Posted: 12/13/21 at 10:51pm
These reviews are far worse than I thought they would be. It is good that young Atticus is getting quite alot of favorable mention. I thought he was a standout when I saw it.
Posted: 12/13/21 at 10:52pm
This was such a massive dull dry turkey. These reviews are not shocking.
Such a pity. Would've loved to have a great new Lapine musical on Broadway this season.
Posted: 12/13/21 at 10:53pm
Yeah, these reviews track, unfortunately.
LCT dos not seem to understand that its original Broadway musicals MUST have out of town tryouts before Broadway. This and Women on the Verge both had major issues, some of which would have been fixable out of town. That James Lapine and the team didn't realize the show's flaws before the Covid shutdown is concerning. But when the run has less than two months of post-opening performances scheduled, I guess you can only sink so much money into a show.
Posted: 12/13/21 at 11:10pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Yeah, these reviews track, unfortunately.
LCT dos not seem to understand that its original Broadway musicals MUST have out of town tryouts before Broadway. This and Women on the Verge both had major issues, some of which would have been fixable out of town."
I even remember hearing Danny Burstein say in a 2016 podcast interview with Patrick Hinds that he felt Women on the Verge would've benefitted from going out-of-town instead of opening cold in New York.
Posted: 12/13/21 at 11:15pm
Posted: 12/13/21 at 11:37pm
ArtMan said: "These reviews are far worse than I thought they would be. It is good that young Atticus is getting quite alot of favorable mention. I thought he was a standout when I saw it."
these reviews seem to track the response on here. they are spot on. this show was just plain boring and frustratingly long.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 12:05am
The Washington Post Review has a very funny title.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 12:08am
"‘Flying Over Sunset’ Broadway Review: Day Tripping With Cary Grant – Deadline"
This is the best one I read and if the show wanted to pull quotes to advertise it they should do it from this review IMO.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 12:36am
Don't remember if I asked this before:
Has NRWSDAY stopped doing theare reviews?
Posted: 12/14/21 at 12:37am
Very positive review
http://nystagereview.com/2021/12/13/flying-over-sunset-a-long-strange-beautiful-trip/
Posted: 12/14/21 at 12:38am
Jeffrey Karasarides said: "I even remember hearing Danny Burstein say in a 2016 podcast interview with Patrick Hinds that he felt Women on the Verge would've benefitted from going out-of-town instead of opening cold in New York."
Even Sher and the authors admitted that they didn't "find" the show until they did it in London after Broadway. I think the London version is what's licensed now.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 1:48am
I'm not at all surprised that the one truly positive review for this show came from Charles Isherwood. Some things never change.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 3:12am
Vulture is negative (and pretty funny):
When Lincoln Center Comes Down From This Trip, They’re Going to Feel Weird
Posted: 12/14/21 at 3:58am
Variety, NY Stage and Broadway News are the three best reviews I've read thus far. But even the less positive reviews have enough good things to say about the overall production and performances, that make me want to see the show again! My theater date and I enjoyed it immensely! It's really a lovely show. We were never bored or felt the show dragged. On the contrary, we didn't want it to end. Thankfully, I stopped early on in my theatre-going days from letting what the "professionals" had to say, either persuade or deter me from seeing a show I wanted to see. Had I not adopted that practice, I would have missed out on experiencing some of my best and most memorable nights of theatre. Seeing this show was one of them.
Updated On: 12/14/21 at 03:58 AM
Posted: 12/14/21 at 7:35am
And those reviews cemented my decision not to see this show... I love bizarre and different new material, especially if a great talent is involved, but I can't do boring. I kind of suspected it was. Glad I saved my time and didn't go.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 7:54am
How odd that they didn’t seem to work at all on the problems the show had at the first preview. I still say there was a lot to like there (the score, especially) but if they didn’t bother to make the changes they needed, then what the hell is a preview period even for?
