Just Jim Dale

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 9:52am

I was at the first preview last night and I suppose there's not too much to say about this one. Dale is very charismatic and energetic with some good stories to tell, but it's nothing more than a Birdland or 54 Below cabaret put on stage. The atmosphere provided by those two venues is of course sucked out by the underground pit of the Laura Pels.

The whole thign smacks of Roundabout trying to put up the cheapest show possible as a placeholder in the season. It's fine entertainment, but I have to ask myself if this is really the best way a non-profit theater company should be spending its resources. Is the subscriber base best served by revivals of revivals and cabaret acts?

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 9:56am

"The whole thign smacks of Roundabout trying to put up the cheapest show possible as a placeholder in the season."

Well, that.. that is exactly what this is. They had to drop the originally scheduled Cutie and Bear at the last minute because they couldn't find anyone remotely noteworthy to be in it- because the script was extremely unpalatable. They had nothing else ready to go.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 10:05am

That makes sense. It reminds me of when they threw Everyday Rapture into the American Airlines when Lips Together, Teeth Apart fell through. Of course Everyday Rapture was much more a theatrical piece than this.

Isn't the whole point of being a non-profit that they can take risks though, especially in their off-Broadway space? So they couldn't find anyone noteworthy to cast- who cares? If they believed in the piece they should have put it on.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 10:09am

Oh, I'm with you on that.

But this is Roundabout. The riskiest thing they've done in recent memory is stage Machinal.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 10:15am

Yeah, Roundabout isn't know exactly for taking risks.

The last really good thing I can remember at the Pels was Sons of the Prophet. Why aren't they doing more work like that? It's such a waste to me when I see them use that space for stuff like this or creaky old duds like The Common Pursuit.

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 10:29am

Disappointing to read this, because I got HipTix for Sunday, being a fan of Mr. Dale's work.

[wexy]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 10:33am

Something else fell through and they gave us this I'm seeing D-Day

[Jonwo]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 10:49am

Roundabout needs new blood to shake up its programming, why is that other non for profits can keep programming consistent whereas Roundabout keeps chopping and changing shows.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 11:08am

Bit off-topic here, but how exactly is Roundabout able to keep its non-profit status anyway when they are doing things like Cabaret?

Presuming Cabaret becomes an open-ended run, which it almost undoubtedly will, that turns it into a commercial engagement. Add in the fact that they've raised ticket prices for it and how is it still considered non-profit?

I'm sure there are plenty of legal loopholes that they've found, but it seems pretty tacky that they are still paying actors less than normal Broadway salaries and still getting tax breaks when they are doing things like this.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 11:18am

To be fair, if you're a fan of Jim Dale you will be in for a pleasant evening, just like if you're a fan of Mandy Gonzalez you would probably have a good time at her 54 Below show tonight.

It's not compelling theater though, and that's not a knock on Dale at all. I don't think they set out to make "compelling theater." It's just a bunch of amusing anecdotes in between his favorite Music Hall and Barnum songs.

[darquegk]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 12:09pm

Jim Dale should be doing a one-man show, not a cabaret. I get that he's a musical theatre treasure, but he has a Guinness World Record for most characterizations on a single record for the Harry Potter series, and I'd love to see him do something with that skill, the way Patrick Stewart does his Christmas Carol.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 1:02pm

Is this show basically a rehash of his one-off solo show at the Paley Center a few years ago? Anybody know?

[wonkit]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 1:38pm

I am pretty sure the Paley Show was an early incarnation of this, and presumably this one is better/longer.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 2:46pm

"Presuming Cabaret becomes an open-ended run, which it almost undoubtedly will, that turns it into a commercial engagement. Add in the fact that they've raised ticket prices for it and how is it still considered non-profit?

That's not totally true. Remember, the revival of South Pacific played at Lincoln Center theatre for a little over two years. And, that in no form or fashion changed Lincoln Center Theater's non profit status one bit.

While there are many technical meanings to what makes something a non profit, let me put it to you in the simplest way possible as it relates to theatre. Roundabout is a non profit organization. Unlike commercial theatre settings, they don't have to deal with investors. Any money made on any show that they do goes right back to Roundabout's pockets to allow them to produce more shows. They have not gone through any legal loopholes whatsoever. Furthermore, ticket prices and length of a show's run have nothing to do with what makes something non profit.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 4:02pm

South Pacific became an extended run due to demand, same applies to War Horse and The Light in the Piazza which also had extended runs. The difference for Cabaret is that it's being revived to boost Roundabout's coffers rather than artistic reasons.

I think once a non profit show become an extended run, they have to start paying the same rate as a commericial Broadway show, I think Cabaret will introduce premium seats as well in due course as well.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 4:11pm

They actually already have premium seats, starting the second week of July.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 4:40pm

Question for those who have seen it, is this something I should go to now or wait? Just looking to get an idea if anything will really change. It's also unfathomable to think that this will run until August.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 6:55pm

I don't know: Is it a "non-profit" or "not for profit"?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 8:02pm

Clyde, It seemed pretty frozen last night. As others noted, he's been doing this (or some variation thereof) for a while and I suppose they could always swap out a story, but I'd be surprised if much changed.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 8:09pm

in researching this for my own local non-profit theater company. The strictest definition of "non-profit" is simply the same company using the profits from one show to put on another one in the future. Ergo Roundabout will still be non-profit no matter how long they keep cabaret up this time around.

On a side note, considering the ticket prices for table seats at Cabaret they could make a bit more effort. The seats are hellishly uncomfortable, at the performance I attended they were out of everything but cheese plates and liquor. Never in my life have I heard a theater bar say "We ran out of WATER" and my playbill at the end had a damn donation envelope shoved in it.

[barcelona20]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 8:20pm

How many Barnum songs did he sing?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 8:28pm

From Barnum he sang:

There Is a Sucker Born Every Minute
The Museum Song
The Colors of My Life

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 8:32pm

Did he do anything from "Pete's Dragon"? (He asked hopefully.)

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 8:54pm

He mentioned filming Pete's Dragon, which drew some applause and I that surprised him a little. He pointed to someone clapping in the front row and said, "So you must be the one person who saw it," and then moved on to talk about something else.

I was hoping he would sing something from Pete's Dragon too, and I grew up watching the movie all the time so I found it weird when he acted like no one heard of it before.

[liotte]

Posted: 5/16/14 at 11:07pm

If he sang a song from Pete's Dragon, I would buy a ticket to see this.