Flying Over Sunset - Previews Thread- Page 17

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 11/17/21 at 11:15pm

Bsmusicd said: "The show I would compare it to is, "War Paint." Lovely score, excellent performances, beautiful design. In both shows the authors were not fully successful at finding conflict and drama between their (real-life) subjects. I'd take a lovingly-crafted show with some book issues over the lastest jukebox musical any day of the week, however."

I disagree. War Paint at least had songs. Like actual musical theater songs.  It's really hard for me to describe the music in this. It feels almost random? Like it was written 5 minutes ago.  The songs seem to just kinda happen and they just kinda flop around on the stage until they end. They add practically nothing to the show or the characters.  They almost seem to exist simply because they've billed this as a musical and must fulfill that obligation to the audience. The title song is a *great* song. It's beautiful and Carmen's voice is DIVINE.

The first act really didn't work for me.  The show doesn't really have an opening number (although, like I said, the echoing shoes are really interesting) and the dialogue is unfortunately just as unremarkable as the score.  It's surprisingly unfunny and I really feel like the order in which this show plays out is all wrong.  I think the show gives us too much information up front, which really hurts the second act.  There aren't really any revelations because we're told pretty much everything about these people right from the start. 

I was extremely disappointed in the show by intermission as I really felt like the show was, if this makes sense, barely even written.  The show does wake up briefly in the second act as the four characters meet poolside to take a trip together.  It became abundantly clear to me that this is where the show should really start.  All the information given in the first act should really be given in the second.  Even better, this is begging to be a brisk 90 minute one act musical where the four of them trip together and divulge their deepest secrets to each other.

Basically I would cut the whole first act and distribute some of that material into the second.

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 12:28am

The first thing they have to do is trim the first scene of act two…maybe cut the flower song or whatever 

Is it a snooze fest? No

is it the next best musical winner? No

But it’s an enjoyable enough evening 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 4:31am

I think the reviewers will hold more weight with their criticisms than a few people on this chat board. I doubt Lapine is reading our comments and he could probably care less what we are writing on this chat board. I think the same could be said for most playwrights and actors.
 

It is hard to put your blood, sweat and time into a project and then have it poorly received. But with new works, the play is the thing. And if the book is weak, every other element suffers. If the show had been a half hour shorter I think many comments would have been less visceral. 
 

It does seem that no matter what has been written in this thread, there has been a consistent respect and affection for the lead actors. All 3 are well liked in the Broadway community.

[kwoc91]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 7:02am

I really enjoyed the show last night!! I can see now how it’s definitely polarizing. The scale of the story is small and relatively low-stakes, but I was fully absorbed by the atmosphere and fell under the spell of the lighting and orchestrations. I want to see it again! The show ended around 11 and I didn’t mind the runtime at all. 

My biggest gripe was with the show’s opening. I think that should be retooled significantly.

My LincTix seat was great. I was off to the side but didn’t feel like I missed anything, and being so close to the actors was awesome. 

[raddersons]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 10:28am

Georgeanddot2 said: “Basically I would cut the whole first act and distribute some of that material into the second."

Absolutely agree. You don’t get to see these characters struggling with their issues before trying the drug — it basically begins with them each tripping. Everything brought up in Act 1 was just rehashed in Act 2 and it feels the same because they’re tripping both times. They don’t really grow. Also in Act 1 there’s so much just TALKING and not nearly enough singing. I swear that scene with Tony Yazbeck in the therapists office is 15 minutes of no singing and repeating same things again and again. I was going crazy. 

Also re: no criticism. Just because I’m not a critic doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to have a strong opinion. I hold Broadway to a high standard. Shouldn’t we all? These tickets are so damn expensive.

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 11:16am

I've been been living in the cinema/movie world for a while and I'd forgotten how faux nice/"kill them with kindness"/"if you have nothing nice to say don't say it at all" some people in the Broadway community can be.  Like I'm not entitled to my negative opinion even though I've paid for my hugely over-priced ticket.  It's giving southern church lady.

