FIRST DATE - Previews- Page 4

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/9/13 at 11:49pm

Somethingwicked, are you comparing our shoestring budget of $10,000 per show that we produce off-off-Broadway to a piece of crap with millions of dollars on Broadway? Because when I see a show done on the same budget as ours, I always take it into consideration. But this is Broadway. With MILLIONS invested. It's a different discussion.

And darling? I'm not talking about the production values. I'm talking about the God awful atrocious writing. But glad you got the little dig in there about our work.

And excuse me - but I think many people here will say that I hardly "constantly" post. I contribute to this site, and have done so for years, in many other ways.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/9/13 at 11:50pm

You're totally right clydebarrow. I did. One of my friends convinced me to after a rant I made on the telephone.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/9/13 at 11:56pm

I was in NYC on Saturday and saw close to a dozen (or more) posters for this show between Hamilton and Penn Station on the NEC. It appears this is being pushed hard. That might put butts in the seats for a little bit.

[Coupon]

Posted: 7/9/13 at 11:58pm

For what it's worth (and I -haven't- seen the show yet), I walked by the theater afterwards and the few comments I overheard were positive, and pretty glowing. At least once I heard people were "going crazy" inside. This by no means suggests that it's the cat's meow for everyone or that "going crazy" didn't just mean bleeding from the ears. It was just odd to hear so many people who apparently really liked it and then jump online to see/hear the critiques.

That being said, I'll try to catch it for $35 in the next couple weeks. I'll guess it's not my cup of tea.

edit: Just realized I said "hear so many people", when in reality I think I heard a half dozen people and saw smiles on many others' faces. Updated On: 7/9/13 at 11:58 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:00am

I overheard a lot of parents and friends of cast/crew/creatives in the audience tonight. I'd be curious to hear how audiences react in the coming days, or if this was just a first preview high.

[djdan1079]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:00am

I was there in the audience tonight. I went in with the lowest of expectations and perhaps that's why I somewhat enjoyed the show. Hey, it was 100 times better than Lysistrata Jones.


All that being said, there is no chance that this show enjoys a meaningful run at the Longacre. At best, it would be a cute off-broadway show at New World Stages.

The praise for Zachary Levi is well deserved. He is absolutely charming, has sharp cominc timing, and even if his voice sounded a tad tentative at times, he is the show's biggest asset. I am just not sure he is enough of a "name" to carry what is essentially second rate material. The score is amateurish, although the book is cute in spots and does deliver some laugh out loud moments.

The opening to the show, which covers the trials and tribulations of online dating, is trite and uninteresting. When they quit playing to overdone stereotypes of being a young professional in the dating world and focus on the two characters baggage and insecurities, the show works better. Levi succeeds at finding a fully fleshed out character. Rodriguez is less successful and pretty unlikeable through the first two thirds of the show. I couldn't believe how weak her voice was tonight, as her songs aren't exactly an Eva Peron level of difficulty.

Yes, the greek chorus does play into broad stereotypes, but some of it works. The gay BFF character got a lot of laughs initially, although they run the joke into the ground. The waiter's solo song is unnecessary, as is the atrocious google number. That didn't work at all for me.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Jewish "Not the Girl for You" is so campy, that it actually works. Hate on...

I also give big props to Bryce Ryness, who is very funny as the best friend of Levi's character.

The show is not the utter train wreck that some of the haters here would make it out to be. Nor will it be the surprise breakout hit of the season. I really wish that Levi had a better vehicle than this for his debut through, because the guy does have the chops for Broadway. I'd like to believe that Rodriguez will find her way as previews continue, as I think she's better than what she was tonight

@djdan1033

[blisseau]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:07am

In case anyone was curious...

