HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews- Page 5

Posted: 6/4/14 at 12:37am

In terms of jukebox musicals, I think it's pretty good. Better than naming a character Rhonda so they can sing a Beach Boys tune about her. Here, the lyrics were about drugs and guns and death and despair and so was the admittedly thin story. Not as good as AMERICAN IDIOT but nowhere near as bad as WE WILL ROCK YOU.

The show's not about Tupac, but it serves his music well. And that's why I went, to see what they'd do to iconic rap tunes such as "Dear Mama" and "Changes." But let's face it, being able to now call "Thugz Mansion" a show tune is kinda funny. I'll request it next time I'm at Marie's Crisis.

So in terms of the score, my faves from the first act were "Life Goes On" and "I Ain't Mad at Cha," but IMHO the best of the night were both in the second act. The perfectly-placed "Hail Mary" was ominous and foreboding, and it kinda made the 2-1/2 songs after it a bit unnecessary (if they're looking for something to cut). And then the 11 o'clock number, Dr. Dre's masterpiece, "California Love" -- this is the one I hope they do on Jimmy Fallon or the Tonys or wherever rap musicals go to promote themselves these days.

[brdway411]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 12:48am

Lmao about the Maries Crisis line. Make sure Jim Allan is working. He loves a challenge.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 12:52am

For a show that hinges solely on life and death there is just no dramatic tension to be found at the Palace right now. The show is just bland. Hurt Village at the Signature a few years ago handled a lot the same subject material with much better results.

[Polka Dot2]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 1:35pm

I saw the second preview last night. I went in with extremely low expectations, all of which were sadly met. My thoughts:

(**Spoilers**)

-There wasn't a strong enough introduction to the characters or enough character development to make me really care about any of them.
-I had a hard time understanding some of the lyrics. All I could understand from the last song of act 1 was "holler if ya hear me" and "respect"
-There was literally no action onstage until the last scene. In the beginning, one of the character dies and another gets threatened offstage. Wasted opportunities. The entire show the characters hem and haw about whether or not to kill the gang members who killed their friend. Because of all the hemming and hawing, there is no dramatic build up. In the end NOTHING HAPPENS. They decide to drop the issue and not have a confrontation.
-I felt that the songs were often disjointed from the plot and didn't propel the story forward in any way.
-Tonya Pinkins was barely in the show at all. What a waste.
-Lame set. Also, I was very annoyed that the set for the car shop changed from stage left to stage right. It was like a mirror image. If you have a set for a specific room, it needs to stay the same! Pretty basic set design.

Overall, the most boring Broadway musical I have ever seen. The script was terrible. Total waste of 2.5 hours (at least it wasn't 3 like in the final dress!). I feel bad for the actors who were very talented.

With bad buzz and little advanced ticket sales, I expect it to close very quickly, unless they have producers pouring money into it to keep it running.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 7:29pm

agreed with the above user... it was bad.

The show STARTS with the main character, pushing the plot forward... He's always drawing in his notebook, and we see the projection come to life on stage, like he's drawing the world they live in... okay. but at some point, that imagery disappears, and they find it nexessary to bring out a realistic 1967 caddy...

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 8:15pm

Yes, it's just like that equally inept Fun Home. That one had a narrator who draws lots of pictures but the characters kept sitting on real chairs and real beds. Just bad.

[little_sally]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 9:02pm

I am going to echo what most people have already said. It's certainly not a train-wreck but the first act is boring and the book is kind of a mess. There isn't any character development, and all I kept thinking is, "who are these people and why should I care?" My companion and I both agreed that the plot is a bit confusing. I do think the musical numbers are really great and overall, the cast is quite strong.

A lot of the blocking is a mess. There was always a lot of things going on at once, to the point where I kept thinking, "wait, who is rapping/singing?" There also seemed to be a ton of sound problems last night (mics were going out, the band sounded WAY too loud and overpowered the vocalists). The design feels unfinished as well. It almost feels like a concert staging of the show, and not a finished Broadway production.

I do think if they market this well (which they haven't thus far), it could be successful based on word of mouth. I think there's an enjoyable show there, it just need some tightening.

[Polka Dot2]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 11:25pm

Also, didn't the main guy (I can't remember anyone's names) draw something for Corrine? We never found out what it was, right? Lame. So lame. Don't set up dominoes without knocking them down later.

[AntV]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 11:32pm

And what was with Jackson and Thompson switching hats? Made you think the Four Fives would accidently kill Thompson thinking he was Jackson. Even if one is white and one is black...