Anyways, would love to hear if they've made any changes to the show since they started.

[Jimbo2]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 11:24am

I am not ashamed to say I have a foot fetish and seeing Tony barefoot also knowing how great of a dancer he is woke me up. I just can’t help myself wondering what he thinks dancing around as a penis head. Long live lifecafe.com! 

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 11:28am

Jimbo2 said: "I am not ashamed to say I have a foot fetish and seeing Tony barefoot also knowing how great of a dancer he is woke me up."

uhhhh. enough!

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 4:13pm

raddersons said: "Georgeanddot2 said: “Basically I would cut the whole first act and distribute some of that material into the second."

Absolutely agree. You don’t get to see these characters struggling with their issues before trying the drug — it basically begins with them each tripping. Everything brought up in Act 1 was just rehashed in Act 2 and it feels the same because they’re tripping both times. They don’t really grow. Also in Act 1 there’s so much just TALKING and not nearly enough singing. I swear that scene with Tony Yazbeck in the therapists office is 15 minutes of no singing and repeating same things again and again. I was going crazy.

Also re: no criticism. Just because I’m not a critic doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to have a strong opinion. I hold Broadway to a high standard. Shouldn’t we all? These tickets are so damn expensive."

I said the same thing to someone as far as not getting to know the characters before they start tripping. Also their trips in act one are separate which could have been more exciting with a back and forth structure.

Seems like they are not cutting which is too bad.

Tony in the therapist office was a little claustrophobic. The staging was a little stale. When the dance started I wanted the desk to move out of the scene and then having the sense of a vaudevillian stage that took up the entire downstage space.

 

[LSDOverSunset]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 8:14pm

Kad said: "I think dramatizing doing psychedelics is very, very tricky, as it is largely a very internal journey the weight of which is really hard to get across to others. I’ve had truly profound and enlightening experiences doing shrooms… but, in the moment, I was just, like, staring at the ceiling. I can’t really articulate why it was profound, but it was a very deep feeling that is mine and mine alone.


I’m not saying it’s impossible to dramatize- I think Hair’s acid trip sequence is pretty successful at capturing the feeling of it, although it’s only like a 15 minute portion of a larger show. But it’s tricky, because you have to both open it up and convey the enormity or profundity of the feelings without it just being a character explaining it all themselves."

I read this comment and honestly it makes me wonder if my experience of seeing the show while tripping put a bandaid on some of the issues in the book - I didn't really need them to explain their state to memoir me to understand because I've done it/on the same plane of existence, which kind of fixes a solid bit of the issues with the script. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/18/21 at 9:45pm

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/19/21 at 1:58am

Just got in from the Thursday evening performance. It ran approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. It didn't feel that long to me though.

I had no idea that stage was that massive, but they put it to good use. The sets were amazing, especially the wall. The lighting and sound design were both outstanding. I was second row in the Loge center and had no real problem hearing. I missed one or two things and there was a mic issue with one actress (One of the ladies in the art book) It was wonderful to look at from up there. You could see the floor projections.

I thought the opening was visually breathtaking. My take is that it represented time and they were walking counter clockwise to represent going back in time. I didn't really feel a connection with the song and what was going on. Had they reprised it at the end I think it would have made more sense as in life goes on and tied things up better.

I enjoyed the "set-up" of the first act. It made sense to me to get all of the back stories of the three "main" characters. (But I also feel there were four.) It was nice to see Yazbeck tap his *ss off but it felt a little like "here is a production number to show off Tony's dancing" and then the show quieted down again.  But he wore that table out! And speaking of tap, it was interesting how they used it in the opener and other parts of the show. It just didn't seem to go with the lushness of the music yet it was appropriate for the time period. Act II was fine. I had hoped that their "trip" would have spawned more interaction between the four of them. That was the feeling you got at the end of Act I. But I am thinking we were to see what happens when they trip away from every day lives in a more relaxed atmosphere.  If so, that could have been made clearer.

