JCS Previews Thread- Page 2

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:05am

Sounds like we have a



on our hands.

Updated On: 3/2/12 at 12:05 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:08am

That said, the revival of Godspell makes this JCS look like the Sistine Chapel of theater.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:09am

MB- When I read Kennedy played Eva in her bio I thought, yikes glad I missed that production! She was so zoned out tonight I can't imagine her in Evita.

Yes blaxx, bland as this was it was no Godspell or Clear Day. This will easily snag the fourth spot for Best Revival this year.

Updated On: 3/2/12 at 12:09 AM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:14am

It sounds like Paul Nolan was kind of zoned out too- they are apparently a couple in real life, so iit must run in the family- or maybe they just smoke a
Lot of weed...

[willep]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:20am

I have to say, the video of the concert preview really didn't make me want to see the show.

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:25am

godspell was not nearly as bad as Clear Day....

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:26am

Do you think they purposely didn't leave room for applause because most of the songs were kind of underwhelming? I didn't really feel compelled to clap most of the time. I just felt like I should.

And, she played Eva? I can't even imagine. Her voice couldn't even handle this.

I just think if this weren't transfered from Statford, the 3 leads (and most of the ensemble) would not have been cast.

And Whizzer, yeah, his sort of "vacant" stare didn't bother me so much, but the fact that it was consistent for 2 hrs bothered me. There was no sort of character build. His character didn't really...do anything... and he's, um, Jesus. So. He should be doing stuff.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:32am

Godspell wasn't AS bad as Clear Day, but that's not saying much. It certainly was closer in quality to Clear Day than to Follies and Porgy and Bess.

RippedMan- Fair enough. I would have liked to see some build too, but really by the second act I wasn't expecting anything.

Also what was with King Herod? I know the character is usually played with a gay bent, but this was Elton John gets trapped in a Lady Gaga video. It was weird and didn't quite get the laughs I think they were hoping for.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:33am

I just think if this weren't transfered from Statford, the 3 leads (and most of the ensemble) would not have been cast.

Absolutely. It is fine for a theater festival in Canada, but not Broadway. It really shows.

[Rentfan931]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:32am

How does Josh kill himself in this production?

[birdboy782]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:41am

Blaxx, I have not seen this production, so I can't speak to it specifically...but regarding your "fine for a theatre festival in Canada, but not Broadway" comment, let me just say that having seen many shows at Stratford and on Broadway--that certainly is not always the case...in my opinion, there have been others (particularly the plays, which is the company's forte) that have trumped their Broadway counterparts.

[bmwpjager]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:46am

::sigh:: how did I know everyone here would hate it?

Was there tonight. Don't have many comments. Was my first exposure to the material and (while it could be seriously bettered by an actual book and for act one to end at the arrest) I was blown away by this production. The audience Truly loved the performance, leaping to their feet at the start of bows. also seemed to be near sold out, if that's any indication :/

Set malfunctions aside, it's a wondrous night in theatre. Go see it, form your own opinion :)

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:58am

Blaxx, I have not seen this production, so I can't speak to it specifically...but regarding your "fine for a theatre festival in Canada, but not Broadway" comment, let me just say that having seen many shows at Stratford and on Broadway--that certainly is not always the case...in my opinion, there have been others (particularly the plays, which is the company's forte) that have trumped their Broadway counterparts.

Oh, I have seen dozens of shows at Stratford. You are correct by saying that some are good enough for Broadway (or better than some NYC productions), but most wouldn't have the production values or creative development to make a transfer.

Certainly this JCS was not worthy of a Broadway transfer. Within the context of a season of the festival, it is good enough. As a stand alone Broadway production, not in a million years.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 2:39am

"^It was like that in La Jolla too. The flow of each song into the next without an opportunity for applause was obviously intentional, and I think it works for the most part, except for the big songs like "Gethsemane" as you said."

