HEAD OVER HEELS at the Curran - Reviews

Let's get this thread started. First preview is tonight and opening night is April 18th. I'm seeing it this Friday.

left at intermission

words fail....

to the producers- what the **** were you thinking???

So, are the songs performed ala MAMMA MIA! - recreating the original sound of the songs, in this case recreating the original The Go-Gos sound, or are they re-interpreted/re-orchestrated?

The main reason i left was i just wasnt enjoying it very much and wasnt entertained-the story itself was not interesting or clever, the show is set in a mythical land where everyone speaks in quasi old english (very annoying), I didnt get to know like or care about any of the characters (felt like wooden stereotypes), most of the gogos songs in the first act were album cuts i didnt recognize or enjoy ( and im a gogos fan), and the shoehorning of songs to fit the story was painful. tryong to find pluses there was some good dancing and a few funny lines/site gags, and one support character playing the shepard/amazon was funny and getting most of what few laughs there were. the audience seemed to enjoy it more than i did, although I did see several others walk out in the first act and in the bathroom line during intermission people were trashing the show pretty hard.

I saw lestat pre broadway and this reminded me of that- it had good actors, it had good people involved and it just wasnt interesting or satisfying. Maybe my filters are skewed because I just came back from nyc last month after seeing the bands visit, and seeing hamilton and dear evan hansen,both again (the very very best of musical theatre) and this show is soooo far below what i feel good musical theatre is and can be.

Broadwaysfguy, thanks for sharing your thoughts. But if you're a GoGo's fan, I'm surprised you didn't stay for Act II if only to see how the show used their other songs, and how it all played out. I almost never walk out of a musical because sometimes Act II is better, or there's a knockout number or performance in it.

But you must have a higher tolerance than I. You saw ''Roman Holiday'' repeatedly, even though pretty much every critic panned it. You saw it 6 times, right? Or was it more? I could barely get through it once. By the way, whatever happened to that show?

Updated On: 4/11/18 at 11:35 AM

I never really liked Shakespherean anything and poems in general but when I learned what Iambic Pentameter was...I kinda learned to appreciate the old English Shakespherean talk and it actually sounded more romantic where they were talking about love.

It would be a good show for Shakephere fanatics, for those dating...or in love...

And anyone who wants a good coming of age musical.

The only song I know of them growing up is Head Over Heels and I would get annoyed when I would pick the song in the jukebox and the tears for fears song would play...

But researching...I also kinda know We got the beat, mad about you, vacation, our lips are sealed....and the other songs not so familiar coz I didn't take notes.

It was not like Mamma Mia where there were a lot of "choruses" where the whole company were singing together...but rather

More solos, duets and more dancing.

A lot of belting and blending but I wanted more chorus

The opening was delicious...

The whole company singing together aka Mamma Mia.

But this cast is a powerhouse and well rounded.

The Royal Family is very talented and I'll add more details when I see it again next week on opening night.

Updated On: 4/11/18 at 02:48 PM

So, are the songs performed/sound like the original versions by The Go-G0s or re-orchestrated to fit the Shakespearean concept of the musical?

I guess now I’m looking forward to seeing this, if only to see if it’s a trainwreck or if it has something going for it. I don’t usually care all that much for jukebox musicals. (The best of them – Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys, and Beautiful – were all just OK for me. I didn’t care for the new Temptations one.) But I’m always willing to give a show a chance.

Question for folks. I have tix for April 17, which is the last day of previews. I figured that the show would be set by then. But it occurs to me that previews for a pre-Broadway tryout might not have the same significance they do on Broadway. In New York, once a show opens, I think it’s usually pretty much set. After it officially opens in San Francisco, will they still likely be making significant changes? If so, maybe it would be better to see it later in the run?

SFCowboy said: "Question for folks. I have tix for April 17, which is the last day of previews. I figured that the show would be set by then. But it occurs to me that previews for a pre-Broadway tryout might not have the same significance they do on Broadway. In New York, once a show opens, I think it’s usually pretty much set.Afterit officially opens in San Francisco, will they still likely be making significant changes? If so, maybe it would be better to see it later in the run?"



That's why I'm looking to see it the final weekend. So far the Curran has only had discount codes for the previews.

antonijan said: "The songs are sung like the original...and the Elizabethan concept are mostly in dialogue and staging and everything was fitted to match the songs... That's the genius part of it and the younger audience doesnt need Gogos familiarity to understand the play. "

Not changing anything or creatively manipulating the songs is literally the opposite of genius.

Go-Go's

Go-Go's

Go-Go's

Go-Go's

Go-Go's

Go-Go's

The Oregon version was not 4 hours. Who told you that?

Belinda Carlisle.