ILLINOISE Reviews — Page 7

God that was beautifully written, Auggie. <3

dramamama611 said: "I feel the same way. I think it IS the best new musical, by far - but fear it won't be recognized as such. In addition the lack of acting noms (and even the placement of Ubeda in supporting) are harbingers of that, and I think it being a limited run also harms it."

Regardless of the quality of this show, how are folks defining a musical where we're considering this one? Is Message in a Bottle at City Center also a musical (which, by the way, is excellent; I would argue better than Illinoise)? Are Matthew Bourne's works? Mark Morris's? ABT's? NYCB's? There are clearly blurred lines, but I'm struggling with how this isn't definitively dance theater. Is it the fact some of the music is sung? Plenty of narrative dance shows would never be called musicals that also have sung music.

I really wish the Tonys had a Best Entertainment category like the Oliviers. That way, we might get more shows like Illinoise/Slava's Snowshow/Cirque, etc., and we wouldn't have to shoehorn things into boxes they don't really fit.

As I've previously posted on this board, I love Illinoise. I do think it's going to have a hard time winning Best Musical for all the reason that have been discussed here. Regarding what this show is -- I have had an easier time thinking of it as musical theatre but also am comfortable saying that it's not a musical, per se.

While it's far from the prototypical musical, Illinoise is clearly a show that tells a story through music, so I think it fits. If a production of La Boheme can be nominated for Best Musical Revival, I don't think it's a stretch at all to consider Illinoise for Best Musical.

Of course Contact is an even closer parallel, but I know there's lots of controversy around that so I'll distance myself from that comparison.

I think Movin' Out is the best comparision (nominated as Best Musical) - as Contact (please correct me if I'm wrong) used previously recorded music/vocals.

IF the Tonys still had a special theatrcal event, I wouldn't be adverse to Illiniose being placed there but would still be ok if it was place in musical For me, it works fine to be categorized as a musical since it has a narrative, along with live music and singing.

(Mentioned, likely again, Illinoise is by far, my favorite musical of the seasonl.)

I also would like to make a a case about Illinoise being a musical. We have to remember that unlike ballet or dance performances that have recorded vocals or live vocals from the orchestra, Illinoise three vocalists are PART OF THE CAST. if you would check you playbills they are even have character names - Barsine, Nacna and Arctiini (named after families of moths). Even in the cast appearances these lovely talented “moths” are included (they’re the first in order) which acknowledges their presence in the story itself. So yes like a true musical - the cast is singing… but only through these three moths. Like a narrator if you will.

Someone in a Tree2 said: "So many of my absolutely favorite posters on this site have raved about ILLINOISE since its Armory shows, that my husband and Ihad no choice but to book great seats (Orch N 1, 3) for this on our whirlwind NYC trip last week. For context, we knew nothing of the score save the glimpse of it shown on the teaser clip on YouTube. And we're generally big fans of Mark Morris and Matthew Bourne's dance work.

Sorry to say... (yeah, that's all you need to read)... the show just left us so perplexed by the adoration. The music making was one of the best things to enjoy, great singers and instrumentalists, though the songs were never more thanpleasant and the lyrics were mostly unintelligible. Fine set and lighting, but 90 minutes looking at that same graffiti'd wall up center grew tedious.The first use of those handheld LED balls was lovely; the tenth time? Meh.

But all would be forgiven if the storiesmoved us. It was clear watching the early soloists that we were being shown secondary stories, treading water till the leads would take over. Without context, we got too little info to enjoy most of them, although reading the song titles on the billboard helped on some. (Thankyou, John Wayne Gacy!) The appearance of politicians' faces was the only other clue of political protest beneath the surface. The choreography started off with promise, but the reliance on repetition as a trope meant less and less could surprise us as the showwent on.

Which brings me to the truly perplexing tale of Henry and Carl. We groaned to realize this would be another gay kid in love with a straight boy story. Really? Does Carl ever indicate he loves Henry back? We learn Carl loves a girl who has her own tragic fate to endure. Eventually Carl will take his own final step in the story, urged on by 6 or 8 ... what shall we call them? Shadows ofmortality? But why?? Was Carl responsible for what happened to the girl? Guilt-ridden? We just couldn't makes sense of the story we were shown.

Glad to learn Henry grows up and finds a beautiful gay man who will love him back, but we walked out of that theater with so many questions stuck in our heads (which the playbill booklet did little to answer). And the biggest question was: how did we see such a different show than the one you all so enjoyed?"



