Is it time to revive the forgotten Broadway custom of NOT commenting on shows in previews?- Page 3

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:07pm

^ That's generally a good rule of thumb. I usually give a show 5 previews before I head over. Unless it's a show called IN MY LIFE. Then...first preview was required.

It's more of a do as I say, not as I do kinda situation we got here.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:09pm

RobbieJ you are FIERCE! Go on wit ur bad self!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:22pm

I also think that that posting here is giving your thoughts to people that specifically come to read those opinions. We're not writing letters to the editor, or accosting folks going into the theater to ruin their evening.

The very small percentage of potential audience members that is cognizant of our existence isn't going to make or break any show.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:35pm

That 25-minute moratorium on the C-word has ended.

[amoni]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:40pm

Sondheimites, can't live with them, can't shoo them away with a rolled up Playbill. If this had been anything but a Sondheim show, there would be jokes, glee and calls for abandoning the show immediately. Kiss any thought of a transfer goodbye, besides the fact Amy Adams must have seen this disaster coming and signed for a new film this fall during rehearsals. Ha.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:41pm

And just in time, it seems, Carlos!

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:42pm

Amoni,

Yes, that is true.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:47pm

Said AfterEight, smugly.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:53pm

Yay! Moratarium lifted!!!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 5:57pm

There was just a moratorium on saying it. As amoni and After Eight prove, there was never one on being it.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 6:01pm

^ Werq b!tch!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 6:04pm

The most one can do is choose not to read or participate in the threads, for the threads surely will not go away.

Also, let's please keep in mind how much is ultimately remembered about these threads, no matter how critical they get.

If the problems aren't fixed by opening, then people will say that the preview period was a harbinger.

If the problems are fixed by opening, some people may recall statements made during the rocky previews, but the quality of the frozen show is what ultimately will be remembered.

I fail to see what harm any of these discussions do, practically.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 6:53pm

Ugh. Traffic was so c*nting awful! Took forever to get home!

What was I saying?

Oh yes...no. It has nothing to do with Sondheim. It has to do with the fact that this is a free show. Done at the Delacorte, which is notorious for sound issues. For which everyone is making very little money. And for which the tech process was truncated due to the awful weather that we had last week, leaving the cast not a single opportunity to run the show in front a friendly crowd completely with all the tech elements in place. Were it CAROUSEL, I'd say the same thing. Were it FIDDLER, I'd say the same. Same for A CHORUS LINE, or any other beloved piece of musical theatre performing under those same circumstances.

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 7:02pm

Absolutely not. If you let an audience see it, they're free to comment on it. If you don't want feedback, don't let people see it. that's the whole purpose of a preview.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 7:23pm

Exactly. The creative team sees what works and what doesn't work and invites an audience to do the same.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 7:45pm

IIRC, the famous telegram, "No legs. No jokes. No chance." was sent after the first performance of OKLAHOMA! in New Haven! I don't know how widely the opinion was circulated at the time (widely enough to be captured for history), but obviously there have always been people violating PalJoey's rules. And to some extent, the more successful the creators (Rodgers, Hammerstein, Sondheim, Prince), the greater the anticipation and the greater the disappointment when a show of theirs isn't working.

That being said, I can see how Joey's suggestions would benefit all of us who love live theater. If we give a show a chance, maybe it can be fixed. And that may give us more pleasure in the long run than snarking.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 7:51pm

I actually had no idea that the majority of previews now charge full price. My experience with various regional theatres (in Canada as well as the US) is always that previews are significantly cheaper, even sometimes half price, which makes a lot more sense to me.

Gaveston, you're right--that famous critique of Oklahoma! was from the out of town try-outs... I just finished reading Tim Carter's exhaustive making of book Oklahoma!: The Making of an American Musical which quotes the full message.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 7:57pm

Re the internet, I think it combines elements of spoken and written speech. A lot of us (most of us, actually) tend to post quickly and as we speak: off the cuff. I confess I'm guilty of making quick, snarky comments about a show, statements that I would never include in a traditionally published article on the same play.

Unlike spoken speech, however, internet posts ARE written down and tend to hang around, long after the moment has passed.

This is just one more reason why PalJoey's suggestions are wise, particularly when a show is still in development.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 8:01pm

Thanks for the confirmation, Eric. I do own and have read the book, but I'm determined not to research my posts here. I'm afraid that once I start looking to confirm every statement, that's all I'll have time to do. (Actually I've made a few exceptions, but I'm keeping them rare.)

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 11:12pm

And then of course there was the seamstress who was given two opening nights tickets to Oklahoma because her boss couldn't use them.

When she went into work the next morning and her boss asked how she enjoyed the already-legendary show, she famously sniffed and replied "Seams? You call those seams?"

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 11:31pm

I agree with dramamama, but I bet the initial majority of shows that got slammed on these boards were shows that bombed or just didn't catch on and visa versa. A B&C sometimes upsets the cart but that is a rarity.
And people really get ****y when you try to take their internets away.

[ChanceEncounter]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:28am

OMG Someone else saw the first preview of In My Life? That was an experience.

Absolutely not. If you let an audience see it, they're free to comment on it. If you don't want feedback, don't let people see it. that's the whole purpose of a preview.

And THERE WE HAVE IT. If you make it available to the public the public has every right to comment on it's quality.

If you don't want negative reviews of your show, don't show the audience that have paid to be there something bad.

[theaterisdead]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:33am

We can do it, just don't announce how much something sucked on twitter where all of your peers and fans can see it

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:57am

The custom was never to not comment on a show during previews, the custom was, and for the most part still is, to not review a show during previews. The point of previews is to get people talking, hear what audiences think works, and what does not work, and to build word of mouth before it opens.
All of that being said, when you are a Broadway actor and you are commenting on your peers, you need to mind what you say. Chances are your paths may cross again, and you don't want to be stuck pulling your foot out of your mouth when the time comes.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 8:30am

Yes: It is a good idea, in theory. No: It is highly impractical. from RC in Austin, Texas