GHOST first preview?- Page 3

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 11:01am

Can someone please explain to me why the balconies/fire escape parts of the set were never utilized? It seemed strange to have them there and never use them at all. It's a small silly thing to think about, but things should be used or not there at all, but since it's a splashy specticle full of fancy effects I'll let it go and not expect John Doyle minimalist sensibilities. haha

Lefou, you forgot about when Pinkham takes his shirt off too! Wowza! (but I've had a crush on him since BBAJ so I may be biased.) And the porno really made me unconfortable. Like many of the literal projections I felt like I may as well be watching a movie.

Updated On: 3/16/12 at 11:01 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 11:26am

...Bryce Pinkham takes his shirt off? Hm..

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 11:45am

He does indeed! He purposely splls coffee on himself and Molly gives him one of Sam's shirts. It's a strange attempt at a seduction. But his cheast is pretty magical.

[Lefou]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 11:49am

True NASTY, Pinkham did indeed take his shirt off. But at that point he had totally lost my interest...

And some of those projections crossed the line into cheesey land--the hands ESPECIALLY. However, when they were on the subway (the first time he encounters the Subway Ghost) THOSE projections were perfect.

Speaking of the Subway Ghost--his "rap" was just awful...I didn't get it at all.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 12:03pm

I understand him losing you. It's very difficult to play Charlie, you're the villian but conflicted with guilt over the accidental murder AND be charming and warm towards Molly. I fully admit my love is still from Bloody Bloody where i fell in love with his talent and physicality. Now I can add ripling pectorals and flat stomach to that list.

The subway scene worked VERY well. Anytime the projections were used in conjunction with the effects they were amazing. Most other times they were just ugly and distracting.

That rap was so strange. It was like bad spoken word performance art. Is that his curse? He can move things but is forced to speak in bad rhymes? lol I actually find myself thinking "was Lin Manuel Miranda unavaible?"

[leefowler]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 12:09pm

I love the posts that say, "if you can't see the beauty in this song the way I can, then I pity you for your lack of sensitivity to the arts".

Can't you just sort of assume that you might have different taste than others?

[matty159]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 12:34pm

Monday cannot come soon enough! So good to read these initial responses. Wish I had seen this last night as opposed to the safest production of JCS I have ever seen.

[luha]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 2:53pm

"With You" will be the next big audition song.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 3:10pm

As someone who really enjoys most of the score, for being the strongest character in the entire piece, it's a shame that Oda Mae has the absolute three weakest numbers ("Are You a Believer?," "Talkin' Bout a Miracle," and "I'm Outta Here,") none of which are worthy of the talented women who've been forced to sing them. It's a testament to the strength of Sharon D. Clarke and Da'Vine Joy Randolph's performances that the songs land as big as they do, because they're each incredibly generic, repetitive, and derivative.

Unfortunately, they also contain some of the most lyrics in the show too. "I'm flying to Mauritius"/"Where the crab cakes are delicious." Really?

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 3:23pm

I loved Oda Mae Brown's numbers when I saw the show in London! Thought "Are you a believer" was hilarious!

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 4:14pm

" It felt very "we need to give Oda Mae another big sassy song instead of musicalizing when she realizes she can actually hear Sam or her frantic nervousness into charm at the bank."

Ah, another classic case of "Marc Shaiman Syndrome"

[luha]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 4:33pm

When I saw the show in London, i thought Oda Mae's numbers
sounded like they were from "Sister Act"

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 4:51pm

Ha! That's exactly what I thought quizking! Except Shaiman writes them bigger, better, and sassier!

Frankly, the out of context "Fabulous Baby" would have been better than "I'm Outta Here"

[steven22]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 8:11pm

Updated On: 3/17/12 at 08:11 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/12 at 8:25pm

Bootlegs aren't allowed on this board, steven, so I suggest you take that link down.

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 12:02am

Saw the show tonight. I saw it in London as well so this was my second time seeing the production. Given that it was only their second preview, obviously the show was MUCH tighter in terms of the choreography and staging than it was tonight when I saw it.

Besides Caissie and Richard and Bryce, there is still a lot of tightening up that needs to be done. There was an understudy on tonight for Oda Mae Brown and she was both funny and vocally impressive in the few numbers her character has. However, during "I'm Outta Here", she did slip a bit and seemed to have forgotten her lyrics at the start of verse two. But other than that, phenomenal.

Caissie and Richard were amazing, both chemistry and talent-wise. I also thoroughly enjoyed Bryce. I thought that he played the role of Carl better than the actor I saw play the role in the West End.

