speed.

 

If people want to pay these prices than it should come as no surprise that they continue to rise. It should be interesting what prices next season will bring.If they want this fine. This is the by product of this and it will only get worse. Pity those poor kids who see a show like Hamilton for free. It will be hard for them to realize it may be the only show they see. Imagine prices when they are out of school and they realize they cannot afford it.

Updated On: 10/31/15 at 08:47 AM

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 10:19am

"Take the hysteria outside If/Then. When you have crazed fans willing to kill each other for an autograph and the need to see a show a gazillion times, the producers know they can charge whatever they want and beyond."

If/Then did not recoup. And the fact that tickets are so inaccessible is why it's so wonderful that kids are going to see Hamilton for so little. Ticket buyers can hardly be accountable for how expensive it is to put on a show on Broadway now, how high the running costs are, and how high the grosses need to be for the show to ever come close to breaking even. Biting for premium seating, or in this case of preposterously expensive standing room? Maybe. But I hardly think you can blame the cost of Broadway on the people who want to see the show. Most shows will still never make enough. 

[Pootie2]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 10:39am

IF/THEN definitely isn't a good example. For one, Idina Menzel is not a megastar the way Hugh Jackman or Al Pacino are, and she was cast long before "Let It Go" even hit the charts (her celebrity power is mostly centered in Broadway still). As for ticket prices and the like, I think there's some chicken/egg cycle going on. No one talks about the mounting cost breakdown, though.

[Blender2]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 11:28am

What's up with Reidel reviewing the play before it comes out and spoiling it?  Aren't people pissed at that?

[Pootie2]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 11:39am

Blender2 said: "What's up with Reidel reviewing the play before it comes out and spoiling it?  Aren't people pissed at that?"

 

It's Reidel. If you search around here, you'll find he generally has a poor reputation. He has supposedly admitted on record that he stirs the pot because more people are interested in his "controversies" and gossip, and thus that's how he's paid.

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 12:25pm

Is it MOOSE MURDERS bad?

 

I just finished Arthur Bicknell's book Moose Murdered: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Broadway Bomb'  and it kind of made me wish I'd seen that legendary flop.

 

Is CHINA DOLL one of those shows that people are going to be talking about for years because it was so awful, or is it just a boring evening at the theater?

[Kad]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 12:45pm

If/Then, later in its run, regularly papered performances.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 12:46pm

To second the sentiments that "If/Then" is a dubious example: I saw the musical early on (April) and then the following January, both times in excellent seats, one a premium, and both at a decent discount.  The houses were full.  It was not a financial success, but the show's year run was respectable, and had many packed houses. If anything, "If/Then" had the sort of business over 12 months one might've expected from "Bridges of Madison County," which couldn't fill the house for a few months, ever, even after a closing was posted. Nobody knows anything.  Kelli O'Hara is a star in "King and I," not in "Bridges."  Generalizations are ever more difficult to make.   

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 12:47pm

It's just boring and should not be confused with a Moose Murders or Me Jack You Jill, even though the article would lead you to believe otherwise. 

 

The only thing that approaches campy insanity is the fight Reidel spoils at the end. Most of the play in monotonous and stupifyingly dull. 

[Blender2]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 12:50pm

hushpuppy said: "Is it MOOSE MURDERS bad?

Most people here (who have actually seen the play) seem to be complaining about the production itself.  Like, Pacino doesn't yet know his lines.  For the most part, they don't appear to be complaining about the play itself.

I saw it the play and thought it was very interesting/compelling.  That's why I'm curious to go back when Pacino is more sure of himself. Or when another actor is in the lead.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 1:36pm

Don't get me wrong, Pacino didn't know his lines and I'm sure someone like Raul Esparza or Norbert Leo Butz would have greatly elevated the material, but even a Herculean effort from the world's greatest actor could make this nothing more than tolerable. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 1:52pm

"Is it MOOSE MURDERS bad?" 

 

No.

 

Moose Murders was a one-of-a-kind catastrophe, but in its own way hysterically funny. 

 

China Doll is just bad.

[Glittergrrl]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 7:00pm

Oh dear!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/10/30/al_pacino_hasn_t_memorized_his_lines_in_new_broadway_play_china_doll.html

oh forget it.  You guys see everything before I do.

Updated On: 10/31/15 at 07:00 PM

[bunnie3]

Posted: 10/31/15 at 10:53pm

Dear Jerry Schatzberg...can u plz write and direct  a cool one act play for Al, and give him his dignity back?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 8:14pm

Riedel's not wrong. I met several people this afternoon who were trying to obtain refunds. 

I attended with my family, all much bigger Pacino fans than I. They were very excited and left very dismayed and disappointed. I left at intermission and waited for them. Between Mamet's nonexistent play and Pacino's lack of a performance, I was insulted, angry and outraged. If I didn't leave, I probably would've wound up mouthing off to a very "despondent" Pam McKinnon at the back of the house. I feel sorry for her. Until I realize that she should've read the play before signing the contract.

Mamet's first act is a endless loop of the same 5-minute conversation. Mickey bought a plane. He flew it to Canada to avoid U.S. taxes. It had to land in the U.S. for mechanical problems. Now he has to pay 5 million in taxes. Also, he's got some young, golddigger fiance in a hotel somewhere. That's about it. And poor Christopher Denham tries desperately to play a scene as he listens to THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

This is a joke. And frankly, such an embarrassment that I imagine it'll be quite a sore spot on Pacino's "legacy". Mamet's too.

Save your money. Sell your tickets if you have them. Spare yourself the torture. And don't throw YOUR hard-earned money to these money-hungry, greedy producers. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 8:32pm

So you didn't like it?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 8:45pm

Haha! Obviously not.

Moose Murders, frankly, is a much better play. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 9:39pm

Ouch!!!!!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/2/15 at 8:18am

Mr Roxy you seem to be taking such delight in this play not working, have you seen it? It's just a bit odd that you go on about shows closing early and critics etc and this sounds like you are rubbing your hands together in glee.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/2/15 at 10:56am

Roxy is the Eeyore of BWW...