Hairspraylasvegas.com

[StandingO]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 1:50pm

Dick Latessa is opening the show with Harvey for 12 weeks only.

[442namffug]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:11pm

Old news.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:13pm

I'm going on the record now...shows that go to Vegas in reduced form are sell-outs, period! Whatever happened to artistic integrity? The only excepton is The Phantom of the Opera, and like Joe Gillis says about "Salome" in Sunset Boulevard: "It could use a few cuts"!

[MissNY]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:16pm

Has any other casting been announced yet?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:19pm

Yeah, Debbie Reynolds as Tracy and Robert Goulet as Link.

[442namffug]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:19pm

I agree with you Fosse. These adaptations of Broadway musicals are just cheap imitations of their former selves. There is no desire to further the story or produce a new and artistic version; rather, producers intend to sell more tickets. Period. No questions ask. However, this hasn't worked so far. No one's interested in a "junk food" Hairspray or Avenue Q.
Updated On: 11/14/05 at 03:19 PM

[MissNY]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:28pm

Avenue Q has not been cut down for Vegas

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 3:37pm

"Avenue Q has not been cut down for Vegas"

No one said it did. In fact, they refused to trim the show.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:43pm

"No one's interested in a "junk food" Hairspray or Avenue Q."

Yes, someone said it was cut down, just not in those exact words.

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:45pm

Is anyone else really upset that they are cutting down Phantom and Spamalot???

I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[442namffug]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:47pm

"Yes, someone said it was cut down, just not in those exact words."

Your supposition just twisted my words completely. You have made a completely false assumption.

Tsk tsk.

Is candy (junk food) a "cut down" version of real food? Of course not.

These Vegas shows are junk food versions of Broadway productions. They are poorly re-produced and don't deliver the same "nutrition", persay, that an authentic, meaningful, and original show should do. So, too, they are being produced for audiences that have little to no interest in seeing them.

Ergo, they are crap. And they fail. And they will continue to do so.



Try to twist that around. Good luck.

Updated On: 11/14/05 at 05:47 PM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:47pm

I think Spamalot would actually be enjoyable if it was shorter. It's a short show to begin with, so making cuts shouldn't "ruin" the show too much.

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:51pm

namffug...................shut up.............were you talking to me??

if you were................they are cut down..........they take out sections.............your analgy with the food simply shows how poor intalect you have.

Tsk Tsk.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:54pm

Nasty people are not attractive...especially when they are nasty over Las Vegas productions.

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 5:55pm

lol...............sorry

Updated On: 11/14/05 at 05:55 PM

[442namffug]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 6:34pm

Any show that I have ever complained about or praised (with detail) I have seen.

If you are talking about Hairspray, I most certainly have seen it. Even though it has not yet opened in Vegas, I am "complaining" about the fact that producers are opening these "junk food" versions of successful Broadway shows. I'm not using Hairspray as a specific, obviously, but I am discussing the genre as a whole.
Updated On: 11/14/05 at 06:34 PM

[mlsheehan]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 6:40pm

"These Vegas shows are junk food versions of Broadway productions. They are poorly re-produced and don't deliver the same "nutrition", persay, that an authentic, meaningful, and original show should do. So, too, they are being produced for audiences that have little to no interest in seeing them.

Ergo, they are crap. And they fail. And they will continue to do so."

Gee, that's interesting because almost all the critics that have seen both versions of Avenue Q say that the Las Vegas version is better - better production values (set, lighting, etc.) and better theatre. Of course, no one is saying that the cast is better, just that they are as good as the Broadway cast.

So if it does "fail", it won't be because it was a "crap" production. It will fail because the producers mis-judged the Las Vegas audience. So, I will give you points for "audiences that have little to no interest in seeing them", but I really think it's more that there just isn't a big enough audience to fill the theatre (which is 50% larger than Broadway). There seem to be many people that love this show in Las Vegas. I guess it'll be a while before we know if there were enough of them.

[jaso_n]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 8:30pm

Here's the thing: People go to Vegas for more than to see productions like this. All the shopping and casinos and tours and clubs... woo. Whether Hairspray or WWRY or Avenue Q has stayed true to it's original format is a million miles away from people visiting Vegas. They just wanna be entertained for a while before going to the casinos.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 8:31pm

You can't use Avenue Q as an example, since they didn't cut any of it. I know they tweaked it, but it's not a "version" of the what's in New York, it's a second production. I think when a show is trimmed for Vegas, it has no business going to Vegas other than to sell out to The Man. No artistic integrity.

[DG]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 8:36pm

I'm intrigued by this 'artistic integrity' thing. From where I sit, if someone creates something, they can pretty much do with it what they like - and MANY people like to do this to make money while entertaining other people - hence the term 'show BUSINESS'.

Vegas provides an opportunity to take their creations, modify them to fit the existing venue - and have it entertain and make money.

I'm not sure I'm seeing where this 'artistic integrity' discussion has meaning - except as compared to some vague academic construct that has little to no bearing on the real world.

[442namffug]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 8:42pm

"Vegas provides an opportunity to take their creations, modify them to fit the existing venue - and have it entertain and make money."

Except Avenue Q is not entertaining or making money.


Explain.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 8:52pm

They wouldn't be chopping whole hours out of shows if they weren't being paid money to do it. They can always make changes to their show if they want.

[442namffug]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 9:00pm

Fosse, we are on the same page. I think.

[DG]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 9:01pm

442 - the 'not entertaining' part is opinion, and is not open for discussion or explanation. Many people find it entertaining, you do not - that's the end of that avenue - so to speak. As for the making money part, it is a gamble (pardon the pun) that enough people will be brought into the theatre, and thereby the casino, to ultimately make it worth everyone's while. I'm relatively certain that the creators are pleased, as their money is coming through pre-arranged contracts. As for the casino - I neither know nor care what their financial situation is concerning the booking.

As to my posting, I found it necessary to remove all my old posts under DGrant - which was accomplished. Originally I thought I wouldn't be posting for awhile because of that, but for a variety of reasons, I am here participating.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 9:31pm

Many people come here specifically to see shows. A good amount of them don't go to shows just to be entertained before they gamble, they come for the shows.