Emcee on Glory Days

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 9:16pm

First, thank you to Jaystarr for the birthday gift, that was very sweet of you!!

It doesn't belong on Broadway. That's the problem with Glory Days. It's not nearly as bad as people on here have been saying it is (but that's been the theme lately, hasn't it?). But it just should not be on Broadway. That comes down to way more than a matter of quality, because fitting in on Broadway no longer means the best of the best, nor does it any longer mean big and elaborate. But Glory Days as it is now shouldn't be where it is. I was thinking last night how weird it is that the show seemed to sort of come of nowhere, and what I saw was the result of that.

It took me like half an hour to figure out whether the four friends had just graduated from college and were talking about their senior year of high school through their college years, or had just finished their freshman years at college and were talking about high school. Big problem number one. Did that confuse anybody else? They kept talking about "five years," but it took way too long for it to be clear which fives years they were talking about. On my way in, I kept hearing people say, "oh, it's about twenty-three year olds!" and so I think people are getting tripped up because it was written by twenty-three year olds. Anyway, they need to be clearer about that.

As far as the big plot twist, I hadn't read many spoilers, but I had read enough to know that one of the characters came out, and that many people felt it was too predictable. I actually had figured it would be Will, for what it's worth. But further, predictability with that "twist" is not the problem.

The premise of these four guys meeting up at their former high school's football field to set the timer so it will soak the football team is... pointless. Like one of them asks, why can't they just hang out? They're still angry that they weren't the cool kids in school -- the jocks who got all the hot girls. They talk about how they wish they had been "normal," by which they meant football playing pretty boys. Shouldn't they realize, a year out of high school, that that's not "normal," it's just superficially popular? For about the first half hour, I was wishing the show would actually focus on the rift that can occur between young people and their closest friends in that one particular year spent apart -- a far more poignant premise. Eventually it did, but it took a character revealing his sexuality to get there. That should have been the focus from the get-go. It doesn't need something so "major" to set it off. It's something I'm sure the vast majority of college students and recent grads will tell you they went through, issues of sexuality or not. A year goes by, and suddenly you turn around and you can barely hold a five minute conversation with someone who had been your best friend just mere months before. The core of the show lies in how sad, disappointing and scary that can be, but instead, it spends too much time presenting its characters as immature and... quite annoying. It takes too long for them to reveal reasons for us to care about them.

The music isn't bad. Fairly catchy, but lyrically, some of them feel like first drafts. The lyrics are often paced strangely, or feel too much like they were made to fit with the music, as opposed to finding the right meeting of word and song. The cast is talented; I think my preferences of some over others had more to do with the character than the performances. The staging is redundant; I got tired of the running up and down the bleachers very, very quickly. (Are those the Spelling Bee bleachers?) Not that there's much else to be done if you insist on having so much motion, but I think I would have preferred for them to be sitting or standing still than to be running and jumping like manic hamsters.

I'll be curious to see what happens to this one. The house wasn't very full, and there were a lot of older people in the audience (typical matinee crowd) who just didn't seem to get it at all. A lot of it is very funny, but, of course, a lot of the jokes are very generation-specific.

It's a shame, really, that there are so many kinks that the critics may not be so kind to -- because an improved, re-worked Glory Days could have a place on Broadway. But as it is now, it's going to be hard pressed to find one.

Updated On: 5/3/08 at 09:16 PM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 9:33pm

Youre welcome!

Thanks for a great review again! I was actually thinking of seeing this show tommorow bec. Wanna Be A Foster liked it and he told me ..he like it better than _____ (cant mention the name of the show playing at Walter Kerr..lol! )

WaT did not like the show, but knowing him...he likes big, big broadway shows with alot of production numbers. Though I love him and respect his opinions.

That's why I need a third opinion! Your review is pretty interesting about the music & plot. I dont really dont know if there would be a fan base of this kind of show on Broadway. It should probably better off in New World Stages.

btw- there's a band accompanying the actors,not just a piano accompaniment like in the demo and lastly do you think this will be the 4th musical to be nominated at the TONYS or its A CATERED AFFAIR?

