How smart is the Jersey Boys website? — Page 2

442. You may think this is a personal attack, but it's not.

Your latest post SEEMS to be backpeddling. Here is your original post

"Those songs are extremely obnoxious and the show itself seems pointless and unworthy of being housed in the new August Wilson Theatre. "

Nowhere in that statement is any reference to the website making the show seem pointless and unworthy....

As for not appreciating my tone - there is none. All I am doing is stating my opinion. If you don't care for it, or don't agree with it, you are welcome to not agree or state otherwise.

You haven't proved anything as far as I am concerned other than the fact you dislike jukebox musicals and are not a fan of the four seasons.

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What's funny is that no one has threatened you. We've asked you questions which you have either not responded to or don't want to. It's your right.

You seem to have PLENTY of time to argue about the fact it shouldn't be on broadway. Why not take one of those minutes to discuss what you actually didn't like about it.

It's easy to write something off in the way you have. I know I'd personally be very interesting in knowing WHAT didn't work for you. What didn't you like. What about the book had problems. Was it the direction? Did certain performances seem off?

Anybody with a screen name can log on and write "That show sucks and has no business being on Broadway"

Doesn't make their opinion valid. If you want your opinion to be taken seriously (and I'm assuming you did since you bothered to post it here) then there's nothing wrong with people asking you to back up your criticisms.

Misdirecting the conversation won't work though.

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Craig, dear, an "in valid opinion" is an oxymoron. There is no such thing as someone's opinion being wrong or invalid.

And I never said that someone was threatening me. For ddtruitt to claim "I won't believe you because you REFUSED to answer my question" is a lie, as I never refused to answer it. I just didn't answer it, as it seemed RATHER self explanitory that I HAD seen it.

Lastly, (as I have a life and have proven my point here already)I have given perfectly good reasons why I hated this show. It's bad theatre.

Bad theatre = unoriginal, boring, lack of creativity, and lack of ability to leave the audience with something that provokes emotion or thought.

I think it's possible that we don't all have to agree on what SHOULD constitute theater, yet alone good theater, or even worthy of a Broadway House theater. Where is it written that it is necessary to be original? Unique? Inspiring? Creative? Moving? Thought provoking? Academic?

And of all those terms, how does this show not fulfill those lofty categories? I feel some may argue it does.

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And I'll never understand how some feel anything is ruining theater or Broadway. Picking a randon season 1949/1950 there were 61 shows that opened on Broadway. 57 shows closed that same season. Probably at best 20 titles are well know. Did the limited runs, early closings, less than stellar hits bring about the downfall of theater? Of course not. Everything goes in cycles. Theater is too communal an experience to ever be destroyed by any one show, season, cycle, or event. [Edit:...or people with agendas on message boards.]

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Updated On: 10/27/05 at 06:02 PM

Theater can be a million and one things. It can be thought provoking and/or it can be just a good old entertaining time. That's why theatre is called a form of entertainment. Highly subjective but certainly not one or the other. It's not mutually exclusive.

Message Boards are for discussions. Did I refute your comments - absolutely. Senior Editor or not is irrelevant. Did I mock your comments - not at all.

I would, however, advise against making blanket statements, sarcastic or not about those that don't agree with you being naive or ignorant. That holds true in life, just not on BroadwayWorld.com.

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OK, first, to get back to the original topic...YES, very smart website.

Secondly, In my opinion, I.... I enjoyed it very much, especially the performances. I did find it different then all the other Jukebox musicals, in that the songs served to accessorize the story (I think the creators thought "lets use the music to tell our story")

I DOUBT that the creators of Mamma Mia thought.... "wow what a great story... ABBA will accesorize this perfectly" LOL

But Jersey Boys worked on a story level....not just the "lets all have a dance party" feel of mamma mia!

My simple reply is this...

I never said the show "sucked". The fact that I, along with many others and still more to come, find the show uninspiring. It is a very pointless idea and is another example of how forced a piece can be when music is aimlessly attached to a cliche story.

Take from that what you wish, but I have no need to further support my opinion that the show's concept, development, and even website (oh yeah...what was the title of this thread again??) will continue to turn people away. Look at any jukebox musical, aside from something like Mama Mia which benefits from having "Abba" next to its name, and see how poor its attendence is.

Audiences are tired of adaptations and revivals. The numbers speak for themselves. These tired pieces of 'theatre' don't raise any stakes and are absolutley, dreadfully banal.

Shows that are original and have an unusually artistic side to them (Avenue Q, Spelling Bee, even Rent) attract audiences who have higher standards of entertainment and want to be challenged--not just spoon-fed the same old song and dance (pun intended). Why do you not understand this? Are you saying that creativity and artistry are not important when it comes to theatre? Is it acceptable to produce shows that bring nothing new to the table?

The above is rhetorical...just an illustration of my "point".

Updated On: 10/27/05 at 07:43 PM

I couldn't agree with you more. If the stakes of the production are raised, that's fantastic! However, revivals and adaptations that are meer replicas of their predecessors leave much to be desired and, more often than not, fail.

Good Vibrations
All Shook Up
Sweet Charity
La Cage Aux Folles
Fiddler on the Roof

The list goes on and on, from years past, present, and (unfortunatley) years to come.

No avid theatre goer wants to waste their time with a photocopy.

Latinologues has never had an audience.

Yet it continues to be produced.

Explain.

Dear 442, Your attitude, however one might describe it, has stimulated a lively exchange, which I enjoy. I find it hard to believe that you paid money and sat through an entire performance of Jersey Boys, since you dislike the very idea of such a musical being staged. You haven't said anything specific about the show. However, let's take your word for it and move on. Maybe you are a professional theater writer forced to sit through things you despise. If so, you have my pity. Anyway, I actually agree with you about the state of Broadway. It's pretty sad. It's getting to be like going to Disney World. I wish big audiences demanded more original, challenging plays. I would never compare Jersey Boys with Hamlet. All I would say is that IMHO it will probably be the best jukebox musical on Broadway once Movin' Out moves out. I realize that's a very low bar. All I'm basically saying is that if a jukebox musical is going to sell out every night, it should be Jersey Boys instead of Mamma Mia, because JB has a much more serious, interesting true story. (Exception: jukebox parents should take young children to Mamma Mia over Jersey Boys.) Broadway is by definition theater that attracts big audiences. Some jukebox musicals may succeed, and many more will fail. We may lament the proliferation of jukeboxes, Disney cartoons, tepid revivals, etc., but they don't stop the creation of original, more worthwhile theater. There is no shortage of outlets for that in New York. If you discover a really great new play Off Broadway, you don't really want to sit next to a bunch of yawning tourists, do you? Let them go to Beauty and the Beast. If an original play is capable of attracting huge audiences, it will move up and add some diversity to Broadway. It has happened many times in the past, and it will happen again in the future. Regards, Charles

Actually I liked Jersey Boys, going to see it again!

AS for a website, I think Sweet Charity has them beat. I go there every day, since they give away tickets if you visit it often enough! I already have earned 2 free tickets! Not bad for a website!

I wasn't pointing fingers, truthfully. In fact I just skimmed through most of the following posts. I was saying the general vibe in the air was that of hostility, not anyone in particular.

In any case, I hope I'll get to see Jersey Boys. It's not at the top of my list, but the buzz has certainly piqued my curiosity.

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