HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews- Page 6
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#125
Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:49amAs much as I didn't care for the first act, I would agree that maybe in the right hands this could've been something exciting.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#126
Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:55am
There's a story in the NY Times today about the show:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/theater/holler-if-ya-hear-me-uses-songs-by-tupac-shakur.html
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#127
Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:56amI'm confused on the "stadium seating" everyone is speaking of. Anyone up to explaining this to me?
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#128
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:03pm
I love this quote form that article: “Holler if Ya Hear Me,” which opens at the Palace Theater on June 19, and weaves 21 songs by Shakur (two of which are musically arranged versions of his poems)...
So - "musically arranged" is the new term for "composed music?"
Since this show elevates Shakur and only Shakur, the composers are irrelevant, I guess. Or only worthy of footnotes at best.
Updated On: 6/5/14 at 12:03 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/08
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#129
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:07pm
ucjrdude, they explain it on the website.
http://hollerifyahearme.com/
Just click on tickets
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#130
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:07pm
"I'm confused on the "stadium seating" everyone is speaking of. Anyone up to explaining this to me?"
They removed the normal orchestra seats, and the orchestra seating now rises up and "connects" to the mezzanine.
Err, actually, let's see if I can steal their photo...
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#131
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:09pm
Hmm. Cool concept in my opinion. How many seats does this eliminate from The Palace?
Updated On: 6/5/14 at 12:09 PM
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#132
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:11pmOh, it's produced by a South Korean theater impresario. That explains that.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/29/12
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#133
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:18pm
Re the "stadium seating" - they didn't remove any seats, they just installed the stadium seating riser and cut off the back half of the orchestra. The seats are still there. I was confused when I walked in and saw the graffiti wall that constitutes that location that the stadium seating starts.
Even with the considerable amount of seats they eliminated (I don't know the exact number but it looked like exactly half of the orchestra section) there will still plenty of seats available in mezzanine and the balcony.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#134
Posted: 6/5/14 at 12:20pm
"How many seats does this eliminate from The Palace?"
620.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#135
Posted: 6/5/14 at 10:48pmAnyone returned and noticed if they have or haven't made changes?
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#136
Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:03pm
I was there and left at intermission. I hated every minute of it. First act was 1:15, so I have no idea if cuts were made. When people started yelling at the rappers like they were at a church sermon, I knew I had to get our of there.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#137
Posted: 6/5/14 at 11:16pmI also left at intermission for the first time ever for a Broadway show. It was uncomfortably bad. And not in a train wreck kind of way, but more in a puzzlingly confused how did anyone think a paying audience would like this kind of way. The direction is horrific as is the blocking so much so that I never knew who was talking, who any of the characters were, or what was going on. There may be a good show buried in there somewhere but this just has far too much muddled confusion to save it at this point.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#138
Posted: 6/6/14 at 10:54ambroadwaydevil, I'm glad you also found it difficult to figure out who was talking/rapping/singing. Glad it's not just me.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/22/03
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#139
Posted: 6/7/14 at 10:52am
I got to see this last night. Overall, it wasn't the trainwreck I was expecting. I enjoyed it more than I thought.
Lots of bad audience behavior, though. One guy a few rows away from me knew all of Tupac's words and rapped along every number...out loud. No one near him was brave enough to shush him. Thank goodness he left (or moved) at intermission.
At intermission, I complained to an usher about all the texting and facebook activity during the show. She said unfortunately, they're not allowed to stand in and monitor during the entire show. (Is this policy real?) She went on to say that she predicts this will be a common activity during this show.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#140
Posted: 6/7/14 at 10:49pmSaw it this afternoon and after hearing everyone's comments on here, I was very hesitant. There's definitely work to be done (trim the second act, tighten the actual book, cut some profanity), but I really enjoyed it. The talent was strong and the music/lyrics were powerful. There were too many deep, slow, individual songs in Act II, and it started to lag, but when everyone came back together for "California Love," it was infectious. "I Get Around/Keep Ya Head Up" was my other favorite.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#141
Posted: 6/7/14 at 11:16pmSaw this tuesday, with the little tech hiccup at the end of act one. Very excited to see this again after opening!
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#142
Posted: 6/8/14 at 3:12pm
Where do i even begin? I was at the matinee yesterday and this show is just.....BORING! The story is almost nonexistent, the staging is boring, and it could stand to have A LOT MORE choreography ADDED. This show is a flop, but not even a "its so bad its good" flop. This one just lies there for over 2 hours and nothing happens. It wasn't until Act 2 that i realized they were loosely telling a modern version of West Side Story.
The cast is all uniformly great and doing the best job they can with this dreck of a book. Tonya Pinkins is severely underused. The lyrics are hard to understand most of the time (with fast rap i don't know if they will be able to ever fix that).
The one thing that I did LOVE was the lighting. The light design was excellent! If it wasn't for that i would have left at intermission.
This is going to close faster than a drive-by shooting.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/08
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#143
Posted: 6/9/14 at 9:52am
Saw it Friday night. The first act had so much potential, I enjoyed it. I mean, it needs work but I was excited by it.
The second act...oh boy. Awful.
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#144
Posted: 6/9/14 at 10:15am
Oh, it's produced by a South Korean theater impresario. That explains that.
That explains what?
Broadway Star Joined: 5/26/07
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#145
Posted: 6/9/14 at 12:04pmFameBroadway2, how does a drive-by shooting close?
Leading Actor Joined: 7/28/07
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#146
Posted: 6/9/14 at 12:20pmDon't bother FameBroadway2 with such questions... they are just stereotyping and being glib all at once. So clever...
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#147
Posted: 6/9/14 at 12:25pm
I haven't seen the show, but maybe it's a reference to a drive-by shooting in the show?
Or, crassly, the drive-by that killed Tupac?
Seeing the show tonight. Really hoping the Tony voters have left town because based on the reaction so far, they may want a recall on that Best Director Tony they gave Kenny Leon last night.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/17/07
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#148
Posted: 6/9/14 at 12:32pm
LOL ask Leon about Hoopz haha.
"At intermission, I complained to an usher about all the texting and facebook activity during the show. She said unfortunately, they're not allowed to stand in and monitor during the entire show. (Is this policy real?) She went on to say that she predicts this will be a common activity during this show. "
I blame Kyle!
HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME Previews#149
Posted: 6/9/14 at 12:37pmBased on the pictures I have seen, it looks like this show is using remnants of the set the West Side Story had when it played the Palace a few years back.
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