J*
Updated On: 5/3/08 at 09:33 PM

[Just_John]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 9:43pm

A Catered Affair will definately take the 4th spot for BEST MUSICAL at the tony's. The music, book and performances are all superior. Cry Baby is even better then Glory Days. And I completely agree with you EMCEE, Glory Days's is'nt as bad as people have been saying, it just does not belong on Broadway.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 9:45pm

Yes, there's a full band. The orchestrations are well done. A Catered Affair should, and will, get the nomination for Best Musical over Glory Days. Without a doubt. I haven't posted about A Catered Affair, but I saw it about a week ago, and I did like it quite a bit. My biggest problem with it was actually Harvey. The show itself is imperfect, but it is not nearly as problematic as his performance. The one thing Glory Days and ACA have in common, really, is that they're teeny, tiny little shows. But the similarities end there, and, ACA, of course, is in the hands of someone who knows how to not only adequately handle tiny shows, but make them beautiful.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 9:49pm

I definitely agree with you on Harvey Fierstein~seems like he is in another show! other than that- I love everything about the show specially the direction-its very polished!

J*

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 9:51pm

Yes, exactly! It was like he wasn't even in the same show as everybody else. It drove me nuts.

[AntonEgo]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:03pm

Yeah, I don't think there is any way this show will get a Tony nomination, so I'm not really sure why they had to rush this show on Broadway like that.

Anyway, nice review. I definitely agree with you about the problems with the plot. The whole thing about getting back at the jocks seemed straight out of a TV movie. I liked the second half of the show better as well, when I could sort of start caring about the characters. One thing though, was it really supposed to be a big plot twist? I didn't really take it that way. One more thing I'd like to add that you didn't mention in your review, was it just me, or did a lot of the dialogue seemed forced? How many 19-year-old guys actually say totes?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:07pm

I'm not sure if it's intended to be "the big plot twist" in that it's... a big surprise, per se, but in that it's the catalyst for a lot of what happens in the rest of the show. I called it that in reference to some of the stuff I had read before seeing it, which did refer to it as such.

A lot of the dialogue definitely did seem forced; it had moments of fluidity, but yes. It just seemed like it was written as being... very self conscious of the fact that it was a musical. It never really achieved feeling like it was natural.

Updated On: 5/3/08 at 10:07 PM

[bythesword84]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:23pm

I absolutely agree that I thought it was going to be Will. I had him mentally pegged as the one from the start. Actually aside from where you say the music was somewhat catchy (I have stated this elsewhere, the only song I even remember from it is "Open Road"...which I did like) I agree with most of what you said.

I actually thought the most interesting aspect (spoiler, I suppose) was when Will got kissed. They could have done a lot more with that if they really wanted...and have trashed the whole rigging the sprinkler idea.

Maybe my being out of High School for 6 years makes me out of touch but I never heard a guy say "totes" when I was there. Still, that didn't really bother me, I just wondered when it became in and when I got too old to know what in was.

Emcee, when you said it wasn't very full what do you mean? I went to Saturday matinee and there were literally about 150 people there. I actually counted.

Side note, totally unrelated:
When you mentioned ACA though...I almost fell asleep. I agree that Harvey was the biggest problem of the show. Can someone explain to me the point of making his character gay? I'm all for gay characters, but it seemed not only anachronistic to have him be that open but also a huge jump to go from "only immediate family" to "this is because I'm gay." I thought ACA could have been so much better than it was- but it was still better (for being more polished) than Glory Days. In terms of score and book though...while GD is just bad in spots, ACA suffers- in my opinion- from severe boredom inducing problems.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:31pm

The back four or five rows were almost totally empty, and the rest of the house (other than the front center section) was spotty. More than 150 people, though.

