Jaystarr's 10/10 Report on [title of show] with stage door photos!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 4:53pm

A New Season begins.......

I basically had only 1 month of vacation for my 10/10 Reports. I thought I will be back by Fall (Sept or October) but I did not realized a new musical just open, so I guess.. I am back!!! lol!. Well, this season there would be some changes on my format~which is basically ADDITIONS

1. Instead of only I LIKE IT, I DONT LIKE IT and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.. I will add SO/SO rating..If I am 50/50 about the show. There were shows last season that I felt that way, but most of the time I went to the I LIKE IT rating.. I guess... its not as easy as that bec. its not JUST b/w's -there are also some gray areas!

2. I added a "fun thing" which is the CORK BOARD- everytime I see a show-I will get a button/flair (which replaced the minituare playbills in Season 1 and at the end ...we will stick those buttons at my 10/10 cork board which symbolizes that we are done with the show and also means that is a continous report, so at the end of the season, the cork board will be full of all the shows' flairs that I reported.

3. I also added a section on MY STAGE DOOR EXPERIENCE on the Stage Door Photos, which is WILL NOT be included in the rating -no matter how nice are the actors or how snubby..it will not affect my evaluation about a certain show~that's why I put it down there. It would also include DIRECTIONS or photos on how to get the stage doors-in which I got a lot of pm's last season asking me these questions- I thought I add that now. Which means~ I WILL HAVE STAGE DOOR PHOTOS on all the shows, even though I dont like the show! The Main reason for that is I auctioned all my signed playbills for a local drama club here in Boston. This season I also have a new project to buy OBCR CDs to (be donated to) the local library bec, they dont have a lot of CD collections on Broadway shows. And also the point of my Reports is to bring the readers thru the ENTIRE EXPERIENCE which include stage dooring, (for those who can't make it to NYC or for those who plan to stage door) I dont even know why I added on my tittle, since ALL of my Report (except EQUUS) will have stage door photos! lol!

NOTE : STAGE DOOR PHOTOS is here to STAY which will be one of my signature posting style!

I guess, these are the ADDITIONS that I will include since it a a new season! So what do I have in store for everyone this season? Now this only includes shows I already have tickets. For August- A TALE OF TWO CITIES... For September- the much anticipated revival of EQUUS (I dont know if I will have stage door photos on this one? ) and to complete my journey on "13" -that I started reporting last season! October is my favorite month (bec. its my b-day month) and it will be a try-out month for both BRIGADOON & THE STORY OF MY LIFE) and November - BILLY ELLIOT.

Another thing, I enjoyed last season is meeting fellow posters here. Last Season, I met almost close to 30 regular posters here and most of them have became good friends with me along the way. This season~I am very excited to meet NEW FRIENDS & OLD FRIENDS to my 10/10 Reports..and "regulars"~not a guest anymore! (Without a Trace, burnsy, jordangirl, aliciag, dave1606, Wanna Be a Fosters of course- Chris!)

I would also cover the following (like in Season One)

a. Off-Broadway shows

b. Regional Productions in New England ( I will just pick 1 shows on each Regional Theaters)

c. Touring Companies (SPRING AWAKENING & DIRTY DANCING (both in Boston)

and of course. most of the bulk of my Reports will be focus on Broadway Shows and lastly as a special treat on my favorite month which is October.. I will have my 1st ever "10/10 Report Cross-Over" at the Off-Topic Board which is my 10/10 Report on Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour in Boston! yay!

So with no further ado... let's start this NEW SEASON!




with burnsy.

SPECIAL GUEST: Pocketsquared Fanadu.


E1
Season 2

[title of show]
New Musical
Lyceum Theater
7/20 3 pm matinee
90 minutes (no intermission)
Tix Price : $35.00 (thru TDF)

INTRO : The first show of the season-[title of show] First, let me apologize for the overuse of the brackets! okay, Let's get that out of the way! Its funny that my 1st show is almost carry a certain kind of jinx! I was supposed to see the show last week, but the bus that I was riding had a flat tire in Hartford, CT and we arrived in NYC last weekend at 4:30 pm, instead of 1:30 pm~so I missed the show!


https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=972184&id=3626589&boardid=1


Finally, this week... I saw [title of show]. Like what you heard, its TRUE! This show is either you LOVE it or you HATE it! There's almost no middle ground. I can see both sides....and my Report is basically how I see & understand the show and the ways I can relate to it..so I PARDON me now, if at times on this report, it somehow focus on me!


