DISASTER Previews- Page 3

[newintown]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:13am

"I venture that the reason all of the songs are snippets is because to sing  any longer means to pay royalties."

 

I recall once hearing that royalties must be paid if you sing or play more than 5 notes. So I'm sure they're paying royalties on all the songs credited in this show.

 

But yes, clearly the dream is to license this skit and try to milk some income out of it.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:20am

I venture that the reason all of the songs are snippets is because to sing  any longer means to pay royalties. 

 

That's simply not true. Any public performance of a copyright-protected song that generates a 'commercial benefit' must be licensed (royalties paid). You're confusing this with a couple of other intellectual property issues; specifically the unauthorized broadcasting of a recording created by someone else + the overwrought "fair use" clause/statute.

[tazber]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:36am

Yea, there is no way they're not paying royalties for these songs.

 

Maybe they pay less if they don't use the entire piece as published, but still they're paying something.

 

 

 

 

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:38am

Taz - what you're referring to only applies to the broadcast (or playback) of a recording, not the live performance of a song. :)  Doesn't matter if it's 10 seconds or 10 minutes. You pay for a "blanket" license. Either way, this truly does sound like a disaster. Cannot wait to see it. 

[Toeknail]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:47am

I'm shocked to hear such a negative review of what I considered to be perhaps the most fun and entertaining show I've seen. I suppose the impression people get out of it has to do greatly with their attitude on the way in. Any fun person with a good sense of humor who goes in looking forward to the show will absolutely love Disaster!

 

It was silly and ridiculous and I loved it because of that. Of course there were no original songs! That misses the point of this tribute/spoof of the 1970s. The show included snippets of just about every 70s hit song you can think of - it was not a concert so of course they did not play entire songs. I really enjoyed that each song was included not just to add in another 70s song, but each song fit the show perfectly as it's own punch line.

 

I was in the mezzanine and could not see the orchestra seating, but everyone in the mezzanine laughed the whole way through and gave a standing ovation during the too brief curtain call. I spoke with several people after the show who were still laughing and talked about how much they also enjoyed the show. One woman mentioned a stoic man who sat next to her, never cracking a smile. She mentioned this to me because she was so surprised by it (as am I). I guess some people just appreciate silly slapstick humor and a few just don't get it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:52am

Welcome!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:54am

This thread is funnier than the stupid show.

[Toeknail]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:07am

Phyllis Rogers Stone said: "Welcome!"

 

Thanks! :) This was my first time watching a show during previews and I looked up reviews this morning, curious about that process; that's when I stumbled upon this thread.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:12am

We look forward to you sharing all your knowledge, hopes, and dreams with us!

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:16am

Anyone who saw the show off Broadway (or was it off off?) can attest that 100% of Whizzer's review is true. It was true then and it's no surprise it's true now. Which is why many of us had our jaws on the floor at the announcement of a transfer. Is this a vanity project? Is it being financed by Seth and his husband?
 

"I will be watching this show in my next NYC visit (May)"

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:25am

lol Songs aren't licensed by the yard. Royalty fees are based on audience reach and the length of run (aka how many times will the song be performed during a given period of time).

 

And the number of notes and/or words is used for plagiarism lawsuits, not licensing agreements.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:29am

Behooooold the shills of tomorrow!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:33am

Hehe...Rudetsky would do better to turn this thread into a musical.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:35am

"I spoke with several people after the show who were still laughing and talked about how much they also enjoyed the show."

 

I love people who randomly "speak" to strangers after a show, conducting little Q&A's, whether the conversations be real or totally fictional in their minds. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:39am

newintown said: "I've been fascinated by Rudetsky for quite some time - like a certain breed of celebrity from the mid-twentieth century, he has no exceptional talent for acting, singing, dancing, music - but he does have a "colorful" fast-talking persona, one that is manically devoted to musical theatre."

 

I used to watch the videos he posted on his private YouTube page back in the day, and I think he spoke about playing piano in pit orchestras before he was a writer for Rosie O'Donnell's talk show. And he did play for some of his guests on his show OBSESSED! So it may be inaccurate to say he has  no talent, but I don't know how exceptional he is.

