That being said there is about as much audience out there for this as there was for a a little known hip hop musical about Alexander Hamilton where a black man portrays George Washington...that sounded like a terrible idea too. You just never know.
I saw Head Over Heels at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I knew nothing about the Go-Gos. When I read about the shows, I had my doubts. When I saw the show, I found it silly, in a good way, quirky and in the end, lots of fun. Yes, there were weak moments, but none were impossible to fix.
Before the show started previews, the gossip about the production was it ran 4 hours. The director refused to make any cuts or changes; he was fired. Bill Rauch, the OSF Artistic Director, took over the production. He was also directing his production of Antony and Cleopatra, at the time. The dramaturg suggested cuts. Jeff Whitty made them. The cast and crew pulled together.
Jeff Whitty appears to have been attached to this at some point to write the book, was let go, changed his name on facebook and seems to post regularly about how he was exploited. Seems he's in a dark place about all of this. It appears he can no longer speak directly about it for legal reasons, so he vague books about it. I feel bad for him.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
Most hit Broadway musicals sound absolutely awful on paper (Annie, Hamilton, Cats, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, anyone?)
The pictures from the Oregan Shakespeare Festival production look lavish and over the top and a lot of fun. If SOMETHING ROTTEN can be a hit, maybe something like this could be to. It looks like a musical SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE flipped on its head.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
The tragedy is in the future so many classic pop songs will only be known from cheesy versions in ‘jukebox’ musicals.
Well, that's a retaliation of sorts. Look how many songs from musicals are only known as "pop" songs, even more when Broadway actually WAS "pop" (I Gotta Be Me, Aquarius, Let the Sun Shine, Corner of the Sky, One Night in Bangkok, etc.). The tragedy is, the world will never be devoid of stupid people.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
QueenAlice said: "Most hit Broadway musicals sound absolutely awful on paper (Annie, Hamilton, Cats, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, anyone?)
The pictures from the Oregan Shakespeare Festival production look lavish and over the top and a lot of fun. If SOMETHING ROTTEN can be a hit, maybe something like this could be to. It looks like a musical SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE flipped on its head."
There's too much ALW on that list for my tastes. Also, I didn't like Something Rotten outside of the performers and costumes.
But anyway, I think there's a difference between something with artistic merit that sounds risky or different and something that sounds like a weird attempt at a cash grab. This sounds like something like Desperate Measures or These Paper Bullets! that should be off-Broadway except it is using pre-existing songs and they think that'll make it more appealing to people.
I have serious doubts about this musical. But I live in the SF Bay Area, my wife and daughter want to see it, I've got the week off, so I'll probably see one of the first performances at the Curran later in the week. I'm planning to go in as cold as possible.
That said, I'm much more intrigued by Vietgone, the play I'm seeing Tuesday at the ACT's Strand Theater. It's been a huge hit on tour here, admittedly at a small venue (283 seats).,
all I keep thinking of is 'GOOP' instead of the GoGo's! LOL Since Gwyneth Paltrow's a producer on it - it seems like this is for a limited audience just like her brand and products. But I wish it well!
QueenAlice said: "If SOMETHING ROTTEN can be a hit, maybe something like this could be to.”
Define “hit”. Something Rotten was a total flop. I really enjoyed the show. But it couldn’t even recoup half of its investment to investors. My guess is that the folks behind Head Over Heels hope they do not have a Something Rotten on their hands.
The rush tickets for this are only $15 so I'm going to try and hit the First Preview since I'm off. if I like it enough, it's cheap enough that I can catch it at least one more time. I'm very curious about this one. I feel like it can go either way
bear88 said: "I have serious doubts about this musical. But I live in the SF Bay Area, my wife and daughter want to see it, I've got the week off, so I'll probably see one of the first performances at the Curran later in the week. I'm planning to go in as cold as possible.
That said, I'm much more intrigued by Vietgone, the play I'm seeing Tuesday at the ACT's Strand Theater. It's been a huge hit on tour here, admittedly at a small venue (283 seats).,"
I didn't think a lot of the music worked and the jokes were a little cheesy but other than that, it was excellent. Great cast at MTC.
Can someone share exactly how Jeff was exploited? If not can you show me which FB post he talks about it?
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