Does anybody else miss BKLYN?- Page 2

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:08am

Now that Guys and Dolls has closed, I guess memories of BKLYN arise as there is no longer a resident piece of Broadway train-wreck garbage running. That is, until Spiderman opens.
Who wants to start an "I miss Roundabout's Pal Joey" thread?

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:10am

Well, we can't judge Spiderman until it opens.

Updated On: 6/15/09 at 01:10 AM

[Rudy2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:37am

It put supper on the table and a hunger in my eyes!

:)

Each of the times I saw BKLYN the audiences were enthusiastic and roared after Paradice's numbers. I never observed one unhappy face or untoward remark.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:48am

While i don't miss it, i don't regret having seen Eden, Ramona and Karen in early roles.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:52am

After Brooklyn, the 1st person I saw from the cast on Broadway was Ramona in "Caroline or Change". I am still reeling from that show!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:56am

Agreed, zoneace.


Some found Eden's singing to be too "shreiky" but I thought she was fantastic vocally (she brought down the house the night I saw it when she sang "Once Upon a Time.")

Ramona sang the hell out of that solo she had (was it called "Raven"?) and I love saying I saw Karen before she was KAREN.

Everything else about this show was pretty painful. The cast really was this show's one saving grace and they weren't even that great.
Updated On: 6/15/09 at 01:56 AM

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 2:03am

Yeah, it was nice seeing her win that Tony and thinking I saw her before she was "Karen". She blew the roof off of the theater here.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 2:05am

Who would have thought Karen would be the one to really make it? I remember all the buzz being about Eden and Ramona.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 2:10am

^ I agree. Karen had the talent as well, but she didn't have as much time to shine in BKLYN as Ramona and Eden did. In the time since she has been blessed with two roles she was perfect for that garnered great acclaim. Ramona and Eden have yet to have that same luck. I know that when Ramona *finally* does a new show I will be celebrating. I cannot wait to see her perform again.

[Parks]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 4:46am

I loved it. I saw it 4 times in Dallas--thought Diana and the rest of the touring company were fantastic. I walked into that theater expecting to HATE the show and ready to see the "worst show that had ever been on Broadway"--and I walked out excited to buy a ticket to see the show again in a few nights! Almost everyone I have talked to in Dallas that saw the show said they enjoyed it.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 6:24am

How has Eden not "made it." She seems to have a pretty great career from where I'm looking.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 7:45am

I actually enjoyed Roundabout's PAL JOEY.

[singtopher]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 8:22am

I never saw the actual show, but I am obsessed with the clips of Diana DeGarmo on youtube. Her once upon a time pales in comparison to Eden's (At least what I've heard). I didn't think she was all that great on AI, but what a difference a couple years make.

[dutch46mill2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 11:08am

The problem with Brooklyn is that it referenced an old Vietnam era audience who would have related to the subject better. The costumes are Horrible. It needs a rewrite. Once Upon a Time and the Street Singer are magic and Diana Degarmo nailed it not bad for a 19 year old. She and Eden just finished up Broadway Dreams Foundation in Atlanta June 5 th and Diana sent OUAT out of this world. Eden sang Gravity and was fantastic. Happy 22nd Birthday Diana.

Off topic but for Diana fans she is doing concerts in Nashville part of CMAfest and joins July 15 to 21 Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat in Oklahoma as the Narrator and Anthony Fedorov as Joseph.
Updated On: 6/15/09 at 11:08 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 12:33pm

How has Eden not "made it." She seems to have a pretty great career from where I'm looking.


- I'm not trying to knock her at all. But I'm not sure being in and out Wicked and and a replacement in Rent really constitutes "making it."

[BdwyOpal]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 12:58pm

Caroline or Change closed before Bklyn opened, so Ramonna was in Caroline before Bklyn. I agree with Rudy that because the score was mostly soul/R&B numbers, it didn't appeal to everyone. You have to have an idea of what you're seeing before you walk into a theater, unlike the two ladies with walkers that left probably because they thought it was about their old neighborhood! I saw it more than once and audience loved it, standing O's and all.

[Sauja]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:00pm

I saw my 101st Broadway production on Friday night. I cannot by any means pick a best. But I am 100% comfortable saying that Brooklyn is THE worst show I have ever seen on the Broadway stage.

When the white guy used his guitar as a pretend machine gun, I actually started laughing so uncontrollably that I had to leave the theater. Thank god I was on an aisle.

While I acknowledge that Ramona Keller is crazy talented, even she couldn't hold my interest. And lordy, I know she has fans, but there is not a single voice in musical theater that I dislike more than Eden Espinoza's.

[yeah]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:11pm

It's definitely an acquired taste. Usually anything with high belting women has me hooked; however, this show just didn't do it for me, as a whole.

Did they have a talented bunch? They sure did (although, I wasn't convinced of Eden's acting ability until I saw her in "Wicked" and was more impressed with her character than with her vocal tricks). Did the writers come up with some good melodies? I think they definitely did. These two things, however, do not a great show make.

What I don't get is how some shows (on these boards at least) become either crazy popular and well loved, while others become targets for peoples rage and constant nagging. If you didn't like it, fine; that doesn't mean you can insult people for their taste. I keep reading posts where people are almost apologizing for what they like/love. There's no need for that. There's enough room, especially on an Internet board, for everyone single persons passion. Okay, sorry, off my soap box

[Elphie3]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:34pm

I do have to say - I enjoy some of the music, I just think the show SERIOUSLY needed a dramturgue (among other things).

"Once Upon a Time" - great song, with lots of dramatic potential. Perfect eleven o'clock number. But instead of using it to advance the plot they use it to...just have Eden Espinoza...stand there and sing....?

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 5:31pm

No! I didn't like it at all although I grant you that it had some wonderful voices.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 11:08pm

I love the cast recording! Wouldn't it be nice if it were a movie? Well maybe not... I'm just dreaming. :)

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:03am

The show was sh*t. It should never have gone as far as it did.

The best thing I can say about it is that it certainly gave every indication of having been written and directed by homeless people.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:13am

Worst show to ever be on Broadway IMO.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:21pm

"Caroline or Change closed before Bklyn opened, so Ramonna was in Caroline before Bklyn."

Not true, Bklyn premiered in Denver before moving to New York. I saw it twice in Denver. Ramona, Karen and Eden were in the cast here in Denver.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:28pm

uncageg is right...BKLYN's Denver premiere opened in May of 2003 and Caroline, Or Change didn't open on Broadway until the following year; May of 2004.