Harmony word-of-mouth- Page 2

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/24/23 at 12:13pm

Everyone gets to like what they like (or not). In a case like this, I prefer to analyze the show's raw materials. Here:

1. Carlyle is not a director.

2. Davenport is not a producer.

3. Manilow (and Sussman) are not writers of musical theatre scores.

To these ingredients, I add that, to the extent of my knowledge, at least some of these people are either (a) not collaborators, (b) stubborn folk who think they know more than they do, or (c) both.

If you don't get the ingredients right, the cake usually doesn't rise and/or falls apart.

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 12/24/23 at 12:32pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "Jarethan said: "Finally, while maybe not topic fatigue, something in which Nazis are part of the story still needs to be really good right now, between last season’s Leopoldstadt, and this season’s A Prayer…, and the upcoming Cabaret. The bar is very high. IMO Harmony, though well intentioned, does not meet the bar."

I think it's something broader than Nazis. If a show is thematically a downer, it's got to be excellent. Aside from Holocaust related shows, Harmony also isn't as good as other musicals with sad endings such as Hadestown and the upcoming Days of Wine and Roses.

Audiences are more forgiving of shows with a feel-good ending."

I think you are spot on. It wasn’t bad but it just didn’t stand out among the musicals currently on Broadway. I saw it during preview, enjoyed it but didn’t think it was that memorable. It’s not a musical I would recommend to friends who are occasional theatergoers to see ahead of other truly wonderful pieces. 

The biggest problem is that there just wasn’t that much hope. The tempo was evenly sad throughout. 

 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 12/29/23 at 12:03pm

Oh man, I wanted to enjoy this and the guys are working very hard, but it didn’t do it for me, and I don’t think I’d recommend it. Chip Zien was excellent, and I enjoyed most of the rest of the cast. The audience’s responses were mild, so I wasn’t alone in my opinion and based on how this is selling, it’s got a bumpy and maybe short road ahead.

For me, the problem was the resolution or the story. *SPOILER* The Harmonists all lived, yet this is told in a most dire tone. Act one ends with a dramatic - “we went back [to Germany]!” scream, so the audience is preparing for the worst during intermission. I’m not saying everyone had to die to make the story meaningful, but they faced antisemitism and then continued with their lives. I spoke to my mother and her friend to give my review after I left the show and she said, “We both thought they all died except Rabbi, no?”  It’s trying too hard to be tragic when it’s not. It was hard. It was scary. It wasn’t tragic.

[B212323]

Posted: 12/29/23 at 8:34pm

Jarethan said: "So, in answer to the original question, the show is NOT getting great word of mouth because it is a downer that is not good enough to compensate for that; the production looks cheap; the score is not a quality Broadway score, it doesn’t really earn its ability to make some people feel sad at the end…the basic subject accounts for that.

…and it it going to look worse when Cabaret opens."

It's not going to be open when Cabaret starts previews unless the box office quadruples this week and I don't think that's happening. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/29/23 at 9:35pm

Got two different email blasts from HARMONY this week, tied to past attendance at Parade and Leopoldstadt, featuring historical background on the Comedian Harmonists + tacky TripAdvisor reviews. With the not-subtle subject lines "If you loved "Parade", we think you'll love this new musical!" and "Why we need to tell more Jewish stories on Broadway." Interestingly, no mention of Manilow or Sussman in either email.

Ken Davenport also claimed on his blog today that there are only 3 shows on Broadway right now featuring Jewish characters (Harmony, Neil Diamond in A Beautiful Noise, and one character in Appropriate), which going by a quick glance at IBDB is categorically false...Prayer For The French Republic, Spamalot, and various "subtextually Jewish" characters in shows like Merrily (you're trying to tell me Charley Kringas is a goy?) and Gutenberg.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/29/23 at 11:21pm

Sounds like desperation…’go if you are Jewish’.  Why don’t these people just accept that they have a flop and close, so the very in demand theatre can book something else.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 12/30/23 at 12:08pm

DramaTeach said: "Oh man, I wanted to enjoy this and the guys are working very hard, but it didn’t do it for me, and I don’t think I’d recommend it. Chip Zien was excellent, and I enjoyed most of the rest of the cast. The audience’s responses were mild, so I wasn’t alone in my opinion and based on how this is selling, it’s got a bumpy and maybe short road ahead.

