High Fidelity Recording/3 Show Review: Evil Dead/Spring Aw/High Fidelity

[RentHead2]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 7:20am

A little backlog: I woke up at 4:15 in the morning, drove 3 hours into NYC with my tickets in hand for High Fidelity and Evil Dead: The Musical, and had intentions of rushing Spring Awakening. I dropped my friend off at the stagedoor 3 hours prior to the box office opening for Spring Awakening (we were the first in line).

First off: High Fidelity 2:00 showing - This show is fantastic, let me say it again...fantastic and it's a shame that shows like Lestat/Tarzan can have longer runs than this especially since the music is so good. I actually remember the songs getting out of the theatre: Number 5 with a bullet, Top 5 Breakups, Last Real Record Store On Earth, Im Sorry....now the good news. SK-BOOM records IS definitly recording this score. No doubt about it: I gave them my credit card number and they said it will not be like LESTAT, it will definitly come out! Also - Amanda Greene, who created the score (I believe) was at this performance! It's very sad this one is closing, but great performance and they couldn't be sweeter at stagedoor.

Spring Awakening: 8:00 showing - I went into this one with high hopes and was let down hard. When I got in the theatre, I noticed the set resembled RENT in it's simplicity and I was already starting the "trying to be like Rent" theme in my head. And although the cast was outstanding (and the main lead was a HUGE SPITTER - believe it was Gallager haha people in the first row were ducking from the spit) and the songs were great - I did not like this show one bit. They were trying way to hard to Push the envelope. It seemed at times they were throwing events in there for shock value. It seemed to me like Rent w/o aids and they added some nudity for shock value. I really thought the storyline was difficult to understand considering the audience they were trying to reach and apparently I wasn't alone. I heard at least 10 other people with the WTF was that comment? I was very dissapointed in this one!

Evil Dead: The Musical: 11 pm showing - This was a WTF Was That, in a good way. I loved loved loved this one. It was so much fun and the crowd was really into it. The actors just absorbed the vibe off the crowd and really made buying a ticket worthwhile. This is a great one for the boys who are obsessed w/ horror flicks!!

[ashley0139]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 10:40am

Amanda Green wrote the lyrics to High Fidelity. Tom Kitt wrote the score. Glad you liked the show, I loved it as well.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 10:44am

for of all, your SN makes it clear that you will think any rock/pop show with a unit set is 'trying to be RENT'. second of all, what envelope? It is based on a play from 1890.. and it has been somewhat toned down for the musical even!

[joniray]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:02am

Yeah, there wasn't any theme or topic that wasn’t in the original 1890's play, so what you think is them trying to "push the envelope" was the writers being faithful to the original over 100 year old source material. (Actually, some have complained that they didn't push the envelope as much as the original play.)

I'm sorry, but I just don't see how this piece is anything like Rent (which I’ve been a humongous fan of since day one). This is like Rent without AIDS? How? Because it has a guitar, drums and synth in the arrangements? That is honestly the only thing I see that these two pieces have in common. So what is it that made it like Rent to you? What character? What song? What 19th century costume? What lighting design or scenic element? I honestly don't see them being even remotely alike.

Updated On: 12/18/06 at 11:02 AM

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:11am

I'm with bg2 and joniray. I also don't understand the many comparisons people are making between Spring Awakening and Rent. They are two completely different pieces. The only aspect I can see being similar is the fan base, but time will tell on that one.

[Pinky]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:47am

RentHead2....I told you that you wouldn't like Spring Awakening. Don't call me about it till after Tuesday because I have finals.

But, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your other shows!!! 2 out of 3 isn't bad!!!!

[RentHead2]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 12:00pm

pinky aka Steph...you were so right and from now on I am taking your recomendations! I didn't like it at all, and the themes they picked were the typical lets push the envelope and see how uncomfortable we can make the audience. Again, just an opinion but not for me at all.

It was like Rent in many ways. Let me start with the set that does not change. The musicians up on stage, or even the lighting action that was going on. A member of this show dies and comes back for the last song. The show itself, had some good songs, but overall I didn't care for it and will not be seeing it again. Unlike Drowsy Chaperone, where I didn't care for it at first and then it grew on me....this one will not be one of those.

How do you like that review Steph - ps: what do you think of my Grey Gardens Pic? Hotness! I got a picture with different cast members from High Fidelity: both leads. YES!! I successfully stalked at stage door: I rule.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 12:17pm

May I dance on your grave?

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 12:24pm

Jonathan Groff was the spitter. And too bad you didn't like the show. I didn't think it was like Rent at all.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 12:37pm

oh yes, every rock show with a unit set, visible musicians and dead characters is "Rent" imitation.. yes. REALLY now.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 12:53pm

I love how people keep saying that SA is just shocking and nothing else. The fact that the themes in the show shock you is exactly the point. Why do they shock you? Should they shock you? Maybe you should think about that and think about what the show is actually trying to say.
In my opinion, that's why there is audience on the stage, so you can see that they are uncomfortable...they're being forced to watch these things our society never talks about and the reaction is anywhere from disgust to laughter.

I love this show.

[notabb]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 1:10pm

I agree with the orginal poster. SPRING is o.k. but nothing great. I didn't see anything revolutionary on the stage Sunday night.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 1:13pm

So I guess Movin' Out was like RENT, huh? Unit set, band on stage, rock music...what a f---ing rip off of Rent!