I loved the lushness of the music but was disappointed that songs just kind of faded off. I think that was supposed to represent how the mind acts on LSD maybe. There was some absolutely gorgeous music in the show. Cusak's second act number was quite good. Yazbecks Rocket song was, interesting. Don't know that it was really needed but I looked at it as Grant peaking on the LSD and giving into it since he was resistant to it at first. 

All three leads in the show were wonderful. ( Cusak could just stand there and I would be happy!) But I left the theater really wishing that Heard had his big moment. I was hoping for it when he has the altercation with Clare at the beach house. It would have been the perfect time. But we had to settle for what we got in the book scenes. I so hope Mr. Sella is remembered at Tony time. He was excellent.

Another standout for me was Emily Pyneburg as Sophie. She knocked "I Like To Lead" out of the ballpark. 

It is an interesting show and not for everyone. It was my first Broadway show since the shutdown and I am glad it was. It was different. Almost like you were being lulled into a dream. I could see it again but I would be upset again that some of the songs trail off. I hope that if they record it, the songs that did trail off have endings on the recordings.

And there is merch.  I paid 15 bucks for the magnet. I think the mug was 24.00 and the tee shirt was close to 40.00. They had Lapine's book for sale and another book. Also had the widow card. They also had  kaleidoscopes for sale. I really wanted the tee shirt but just didn't want to pay that much for it! I did donate the $1.00 for the booklet. It is really nice and gives you some background on the 3 main characters along with some interesting LSD stories. And the cover is beautiful.

I say, if you have any interest in seeing the show, just go. Great performances and some amazing staging.

Ok, bedtime!

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/19/21 at 11:58pm

[binau]

Posted: 11/20/21 at 5:47am

ljay889 said: "bwayphreak234 said: "Super interesting article about the show, the show's development, etc. in the Times today...

Up, Up and Away: The Trippy Tales Behind ‘Flying Over Sunset’"

Very noteworthy: Sondheim turned down writing the music, and supposedly regrets it."

When are you seeing the show??

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/20/21 at 5:48pm

I saw this afternoon’s matinee through LincTix and boy am I thankful I didn’t pay anything more than that.

I found the show to be such a painful slog that lacked any sort of meaningful plot and I agree with the previous posters who asked why should I care about these characters all. Other than having famous names, there’s not much to care about other than pop-ups and throwaway lines of past traumas. There were also quite a few moments that made me audibly question what the hell was happening.

I nearly fell asleep during the first act because it just…dragged…on, that when we got to intermission, I was thankful. The other LincTix member who sat next to me felt the exact same way - though, in his words, “Life’s too short. I’m outta here. Enjoy Act II.” (I really didn’t)

Don't get me wrong, the cast sings and dances beautifully and the design is sometimes nice, but I couldn’t recommend sitting through this whole show as you slowly want to rip your hair out looking for a sensical plot

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/20/21 at 10:53pm

binau said: "ljay889 said: "bwayphreak234 said: "Super interesting article about the show, the show's development, etc. in the Times today...

Up, Up and Away: The Trippy Tales Behind ‘Flying Over Sunset’"

Very noteworthy: Sondheim turned down writing the music, and supposedly regrets it."

Sondheim ran through my mind a few times while watching it. I would love to hear what he may have written.

 

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 11/20/21 at 11:24pm

Saw it tonight. Lapine has been both writer and director on several successful projects, but this felt to me like something that needed a strong director to demand that the writer focus it up and cut it down. The first act was an hour and ten but felt twice as long. 
 

Some nice moments, stage pictures, and melodies here and there and a solid cast, but a misfire. 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 9:08am

Saw the Saturday night performance. Sorry to report the show is a perfect example of why a writer and director should never be the same person. No-one to tell Lapine there is no reason to go from scene to scene, there is no reason these folks would connect with each other (which they never did in real life), no one to say the depiction of the gay guy is horrifying— butt of countless jokes till he becomes the self-hating homosexual by the end. 
 