For me, the problem was the resolution or the story. *SPOILER* The Harmonists all lived, yet this is told in a most dire tone. Act one ends with a dramatic - “we went back [to Germany]!” scream, so the audience is preparing for the worst during intermission. I’m not saying everyone had to die to make the story meaningful, but they faced antisemitism and then continued with their lives. I spoke to my mother and her friend to give my review after I left the show and she said, “We both thought they all died except Rabbi, no?” It’s trying too hard to be tragic when it’s not. It was hard. It was scary. It wasn’t tragic."

That was exactly the problem I had with it! The whole show has this foreboding tone that something horrible is going to happen to them, it’s told in flashback by what appears to be the one surviving member, and people kept saying the show is so sad and everyone was in tears so I was expecting the second act to say how they were killed, but then they all… just live out their lives? Obviously, good they weren’t actually killed but dramatically that made the story seem flat.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/30/23 at 12:43pm

Jarethan said: "Sounds like desperation…’go if you are Jewish’. Why don’t these people just accept that they have a flop and close, so the very in demand theatre can book something else."

To give everyone the benefit of the doubt, letting HARMONY (or OHIO or any other struggling show) attempt to find an audience in their first 2 months isn't a bad thing, even if the attempts are badly executed.

I also know of two spring musicals in dire financial situations in terms of money raised, and Shubert might not feel that adding another new musical to that ecosystem is beneficial.

There may also be an end in sight that just hasn't been announced to the public yet. If the Shuberts want to get a spring show into the Barrymore (or Belasco), the current tenants could conceivably stick around till mid Feb if money allows.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/30/23 at 1:22pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "I also know of two spring musicals in direfinancial situations in terms of money raised, andShubert might not feel that adding another new musical to that ecosystem."

Isn’t every new musical this spring in a dire financial situation? 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/30/23 at 1:25pm

I imagine that both Harmony and Ohio have fallen below their nut at least twice.  So, if a sure thing was waiting in the wings, they'll get the theater.

 

Ermengarde - is one of those shows Suffs?  (I only ask since we have yet to hear about casting!)

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 1/2/24 at 6:44pm

https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/18x3tx2/zal_owen_from_harmony_with_message_on_ig/

Zal Owen urging audiences to see Harmony lest it close before then

[Kad]

Posted: 1/2/24 at 7:15pm

I've seen two of the other guys post similar sentiments on their social  media, as well.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 1/2/24 at 7:25pm

Another show that refuses to die with dignity. David Merrick had more flops than most producers. I wonder if he made his actors beg at the automat for their friends to buy tickets. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 1/2/24 at 8:37pm

Kad said: "I've seen two of the other guys post similar sentiments on their social media, as well."

i guess they heard from their agents that the show will be posting a closing notice

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/2/24 at 10:02pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "Another show that refuses to die with dignity. David Merrick had more flops than most producers. I wonder if he made his actors beg at the automat for their friends to buy tickets."

I will never understand the logic of letting a show run week after week hemorrhaging money…in hopes of what?

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 1:10am

Jarethan said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Another show that refuses to die with dignity. David Merrick had more flops than most producers. I wonder if he made his actors beg at the automat for their friends to buy tickets."

I will never understand the logic of letting a show run week after week hemorrhaging money…in hopes of what?" 

Julie Benko's last Broadway show is a good example of the what. She did a great job in Funny Girl but the show sold poorly until Lea Michele took over the part. Obviously, Michele is not joining Harmony to play an underwritten supporting character, but I get the desire to try holding on and searching for a tweak that will turn things around. 

[Sebastian]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 1:59am

"but I get the desire to try holding on and searching for a tweak that will turn things around."

I think someone mentioned it in a grosses thread but that tweak may be letting Manilow himself play Old Rabbi for a few weeks, lol.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 5:07am

Sebastian said: "I think someone mentioned it in a grosses thread but that tweak may be letting Manilow himself play Old Rabbi for a few weeks, lol."

 

"Hey Chip, most people think you're the best part of the show but business is business so hit the bricks, my dude."

It may squeeze a few more weeks out of it but if it didn't work for Sting, it's probably not going to work here.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 7:18am

Sebastian said: ""but I get the desire to try holding on and searching for a tweak that will turn things around."

