DRS is dead.

#1

DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/14/06 at 11:55pm

As much as I love Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, I'm thinking in two weeks no one is going to care anymore. Butz, Pryce and Jbara are going to be out of it, leaving Sara Gettelfinger as the only original cast member left. I'm sure she's going to be leaving soon as well. It's a shame everyone is out of it. It's such a great show with a great soundtrack.

#2

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/14/06 at 11:57pm

Sherie's still in it.

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#3

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/14/06 at 11:59pm

Actually, the show doesn't have a great soundtrack.

It has a good cast recording.

Films have soundtracks (although Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (film) didn't have one either) and live theatre productions have cast recordings. Small detail, big difference.

Updated On: 7/15/06 at 11:59 PM

#4

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/14/06 at 11:59pm

Maybe it's dead because it's breaking the broadway trend of live everything and using a soundtrack?

EDIT: Beat me to it.

Updated On: 7/15/06 at 11:59 PM

#5

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 12:05am

I'm seeing it this Sunday and next. Greg's final will be particularly sad for me because I really don't think I'll be seeing it again. I want to remember it as it is. I kind of wish the understudies would be on for Greg's last. It would be nice to see all familiar faces.

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mamie4 5/14/03

#6

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 12:28am

Well, true the show will never be the same. Perhaps it won't be as good. But I think it's unfair to declare it dead when the new cast comes without even seeing the new cast. I'm not saying you should see the cast if you don't want to, but the show is wonderful, and it can still be enjoyable with a new, talented cast. It will be hard but I plan to see the show at some point after Greg leaves. I'll miss the gone cast members, but if good performances are turned it, I will still enjoy the show.

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"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli

#7

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 12:44am

I'm predicting that you'll be proven wrong. A show can stand without its original star names headlining the production. Remember all the speculation when Nathan and Matthew left? Yet, thankfully, one of my favorites is into year six. No show can ever be as fresh and exhilarating once the role-fashioned original cast members depart, but any quality material will endure. I doubt the tourists will skip this title just because someone named Norbert Butz isn't onstage anymore.

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...And so, there I was at the stage door for "Equus". The enthused avalanche of "Harry Potter" fans was literally pushing me into the barricades. As I was thrust face-first into Daniel Radcliffe's hat, I suddenly felt the thumb of a lanky gentleman behind me pressing firmly into my back. It was then that I realized that both of his hands had Playbills, and that both arms were outstretched in front of me...

#8

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 12:49am

I don't think the cast is keeping the show open.

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"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird

#9

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 1:01am

I say, if it didn't close when John Lithgow left, it won't close for a while.

#10

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 1:32am

"Hello, Dolly!" didn't close when Channing left...it didn't close when Pearl Bailey left...it didn't even close for years. If "DRS" is a good show, it will survive the departure of Mr. Butz and company. If it's not a good show, then it will close. Most people outside of Broadway regulars have never heard of the current cast, Mr. Butz included.

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#11

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 1:49am

Sherie and Sara are still there thank goodness.... and Brian D'arcy James should never be under estimated like this because he is an AWESOME performer.

#12

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:51am

I have no doubt the show will survive w/o Butz and the original cast. The material is more than adequate to please people and keep it successful. However, having said that, a bad cast can really ruin the show's joke and twists.

#13

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:50am

I enjoyed the show, but I agree it will be hard to see some other people in the show. I think with the tour going out in the fall, it will do fine. I'd give it another year. I know the Imperial is a hot theater and so if even starts doing bad business people will want to push it out (i.e. Movin' Out).

#14

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 6:47am

At first, I was ready to write DRS off after Norbert/Jonathan/Gregory's departures as well. However, the more I think about it, I won't underestimate the talent coming in. Keith Carradine, who dosen't strike me at first as being able to play a Brit like Jameson, is nonetheless an amazing character actor. Anyone who watched the first season of Deadwood and saw him in the role of Wild Bill Hickok certainly knows that. Even though he has never done a role quite like this, I think he might actually pull it off. I am not experienced with either Brian or Richard, but have heard great things about both. I think with the addition of Keith, combined with Lucie and Shreie in the cast that DRS will keep going for some time.

