Is there life after Castcom?

the castcom era has ended. some very touching and hopeful goodbyes from the cast and crew.

I didn't get to see the Pirate Queen, but was quite a keen castcom viewer.

as many flaws as the show might have had, castcom was a unique, personal and informative (if over censured at times) entertainment.

a few thoughts:
-has anyone else (fan/basher) watched it quite regularly?

-do you think DAILY video blogs will be happening anytime soon again?

-do you think overexposure to the ins-and-outs of this somewhat-flawed show to the most criticising audience (ie. broadway musical fans and BBW people) hampered the show's chances of success?

---

In retrospect it's surprising Pirate Queen lasted as long as it did, given the universally negative reviews it received. My impression is that producers Doherty and McColgan thought Castcom was a big success. When Castcom first began we were told it would take us from the first rehearsal to opening night, but of course it was extended all the way to closing night.

For a while Castcom seemed to be the Pirate Queen's counter-argument to the negative notices, with one clip after another showing audience members gushing about how much they loved the show.

Pirate Queen had some very devoted and involved fans, and I'm sure Castcom helped to encourage this. On the other hand many of the most devoted PQ fans began as fans of Stephanie J Block, and I doubt the show would have lasted at all without Block in the lead.

If Pirate Queen had been a smashing success the daily video blog would have probably become commonplace for "mega-musicals". As it is I don't know if we'll see anything that ambitious again soon.

---

Unless the tour actually comes through, there is no chance of the video blogs again. What would be the point?

I didn't watch it "regularly," per se, but I found it very interesting nonetheless. Not necessarily listening to people gush about the show, but hearing from the cast and creative team.

Castcom was the LEAST of the show's worries. Like Yankee said, not enough people really watched for it to have even a chance to hamper the show's success. The show's problems were its own flaws and the negative reviews, which would have happened with or without Castcom.

---

a thought: I didn't see the show, so I don't actually know HOW flawed it was. and yet, flawed shows, and even bad shows have had better fates than PQ.

I wonder what was the base to the universally negative critic reactions. It's clear critics are aware of a show's ordeals out of town, and PQ's was so widely publcised online, (and even more so due to castcom), that maybe THAT made a bad basis for the show to land on on broadway.

it seems to me, people seemed to take pleasure in bashing the show, when obviousely there MUST have been at least several aspects of the show that surely had SOME merit. it seemed almost personal. maybe that has to do with castcom to? (or maybe it's plain bitchiness)

---

If CASTCOM didn't help ticket sales (which I feel it did on some level) then at the very least it benefited the cast who were very vocal about appreciating the support and recognition they felt from the people who watched it. You could tell at the end they weren't just talking to cyberspace, but to a specific group of "castcom fans" that they developed a bond with. I have watched every single one from the beginning and enjoyed it immensely.

Updated On: 6/22/07 at 01:45 PM