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 1:22pm

Well first off, I see the screen name RentHead2! It seems that there is automatically going to be comparisons! A number of shows have had the band onstage. I have seen a number of shows with unit sets. Makes me think that RentHead doesn't see a heck of a lot of theatre. (I could be wrong) RentHead, did you not read the posts that "They" are not pushing an envelope or trying to shock us but they are being faithful to the original play? If you could not follow the storyline, I am thinking that it is because that thought you had in your head about it "trying to be like RENT" was in your head the whole time. The storyline is very easy to follow! Had you paid attention, you would have found that the storylines are not the same. The characters in RENT are pretty much down on their luck, so to speak, and in a sort of survival mode but making the best of it and trying to move on to better things. The characters in SA are just discovering themselves and are naive. They take place in different places and times and under different circumstances. And I don't remember neon lights all over the theatre in RENT. (I have only seen RENT on tour but I haven't heard about lighting all over the theatre in the Nedelander.) I admit that at the beginning Spring Awakening RENT ran through my mind but was quickly gone......

cause everything...is not RENT!

JMO

Updated On: 12/18/06 at 01:22 PM

[joniray]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 1:24pm

Anyone who hasn’t seen the show, please don’t read this post. It's full of spoilers.

RentHead2, you are talking in awfully general terms here. The elements that you listed are found in many shows from over the years and are not what define those elements in "Rent." Unit set? Been around since the beginning of theatre. A character coming back from the dead for the final song? You mean like in "Carousel," "Falsettos," "Passion" - there's a whole stage full of dead characters at the end of "Les Miz." Orchestra/band on the stage? Why do you think "Spring Awakening" was copying "Rent" instead of "Chicago," "Wonderful Town," or "Cabaret"?

You are completely writing off the creativity of the writers and design teams of both those shows if you ignore the specifics - that is what makes a piece unique. When you think of the set of "Rent" and "Spring Awakening," you just think of it as "a set that doesn't change?" I think of the set of "Rent" and I picture a warehouse with a bare back wall, a catwalk, a wardrobe rack, a large Chinese lantern thing, a couple of steel tables platforms/scaffolding and a trash can. I think of "Spring Awakening's" set and a sort of desecrated church with a chair suspended high above the stage, strange bric-brak on the walls, a platform that rises up on ropes and swings, audience members bracketing the action, a giant bare tree painted beneath their feet.

You think of the ending of "Rent" and "Spring Awakening" simply as "a a member of this show dies and comes back for the last song?" In "Rent," I see a lower-east side drag queen that tragically died of AIDS standing side by side in spirit with his friends as an inspiration for others to live each day as if it were there last. In "Spring Awakening," I see a German school boy living is a fascist society who committed suicide over his despair at failing in school compounded by his internal struggle with his changing hormones, and a girl who died from an abortion rising up out of their graves in a cemetery to encourage a rebellious teenager not to join them in death. These characters, the setting, the situation - they are nothing alike. I just don't see how you can insinuate one is a rip off of another. Was the ending of "Rent" a rip-off of "Passion?"

[jaybrrd]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 1:35pm

Onstage band? Rock n' Roll music?

Rent is such a BLANTANT RIP OFF of Smokey Joe's Cafe. I don't understand why ANYONE likes it.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 2:16pm

and was the revival of cabaret like rent too? DAMN this rip of designers

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 2:19pm

hahahahaha. Thank you. You have NO idea how much I have needed the laughter that this thread is getting me. Amen to those you with the time and patience to post these extended replies.

[luvliza89]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 2:25pm

"Let me start with the set that does not change."

That's the silliest comparision ever. There are many, many shows that use unit sets. Are you kidding me with this one?

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 3:10pm

And let's not forget the dead people who come back for the final song in Sweeney Todd!

[C is for Company]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 3:11pm

Boy that Sweeney Todd revival sure did suck, damn onstage musicians and lack of set movement! Completely saw where that one was coming from the moment I walked into the theater.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 3:20pm

I know! I was so like..."This is so gonna be like RENT"! With blood!

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 3:54pm

Some people are just so quick to make ignorant judgements about a show they clearly didn't understand. Glad everyone has taken the time to post these responses, which unfortunately have no doubt fallen on deaf ears.

The only way Rent and Spring Awakening are in any way similar is that they are both "rock" musicals. For me, that is where the similarities ended.

[RentHead2]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 4:06pm

Okay let me begin to defend myself for my opinions:

Whether or not I compare a show to RENT is my business: bottom line is I didn't like it. The storyline was very blah, and not for me and apparently, at least 10 people agreed with me as we were discussing it on our way out of the theatre. So before you all jump on my opinions, let me tell you many others share mine.

As I have stated before, I named myself RENTHEAD on here simply because that was the show that introduced me to broadway. God forbid, my name reflects the first show I ever saw. By no means is it my favorite show, but it brought me into the theatre world 10 years ago. Also, I saw a post on here that stated that I don't see many broadway shows: in this month alone I have seen 7 different shows. The year, well I have lost count. I see everything except for the DISNEY productions, just not my thing.

I appreciate all of you for knocking down my opinions. Just saying I DIDN'T LIKE IT, AND I WON'T BE GOING BACK FOR SECOND HELPINGS! Bottom Line. Muah!

[joniray]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 4:08pm

And - OMG you guys! That Sweeney Todd dude totally played acoustic guitar in the rival, so SA actually ripped it's sound off from "Sweeney Todd"...I mean "Rent"...I mean "Assassins"...I mean...