GROUNDHOG DAY Reviews — Page 6

"I know this sounds cynical and I haven't seen the show (nor so I expect Andy to be in when I do, though I hope I'm surprised) but I wonder if this injury is the best thing that could have happened to Andy and the show."

I wouldn't call that cynical; but then I'm one of the number who think that Rent would not have been the phenomenon it was if its author had not died right after the first dress rehearsal.

newintown said: ""I know this sounds cynical and I haven't seen the show (nor so I expect Andy to be in when I do, though I hope I'm surprised) but I wonder if this injury is the best thing that could have happened to Andy and the show."

I wouldn't call that cynical; but then I'm one of the number who think that Rent would not have been the phenomenon it was if its author had not died right after the first dress rehearsal.



"

Well, we are definitely on the same page about that one too.

Agreed - once again I find myself only agreeing with David Cote.

Any chance ANDY KARL will start doing TV promotional appearances?? I saw that BORLE was on COLBERT - he should hit up the morning news programs (TODAY; etc.) and something like LIVE with KELLY! ... and then do COLBERT!

Just a thought...

I disagree. I've seen both shows, and was in the audience on Friday night when the injury happened. As the parent of a special needs child, I was touched by Platt's performance in a much more potent way than I was by Karl's. His last 15 minutes were astounding (post-injury). There is no question that he is a force to be reckoned with and a tremendous talent. He also really carries the show from start to finish and I give him a lot of credit. For me, though, the performance of the season is Platt. (and I admittedly, I am sure I'm biased because of my personal experience here)

Actors being pitted against each other is exactly what happens at the Tony awards. 'Watch out Ben Platt' is clearly said in a jokey tone, not as a threat.

Platt is only being singled out because he's the current favorite. 'Watch out Josh Groban' wouldn't really make sense.

At this moment, I'd say Groundhog Day and War Paint are both contenders for the 4th slot and Anastasia could join them depending on reviews.

amny 2-4 stars.

"‘Groundhog Day’ review: Adaptation of a beloved film is an over-energized and tiresome misfire"

http://www.amny.com/entertainment/groundhog-day-review-adaptation-of-a-beloved-film-is-an-over-energized-and-tiresome-misfire-1.13487072

I wouldn't call that cynical; but then I'm one of the number who think that Rent would not have been the phenomenon it was if its author had not died right after the first dress rehearsal.

Nah. It would have been the exact same smash hit. It was the right show, with the right cast at the right time. The show was firing on all cylinders. When I saw the show shortly after the Tonys that season, I didn't even know the story of Larson's death. All I knew was the Tony performance and then I saw the show from standing room a few weeks later. I saw it standing room two more times that summer before the cast recording was released because I was instantly hooked by the show and loved everything about it. What made it a phenomenon was immediately obvious to me on first viewing (as well as to many of my friends and family). The impact it had on me was immense. Had Larson lived, I think the show might have gotten more tweaking, but would have been the same massive hit. Only afterward, we probably would have had more works from him.

The nicest thing that can ever be said of an Andie MacDowell performance is that it does not ruin a movie.

I've read that the addition of the song One Day gave the Rita character more depth than what the films matersl allowed but Andie MacDowells performance wasn't derailed. She has 3 golden globe nominations for film work, hardly a sign of ruining films.

newintown said: ""I know this sounds cynical and I haven't seen the show (nor so I expect Andy to be in when I do, though I hope I'm surprised) but I wonder if this injury is the best thing that could have happened to Andy and the show."

I wouldn't call that cynical; but then I'm one of the number who think that Rent would not have been the phenomenon it was if its author had not died right after the first dress rehearsal.

I also wondered this so I dont think its cynical. It was cynical when I initially thought that due to the bad word of mouth on the boards, the producers staged an injury to garner public good will. Now, that is cynical.



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ladypresent said: "I don't really see all this love for A bronx tale on this board (almost none really) but there are undying lovers of groundhog day yet they seem to be in the exact same algorithmic category combining critic and audience reviews alike. Are a bronx tale and GHD on the same level of show? and if so why the undying love for one and the seeming silence on the other? (i like math)"

And with all due respect, that's why awards (and, for that matter, word-of-mouth and which shows are hits or flops) aren't determined by an algorithm. Kinky Boots on Show-Score is currently at 88%, and Matilda at 85 - but whatever that extra 3% is, that's not what accounted for Kinky Boots sweeping the Tonys that year.

To go back two decades, if Show-Score or some similar algorithm had existed back in the 1991-1992 season, my guess is that both Miss Saigon and The Secret Garden would have had slightly higher overall grades than that year's eventual Tony winner, which got highly mixed reviews... but there was one critic, writing for the Sunday New York Times, who gave The Will Rogers Follies such an out-and-out rave, that the perception at the time was that that review alone gave the voters enough excuse or reason or justification to vote for that show (and today of course, while it still gets done, Will Rogers isn't produced half as much as either Secret Garden or Miss Saigon).

Also, don't forget that when A Bronx Tale opened there had only been 2 new musicals that had opened so far this season... so it's worth wondering whether the score, or more specifically the reviews, both from critics and audiences, would have been as somewhat high on that show if it opened after Groundhog Day and Come From Away and even Anastasia and War Paint etc.

Public perception isn't determined by a number or a letter, whether it be on Show-Score or Rotten Tomatoes or a grade in Entertainment Weekly... it's much less quantifiable. Which is why I honestly think this is one of the more interesting, wide-open seasons in memory, and why I feel like with almost no exceptions (Best Actress in a Musical), almost all bets are off when it comes to the upcoming awards season.

Someone else above wrote "Scorecard....half positive, half negative" - I'm not at all seeing the half negative. The producers have to be uniformly happy with these notices, which - according to the Show-Score algorithm you ask about - currently stand at:

2 pans, 5 mixed, and no less than 15 postive-to-rave reviews.