[Tom5]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:16am

First,there are informative bad reviews and then there are vandals. At least one vandal I.D.d here. Second, reviews notwithstandinf, I would never buy a ticket for this show because the story as described is exactly the kind story one would write when one did not have an idea for a story. (First Date !!!???)But the deciding factor for me was when I saw a photo of the cast on set presumably in character. A group of really good looking actors all of the same age but not a "character" - interesting looking or not - to be found. No sale.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:31am

Looking the playbill...so is there no intermision? For those who went, how long did it run?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:32am

Sorry if I'm extra snarky tonight, gang. Just being silly mostly. Though I really did not care for the show (can ya tell?). Very curious to hear more thoughts from others who attend later this week. Maybe I'm just too uptight for a show like this.... But I don't know...

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 12:33am

About 110 minutes, no intermission. I imagine it'll be 100 minutes by opening, perhaps shorter if they cut some of the reprises. Which they should... immediately.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:01am

This. Sounds. Amazing.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:01am

iluvtheatertrash - I personally loved your blog post! Thanks for sharing. And as always, thanks to everyone who attended and shared their thoughts! It's always very appreciated by those of us who don't live in the city!

[blisseau]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:29am

Honestly, I didn't mind the show. I have no strong feelings toward it. It was enjoyable at the time, and I did laugh several times, and the audience was really into it (which was nice).

The score is lacking. There were some genuinely crazy/entertaining numbers ("The Girl for You" was insane, but you can't help like it?), but the songs themselves were mostly forgettable.

The strongest selling point of the show is the cast. Zachary Levi does a good job with the couple of songs he has ("In Love With You" was very fun & he dances ) and he is a strong actor, very charming and funny. Krysta Rodriguez was fine - I've never been a big fan of hers, though, so *shrugs*. The rest of the cast (Bryce Ryness, Kristoffer Cusick, Blake Hammond, Sara Chase, and Kate Loprest) were all great playing their various roles - overall, funny.

I can't see this show lasting very long on Broadway, though.

[Copperfield2]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:36am

How does rush work for this show? Do you show up at a certain time?

Updated On: 7/10/13 at 01:36 AM

[Copperfield2]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:42am

The only reason I am seeing this show is for Zachary Levi. He was so charming on Chuck and from what I'm reading he's good in this show. Too bad he chose this one for his Broadway debut.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:45am

You can bust up into the box office at any time and I can almost guarantee they will have tickets.

[blisseau]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:48am

According to playbill

A limited number of student rush tickets priced at $25 can be purchased with a valid student ID at the box office (one ticket per ID) on the date of the performance. In addition, $35 balcony-level seats are available in advance for all performances at the Longacre Theatre box office or at Telecharge.com.

FYI, the seats in the balcony are just fine and it was worth $35 to me to see Zachary Levi be adorable on stage. I don't think I would've paid more.

[ABB2357]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 2:41am

So bummed I'm not in NY at the moment to see this. Sounds like a howler!

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 5:57am

"Sounds like a howler!"

Really, it's not. Just dull, trite, and insistently unpalatable. There are maybe three or four chuckles, a lot of rancid, off-color attempts at humor, annoying secondary characters, lackluster music, and a likable performance by Zachary Levi.

So it's more of a groaner - or a snoozer - than a howler.

[Kbradstein]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:03am

And there's our dose of AfterEight

Updated On: 7/10/13 at 09:03 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:13am

^

Yep. Can't let my fans down.

Hope you liked it, especially since it differed so markedly from all the other responses to the show.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:39am

Thanks for the reviews, sounds like Zachary Levi is the best thing in the show and just my luck he will be out when I see it. Guess if I like it enough, I will have to go back to see his performance.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:44am

IIRC Zachary Levi has a planned absence all next week. I don't know why they just didn't delay previews for two weeks if he had a previous commitment he couldn't get out of.

Planned absences for regular performances are one thing, but shouldn't the preview period be a time for the show to settle and the actors find their timing, gel as an ensemble, etc? How can they effectively do this when one of the leads is out for a week?

Updated On: 7/10/13 at 09:44 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:55am

Seeing how amazingly heavily papered the show is this week (and probably next as well), I wouldn't use audience response as a gauge of quality yet.