Isn't this pretty standard for the show? I saw one of the Nealy tours as a young teen, and don't remember, but saw the London revival and it was basically played that way (though there WA a break for Gethsemane, as I think there should be). The score is by far one of ALW's best, and I think it works best as one song after the other.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 2:45am

I've been to a few seasons of Stratford. Their musicals have come a long way, but their plays are their strong point--that said I think there's usually only one show a year that really could switch over to a commercial theatre like Broadway. I do take some offence at Blaxx's comment just because of the "theatre festival in *Canada*" emphasis--which may not have been intentional. Certainly, having been to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (which is at least advertised as the best of its kind of festival in the US) and the William Inge Festival (which was great to see some rare Inge plays, but...) I think Stratford is at least as strong overall as any similar theatre setup in North America. But...

That doesn't equal a Broadway commercial success.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 2:52am

I wasn't putting emphasis on the fact it comes from Canada, but from a reputable repertory theater festival.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 3:09am

We Canadians can be overly sensitive (at least I can...) I didn't think you did imply that, but I guess that's how I first read it. The fact that much of the cast and the director is a Broadway name director does mkae your point though.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 7:49am

How's the orchestra in this musical production of this musical?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 8:25am

The orchestra/band is really great. And as I mentioned the balance with the singers was on the whole wonderful. The sound design is usually one of the biggest problems at a first preview, and they had it down last night.

The applause at first previews full of (comped) family and friends should not be an indication of the average audience response. As much as I love the brilliance of Once, I can realize that "sold-out" first preview was packed with comps and the cast probably won't receive that reaction every night.

[massofmen]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 8:57am

this is how des directs. Go watch Jboys again. He loves not having the audience applause for a few numbers so he builds it up in the audience so when he does finally stop they burst into applause. Its a technique used to control the audience. nothing more or less.

[BroadwayJoe3]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 10:09am

Comped tickets for family and friends is "usually" the case for the first preview, but that was NOT the case for this first preview. From what I understand, there will be several "family and friends" shows during next weeks performances.

[newintown]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 10:55am

I find it interesting that anyone chose to bring this one back. The original production was a modest success at 711 performances, but there have been 2 revivals since then that have bombed enormously.

I guess the Dodgers believe that Des has a magic touch (it helps that Des IS one of the Dodgers...), and are willing to put their investors' money behind that opinion.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:03am

I think a 711 performance run in 1971 was probably more than just a 'modest' success -- my guess is that it was pretty profitable. And didn't they also do about 3 arena tours of the musical at the same time?

But Superstar is hard to pull off conceptually; the biblical setting tends to scare directors who push to to make it 'edgy' and 'modern' which in my opinion only makes the material seem a little too earnest and desperate to be relevant. The last revival certainly suffered at the hands of such a treatment and it sounds like this revival has some similar issues.

You really need someone with an incredibly strong (and abstract) visual eye to make the show exciting. I'd love to see what Julie Taymor would do with it.





Updated On: 3/2/12 at 11:03 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:46am

I guess I'm not a fan of the way Des directs. All of his shows tend to look the same with that whole "scaffolding" look and they always lack any emotional depth. He has the girls in Vegas Showgirl/stripper ware for the Temple scene, and S&M type leather for the guys. Yawn. We've seen all this before.

I thought the orchestra sounded awesome. I was sitting pretty close, and I could not help tapping my toes to the beat. And the opening little montage/overture is pretty awesome.

I agree about Harod, Whizzer. At first, people were cracking up, but then it just kept going and going and going and going.... and then I thought "Is this still the same song?" It was just not that funny.

I think the cast/crew will see how different a Broadway audience can be. They've played two regional gigs, where I'm sure the audiences were enthusiastic because they knew their homegrown show was coming to Broadway. But it's different when you're paying $100 for a ticket and the set doesn't work, or the only big set piece is a scrolling menu.

[lynnetoomey]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:03pm

Someone explain to me who thought this was a good idea to bring in this season? Much of it is downright awful, and the piece itself is SO dated that it was garnering chuckles from many audeince members around me last night. And...no surprise that it looks like every other Des McAnuff production. Will he ever have a new idea? Another short-term tenant for the Neil Simon