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#15

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 9:14am

Honestly, I don't think that the average theater patron who sees this show even knows who Butz, Pryce or Jbara is. IF the show dies, it won't be because they left.

#16

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 9:17am

I agree completely that the show is definitely one of the best on Broadway (if not THE best - which it is in my opinion) and it is definitely no star vehicle. It remains to be seen whether it's strong enough to withstand the loss of all three leading men at once. For me personally, it will be over following Greg's departure. Hopefully it will live long after that for all the folks who haven't seen it yet and (MOSTLY) for the wonderful group of people who are staying with the show.

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www.thebreastcancersite.com
A click for life.
mamie4 5/14/03

#17

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 9:29am

I think the show will probably wrap up shop in the early fall. It's had a good run. We need the theatre.

#18

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 9:44am

DRS is not and will not be dead at all. Sherie is still in and not many tourists/non-Broadway people know Norbert or Jonathan ect. Keith Carradine and Richard Kind are names so to speak and they will draw people to the show- hopefully.

Well said, SirLiir and BwayBaby18.

THE PRODUCERS has lasted and done well since Nathan & Matthew left. No one thought it would.

PHANTOM has run for many, many years without the perfect MC.

DRS the show itself is awesome and well written. The music and story and characters are all fabulous. They will endure cast changes for I feel safe in saying another year or two at the very least

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#19

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 9:52am

Jack O'Brian would not let a musical like this be left in the hands of only ok actors. Like he said (reinstated by Butz) in the rehearsal video on Broadway.com, "You are not funny, the material is funny." and it really is the material. I saw Jason Gillman on as Freddy twice and he is hilarious. he really does a great job. Dennis as Lawrence is another story, but I think that the show will go on.

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<--- the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I was assistant stage manager for during the 2007 season at the STNJ outdoor stage.

-Dre- You must remember all the same that at the crux of every game is knowing when it's time to leave the table... And it's important to be artful in your exit. No turning back, you must accept the con is done... It was a ball, it was a blast. And it's a shame it couldn't last. But every chapter has to end, you must agree.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
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#20

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 11:45am

I think Keith Carradine is a more recognizable name than Jonathan Pyrce. And like some have said--not too many tourists/non-theatre people know who Norbert Leo Butz is, let alone Greg Jbara. DRS is a popular movie, so many people go to see the show because they know the film. I'm sure this musical will be around for another year or two. It's in good hands.

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#21

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 11:50am

It's a very well written show. It'll do well without Butz and Co. I can see it lasting at least another eight months.

#22

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 11:58am

I saw it with the OBC (save for Norbert; Joe Cassidy was in) and it wasn't baaaad... It's just that I don't see why campy shows like this are inhabiting Broadway houses when we have people like Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Stephen Sondheim, and Michael John LaChiusa (to name a few), who are writing brilliant scores and providing real theatre that leaves an impact. I too predict DRS is out within 8 months, but if I had my choice they would be packing their bags after tomorrow's matinee...

#23

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 11:58am

The tourists aren't going to this show to see Norbert Leo Butz or Sarah Gettelfinger. They're going to see the show itself. They don't know those names.

If anyone is selling tix, it's Lucie Arnaz.

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#24

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:40pm

I actually think Carradine is great casting. His Lawrence will be completely unlike his predecessors but, I predict, wonderful in its own way. He has the voice and he has the charisma as anyone who saw Will Rogers Follies can attest.

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#25

re: DRS is dead.

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:48pm

Scoundrels might as well run...the Imperial is going to be held for Billy Elliot for fall, '07. If Scoundrels doesn't run until then, the Imperial would only be available for an interim basis anyway. I can't imagine any new show wanting to take the theatre, knowing they would have to vacate it.

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