GETTIN (G) THE BAND BACK TOGETHER Previews — Page 3

Now were talking

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For what it's worth,

I'd pay a small small price to go see this stoned.

One of my favorite theatre memories was seeing one of the first half dozen previews of Disaster! stoned off my rocker. I laughed more in that show than I ever thought possible. Was it a good show? No. Was it destined to flop? Yes. Did I have an amazing time? Absolutely.

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Now that we have gotten (kind of) back on topic, let's please dispense with the personal bickering and talk about the "Gettin' the Band Back Together" previews... and/or under what "conditions" you might be seeing them.

Well if the show turns out to be terrible, at least the thread about it will be interesting.

How is the show supposed to get the band back together if it can't ever get people together to see it? Or a thread that's mildly together on the same topic?

I saw this at George Street. When I heard it was coming to Broadway, I was surprised. I thought it was good for GS, but I figured unless they were redoing pretty much the whole thing, I didn’t see it lasting on Broadway. I live where this story takes place. They were in town the beginning of May to film the music video that was released a couple weeks ago. They invited the town to the final dress last night. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go. Plenty of friends did and they’ve been raving all over today about it. I’ve been getting mailers at least once a week for awhile now. I haven’t been on the message boards in a long time, but I had to come read what folks are/will be saying about this one.

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It would appear that all of New Jersey is here at the Belasco tonight and they’re EXCITED.

Jordan Catalano said: "It would appear that all of New Jersey is here at the Belasco tonight and they’re EXCITED."

Dang- I never knew the Belacso could hold 9 million people! I thought it only had 1010 seats.

(Also, I'm not here to be a snob I'm here to makes puns and jokes. I'm still not the target audience for this though.)

dearalanaaaa said:
they... Raved about it? Maybe it will be a pleasant surprise, but I doubt it? What have the changed between the two runs?"

No one that I know that saw it last night saw it at George Street, so I don’t know what changes were made.

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Oh, man I loved that show!

Oh, JEEZUZ. Gimme a break, Jordan.

One of my friends said after act one that this was amateur hour at its worst, and I couldn’t have agreed more. While the first act was sluggish and boring, act two did dip into so bad it’s good territory (especially the horrific act two opener), but overall the songs were bland and generic and you could have heard a pin drop after some of the book’s “jokes.”

The show desperately wants to be a mix of The Full Monty and Rock of Ages, but both of these shows were wildly better than Gettin’ the Band Back Together. Full Monty has loads of heart (and a shocking thing called character development!) and Rock of Ages’ plot actually made logical sense and leaned heavy into its rock n roll parody; ROA also had some pretty decent character development too, so being just a “fun night out” is no excuse for not having craft.

I know its only the first preview, so I won’t comment much on the acting, but I found the lead to be lacking in charisma and that’s a big problem when he basically sings the entire score in act one. The plot and timeline are full of holes and nonsensical items, none of which can be waived away as the show has gone for a Disaster-style parody of New Jersey. When you have an opening number called “Jersey,” you prepare yourself for a somewhat high level of parody, but the lyrics were not biting or funny, and the few Jersey jokes were lame and tired.

There is a subplot about a poser Jewish rapper that is such a ripoff of Alex Wyse’s character from Lysistrata Jones (didn’t think I’d ever be writing that sentence!); the Indian doctor and his love interest are barely an after thought. The book not only gives short shrift to the characters, but the actual Battle of the Band plot feels like an after thought by the end too. Ken Davenport gave a curtain speech about how the story is semi-autobiographical, and the vanity project aspect of it really shows.

The set is the comic book drawn design- the houses reminded me of Peter Parker’s street set from Spider-Man. I didn’t understand that choice, unless it was budgetary reasons.

I did like Kelli Barrett. She is likable, and how can you not feel for someone who had to suffer through Baby, It’s You, Doctor Z and now this.

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