Posted: 12/19/16 at 10:59am
Was anyone else not blown away by this show? I saw it Saturday evening with the highest expectations based on reviews and postings here -- maybe a little too high. It's objectively a good show, and Platt is carrying it extremely well, but I did not leave amazed the way I thought I would - I can only remember two songs. Some would say this show is perfect for me on paper - a young person w/family issues and mental health issues - and Next to Normal is one of my favorite shows of all time - but for some reason this did NOT do it for me and I can't seem to find anyone who shares my opinion.
Evan is the only character that's three dimensional - every other character in the show is stock - you knew exactly what they were going to do in every scene. The father had no reason to even exist - his song with Evan was forgettable. At least three times there was a scene with everyone yelling over each other. It seems they could have merged the family friend character and the overachiever girl character into one. The show is also majorly dating itself w/social media, Kickstarter, etc.
Like I said, it's definitely a good show. Ben Platt was the best part of it - and I fear it will close when he leave. I guess I feel like they should've changed more between DC - off - now. According to my friend who saw it Off, they changed very little.