[Toeknail]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:41am

Jordan Catalano said: "I love people who randomly "speak" to strangers after a show, conducting little Q&A's, whether the conversations be real or totally fictional in their minds."

 

Point taken, I should have been more clear - I took my daughter to the show for Kids Night On Broadway. After the show, we saw a group of people waiting near the stage exit to get the chance to meet some of the actors. We decided to wait around for a bit and spoke to some people while we were all waiting (this was maybe 10 or 15 minutes). My daughter was thrilled to have gotten autographs from and spoken briefly with two stars of the show - Seth Rudetsky and Adam Pascal.

 

Once we left there, we walked back to the lot to pick up our car and again spoke with a couple more people who had also just seen the show (they started the conversation because, I assume, they saw my daughter carrying her Playbill).

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:45am

I was at last nights show and I rather liked it. Was it amazing, no. It was a fun show with a wonderful cast. I had not seen this when it played off Broadway so I really didn't have any preconceived ideas before I went in (I didn't even know this was a "jukebox" musical)I found it to be extremely funny, in a good way! I felt the campiness was done just right. I could not stop thinking how well this will do in the community theaters when it gets licensed. I do agree with Wizzer in the fact that a all the "snippets" of the songs seemed a bit odd. Why not sing the whole dang song? 

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:52am

Saw it off-Broadway and loved it. Hadn't laughed that hard at a show in a long time. However, it is one of those shows that I most likely will not return to because the jokes are probably not as funny the second time around.  JMO

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:57am

Toeknail said: "Once we left there, we walked back to the lot to pick up our car and again spoke with a couple more people who had also just seen the show (they started the conversation because, I assume, they saw my daughter carrying her Playbill)."

 

Were they still laughing while you were waiting in the lot? Maybe that's how they knew you'd just seen the gut-busting hit of the season.

 

[Toeknail]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:00am

ClydeBarrow said: "Were they still laughing while you were waiting in the lot? Maybe that's how they knew you'd just seen the gut-busting hit of the season."

 

Ha! I can tell you my daughter and I were still chuckling - but that faded quickly when I started seeing other people get their cars before me even though I paid before them! Grrrr...

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:09am

Close the window...it's shilly in here!

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:25am

doodlenyc said: "Close the window...it's shilly in here!

 

"

I love how if someone has a positive opinion about a show around here they are always a "Shill" come on some people like it some won't. We should be free to discuss both sides. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:40am

I can enjoy silly, irreverent shows that celebrate a campy sensibility. I enjoyed Xanadu- hell, I even loved Lucky Guy! But those shows (especially the former) displayed signs of craft and panache. Just because something is a silly spoof doesn't mean all craft gets to be thrown out the window. Book scenes ended abruptly and served no purpose, ideas were either undercooked over overused; this stuff is fine for St. Luke's, which houses some of the notoriously worst off-Broadway theater in New York, but it doesn't fly on Broadway.

 

Maybe the worst thing is that Rudetsky and Plotnick didn't seem to be able to get to the root of what made all those 70s disaster movies so fun in the first place. The satire was all wrong and they didn't even follow the rules of the genre. They shouldn't have been so scared to kill off more (main) characters. The disaster movies actually had a body count and these cast members were mostly deprived of their big death scenes. I can only imagine what Charles Busch would have done had he been asked to write (or doctor) the book.

[jwsel]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:42am

I saw Disaster! at the LA Actor's Fund benefit and enjoyed it for what it was.  I've been scratching my head about it going into a Broadway house, because I can't imagine anyone paying full price for tickets.  I can't say that it is the worst thing ever -- or even recently (Soul Doctor, anyone?).  Disaster! is a silly diversion and if you go in open to silliness and slapstick, you may have a good time.

I do agree with Whizzer that the show would improve with longer performances of some songs.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:42am

I love how if someone has a positive opinion about a show around here they are always a "Shill" come on some people like it some won't.

 

Always?  Or when a new person shows up strictly to shill for a show?