One HUGE tech issue tonight though: When Sam and Molly were making love on the red couch, the scrim is suppose to come down for a projection of their love-making as the couch moved off-stage. The scrim came down halfway but then got caught on the left side on one of the sliding wall pieces of the set.

I am so happy that they cut the song "Ball of Wax", but the new song is not that much better really. The choreography has been changed around a bit as well and in the "Talkin' 'Bout a Miracle" I preferred how they staged it in the West End production more.

It's still a great show and worth seeing. I loved it in London, and I loved it here as well. I'm sure all the little details will be perfected as this preview period goes on but best of luck to the cast and crew!


In regards to stage door, Caissie was very sweet. Richard seemed a bit like he was in a rush, which he was like when I met him after in London as well. Bryce was a sweetheart though. After we took a picture together he asked me to double-check if the photo was good before he walked on to the next person.

[Here I Am]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 3:22am

Hold on kyl3fong2... are you saying that Oda Mae Brown was an understudy at the SECOND performance on Broadway?? I saw it last night and she was spot on and vocally strong. Does anyone know any reason why she would call out the night right after she made her Broadway debut?

**edit** Nevermind, I just found a whole thread about this lol.

Updated On: 3/17/12 at 03:22 AM

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 5:24am

I was there tonight and was also floored that Oda Mae was out on the second preview (although the understudy was fantastic, without a doubt the best part of the show itself). Re: the technical glitch, I was worried how it was going to effect the rest of the show because show much of it relies on projections.

Overall, the best performances are from Richard and Bryce, however, Cassie does just okay as Molly. I don't know if it amounts to bad acting or bad direction, but her performance is just eh. Not bad, but nothing standout about it. As said, the show-stealer really was the actress who played Oda Mae.

The only thing about "Ghost" that annoyed me was this: the over-reliance of projections. In every scene. Seriously? There are times when the ensemble comes on and there are even projections of them dancing and when it's not perfectly in-sync (which happened a few times) it looks just silly. I almost felt like it was karma when the scrim almost broke because of how much they freakin' overused the projections. Granted, there are some really awesome effects, and I normally don't mind the use of projections, but the visuals have gone way overkill. It's sort of like the Spiderman effect: they try to make up for a pretty forgettable score (the only song I can honestly remember is "Here Right Now") and decent book with just a bunch of cool sh*t to look at instead.

Is it worth seeing? Yes. Will it change your life? No. It's a good show, but not a great one. Cassie has a ways to go, IMO, but other than that, all the actors perform it very well and you'll have a good time and a few laughs.

EDIT: I also agree about the Subway rap. A major wtf moment to me. They need to do something about that. Updated On: 3/17/12 at 05:24 AM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 9:35am

I really wish I would have seen whatever show you guys all saw. I was there last night and thought it was a virtual top-to-bottom mess. I really don't think this will have good word of mouth and I think it will get lampooned by the critics. I wanted to love it (the movie is one of my favorites) but yeesh...

The score is ballad after ballad after ballad with one or two 80's sounding pop songs (and a rap...don't ask) thrown in. Every song sounds the same. The only song I remember was "I'm Outta Here." They really couldn't have thought of anything better to give Caissie Levy than 50,000 stand alone ballads? We get it, she's depressed. Focus on Sam and Oda Mae...we don't need to see her sulking every other scene. The book was fine, if completely uninspired. I thought it moved the story along at a really weird pace (the last twenty minutes are SO rushed), but it did an alright job when all was said and done.

I really hated the sets. It's just a bunch of obnoxious LED walls that rotate and move all around the stage. The "special effects" are fine and some of them work really well; it's just a shame the show is lit so weirdly that at times, it's hard to see the special effects happening at all. At least that was the deal from the mezzanine last evening. The orchestra sounded great, but they drowned out the lyrics (which is probably a good thing...the lyrics I heard were laughable) for about 80% of the performance.

Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeshman each do what they can, I supposed. Both of them have never sounded better, but someone should tell Fleeshman to tone down his acting a little bit. At times, he was so over the top, I was holding back laughter. Obviously, the best part of the show was Oda Mae. I was upset I didn't get to see Da'Vine Joy Randolph, but Moya Angela was EXCELLENT. Her voice sounded wonderful and she nailed almost every laugh line with ease. My only comment about this role, though, is that it seems relatively easy to be "excellent" in. All you have to do is be sassy, funny, and loud. It's a wonderful part, but it is tailor-made for laughs and comic relief. I'm sure Da'Vine is great in the part, but I'm also sure whatever replacement they get for her (if the show runs that long) will be just as good. Not a knock on her talent, just a comment about the role itself. I was planning on returning to see Da'Vine, but I don't see how her performance could have been very much different than Moya's. All that aside, Moya was wonderful and the audience clearly loved her performance. I will never understand how two out of the three Oda Mae songs, however, are completely turkeys.