*****CONTAINS MANY SPOILERS**********

Things that I LIKE about the musical (out of 10)


1. [the idea]

The first thing I like about is the story and how come up with the show. you probably heard, this is a show within a show concept. It is true...BUT I also see it as a some sort of REALITY show-musical (is that a word?) kinda like THE BACHELOR or PROJECT RUNAWAY! Its basically how the show was conceived by the two guys-Jeffy & Hunter and was workshoped by their two female friends- Heidi & Susan, their process of of submitting it to the festival, their off-broadway run at Vineyard, their youtube campaign to be produced, their blogging at ATC on anonymous names to find out if what posters (like us) think about the show?, Susan's scheduling conflict with her day job, Heidi being cast in THE LITTLE MERMAID and up to the point of being produced on Broadway- that's why I thought its more of a reality show (or as I would like to think?) I felt that the show is SINCERE, HONEST and UNAPOLOGETIC. It never came across to me as SELF-AWARE or WE KNOW SO MUCH! or SELF SERVING Once I open myself to see their experiences in creating the show, I felt like that I connected with the characters right away!


2. [the book by Hunter Bell]

-Definitely my favorite part of the whole show.. Its thought its funny, sincere and dont give a F** attitude. There were parts of the book that was very touching to me like the book in Die, Vampire, Die ~about the last vampire which is the mother of all the vampires (which I will elaborate later)

-There were parts of the show that fans were laughing constantly like every 3 seconds.. It really did not annoy me at all. though sometimes I cant understand some of the minor teeny-beany dialogues bec. of the laughters, but overall- It did not bother me. but what would really bother me is text messaging or snoring!

- Also the say, that there's a lot of INSIDER JOKES- I understand every word of it. I guess, if you post a lot at BWW or read regularly..most likely you know who are the actors, producers or shows that they are mentioning. Its not Tom Stoppard's play~that I completely phased out! lol!

3. [music & lyrics by Jeff Bowen]

-Is it just me? but I thought the songs are very memorable and catchy-After I saw the show.. Ive listened to the Cast Recording several times bec. I can't get enough of it. I usually have this "AFTER SHOCK" meaning after I see a show..I will listen to the OBCR for the next few days until I get tired of it! lol!

I personally like "Part of It All" I love the first few chords (the paino playing the same tune over and over at the beginning)~ and Die, Vampire, Die (will discuss later) -those two are my favorite songs. I guess, its better to see DVD live, the choreography adds to the likeability of the song. I also like "Secondary Characters" and "Nine's People Favorite Thing"

Probably the contributing factor why I LIKE the score is the lyrics. Sometimes its enjoyable just to sing the songs (like in the shower or my car) bec. of the lyrics and that's how I felt about it. I thought the lyrics are clever, witty and just CUTE to emphasis the lyrics while singing the songs and most importantly I FELT that I can relate to it or the lyrics are really coming from my heart.

This is one of my favorite lyrics--I just love the part of homo magazine! lol!


JEFF
A part of ducking out before the show’s finale
To get to the opening night at Tavern On the Green
A part of my sheet music on sale in Schubert Ally
And a trendy photo shoot for a homo magazine!

BOTH
All our gay skills
Filling playbills
We’ll be part of it all


4. [Hunter Bell] -he is definitely my favorite character in the show. In the beginning where he shook his 'man's boobs'.. I was laughing soo hard. I also thought he has a beautiful voice, its not Paulo Szot, but he is cute when he sings (cute in a funny way)

-acting wise, i thought he was good, of course he was playing "himself' and there is this certain likeability factor in him.

5. [Heidi Blickenstaff] - she is definitely has the BEST VOICE on all of the cast members. She sings beautifully! very powerful voice!


6. [Susan Blackwell] - I actually saw her at SPEECH & DEBATE and I thought she was good in that play! I definitely like her here too. Her Die, Vampire Die is soo hilarious. Without giving much of their "Reality musical" .. I felt sympathetic to her character about her day job and her commitment to the creation of this show!

- I wonder if the Rice Crispy Creme part really came from her? which I thought it was cute!

7. [Jeff Bowen] as an obsessed Wonder Woman fan. I guess I like him more as the composer that the himself, though with Hunter as a pair... They are very funny! and everytime they are together onstage~its just hilarious! I guess I probably have to see the show again to focus more on his character.

-His number with Hunter-"An Original Music" is just hilarious!