I think someone mentioned it in a grosses thread but that tweak may be letting Manilow himself play Old Rabbi for a few weeks, lol."

I said that as a joke a few weeks ago. Looking at the numbers now, they probably should have tried seriously doing it. But even as much as he loves his show and wants it to work, he probably REALLY doesn’t want to learn lines and show up 8 times a week. 

[inception]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 9:23am

Re Manilow: he looks so fragile in his recent TV appearances like the Rockefeller Center tree lighting, so  I was surprised to see he has Las Vegas shows scheduled through the end of the year.  

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 10:43am

The only thing Barry can do in the show is be the piano player at the top of Act Two

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 10:49am

Sebastian said: "I think someone mentioned it in a grosses thread but that tweak may be letting Manilow himself play Old Rabbi for a few weeks, lol."

Add "rabbi emeritus" for Manilow to play, who is an even older version of the same character. The Cher Show had 3 different actors playing the same character, maybe it could make narrative sense.     

[Ensemble1686998462]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 11:05am

DramaTeach said: "Oh man, I wanted to enjoy this and the guys are working very hard, but it didn’t do it for me, and I don’t think I’d recommend it. Chip Zien was excellent, and I enjoyed most of the rest of the cast. The audience’s responses were mild, so I wasn’t alone in my opinion and based on how this is selling, it’s got a bumpy and maybe short road ahead.

For me, the problem was the resolution or the story. *SPOILER* The Harmonists all lived, yet this is told in a most dire tone. Act one ends with a dramatic - “we went back [to Germany]!” scream, so the audience is preparing for the worst during intermission. I’m not saying everyone had to die to make the story meaningful, but they faced antisemitism and then continued with their lives. I spoke to my mother and her friend to give my review after I left the show and she said, “We both thought they all died except Rabbi, no?” It’s trying too hard to be tragic when it’s not. It was hard. It was scary. It wasn’t tragic."

The show has been around for over 25 years. Anyone familiar with the show's history know if this has always been an issue with the story? Or is it some unintentional fault that happened after many rewrites over the years?  

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 1:43pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "Jarethan said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Another show that refuses to die with dignity. David Merrick had more flops than most producers. I wonder if he made his actors beg at the automat for their friends to buy tickets."

I will never understand the logic of letting a show run week after week hemorrhaging money…in hopes of what?"

Julie Benko's last Broadway show is a good example of the what. She did a great job in Funny Girl but the show sold poorly until Lea Michele took over the part. Obviously, Michele is not joining Harmony to play an underwritten supporting character, but I get the desire to try holding on and searching for a tweak that will turn things around."

I do say this kiddingly.  Maybe they can get Neil Diamond to take over as older Rabbi and, say, Timothee Chamalet as young rabbi.  The problem, of course, is that -- as flawed as FG the musical is -- it still had that great music, that great central role of Fanny Brice, periodically funny schtick, and fond memories of the movie going for it when LM was finally announced. 

Diamond and Chamalet would still have nothing to work with.  Bad score, bad script, cheating script.  (I say this mostly kiddingly: there was still one character who died; even that didn't feel tragic for me, however, because she never felt like a flesh and blood character...she felt like a type that has appeared in countless movies: the one who wants to fight back).

That is what the producers don't see...they don't have anything that will change much with just a tweak.

I still believe that the story of the Harmonists could make a great limited series, with the correct creatives assigned.  Because of the number of characters it is asking us to care about as individuals, it needs some dedicated time to know each character.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 1/3/24 at 2:08pm

Jarethan said: "I do say this kiddingly. Maybe they can get Neil Diamond to take over as older Rabbi and, say, Timothee Chamalet as young rabbi. The problem, of course, is that -- as flawed as FG the musical is -- it still had that great music, that great central role of Fanny Brice, periodically funny schtick, and fond memories of the movie going for it when LM was finally announced."

Putting aside Diamond's declining health (he may never perform in public again), it would be incredibly funny if he decided to star in Harmony while A Beautiful Noise, with a character literally named "Neil Diamond (Now)" is still running on Broadway.   

It would be Ken Davenport hitting the lottery and getting screwed over at the exact same time.