LEMPICKA Previews — Page 11

I’m assuming that number includes all of the development of the show. Readings, workshops, two out of town tryouts. The money spent just for the broadway run is always smaller

B212323 said: "TaffyDavenport said: "At a $19.5 million capitalization, this show wasnevergoing to recoup, so now it's just a matter of seeing exactly how much it loses."

19.5????? Cabaret is 24 and they literally rebuilt the theater interior and have a movie star attached for 6 months. Who signed off on that figure?!"

I was told a number that’s SIGNIFICANTLY higher than 24 for “Cabaret”. Now I’m curious.

Jordan Catalano said: "B212323 said: "TaffyDavenport said: "At a $19.5 million capitalization, this show wasnevergoing to recoup, so now it's just a matter of seeing exactly how much it loses."

19.5????? Cabaret is 24 and they literally rebuilt the theater interior and have a movie star attached for 6 months. Who signed off on that figure?!"

I was told a number that’s SIGNIFICANTLY higher than 24 for “Cabaret”. Now I’m curious."

The Form D for the Broadway production of Cabaret has max capitalization at $26 mil. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1995752/000199575223000003/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml

I can't imagine any investors in Lempicka actually thought they would get any of their money back. This is the kind of show that, even if were really good and were to receive rave reviews, isn't going to run longer than about a year, and never crack $1M at the box office. It's definitely one of those "This is an important story that needs to be on Broadway and I don't care how much it costs me!" kind of endeavors.

Updated On: 4/7/24 at 11:54 AM

Wick3 said: "If they stunt casted an A-list celebrity in the lead role, the likelihood of recouping is higher."


Well, yes.

Genuinely surprised Eden didn't take either performance off yesterday if they start recording today. Her vocals yesterday afternoon were shockingly inconsistent. Noticeably flat or just under pitch for a bulk of her songs.

Enough good things cannot be said about Amber Iman or Beth Leavel, both finding ways to bring humanity and layers to an obscenely bad book. George Abud is chomping on scenery but selling his numbers despite there being minimal reason for his role to be in this show at all as he neither comes across as a true mentor or as a villain pushing machinery over art.

The design is fine, there's some good projections and some bad projections. The lighting is fun. The one platform that moves on and off on the exact same track grew tiring, as did the constant lowering of the curtain that then raise up on the exact same unit set. Hopefully Chavkin has been pouring her energy into Gatsby, because what's onstage at the Longacre was not impressive to me.

Ensemble is selling their material incredibly well, sound good, look good, choreo is good but sometimes too much.

Samonsky can sing, sure, but is utterly charmless to the point where I didn't realize until halfway through act 2 that we were even supposed to like him at all.

Eden's voice is in startling shape, truly, and I don't think she is a strong enough actor to make up for it. It was a sufficient acting performance, a wildly inconsistent vocal performance, and just unfortunately could have been something exceptional with someone who was stronger both vocally and as an actor. Not terrible, but I felt truly outshined by those around her.

Robbie2 said: "getatme said: "Genuinely surprised Eden didn't take either performance off yesterday if they start recording today. Her vocals yesterday afternoon wereshockinglyinconsistent. Noticeably flat or just under pitch for a bulk of her songs.

Enough good things cannot be said about Amber Iman or Beth Leavel, both finding ways to bring humanity and layers to an obscenely bad book. George Abud is chomping on scenery but selling his numbers despite there being minimal reason for his role to be in this show at all as he neither comes across as a true mentor or as a villain pushing machinery over art.

The design is fine, there's some good projections and some bad projections. The lighting is fun. The one platform that moves on and off on the exact same track grew tiring, as did the constant lowering of the curtain that then raise up on the exact same unit set. Hopefully Chavkin has been pouring her energy into Gatsby, because what's onstage at the Longacre was not impressive to me.

Ensemble is selling their material incredibly well, sound good, look good, choreo is good but sometimes too much.

Samonsky can sing, sure, but is utterly charmless to the point where I didn't realize until halfway through act 2 that we were even supposed to like him at all.

Eden's voice is in startling shape, truly, and I don't think she is a strong enough actor to make up for it. It was a sufficient acting performance, a wildly inconsistent vocal performance, and just unfortunately could have been something exceptional with someone who was stronger both vocally and as an actor. Not terrible, but I felt truly outshined by those around her."



Eden should take a day off this week-Tuesday or Wednesday and give her voice a rest as critics come later in the week starting on Thursday with an opening next Sunday 4/14!"

It seems there's some sort of need for leads to perform in all preview performances and honestly they shouldn't push themselves to do that. They could end up pushing themselves beyond what they should be doing and not delivering- this sounds so rude- but not delivering the performance that audiences deserve

Saw this last week (Saturday March 30th) and found it pretty enjoyable. I liked the design elements, and some of the lighting was very cool. Everyone was in good vocal shape. Everyone down to the ensemble soloists was putting in the WORK for this show. After seeing a couple of leads barely scraping by in Sweeney the night before, it was refreshing to hear even the smallest of solos done flawlessly. I will echo the sentiments that Amber Iman gives a star turn, and Beth Leavel wrings every possible thing out of a handful of lines. Her 11 o'clock number was very moving, not an easy task for a character without a ton of stage time. I thought Eden was also excellent, boy is this a beast of a role! I would imagine she'd start having an alternate or a scheduled day off, as the role is so demanding.

Having read some of the reactions on here before going, I was honestly expecting a much worse show. My friend who also saw The Notebook, Days of Wine and Roses, and Water for Elephants thought that this was the strongest show of that bunch.

Those posted grosses.... YIKES.

ART ISN'T EASY

IMPRESSIONS:

- If you thought Jason Robert Brown can't easily end a number, welcome to Kreitzer and Gould. Some of these numbers go on and on and never seem to finish.

- And Eden Espinosa bears the brunt of this punishment. She never seems to stop singing. Granted she is given breaks during the show, but her incessant pop recitative wears you out. The melodies seem to run into one another all sounding vaguely the same. And her voice is weary, especially in the one song that is one continual belt (I think it was "I Will Paint Her"...but who knows.)

- It's a subject that could have been presented interestingly. But it just felt like 2 1/2 hrs of sexual titillation/liberation mixed in with that Ole Nazi threat (here we go again...how many times this year?)

- One odd thing about this is: I never seemed to get any sense of who this woman was! The character as written is all declaration - who IS this person? Maybe that's a symptom of the casting. Espinosa seems to be a blank here.

- Love how that old pro (!!!!) Beth Leavel comes in and absolutely steals the show at 10:45 with a fairly quiet, beautiful ballad. Eden must be so pissed - she works so hard and never gets that reception.

- Another misfire for the season's debuts. Is anybody there???

Two friends: "This season's Paradise Square."

Updated On: 4/10/24 at 09:17 AM

Auggie27 said: "Two friends: "This season's Paradise Square.""

Halfway through Act 1 last night I thought “this is what seeing Diana must have felt like”, and I loved every second of it.

Now that the show is frozen, could someone who attended in the last two days provide a finalized song list? Very interested to hear where they landed, especially with opening/closing numbers.