-he is very funny when he was twirling like Wonder Woman. I thought that was very well put together with the whole group choreography.

7.1 [of course, musical arrangements & piano accompaniment by Larry Pressgrove]
-We did not forget him!


8. [the answering messages-interlude] I thought it was CLEVER and HILARIOUS, In between the shows, there are these answering machines messages from Kerry Butler, Victoria Clark,Marin Massie, Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone . Its basically messages bec. the 2 creators have expressed that they want them to star in the female parts of the show. Its start with Kerry (being so sweet and polite ) and end with Miss Patti, getting irritated at the guys bec. they keep calling her.

- I laughed so hard with Christine Ebersole's message bec. its nice to hear Christine say the word.."oh sh*t! and she did not realized that she was still being recorded after making remarks about the two guys! its soo funny!


9. [the direction & choregraphy of Michael Berresse]

Michael's choreography- I mentioned before, the reason why i like some of the songs is because of the choreography- it kinda adds to it, specially now that i have seen them on how the numbers were staged.

Michael's direction- I guess, a lot of people forget him, I thought he did a fabulous job. the show is very polish and as a result I never get bored.


10. [I can relate to the message of the tos]

After I saw the show...It never came across to me as WERE SOO GOOD type of musical. I saw one thing~and that is being PASSIONATE about ART. Our dedication of things that we love. Pardon my self indulgence, but I see the message of the show with my latest passion- which is "posting" here at BWW! The song...Die, Vampire, Die.. I can basically change some of the dialogues in the book (that's why I love the book soo much) and its a BULL'S EYE on my feelings and fears about posting! (on my 10/10 Reports. I guess.. I can take critism or attack sometimes here with a grain of salt! (I tried! ) BUT my worst enemy here is ...no other than my own SELF!

The last vampire is the mother of all vampires and that is the vampire of despair.
It’ll wake you up at 4am to say things like:

Who do you think you’re kidding?

You look like a fool!

No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be good enough!

Why is it that if some dude walked up to me on the subway platform
and said these things, I’d think he was a mentally ill asshole,
but if the vampire inside my head says it,
It’s the voice of reason!

Most of the times, out of my 44 Reports last season...I felt that way!
But somehow, I manage to find that little voice in me that says....

You have a story to tell, pull your novel out of that sock drawer!
You have a painting to paint, you best paint it and then paint some more!

Oh baby, you must escape and grab it by the nape of its neck, by the trachea
****in’ break it, go on drive a stake in,
Yeah there’s no mistaking, now you’re shake and bakin’

That is the message of the show to me... That is its EASY TO BE PASSIONATE about something or CREATE something, (or post my Reports, in this case) what is hard is that voice inside you, that makes you second guess yourself....and if you look closely~ the road is not really hard sometimes, and seeing past our DOUBTS will always be the challenge! and LASTLY..the battle does not end there.. its the LETTING GO of one's work.. Its natural to feel that way bec. we are afraid to be REJECTED or afraid to FAIL! and this is what I see in the show.....Create something, Do not compromise , believe in yourself (which include standing to your greatest enemy- your SELF DOUBTS) Put your work out there and LET IT GO! (in my case...clicking that POST button) and If you fail.... RISE UP and start over again!


Things that I DID NOT LIKE about the musical (out of 10)

[none]


IN SUMMARY: This is definitely a show that either you LOVE it or HATE it. No one can tell for now, if this show is gonna be one of the best show this decade, only history can! I see a potential of this show on Regional Theaters and High School bec. of the universal theme about being PASSIONATE about something you love to do...but again I wonder if it would work without the creators playing themselves? Again only TIME CAN TELL. Everyone can have a great time as long as to see pass its tongue and cheek jokes, with only 4 actors and 1 pianist and a minimal set but FOCUS on the message of the show. I truly BELIEVE that this show belongs on Broadway, simply bec. its a GOOD SHOW and it has SOMETHING TO SAY!


Score: 10/0 -[highly recommended]

with special guest this week: Pocketsquared Fanadu (Ken)


My 10/10 Cork Board

(there you go...the [title of show] 's button! for the 1st one this season! )



Lyceum Theater










THE MERCHANDISE:






The Rice Crispy Treat T-shirt:


Production Photos
(per playbill)
https://www.playbill.com/multimedia/search/14558.html














The Playbill








Stage Door Photos

DIRECTIONS- The stage door is at the back of the theater on 46th St.. So after you exit the theater, turn to your immediate RIGHT~there's a glass door to your right-go inside and go out at the exit (that's the short cut!) If the door is close (probably at night), EXIT the theater -turn RIGHT on 7th Avenue then turn RIGHT again on 46th St- you basically just made a block- so remember its just~ RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT! then youre there!

