Hands on a Hardbody previews thread

Previews start today, here's a curtain picture from yesterday's dress.

I have what I'm assuming are mezz tickets for tonight (got them through my TDF membership). Can't wait to see it and hear what others think!

Went to the sneak peek at Hard Rock and liked what I heard. I see the show this Thursday.

---

Agree about "Joy" loving it! Really liked "Strong" too! Two people from the Creative team are behind me and they are happy with how it is going!

I caught the first preview tonight and I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it very, very much.

I went into the performance with a bit of hesitancy because of the subject material. The premise creates some obvious challenges for the creative team to make the show engaging and visually interesting enough when all you have to work with is a group of people who can’t remove their hands from a truck.

Also I had fears about the realistic qualities of the documentary transferring to the stage with professional actors. To paraphrase Abed, this is based on a documentary, which is like a real movie, but with ugly people. You wouldn’t want an adaptation to turn into a Christopher Guest film. The “characters” in the film are as real as you can get; how would the material be altered when the real people are swapped out for the likes of Jay Armstrong Johnson and Allison Case? Something too slick and polished would be detrimental for this material

Luckily the creative team made some wise decisions. First of all this is not a movie musical, in that they did not musicalize the documentary. This is not the group of people who competed for the truck in 1995. The competition takes place in present day and the contest is a fully-realized dramatization. It's similar to what they did with the recent Kon Tiki film. That wasn't a frame for frame remake of the documentary (what's the point?), but rather a heightened, fictionalized account of what actually transpired.

One big mistake the producers are making is not advertising the presence of Trey Anastasio on the composing team. There is a definite Phish sound to the score, and I really dug it. Not since Passing Strange have I felt such a freedom in the musicality of a score on Broadway. I was humming the final song all the way down 9th Avenue, and I can't wait to get the cast recording. Amanda Green's lyrics are appropriate, never too clever for her characters, and she must really have an affinity for Schwinn bikes because she mentions them in both the High Fidelity score and in Hardbody.

The structure of the show oddly reminded me of A Chorus Line. There's no plot to speak of- just 10 people standing by a truck (their line so to speak) and taking turns telling the audience their stories and why they should win the truck. They all "hope they get it" and we start hoping some of them win the prize over others in turn. One by one they drop until the last person is standing.

The cast is uniformly strong, and the pretty people ended up not bothering me at all, ha. This is probably Hunter Foster's best role since Urinetown. He's terrific and has a great second act number called, "God Answered My Prayers." He's sort of the Sheila of the group.

As others have mentioned Keala Settle has a showstopper in act one called, "Joy of the Lord." It is an acapella gospel number, only accompanied by Stomp-like pounding on the truck by the other contestants. As the title implies it simply joyous and the staging is inspired. I loved it and didn't want it to end.

Allison Case and Jay Armstrong Johnson had a beautiful duet in act one and developed a sweet friendship as the play moved on. Keith Carradine needed his mic turned up a bit, but he is always a welcome presence on stage. Really the whole cast did nice work.

I really didn't think this was a great idea for a musical, but the creative team proved this skeptic wrong and made me a believer. I'm excited to see this again, which will be very soon.

Another thing though- for a musical about people who have to stand up for 90 hours, why is there no fun gimmick for a standing room policy?! It would be a fun way to build a cult following for the show, and would totally be in the spirit of the story.

---

Updated On: 2/23/13 at 11:25 PM

Now I think I will be rushing this for sure next weekend. Glad to read these great reports as I have been looking forward to this since the transfer.

It could have played in the round, but they use the space well. The truck spins around and moves all over the stage, sometimes quite rapidly. The choreography around the truck is often very fun and clever.

One thing that needs some work is making sure the energy doesn't start to lag in act two. I understand the dilemma: these characters have been standing for 80 some odd hours. They wouldn't have the energy to do much of anything so naturally the score becomes more ballad heavy and some of the book scenes were slightly lethargic. I don't think it was a first preview pacing issue either; these people are sleep-deprived zombies. It would be laughable if they were bouncing off the walls, but they need to walk a fine line of making us understand their state of mind and actually being boring.

---

Updated On: 2/23/13 at 11:45 PM

Right. But isn't the show about them cutting away and whatnot? So why not cutaway to some upbeat song, etc.

Also, I'm not usually a fan of a show being 90mins, but doesn't this show kind of scream "no intermission?"

Thanks for the reviews! Now I'm looking forward to seeing this on Tuesday!

It's a respectable effort, earnest and sincere, well performed, certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Yet I can't say I was much taken with it. The problem lies with the premise itself, static and undramatic. What could be more boring or trying than spending an evening watching people holding on to a truck, other than perhaps, trying oneself to hold on to a truck. Try though it may to liven things up, the show can't overcome this basic problem.

Add to that an uninteresting country score, clichéd, routine characters and situations, and an ugly, never-changing set, and ennui sets in early on.

I thought there were two good songs, both sung by Keith Carradine. The first was an elegiac ballad, "Used to Be'" which called to mind the similarly-themed song sung by Carradine in Will Rogers Follies, "Look Around." The second was the final song.

It's always a pleasure to hear Keith Carradine sing. I'd love to hear him sing "I'm Easy" again.

That was basically a rave from After Eight. Regardless, thanks again for you phenomenal reviews, Whizzer. Funny how your reviews can get me excited about shows I otherwise had no interest in like this one.

---

I was going to say the same, broadwaydevil: those were pretty kind words from After Eight.

I will say that I wouldn't describe the music as a "country" score. Sure there is a country flavor to some of the orchestrations, but it's not really twangy or anything. Just like Phish is a mash-up of so many genres, so is the score to Hardbody. There are elements of rock, funk, soul, gospel, country and folk in both the melodies and orchestrations.

Trust me I didn't have much interest or hope for this show either, and as I texted my friends walking out of theater that I thought it was great they were all like, "Really? Cool, well I'm looking forward to next week then!"

The problem is relating the actuality of the strong show that is hiding behind the deceptively boring premise. Tell most people that they are going to see a show about 10 Texans touching a truck and singing about touching a truck and talking about touching a truck for 2 hours and 40 minutes and you'll have them running for the hills! The best way to sell the show will probably be on the strength of the score (and performances).

Maybe it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I hope it finds an audience and has a chance to run. It's not a perfect show, but there's much to admire and enjoy.

---

Updated On: 2/24/13 at 01:53 AM

Let me first say that I know and respect that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I am always amazed at how the same people on this board log on just to back-hand some lame-a$$ compliment like "a respectible effort" shrouded in ridicules, self-important perceptions and claims that it "has a boring premise."

A good creative team came together, adapted and brought a show about characters waging their future and pinning dreams on winning a truck. That's a powerful story. If all you got from it was the premise, you have zero skill at reviewing a show and taking in it's story.

I saw this at La Jolla and the characters motivations for taking part in the contest and their willl to keep their eye and "hands on" the prize was enthralling and profound. Much more so than I found the stories in Rent and the adaptation of Spring Awakening.

I don't know what the hell show you saw, but it sounds like you need to stop seeing shows all together because you're never going to be satisfied with anything you see. Ease off your need to pi$$ on a show because you fancy yourself a critic when rather it sounds like you're just being a plain old nasty b!tch.