FIRST DATE - Previews- Page 5

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 10:09am

I agree WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel and was thinking the same thing. Not sure why they did not wait, have a steady flow of previews.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 10:26am

Oh man, I need to track down a comp for this.

[peachesr82]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:06pm

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having an opinion and expressing it but it wasn't until reading the last few pages of this thread that I remembered just how "supportive" people in the arts can be of their peers and their community. It truly is a delight.


Updated On: 7/10/13 at 01:06 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:09pm

Oh, right - I keep forgetting: "all criticism is bad, only praise is good."

For what it's worth, everything I've read in this thread thus far (barring the above) has been relatively articulate and level.

Updated On: 7/10/13 at 01:09 PM

[peachesr82]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:24pm

I didn't say that, I'm not suggesting everyone should fawn over everything they see, come here, and gush unnecessarily. Not at all. Criticism is fine, when it's constructive or insightful but I get the feeling that sometimes people decide to go after something and hammer every nail they can into that coffin regardless for whatever reason. It doesn't just apply to this show or this board either!

I haven't seen the show yet, and I will assuming it's still open when I'm in town, maybe it's a train wreck, maybe it's not.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:25pm

"I will assuming it's still open when I'm in town"

Are you going to be in the city this week?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 1:26pm

The Longacre is not known for long runs.

Updated On: 7/10/13 at 01:26 PM

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 6:46pm

This sounds like it should have just been a one-night staged benefit concert with stars!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 6:48pm

Sounds like another Late Night Comic

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 8:30pm

So, two things: first, I read on someone's blog that Krysta Rodriguez was on vocal rest? Everyone (even those who loved the show) has said that she was a bit- okay, more than bit off... That would probably be why.

Second: It was the very first preview. A lot can be changed in a month, and so I don't really think it's fair to be as harsh as I've seen some people be. Hopefully the creators/producers/whoevers read what people have said, and make necessary changes to the show! ...or maybe not.

[AKarp2013]

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

I was really looking forward to this. I got really excited to hear the score when I heard this Krysta singing "Safer" at this event. Now that I'm hearing these bad reports, I'm disappointed because I really liked this song.


First Date at Broadway Rocks Updated On: 7/10/13 at 09:10 PM

[phan24]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 11:41pm

^^ Saw the show tonight, and it'd be safe to say that, "Safer" is the best song of the show, but Zachary Levi's "In Love With You" is also a show stopper. The show, tonight, ran for 100 minutes, so a little shorter than the first preview by 10 minutes. The whole show was cute and enjoyable if you don't analyze it or think about it, but once you start analyzing the lyrics, the book, and the random characters, it becomes a huge problem. Overall though, I had a good time.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 11:51pm

This is exactly what the fundamentalists of every religion believe, thinking is bad.

[newintown]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 7:49am

"Second: It was the very first preview."

Of a show that's been in development for years and had a full production already during which the essential flaws mentioned earlier should have been worked out long ago.

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 4:26pm

"Of a show that's been in development for years and had a full production already during which the essential flaws mentioned earlier should have been worked out long ago"

Oh, I didn't know it had even had a full production, I thought there had just been a (recent) reading. Sorry. So, basically, the essential flaws aren't going to be worked out... Most likely.

[exedore]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 8:05pm

Nope, full production here in Seattle, where the local critics - far too used to mediocrity - heaped praise on it, but at the end of the day, it sounds like little has changed between then and now.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 8:12pm

I assume the authors have approval over what may be changed on their material and it sounds like they are sticking to their guns all the way to the closing.

Updated On: 7/11/13 at 08:12 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 8:17pm

I could sort of see Zachary Levi making a good Cornelius in Hello Dolly.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 11:03pm

I checked it out tonight and, at least based on Whizzer's review, they are tinkering with it. Some of the more outrageous content (the one-liners about #4 on the Christian girl's list in the opening, specifically) have been cut. Hopefully, this means they're taking advantage of the month to refine this show because I do actually see some glimmers of hope in it. It is not nearly bad enough to call a "trainwreck" for me, though as After Eight put it, I'd call it a groaner most of the time.

Since it's easy to call out the negatives on a show with as low-stakes a plot and little on its mind as this, I want to start with some acclaim. Zachary Levi absolutely deserves all the praise he's getting here and maybe even more. "In Love With You" is by leaps and bounds the standout number in the show, and not because of the material but how he transcends it. It was the only number to truly feel alive at the nexus of character and entertainment, and the audience tonight responded accordingly. An overwhelming highlight. He does best by the book, making even pedestrian jokes (and many non-joke lines, too) great laughs. Krysta is all right, my friend didn't buy her for a second as a "bad girl" type but I at least bought it some. She certainly does better than the other women in the ensemble, but they also had precious little to work with. The standout of the ensemble, for me, was the aforementiond Bryce Ryness. I saw him in AROUND THE WORLD just over a month ago and bought into his distinct choices, and here he was just as great (most of the time.) His best friend/wingman character was easily the best of the supporting roles, and I also enjoyed his Mick Jagger take on the British "Bad Boy" (even though that song left much to be desired.) I also started out instantly regretting the Waiter's insistence on singing a song of his own, but by its end was kind of won over by its dopey metaphor. It's believably bad, in an in-character-as-written-by-this-schmuck kind of way, and in context wound up kind of charming to me. Not nearly as good an intentionally-bad song as "Abandoned in Bandon", for example, but in a relative desert it was notable.

The show itself is inessential at best. I never really got invested in them as a potential couple (though Levi had me invested in Aaron as a let-down guy who I didn't want to see get hurt again), but there were individual scenes and song concepts that definitely worked better than others. Lord knows they need to either completely re-write the Google song or lose it entirely. There is a song that can go there and play well and the concept can be done well, but that surely isn't it. The completely-camp "Bailout" character was crowd-pleasing in the basest way, and I wasn't fond of it at all, though some clearly were. I can't remember a single melody from the score, though except for the few I've mentioned already not many of the songs stuck out as painfully bad in the moment. Unmemorable, but not atrocious.

I hope they tinker with it and make it into a better show more deserving of Levi's debut. He's the reason to see it, if he's worth it to you, because he really is quite good.

Updated On: 7/11/13 at 11:03 PM

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 12:57am

"I assume the authors have approval over what may be changed on their material and it sounds like they are sticking to their guns all the way to the closing."

Unless you're an author, you don't know what they will or won't stick to in previews.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 1:49am

Yeah... I went tonight, and since it is in previews I'm not posting a detailed review ....
But I'm sticking with my original prediction earlier in the thread.... Look for the Tupac show, HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME, to take the Longacre as early as November, though possibly waiting til January/February.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 11:57am

meyerd, the answer to my earlier question is today. Of course it's only for dates when Zachary is out.

Updated On: 7/12/13 at 11:57 AM

[meyerd584]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 12:03pm

Clyde...Yep.. Just saw and grabbed one for Thursday.

Damn, we're good...

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 12:10pm

Is Zachary Levi on vacation next week?

I also saw the offer for Thursday but missed out - you guys are good AND fast!

[meyerd584]

Posted: 7/12/13 at 12:13pm

Yes he is. I think it was announced previously.

And yea, I'm good at stalking. You should have seen me when Hands on a Hardbody was on its way out.