My Stage Door Experience : I only stayed for 30 minutes. There are probably 30-40 fans at the stage door. All the actors including Larry (the pianist) came out right away about 10 mins after the show. They signed everyone's playbill and posed with everyone in a picture. Actually it was REALLY nice and admirable that they came out on matinees. Ive heard that they have a show at 7:30 pm and basically they just came out JUST to greet and thanks the fans. I congratulate them and I told them that I like the show!





with Larry (pianist & musical director and arranger)


Jeff Bowen


with composer & lyricist Jeff Bowen (and actor too! )


Heidi Blickenstaff


with Heidi Blickenstaff


Hunter Bell




Hunter and Jeff


with librettist Hunter Bell (and actor too!)


and with Susan Blackwell


SPECIAL THANKS to burnsy for taking all my photos: Thanks soo much, ryan~ I cant thank you enough! you rock!!

My Autographed Playbill




COMING SOON for NEXT WEEK:
E2 : Damn Yankees.


Updated On: 7/21/08 at 04:53 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 4:59pm

Thank you for posting, Jay! I always look forward to reading your threads!

[Pocketsquared Fanadu]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 5:05pm

OMG Jay, you made me a star! It was great to meet you yesterday and this post is great! Hope to see you soon.

[burnsy]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 5:16pm

Jay, you don't have a tummy in the pictures. :)


Let me know when you're coming again and I'll take your pictures anytime.

Great review!

[dave1606]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 5:25pm

Great report jay! im gonna have to see this, all i hear is nonstop good things!

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 5:39pm

Reading your post just made me all the more excited about seeing it tomorrow!

Love the stage door pictures. The cast seems so friendly!

thanks for posting!

[sally1112]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 6:06pm

Jay you are the absolute rock star of BWW! Thank you for the review and pictures.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 6:22pm

Thanks again Jay. As usual, very good. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those magnets from the show. I collect them.

[The Bearded Lady]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 8:52pm

love the stage door photos! thank you!

[jeffrey1dog]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 10:11pm

Yay - I'm soooo glad you're back and that you liked the show. I was at the 1st preview and enjoyed it alot too. The audience went mad that day & it was mayhem at the sd.
Hope to see you again soon.

[christhefish]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 10:39pm

I was so excited when I signed on today and saw that there was a new Jay report. Serioulsy made my day.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 12:43am

Jay, it just made my life that you loved [tos]!

I knew you would!

A wonderful, detailed, spirited review!

[pattilupuppy]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 2:33am

ummmmm TOTES agree!!!!!

So glad to see everyone sharing the love

go see [TOS]!!!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 10:10am

Nice review and great pics, Jay...only thing I disagree with is that I know many people who didnt love or hate [tos]. My hubby liked it, but didnt love it. I just dont want those who havent seen it to go in with any expectations, and then to have to take sides.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 11:41am

Great review, Jay. I really do have to get to listen the cast recording. I was waiting until I see the show but I lost the lotto last time I was in NYC so I won't be seeing it for a while
By the way, I love your Cork Board, excellent addition to the 10/10 Reports!

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 1:48pm

This was a pleasure to read as always

Sounds like fun!!!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 6:23pm

Ken- I was glad to have met you too last weekend!

Ryan- Thank you again for taking my photos! Next time we see a show, its gonna be my treat!

Jeffrey- anytime! we probably have to see XANADU together this August, to see Miss Whoopi Goldberg plus I have not seen the new muse~Kyle.

Andy, 2Daves, taylor Phenomenon 2, uncage, The Bearded Lady, christhefish, Pam, Ray, pattilupuppy, doodlenyc and Doug -thank you for those kind words!

and to everyone- thank you...until next monday!

J*






Updated On: 7/22/08 at 06:23 PM

[jeffrey1dog]

Posted: 7/22/08 at 11:23pm

Oh yeah... we definitely must do The Du to see Miss Whoopi, but unfortunately Kyle has left the show already. He's in WICKED now.
Like Sonny Malone says... "People come and go so quickly here."

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 10:08am

Glad you had fun Jay! Thanks for your review.