Just saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels....

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:41pm

AMAZING. Amazing performances, amazing sets, amazing music. The theatre was probably 85% full. Only critique was that the lyrics and music are so well-crafted that you really can't remember any of the songs all that well, maybe a few measures. Honestly, Norbert was great, but sadly, Lithgow took the show. Act I belonged to Norbert, but Act II belonged to John and Sherie, and Norbert was kind of overshadowed, and that is what the audience leaves with. Joanna Gleason was great as well, and Gergory Jbara was good, but most of his "goodness" rubbed off from Joanna. Sherie is definitely the Actress of the piece. Sara Gettelfinger was good as well, small part, but cute song. Altogether it is a GREAT show. Definitely gonna be a hit.

[broadwaynut20]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:44pm

what were some stand out songs and would a cast recording be worth getting if one is made

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:47pm

Yeah, def, I will by it. "Great Big Stuff," " All About Ruprecht," "Here I Am," "The More We Dance," and "Love Is My Legs" were all great numbers and songs. I can sadly just like vaguely remember how they sound and what the lyrics were. More reason to buy it, hehe

[broadwaynut20]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:48pm

awesome. I am seeing it august 10th. I haven't heard to many negative reviews so I am looking forward to it

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:54pm

Thes: What other musical comedy would you compare it to? Are there genuine laughs and is it really well constructed, or is it more of a cheap campy thing like THE PRODUCERS?

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:54pm

What style of music is it? Who is the composer? Thanks.

[MusicMan]

Posted: 2/2/05 at 11:55pm

"...the lyrics and music are so well-crafted that you really can't remember any of the songs all that well..."

That's as nonsensical a critique as Brantley's "It's too good to be good" for CAROLINE, OR CHANGE.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:02am

Umm, okay. It is true. When you are watching it, it is great, and after it is still great, you just can't remember a lot of what you heard. Hard to explain. It was crafted very well. It was cheap laughs, but most of the time they are more making fun of cheap laughs, so it is even funnier. And by the way, there is no such thing as a nonsensical critique. That is the beauty of free speech. If you disagree (if you have actually seen it ) then fine, but, I stand by what I said

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:03am

I think he meant more along the lines of something like Sondheim's music. The score is so brilliant and not typical with brilliant lyrics, but you never leave a Sondheim show humming the score. Atleast that's how I took it.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:06am

Yeah, exactly. It is a great score and the lyrics are great.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:07am

So is it cheap like THE PRODUCERS, or really funny like INTO THE WOODS or something?

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:10am

It is like a mix of campiness from The Producers and, gosh, I dunno, I'll have to think about this one...

[munkustrap178]

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

I just really want to enjoy this show. I haven't enjoyed a musical comedy in a really long time because almost everything lately is just terrible. I found THE PRODUCERS and MILLIE to be terribly un-funny. I would say that the funniest show on Broadway right now is HAIRSPRAY - I like it when you don't see the laughs coming.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:14am

See, in this show, you know laughs are coming, but they come from completely out of left field (what the joke is actually). That is what is so funny. Joanna Gleason actually got the most laughs and the most exit applause, and rightfully so.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:16am

Lover her!

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:18am

Yeah. I know Sara Ramirez and Maureen McGovern are already being talked about for Best Featured Actress, but they better watch out. She was fantastic, and whenever she walked onstage I was like wow, the original baker's wife. She is really a piece of theatre history, kind of amazing...

[MusicMan]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:19am

"There is no such thing as a nonsensical critique."

Sure there is. If one speaks from ignorance or a lack of erudition, judgment, experience and taste, that's an opinion, such as it is, not valid criticism.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:19am

All criticism is an opinion...

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 12:20am

Then it isn't a critique, it is an ignorant observation...

[Marquise]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 1:32am

nevermind

glad you liked the show Updated On: 2/3/05 at 01:32 AM

[eslgr8]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 3:30am

Glad that you and the rest of the audience are responding as I did when I first saw it 4 1/2 months ago! It's such a great show, and I agree with everything you said, except that I think NLB rules in both acts, though Lithgow is definitely good.

[Iris Chacon]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 4:09am

How is it selling?

[thespian geek]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 5:04am

Seems, from what I've heard, the shows so far are about 75% - full house. One article said (before previews started) that they'd already sold over $5 million in ticket sales.

[AbzugFan]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 9:51am

This is a good question of whether the laughs are cheap or earned. Truly, its a bit of a combination. The great thing about the humor of the show is the expected jokes keep coming and coming, so you are continuously laughing. Then suddenly a completely unexpected joke will happen, and it puts the hilarity over the edge.

A number of the jokes were breaking the fourth wall, and while by the end I knew they were coming, I was still suprised by the joke itself each time.

But most importantly, the jokes were organic and character-based, arising in a logical and believable way from the situation occuring on stage. Meaning, most of the jokes were something the character might actually say, were they a real person having a real conversation. In this sense, while the humor is not quite at the "Into the Woods" level, I would give it much more credit than "The Producers."

As some others have said, Joanna Gleason's comic timing is ideal for this type of humor. She is so smooth and arch and low-key and never pushes, and makes even an obvious joke enjoyable. For this reason I felt that she was more successful with the humorous dialogue than Norbert Leo Butz, who is very funny but never seems to relax and let the joke happen.

[mint0621]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 9:53am

Did anyone try the lottery yet? how many people show up? I'd love to see it before it gets more buzz and more people find out about it