As far as the point of making Winston gay... not only is it a huge anachronism, but what does it do for the story? Nothing. And I'm sorry, but this performance should be about the story, not a self-indulgent fabulousness parade. There's a time for it, and there's a time to leave it out.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:40pm

At least there were more people there than when I saw it. I didn't even like GD and I still felt bad there were so few people there.



...and I agree totally about it not doing anything for the part. I have no problem with Winston being around but it just had no place in that show. I'd love to hear him justify the way he wrote it.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:40pm

(sorry to threadjack)

The only thing that bother me about Winston in A CATERED AFFAIR is that...he is almost in every scene.. from the beggining where you see his suitcase in the center until the ending where he exit all by himself at the middle of the movable stairs (where all the character was standing) I remember Wat telling me at the ADDING MACHINE show.. that ACA is Harvey's little vanity piece!

'em- youre so right with Winston being gay with nothing to do for the story. I dont get it neither! aside from he (harvey) has the best line in the show..It should really be about Faith Prince, Tom Wopat & Leslie Kritzer~about the "immediate family"

J*

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:45pm

I think the character is an important part of the story, because the conflict over who to invite is directly related to the argument about what kind of wedding to have. But the way he acts and puts the focus on sexuality is completely anachronistic.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:49pm

Does anyone have a picture of the inside of the Circle in the Square theater? I'd like to see how it's laid out and stuff. Where does the orchestra sit? Like, under the stage? I know it's a thrust, but is it like Light in the Piazza type thrust, where the orchestra is sorta hidden, or is the band on stage?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:58pm

There's no pit. The band is behind that wall of lights.

It's a thrust, but more square than the Beaumont.

[little_sally]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 10:58pm

Not to thread jack but...I just can't help but think how much better ACA would be if someone else was playing Winston. I like Harvey and all but honestly.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:00pm

^^ I said that too in my review! Thank you!


Rentboy- here's how the theater looks like:

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:04pm

Oh, I like that arrangement. How is the interioir? Like I know it's a new theatre, but does it look like the older theaters with chandaliers and stuff?

[jaystarr]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:11pm

Unfortunately.. Broadway Theaters are very strict with picture taking inside the theater, even though youre only taking pics of the interior and not the show. To be honest..the only broadway theaters I can remember are 1. New Amsterdam 2. Belasco bec. of the orgy scenes at the ceilings and tiffanies and 3. Walter Kerr bec. of the pan and goat murals.. I remember when I saw AVENUE Q at the Golden Theater~there were tourist taking photos inside (meaning taking photos of themselves sitting inside the theater) and this lady usher yelled from the Mezzanine section ...NO PICTURES TAKING!!! lol

(sorry to threadjack again...that's what happen when I have not seen the show~cant contribute to the topic much! lol! )

J*

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:12pm

"WaT did not like the show, but knowing him...he likes big, big broadway shows with alot of production numbers. Though I love him and respect his opinions."

This statement is definitely true for this season. I hated Xanadu, A Catered Affair and Glory Days, but loved Mermaid, Young Frankenstein and In the Heights. However, last year, I loved Grey Gardens, The Apple Tree, and LoveMusik, all smaller musicals without huge production numbers. So just because something is a smaller musical, does not mean I will automatically hate it. (Cry Baby is a big musical and it is awful!)

I completely agree with the fact that Glory Days does not belong on Broadway at all. I think if I had seen it as an off-broadway musical, I would have been more kind in my review...

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:13pm

Rentboy, here's a picture I found of the theatre:


Circle in the Square

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:15pm

Only one comes out? From that jumping picture I figured they all were leaping out together.

[Just_John]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:19pm

HAHAHA!! Also, based on that picture you would never be able to guess which one comes out.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:35pm

The orchestrated version of Good Glory Days is on their myspace now..in case you guys dont know?
http://www.myspace.com/glorydaysthemusicalatsignature
and other 4 more songs!

J*

Updated On: 5/4/08 at 11:35 PM

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 5/3/08 at 11:39pm

Based on that picture, my guess is the one on the right. Updated On: 5/3/08 at 11:39 PM