No-one told Lapine the words “flying over Sunset” actually are NOT the least bit profound— hell, Sunset Blvd dies in the Pacific Ocean at Pacific Palisades and never gets to Malibu. 
 

I’m picking on these details because the night as a whole was too big a disaster to acknowledge in its totality. I feel for all those fine actors who deserve infinitely better from their creators. 
 

The audience of course rewarded the night with a vast standing ovation to its own diligence in staying. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 8:08pm

I saw this today (last show of my trip!), and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. While there is definitely some work to be done, there are plenty of really great things happening on that stage. The performances are great, especially Carmen Cusack who gets to sing the two best songs in the score - the title number and "How?'. The score is very lullaby-esque for the most part - it has a wistful, dreamy, and floating sound and feel that works well. The design elements are STUNNING. The vast stage of the Beaumont is bathed in gorgeous lighting and projections, and the set has some mammoth pieces that are just beautiful. 

While I really enjoyed this, there is no question that the second act needs to be trimmed down. I think they could easily achieve this by cutting the godawful Sophia Loren sequence and the penis rocket ship song. That whole segment just took me out of the moment, and went on way too long.

I was sitting in row E of the 500s (LincTix), and the view was perfect. I always think it is exciting to have a completely new and original musical on Broadway. While Flying Over Sunset does need some tightening, I still found so many things to enjoy, and I am so happy I saw it.

 

[Hairspray0901]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 8:24pm

Caught the matinee today (LincTix). I found it to be extremely boring and long - even noticed at least 3 people who had fallen asleep.


Tony had a great tap number in the first act; that was a nice treat, and the three leads are really giving great performances but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

I believe I spotted Bartlett Sher in the audience, which was a nice surprise. Honestly thought he was directing as it’s at Lincoln Center but I learned that was not the case! Lol.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 9:48pm

Hairspray0901 said: "Caught the matinee today (LincTix). I found it to be extremely boring and long - even noticed at least 3 people who had fallen asleep.


Tony had a great tap number in the first act; that was a nice treat, and the three leads are really giving great performances but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

I believe I spotted Bartlett Sher in the audience, which was a nice surprise. Honestly thought he was directing as it’s at Lincoln Center but I learned that was not the case! Lol."

Bart is directing the show downstairs at the Newhouse.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/22/21 at 12:54am

I left during intermission, I just can't.

[nmlhats]

Posted: 11/22/21 at 4:07pm

I had really been looking forward to the promise of this show and am rethinking it. I have one, maybe two spots left for a short NYE/NYC trip. 

For those who have called it boring--and there are quite a few--how would you compare its boringness quotient to other shows that some people have found boring but others loved?

For example, I absolutely loved The Band's Visit and The Light in the Piazza, while some of my friends found them totally soporific. 

Is it more of a "not my cup of tea" boring because you prefer something splashier? Or is it just a "nothing can make me care about this show no matter how much I want to" kind of dull?

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/23/21 at 6:48am

nmlhats said: "I had really been looking forward to the promise of this show and am rethinking it. I have one, maybe two spots left for a short NYE/NYC trip.

For those who have called it boring--and there are quite a few--how would you compare its boringness quotient to other shows that some people have found boring but others loved?

For example, I absolutely loved The Band's Visit and The Light in the Piazza, while some of my friends found them totally soporific.

Is it more of a "not my cup of tea" boring because you prefer something splashier? Or is it just a "nothing can make me care about this show no matter how much I want to" kind of dull?"

The Band’s Visit was 90 minutes and had a clear plot and premise. This just seemed nonsensical across the board. All of Act One was the backstories of three rich and famous people trying LSD individually and then spending Act II doing it together. There are really no dramatic stakes here - it just exists for three hours with no payoff.

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/23/21 at 8:17am

It's interesting to me that many seem to think the show has no point. I thought the plot was interesting, the characters had clear arcs and journeys, and the themes of love and loss were well explored and defined. I thought this show had way more of a point and payoff than The Band's Visit. Just my two cents!