Posted: 12/14/21 at 8:09am
JDonaghy4 said: "ArtMan said: "These reviews are far worse than I thought they would be. It is good that young Atticus is getting quite alot of favorable mention. I thought he was a standout when I saw it."
these reviews seem to track the response on here. they are spot on. this show was just plain boring and frustratingly long."
Don't agree. There were many who responded on here that really enjoyed the show. Then the average response, like myself, liked alot of it but found some parts boring and the show too long. These same people liked much of the score and thought the acting/dancng was wonderful. Then there were a FEW responses who really tore up the show, not finding anything positive. The professional reviews reflect those latter responses. So I can't agree that the reviews mirrored the overall posts on this thread.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 8:14am
The show reminded me of a lot of men's figure skating in which the skater can pull off these incredible moments of technical prowess with a jump, but much of their in-between movement lacks artistry or purpose.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 9:54am
An out of town gig would've tightened and polished the text, but wouldn't have addressed the central issue, which is at the conceptual level: the meeting of the three isn't inherently high stakes, and the shared revelations aren't fresh. (Lots of posts above go into this, mine twice). The show had at least two high profile workshops, one with Ebersole one with Mazie, Boyd Gaines attached back then as Huxley. And many readings. So it's not as if Lapine and company didn't open up the process for feedback. But the fixes needed should've been made early: the score, lovely as it is, doesn't always know what should be sung. Certainly the Claire Luce act 2 material, among the most redundant, should've been fixed quite early. (Why doesn't she interact with the two attractive guys? Her husband is emotionally unavailable; instead, she revisits the mother/daughter deaths with the guys off stage; huge focus mistake.) These are substantive content issues to be questioned and corrected in the preliminary writing phase.
It's unlikely that a brand new section would've been written for the second act as late as an out of town gig. The show didn't need "Comedy Tonight" or "Before the Parade Passes by" added; it needed to dramatize shared trips with powerful shared participation among the three disparate players. That was foundational, baked into the DNA of the piece.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 11:00am
ArtMan said: "JDonaghy4 said: "ArtMan said: "These reviews are far worse than I thought they would be. It is good that young Atticus is getting quite alot of favorable mention. I thought he was a standout when I saw it."
these reviews seem to track the response on here. they are spot on. this show was just plain boring and frustratingly long."
Don't agree. There were many who responded on here that really enjoyed the show. Then the average response, like myself, liked alot of it but found some parts boring and the show too long. These same people liked much of the score and thought the acting/dancng was wonderful. Then there were a FEW responses who really tore up the show, not finding anything positive. The professional reviews reflect those latter responses. So I can't agree that the reviews mirrored the overall posts on this thread."
i think the reviews noted all the positive elements (cast, scenery/imagery) but found those positive elements could not overcome the book/concept. Tracks with what lotta people said here. But regardless, is this show selling at all? I'm guessing its going to bleed out.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 11:11am
fwiw, Helen Shaw *nails it* in NY Mag. Couldn't have said it better.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 1:58pm
gibsons2 said: "And those reviews cemented my decision not to see this show... I love bizarre and different new material, especially if a great talent is involved, but I can't do boring. I kind of suspected it was. Glad I saved my time and didn't go."
A perfect example of what I refuse to allow any critic, professional or otherwise, to rob me of. Sorry some found it boring. For my theatre date and I, the time flew by and we didn’t want it to end. We were never bored. Far from it. For us, it was positively enchanting! Sadly, the majority of these reviews won’t put asses in seats. But on the bright side, it won’t be difficult or costly to find good seats to see the show again before the end of its run.
Updated On: 12/14/21 at 01:58 PM
Posted: 12/14/21 at 2:33pm
Not sure this show would have benefited as much from an out-of-town as the space is so unique and it was clearly designed for that specific space.
So, now that everyone's saying it's a snooze. Is the technical production worth seeing? Does the set do anything cool? Is the space used in an interesting way? This was high on my list for a trip in Jan but now I'm not sure.
Posted: 12/14/21 at 2:39pm
its beautifully rendered, the sets are gorgeous and well done. nice use of the gorgeous huge LCT stage.
