In Dreams in Toronto

[forfivemoreminutes]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 7:38pm

Has anyone seen In Dreams yet? If so, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the show!

[Badwolf145]

Posted: 10/2/23 at 1:46am

I was at the first preview. I was looking forward to it since I really liked &Juliet and was excited to see Lena Hall, but the show itself ended up being pretty dreadful. I found very few of the jokes funny, the characters all felt like thin caricatures, and the emotional core never really resonated with me. 

The high points were definitely the cast and the songs. They all performed the music very well, though the songs were nowhere near as well integrated into the plot as in &Juliet. The set was nice, but pretty simple. Basically the entire show takes place in one location. 

The problems came with all the parts in between the songs. The story is a downer, and while they tried to lighten it with jokes, most of them just came off as cringey. or oddly mean. And the writing quality was just bad, nowhere near up to handling the themes the show wanted to explore. So that combined with a lack of any of the spectacle &Juliet has- no dancing, no elaborate costumes, no big set pieces- made for a very long boring night. 

To be fair I'm much younger than the target demographic, but based on the chatter I heard as we all left the theatre, I think many other people felt the same way I did. I only paid $25 for the ticket so I was happy enough just having seen the cast perform, but I would have been annoyed if I had paid full price. I have no idea how this got so well reviewed on the West End. 

[rjnyyz]

Posted: 10/3/23 at 12:18pm

& Juliet was one of my favorite new shows to come around in a while, and In Dreams sadly is not.

I appreciate the creative team trying something a little different. Hearing the classic songs of Roy Orbison (& the Traveling Wilbury's) is definitely the highlight and reason to see the show.  

I have to give props to the cast, they seem to be enjoying themselves and giving their full effort. And of course Lena singing is always going to be a treat.

The show does have everything--humor, dramatic arc, romance, lessons learned etc.  But somehow it feels like a planned formula and is missing that lightning in a bottle type of spark that the best shows have.  

I feel like with some edits and changes to some of the arrangements of the songs it could be more energetic and enjoyable. Very curious to see what becomes of this show after its run here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Musigamist]

Posted: 10/8/23 at 11:21pm

Saw this yesterday, and while I enjoyed it, this show definitely needs some work. The performances are all great (as expected) and the songs actually fit the plot's goal quite well. The weak points rest primarily on the book; the first 45 minutes feel like an argument of why this show's concept (celebration of life of a living person at a Mexican restaurant) should exist, and outside of Lena Hall's and Oliver Tompsett's characters, most of the others' content ranges from "poorly written" to "why do they exist in this story?" The show also seems to be slightly stuck tonally—it needs to be Come From Away or Kimberly Akimbo-esque but currently just flip-flops between sorrowful and campy. The show is trying to address the theme of life's quick pace and death in a real-life way to encourage the audience to live and love those around them now, but that's approach isn't consistently driving the action

The show is by no means bad, it's actually pretty decent—not great, though. From about the 45-50 minute mark and onward, the material is pretty strong and has it all—laughs, tears, suspense—but that first bit just pulls the show down. With some edits to the supporting characters primarily, this could be a great show, and have a big future. One of the features of &Juliet is that the characters feel real, with real problems and solutions that transpire on stage; In Dreams doesn't really have that, instead it's just a jukebox retelling of Dear Evan Hansen where the protagonist actually gets to keep what she wants.

[jvoom]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 12:24am

Caught this recently in Toronto. I think I admired it more than I enjoyed it. Firstly, I am glad this isn't another paint-by-numbers biographical jukebox musical - I'm so glad that the creators made a real attempt at creating an original story. 

I went in knowing next to nothing so this may well be common knowledge but, to give an idea as to the premise of the show ... Lena Hall plays Kenna, a musician who, recently diagnosed with cancer, escapes to a family run Mexican restaurant which also happens to specialise in memorial services. She starts planning her own with the help of the family (a grandmother, her grandson and his wife) and her former band who, more recently, she had practically no contact with.

Tonally, it's all over the place. I can't see a world in which it would ever happen but I almost wish the producers would spend some time perfecting the story and characters, ditch the Roy Orbison, and give the show either an original score, or even use another artists catalogue. The Orbison tunes work well sometimes - they fit with the New Mexican/Americana/country and western vibe the show is clearly going for. But other times, the shift in tone is jarring.

 

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In one scene for example - the grandson (whose wife worries about his frequent late night walks and inability to confide in her) stares at the stars, speaking to his deceased mother about how much he misses her, how he is physically hurting etc. It's a genuinely beautiful moment that is almost immediately spoiled when the character begins to sing "In Dreams". It's a lovely song, it has beautiful lyrics - but the melody shifts the tone completely.

In a weird way, the show reminded me slightly of the "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" musical in terms of tone. There are some really profound/serious moments that never quite live up to their potential because they're spoiled by the need to shoehorn in a song - as is often the case with a jukebox musical. 

Also, as harsh as this may sound, I would be shocked if "In Dreams" were to move to Broadway without significant cast changes. I get it, it can be difficult for someone to shine in a role that's poorly written but oftentimes, it's the performances that carry a jukebox show. Besides a beautiful rendition of "Crying" by Lena Hall, no other performance blew me away. For a show that's as cliche as "In Dreams", the performances have to be absolute knockouts to compensate.

Given that it's the same creative team, I'm finding it hard not to compare it to "& Juliet". "In Dreams" is ultimately a much less "flashy" show - there are no big dance numbers, no pyrotechnics, the set is the same throughout (nearly) the entire show. Still, I am interested to see what the future has in store for this show.

 

Updated On: 10/26/23 at 12:24 AM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 2:51am

Initially was interested due to Lena’s involvement. Then I heard a radio spot which aired a clip of “I Drove All Night” sounding like some twangy mess. No urgency at all to that classic song. I knew instantly that I had no interest and this was gonna be a dud.