How the heck did GLORY DAYS make it onto Broadway?!

[ruthyt]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 3:11am

Mr. Bleamire and Mr. Gardiner must either have powerful friends or very rich parents...because no where in my right mind can I understand how this show ever made it to broadway. I am used to a quality when I spend 100 on a ticket for a broadway show. Even if it doesnt have spectacle, I want polish.

Point blank the show is all-around amateurish. The set is non-existent and looks like they pulled it off of the street when SPELLING BEE closed and threw its stuff out. The lighting and costumes are so plain that I wonder if they even hired a designer for either of them. But the worst offenders are the lyrics and the direction. There is nothing worse then knowing that the lyricist didn't know what to write for a phrase of music. Several times I cringed over an awful rhyme or a topical reference that had nothing to do with the progression of the song. There is also only so much left and right and up and down movement that you can take. By the end of the show I wanted someone to fall just to break up the monotony of the awful blocking they had. I mean what kind of direction did he give them? Oh and the 'surprisingly moving' thing that everyone keeps talking about is nothing more than one of the friends coming out, and the aftermath and reconciliation of the event. It's 2008, and thats not really shocking anymore. I don't care at all that one of the characters is gay. So what?

The music was not that bad, but it also wasn't that good. It all kinda sounded the same and I actually had to ask myself towards the end of the show if I was hearing a reprise of an earlier song. It's all the same chord progression and the same rhythm but just in different keys. The harmonies were tight and sounded great at first, but you can tell that bleamire is a fan of boy bands because that's the harmony sound he tried to emulate. Unfortunately this vocal style doesn't necessarily fit his overall style of music. Honestly, and I may be way way off base here, but it kinda sounds like one person wrote the vocal arrangements and melody, and another wrote the underscoring, because several places they just consistently didn't mesh.

The actors were all forgettable with little charisma or charm. No one really outstanding or showstopping. They did their best with what the material and direction gave them, so it's not really their fault. I don't feel I can truly judge the actors overall because they definitely were not utilizing 100% of what they are capable of. I could tell they were holding back as performers--not quite sure of what to do and if it was right or wrong--again a directorial issue. Andrew Call was the exception though and made an absolute fool of himself on stage. His character was so overbearing it made my head hurt.

I kinda had high hopes when I heard that a few 23 year olds were bucking the trend and had a show coming in. We need things that are fresh and new and exhilarating. Unfortunately we also need some quality control here. GLORY DAYS might have passed for an off (off) broadway show, or even a concert or something, but never in my 20 years of seeing broadway theatre have I ever seen anything like this on the great white way.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 3:15am

Disaster.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 8:48am

I don't understand why everyone seems to ask how this and cry-baby and anything they don't like "made it" to broadway. All it takes is a small group of people willing to invest money and an empty theater.

There's no entrance exam.

[osage08]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 8:51am

I'm sorry you weren't pleased with the show but could you put a spoiler alert next time?

[tazber]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 8:55am

How did this entire musical season make it to Broadway?

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 9:21am

I totally agree with your sentiments about the score, it was just okay. After the show one of the people I saw it with said he zoned out during one of Will's songs and then had to shake himself to realize he was still watching the show.

And the only thing I can say about the costumes, is best summed up by Adam Sandler "Red hooooooded sweaaaaaaaaaat shirt . . . "

[MenzelManiac]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 9:24am

Excellent point Taz. With the exception of In The Heights and Xanadu, I felt really let down by a lot of the shows this season.

Little Mermaid? Disappointment.

Cry Baby? Yikes.

Young Frankenstein? Poor thing.

Catered Affair? Boring.

Gypsy/South Pacific? Pleasantly surprised.

--------

Next season? Shrek (Tesori's coming of age story about a poor ogre growing up in a poverty-stricken town, trying to pay the bills), Tale of Two Cities (zzzzzzzzzzz), etc.

The only thing I'm really looking forward to is Billy Elliot.
Updated On: 4/25/08 at 09:24 AM

[JRybka]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 9:45am

yeah add a spoiler to it... thanks so much .

