GOOD VIBRATIONS CAST ANNOUNCMENT — Page 2

Could someone tell me what a "shill" is please?

And judging by the number of views on the Good Vibrations threads there seem to be a lot of interest in this show. As for Mama Mia, didn't I read yesterday that they are in the ! BILLION dollar range for sales worldwide now?

Forgive my ignorance, Al, but why would I be classified as a shill? My understanding of a shill is a decoy, a plant, a pretender . . . in the world, in general, that is. In my post, I've only stated my own true opinion. I think GV sounds like fun and that Guarini would be a most interesting addition. Again, my opinion. I know NOTHING about the theater (and won't even a open a post about a show called Urinetown) -- but I do know what I like.

O.K., then.

So fans aren't allowed to be excited and post about the favorites on this board? Is everybody who does considered a shill?

Gotcha, Wicked!

(I was beginning to think a theater Shill was actually a Shrew and I was feeling a bit miffed!)

Wicked . . . never heard of it (I kid you not, I know nothing about theater, obviously) until I attended a Labor Day picnic and my cousin's children performed songs from it and gave us otherwise-oblivious attendees the background of the show. I do believe I'd like it!

That is really sad that there are people who go around hyping shows just to try to sell more tickets. But I guess this is par for the course in business or broadway,in the stock market, or wherever business is involved.
I make up my own mind when it comes to theater, or to the market as well. Im 51 and have been going to the theater since I was a young child, so thats a good 40+ years of theater going. Ive seen everything from the Equus with Tony Perkins, to Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady and in a show he did with Claudette Colbert too, to Richard Burton in Camelot to I forgot what show he was in but a young Al Pacino starred in it, to Hair, to the original Tommy, Grease, Liza, Lilly Tomlin, Chorus Line with Anne Reinking, The Wiz, through the decades to Into the Woods, Tommy again, Secret Garden, Noises Off, Wonderful Town (which actually i didnt like) to Producers twice, Hairspray.
So many shows that I cant even remember. So many wonderful talented people some who were stars when I saw them and some who were undescovered talent at the time.
And I really enjoyed Good Vibrations and I LOVED Justin Guarini! Every move was precise and perfect. The guy is just fascinating to watch . I just wish theyd expand his part and give him more songs when hopefully he comes to Broadway.
Im telling you. He is a star and hes going to shine!

Updated On: 10/17/04 at 03:42 PM

Was Reality TV the death of TV dramas as the pundits once proclaimed it would be? I don't think so. In fact, I believe that three dramatic shows were in the top 10 last week. Did the Blockbuster kill the indie? Nope. Somehow 'Farenheit 911' manages to peacefully co-exist with 'Spiderman 2'. Yet people on this board constantly bemoan the fact that the public enjoys attending shows built around great music that the enjoy. And yes, I include Brian Wilson, Billy Joel and John Lennon in that category of 'great music'. Yet shows such as 'Wicked' and 'Hairspray' that do have original scores are also doing phenominal business. Are you saying that there aren't enough empty theatres or unemployed actors to go around for both types of shows? Because if the product is good and catches the public's heart, ear or imagination there certainly is enough money to spent on them.

I don't think jukebox musicals will be the death of original musical theater. First of all, eventually they're going to run out of top-class musical catalogs to use and start resorting to less popular artists. Second of all, it might not even come to that. Guys, look- all in all we've had only one true modern jukebox musical succeed on Broadway- Mamma Mia!.

I'm not counting Movin' Out because I feel that it's not exactly a musical and its wonderful choreography and the overall execution of the show give it artistic merit. I'm also not counting The Boy From Oz because it became all about Hugh Jackman, not about listening to Peter Allen songs.

So when the floodgates open this spring, I'll be watching with interest. Do people really want 3 or more flimsily plotted, thinly disguised oldies concerts masquerading as Broadway shows? How many of these can Broadway support at once? We'll see.

I like having fun at a show as much as anyone- I certainly don't go to the theater to be tormented. But I also don't go to a show to be treated like a child. And when people try to string together a bunch of nostalgic hit songs with little suitability for theater around a contrived and formulaic "plot" and add in uninspired staging and casting that's clearly meant to save money, I feel ripped off.

These shows aren't shows to me. They're money-making machines. Say what you want about Wicked (and I admit I've said plenty), but that show was actually inspired by something- a well-liked book that added its own twist to a very popular fantasy tale. Good Vibrations and its ilk appear to have been inspired by the box office numbers that Mamma Mia! gets.

It's one thing to mix art and business; Broadway isn't a non-profit zone. But shows should be inspired by art even if they're meant to make money.

We know exactly who he is. He's the show's biggest celebrity. People are more likely to wonder who the leads are.

Isn't it something that when Justin was announced as part of the Vassar productions it was all over the news wires the next day. Every major publication and online site ran the story for weeks, even some foreign press. A day after the leads have been announced now - nothing. I'm sure when and if Justin is announced you are going to see major press about it - good or bad. It doesn't matter that he is not the lead. And I'm sure there will be a lot of people coming out of the blue to post here about him, not because they are shills, but because they truly love him and are happy that he is a part of this project (if it comes to pass). Guess they better put on their armor!

I attended the workshop at Vassar for Good Vibrations and loved the play. Good Vibrations was a fun filled play that I loved as much as anything I have seen in London, New York, or Minneapolis where I am from. Justin Guarini was excellent in this play. I knew he had a great singing voice but was amazed that the boy can dance and act too. I did hear that before American Idol, he was in a master class of some kind for Lion King and that after American Idol he was offered a role in Cabaret which he could not take because he was under contract for a movie. Why not give him a chance, the same as any other young Broadway actor? Doesn't he deserve to have people wait and judge his performance rather than a preconcieved notion of his ability in this play?