[Polka Dot2]

Posted: 6/4/14 at 11:34pm

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking! I just couldn't remember their names, so I didn't post it, lol.

But my friend and I were so convinced that Thompson was going to get shot. Again, don't set up dominoes!

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 7:05am

I thought that was the point of the hat switch too. So I guess congrats on them for fooling us.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 8:07am

This show is in some serious trouble. I heard from a friend yesterday that there are a couple thousand comps that they literally can not give away. Nobody wants them. I'm seeing it next week and just to see Tonya onstage in anything, I'm looking forward to it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 8:16am

That hat switch got me too! Why even have that scene if there is no consequence/follow through?

It's also the same way I felt about the drawing subplot. Since it started off the show I thought his art was going to be integrated into the design via projections and the plot, but it really didn't go anywhere. The first thing Saul drew was the green hat, and then we had the green hat switch- all of this stuff should have built to something.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 8:43am

I kept trying to rationalize the language. I can understand why embracing a word like that is part of the history and culture of hip hop and all that.... But I just was uncomfortable. A little prudish, I guess, but I had a difficult time getting past it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 8:59am

I didn't have a problem with the language at all. I actually found it refreshing that they didn't censor the lyrics.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 9:06am

I think iluvtheatertrash is referring solely to the "n" word.

Interesting that a very good play a few years back, The Submission, had as a key plot point the same questioning (by both whites and people of color) the overuse of the word in a play.

One of the arguments was that "just because it happens in real life, that doesn't automatically make it good art." (A mantra I wish more people used.)

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 9:07am

I don't know that I expected them to be censored. I honestly didn't know much of Tupac's music, but went because a lot of people told me I would appreciate the lyrics. I just had a hard time getting past some of the more graphic ones (which tends to be my reason for not really liking rap in the first place). I might go back and give it another shot. Mainly because I like the idea of the theatrical landscape changing and growing. But I don't know...

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 9:11am

I liked The Submission a lot too.

I figured he was referring to the "n" word here, and even with that there's a big difference between a black person calling someone (often another black person) a "nigga" and a white person using "n*" as a racial slur.

This is from urban dictionary:

1.

nigga
Nigga is a word which evolved from the derogative term "n*". Tupac best defined the distinction between the two.

n*- a black man with a slavery chain around his neck.

NIGGA- a black man with a gold chain on his neck.


So if you use Tupac's own definition of the word it can be empowering and an act of reclamation rather a word of hate. It is also used to denote affection and/or humor.

Updated On: 6/5/14 at 09:11 AM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 9:28am

"equally inept Fun Home"

I'm sorry, do you mean the Pulitzer Prize finalist Fun Home? Let's not mention Fun Home in the same sentence as Holler.

Updated On: 6/5/14 at 09:28 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 9:42am

I think Fun Home is a terrific show, but the Pulitzer doesn't make it so. Remember that the Pulitzer is merely an award given by some newspapermen (many of the former winners are no longer considered particularly good, if they're remembered at all); it often recognizes excellence, but winning it doesn't confer excellence (you can say the same about any award - it's nice to have, but the award alone is not evidence of quality).

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 9:43am

I tried to remind myself that, Whizzer, but it wasn't just in the lyrics. It was in the libretto too. Every time they said something to one another, there the word was again. I don't like hearing it it outside of the theatre, I don't like hearing it in the theatre. To each their own, but it got old for me very quickly.

[evic]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:13am

What producer in their right mind would have a show do only 2 1/2 weeks of previews without an out of town try out? This reeks of tax write off. Get the crew ready to restore the Palace back to the way it should be. Tonya Pinkins is now the official Queen Of Flops.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:20am

Check out the producers' backgrounds - except for one, they're all total nubes or flopmeisters.

It seems pretty clear that this is a canonization project of Afeni Shakur's (Tupac's mother, née Alice Faye Williams). She has also founded a Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, the mission of which sounds admirable.

[little_sally]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:40am

The frustrating thing is that I think there is a good show there, that could do well, but it doesn't seem like any work is going to be done before opening.

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:47am

"The frustrating thing is that I think there is a good show there, that could do well, but it doesn't seem like any work is going to be done before opening."

That is almost always the case with shows that close quickly, though. There is usually a reason they made it this far (well, at least the ones that have been in development for years, did out of town tryouts, etc., etc.; this one had some readings and jumped right in)