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 9:55am

Here's a spoiler for all of you.

The show is boring and terrible!

[BenKaye]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 10:39am

MenzelManiac, you forgot the incredible Passing Strange.

Yes, only 12 musical opened this season, with only about half of them being any good. At least we got that half.

Better luck next season.

[MenzelManiac]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 10:44am

See, I couldn't stand Passing Strange, but a LOT of people who saw it LOVED it, so I chalked that one up to me just not getting it.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 11:12am

What is the "spoiler" you are concerned about? That one of the characters is gay? BFD. If that is the big, shocking secret this show deserves to close fast.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 11:31am

Wasnt that mentioned in about EVERY review?

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 11:57am

the thread title says all.

we know the answer though... money, money, money!

the general sense is that the NY Critics will really have trouble accepting this show. bland stereotypes, a weak score, and a predictable book filed with fluff and inconsistency.

[tazber]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 12:21pm

Here's a spoiler for all of you.

The show is boring and terrible!

LOL!!

Regarding spoilers:

When you see a long post that starts out like a review and the thread title clearly indicates it will be negative, you may want to consider not reading.
And really, do spoilers ruin a show? Is the music not as catchy, the dancing not as energetic, the acting not as passionate b/c you know the end? Bway is not a medium that thrives on surprise endings.

[sleepyguy1717]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 1:47pm

I think its a show that had potential but was rushed so soon. Which is stupid. Because now that they realize that work needs to be done to get it even CLOSE to where it needs to be, they don't have enough time really. Shame too. Maybe its just my eye, but I think there is a lot of stuff that could have been done with it.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 1:54pm

I entirely agree, sleepyguy.

[Brick]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 1:58pm

Two words: Spring Awakening.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 2:03pm

I agree with everything said except for the costumes. They're SUBTLE and "everyday", but actually quite good.

*Spoilers*

Andy, the one who supposedly "changed the most" has a frat-boy ish A&F tshirt that says "freshman, The older I get the more they stay the same" or something to that effect.
Jack, who dropped out of school's shirt says "optimus prime says stay in school.
Skip is wearing very hollister/surfer/prep wear. Making a comment about the "yuppies" he goes to school with and how he's changed and is blending in.
and Will is very bland on purpose. He hasn't changed so he still wears the same old boring thing he wore a year ago.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 2:10pm

Glory Days, for all its faults (and there are many), is one of my favorite shows of the season for the pure reason that I've been able to have several long discussions and arguments about it with my friends - opposed to the other shows, which elicit an "eh".

For example, I entirely disagree that Andy's the one who's "changed the most" - if anything, I say the main conflict of the piece is his resistance to accept the changes. Which still makes his t-shirt perfect (even if he is a freshman).

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 2:12pm

Just a question: I saw the curtain call pictures for last night's CRY-BABY opening, and was surprised to see Nick Blaemire still in the cast. Shouldn't he be watching his show every night to see if changes need to be made?

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 2:15pm

Nick isn't taking a leave of absence from Cry Baby (though I assume he'll miss a few shows, and be able to make it to the sunday night/monday night performances of Glory Days). Which is a shame, there are a couple of songs that could use some re-tooling, it would make such a difference.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 2:21pm

I was just referring to a couple of moments in the script where they say things like "Andy has changed." i'm paraphrasing because i can't remember exact wordings, but I remember Will saying it two or three times.

That doesn't really matter, I was just defending the costumes, not the actual show.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 2:57pm

I saw First Preview, and have tried to keep my mouth shut for a while, letting other people form their opinions. But now that more of my friends have seen it, I'll share my brief thoughts:

GLORY DAYS is like a premature ejaculation. It's fun for about 2 minutes and full of boyishness, but loses all feeling very quickly and embarrassingly "came" to Broadway too soon, when it wasn't ready.
Updated On: 4/25/08 at 02:57 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 3:01pm

GLORY DAYS is like a "premature ejaculation." It's fun for about 2 minutes and full of boyishness, but loses all feeling very quickly and embarrassingly "came" to Broadway too soon, when it wasn't ready.