Finally, my favorite stage director, Matthew Warchus, heralded this lumbering bore of a musical and surprisingly does nothing to bring it to life (no pun intended). The choreography is horrible, the ensemble reminded me of The Addams Family (pointless and just there for the sake of being there) and their costumes are awful (whose idea was it to put them in 80's-looking clothes, but have the show take place in 2012?).

The mezzanine was about 50-60% full. They audience went wild at the end, but no one seemed to be talking about it as they were leaving or saying how great they thought it was. I honestly don't see this connecting with audiences who are looking to drop $140 a ticket.

All in all, I'm sorry to report that I really disliked the show. It's biggest problem, I think, is that it is just so boring. It ran 2 hours and 45 minutes last night and I felt every single minute pass by. If a show is bad in a way that is entertaining, at least I feel like I got my money's worth in sheer campy entertainment. But with GHOST, it misses the mark on so many levels that it's just so predictable, boring, and snooze-worthy, which in a way is the worst thing a musical can be. I forgot I saw it this morning when I woke up. And based on how I felt last night during intermission, I think it's probably best that way.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 10:56am

"I love the posts that say, "if you can't see the beauty in this song the way I can, then I pity you for your lack of sensitivity to the arts".

Can't you just sort of assume that you might have different taste than others?"

Bravo, Lee Fowler! Especially since the first sign of sensitivity to the arts is appreciating that others equally sensitive may not concur with your recognition of beauty in a particular work.

I've listened to With You. It's nice. I'm more than prepared to believe that it might move me in a more marked way on stage, but so far I'm not impressed by its beauty.

Does that make me a Philistine? Does it make one beauty-challenged to find more of it in, for example, "Another Winter in a Summer Town," "Will You?" "I Am Not That Girl," "How Could I Ever Forget?" "Say It Somehow" "Touch Me" and "The Song of Purple Summer" ?


Updated On: 3/17/12 at 10:56 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 2:52pm

What exactly is the set like? Is it a big set or just LCD panels and how many LCD panels do they use? I really want to see this show because the visuals look awesome, and I like the music. GHOST, Evita, and Newsies are at the top of my list for my (fingers crossed) trip to the city this summer.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 3:06pm

I saw it in London, but I follow WiCkEDrOcKS. Maybe I hated it more, and was considering leaving the theater at some point.

To me it was: We have a trillion pop ballads, a lady who would even do back flips just to make you laugh like Whoopi did, and all the LED lights in the world. So, ignore the fact everything else blows, you HAVE to love it!

I couldn't get past the atrocious acting, the reality TV singing and the cheesy "queue the moment we'll make you laugh/cry. And...go".

Kudos to some of those who created some nice stage images, but it's safe and dull tourist entertainment IMHO.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 4:00pm

Well as you stated...that is your opinion. I for one cannot wait to see it. I think the music is fantastic. So what if it's not ground breaking? Does every musical have to be ground breaking when it comes to it's score? No. I think it serves what the creators wanted to do in the first place...create music that touches people on an emotional level. It didn't succeed with you but it does with a lot of other people.
And no, I am not trying to bash you for your opinion. I'm just saying that people do find it to be an amazing show, while others hate it. One mans garbage is another mans treasure.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 4:38pm

Well as you stated...that is your opinion. I for one cannot wait to see it. I think the music is fantastic. So what if it's not ground breaking? Does every musical have to be ground breaking when it comes to it's score? No. I think it serves what the creators wanted to do in the first place...create music that touches people on an emotional level. It didn't succeed with you but it does with a lot of other people.
And no, I am not trying to bash you for your opinion. I'm just saying that people do find it to be an amazing show, while others hate it. One mans garbage is another mans treasure.

I must note that the West End audience seemed to go crazy for it. I mean, absolute bananas. But after watching something that is amazingly well done entertainment like Newsies, Ghost seems like a mediocre choice. I must also note I'm speaking about the West End production, this might be a lot better.

And I'm not saying there were not things to like in Ghost, but Broadway is currently full with much better options. Except for Spider-Man, which makes Ghost look like the Sistine Chapel of theater.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 3/17/12 at 4:40pm

LOL best comparison at the end there.
I get where you are coming from. Just different tastes :)