Just Listening To

Legs Diamond & it is nowhere near as bad as people say. I saw the show & it was entertaining. Not great but entertaining. It was done in by bad word of mouth & vicious critics with a visceral hatred of Allen & his music. Boy From Oz will get slammed for the music because the critics simply hate his music as not being worthy of Broadway (whatever that means)

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I dunno, Rox, I know you have your opinions and we all have our opinions but you refer to "the critics" as if they are this monolithic entity that has secret meetings and makes group decisions and swears a blood oath to stick to them for time immemorial. By and large, the critics who disliked Legs Diamond when it was on Broadway are not even doing theater criticism anymore. So Boy from Oz will be facing a new crew, for the most part.

I also sincerely believe that professionals are able to put aside their feelings and judge shows on their own merits. The critics will be looking at Hugh Jackman's performance, and he's an actor who engenders a great deal of good will in critics and fans alike. Even Peter Allen felt Legs Diamond was a failure.

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In The Boy From Oz in Australia there was a Legs Diamond medley representing the show as part of his life, towards the end. It was one of the better bits of the show. It didn't however make it on to the CD. I wonder if it will make it into Broadway show.

I don't know if this is the right place to respond. In an earlier post on this topic, it was stated that Hugh Jackman "engenders a lot of good will in fans and critics". I hope I quoted correctly. Does that guarantee a good show, or a successful show?? Does good will make or break a show? I don't know the answer. I bought my tickets anyway.

Sharon, what I meant was, some critics may in fact not like Peter Allen's music. I know I don't, and I was forced to see him live in concert (partner won tickets off the radio). In fact, I once told one of his collaborators, the late great Michael Callen, that I couldn't stand they're horrible song, Love Don't Need a Reason, I couldn't fake it. But that was fine, because I love 97% of the rest of Callen's work, including with his groundbreaking acapella group, The Flirtations.

But I digress. What I meant was, sure, they might go in not liking Allen's songs, but in large degree they will also go in with good feelings about Jackman. My suggestion is that one preconception might counteract the other. Does it guarantee a good show? No. I wasn't suggesting that!

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That's totally cool. Nothing wrong with that. I was a punk rocker at the time the boyfriend dragged me to Allen's show. And there was nothing I could do to convince myself that it was so uncool it was punk.

I remember a funny review of the second or third Culture Club album in the New Musical Express that said it was music for your mother to vacuum clean by. Perhaps there can be a digital radio channel devoted to just such a genre?

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Brdwy.....I don't know about that prediction. There are a lot of talents in that show besides Hugh. I think you might be surprised with the reviews.

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