We didn't see a different show. Many people beyond this board didn't enjoy this show and think it doesn't belong on Broadway. Its best musical nomination is so glaringly unearned, it's laughable. It's just that few people here know very well how to create a hype around a show they liked, that's all. We all are guilty of it when we want our personal favorite shows to succeed.

Jordan Catalano said: "Cool so next time you post that you like a show, we can turn around and completely discredit your opinion because “you want it to succeed”. Makes TOTAL sense."

Discrediting other people's opinions is everyone's favorite sport here, be real. Like I said, we all are guilty of being biased towards our favorite shows and will defend them till a closing notice. And that's cool. Art is subjective, we aren't affected by it the same way, and that's the way it supposed to be.

Consistency said: "“Many people beyond this board didn't enjoy this show and think it doesn't belong on Broadway”

I haven’t seen “Illinoise” yet, but that statement could apply to virtually every show that’sever had an audience of more than a few hundred people. It definitely applies to quite a few of my all-time favorites, like “Sweeney Todd” (whicha coworker once declared to be “musical torture.”)

Doesn’tmean the fans are just “hyping it” or whatever - it’s just how art works."

Illinoise is a show that belongs on a dance theater stage and not in a Broadway house. When you see it, you'll understand. It is not a musical.

If anything, Illinoise has an actual storyline so I'd say that puts it closer to the "standard" definition of a musical than other revues like Fosse or Jerome Robbins' Broadway (both of which won for Best Musical). A musical story is told through singing and dancing, and while the dancing is more in focus than other musicals, all the same elements are there.

It's fine to not like the show or say that it wasn't what you expected for a "musical", but saying that it doesn't belong on a Broadway stage just seems gatekeep-y, since Broadway has always had somewhat arbitrary definitions anyway.

gibsons2 said: "Kad said: "Broadway has been home to dance, opera, variety performance, concerts, comedy, and more since the first theater opened. Illinoise is as much home there as anything else.

Have they all been Tony nominated in the best musical category?

"

Contact and Fosse each won Best Musical. Movin' Out was nominated.

Baz Luhrman's La Boheme was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical and Joseph Papp's Pirates of Penzance won that category in the 80s.

A number of revues have been nominated and some have won, including Ain't Misbehavin'.

So, yes. There is plenty of precedent for things that aren't traditional "musical theater" being nominated and winning. The Tonys have an expansive definition of "musical."

Updated On: 5/6/24 at 05:15 PM

Someone in a Tree2 said: "So many of my absolutely favorite posters on this site have raved about ILLINOISE since its Armory shows, that my husband and Ihad no choice but to book great seats (Orch N 1, 3) for this on our whirlwind NYC trip last week. For context, we knew nothing of the score save the glimpse of it shown on the teaser clip on YouTube. And we're generally big fans of Mark Morris and Matthew Bourne's dance work.

Sorry to say... (yeah, that's all you need to read)... the show just left us so perplexed by the adoration. The music making was one of the best things to enjoy, great singers and instrumentalists, though the songs were never more thanpleasant and the lyrics were mostly unintelligible. Fine set and lighting, but 90 minutes looking at that same graffiti'd wall up center grew tedious.The first use of those handheld LED balls was lovely; the tenth time? Meh.

But all would be forgiven if the storiesmoved us. It was clear watching the early soloists that we were being shown secondary stories, treading water till the leads would take over. Without context, we got too little info to enjoy most of them, although reading the song titles on the billboard helped on some. (Thankyou, John Wayne Gacy!) The appearance of politicians' faces was the only other clue of political protest beneath the surface. The choreography started off with promise, but the reliance on repetition as a trope meant less and less could surprise us as the showwent on.

Which brings me to the truly perplexing tale of Henry and Carl. We groaned to realize this would be another gay kid in love with a straight boy story. Really? Does Carl ever indicate he loves Henry back? We learn Carl loves a girl who has her own tragic fate to endure. Eventually Carl will take his own final step in the story, urged on by 6 or 8 ... what shall we call them? Shadows ofmortality? But why?? Was Carl responsible for what happened to the girl? Guilt-ridden? We just couldn't makes sense of the story we were shown.

Glad to learn Henry grows up and finds a beautiful gayman who will love him back, but we walked out of that theater with so many questions stuck in our heads (which the playbill booklet did little to answer). And the biggest question was: how did we see such a different show than the one you all soenjoyed?

"

You’re not alone. The audience I saw this with seemed extremely restless. I don’t know if they liked it or not but speaking only for myself, I agree with every single thing that you said above.

Just got an email that tonight's performance is cancelled due to a "tragedy within the community of Illinoise". Yikes, I hope everyone is ok.