LESTAT - The New Carrie!- Page 13

[dented146]

Posted: 3/31/06 at 1:25am

This thread should have been called, Lestat- The New Carrion. I'm sure many good folks have a lot of their mortal souls riding on this. I hope they can work it out

[ken8631]

Posted: 3/31/06 at 8:35am

I totally agree with the reviews posted a few pages back....

[starlyricist]

Posted: 3/31/06 at 1:45pm

Okay, well I saw the show last night...

Oh my lord. A good quarter of the audience left at intermission. I was shocked. Probably even more shocked at how incredibly BAD this show is at this point in time. I'm making an early determination, as, of course, the show has not officially opened and is only finishing its first week of previews, but what I saw last night left my mouth agape.

My peevs:
1) The music: With the exception of Claudia's second act solo "I Want More", the music all has the same sound, and it's not so good. The music does nothing to further the story (whatever that is, as the book leaves much to be desired), and the songs fall flat, particularly Lestat's 11 o'clock number.
2)The cast. Hugh Panaro is immensely talented and very good-looking, but it just doesn't connect. His awkward groping and fondling of his victims isn't sexy...it's laughable. What should be homo-erotic fails to hit the mark. His Lestat is all over the map, and I failed to follow his emotional journey...one moment he's terrified of having to kill to live and the next he's urging Louis to just accept it and go on and I for one had no clue where this new accepting Lestat had come from.

So yeah, my 2 cents. I was able to move down to the orchestra and only spent $21.25, and if this is the case, I wouldn't mind seeing it again in 3 or 4 weeks after the show has opened.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 3/31/06 at 1:48pm

Double post. Sorry.

Updated On: 3/31/06 at 01:48 PM

[mwjr16]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 10:23pm

* Love it!

[Color and Light]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 2:37am

I saw Lestat on Saturday for twenty-one bucks, just because I wanted to be able to give an opinion on it. I thought it was awful - the people around me snickering quietly certainly seemed to feel the same way. The biggest problem for me were the lyrics - they were just so atrocious that they even detracted from the parts of the score that were somewhat decent. And when the music was less than so, it was all the more painful."To Kill Your Kind" has to be one of the worst showtunes I've ever heard in my life. Midway through the number, everyone I went with just looked at each other, trying to manage not to laugh.

The book was a boring mishmash of whatever Linda Woolverton could fit in, with only the occasional bright spot. However, at least the second act was a bit more fun than that killer first one - it sometimes got to the point of being unintentionally camp, while the opening half was just completely lifeless. The Lestat/Louis/Claudia dialogues were the few parts I actually felt a smidgen of something besides mortification.

I feel bad for the cast/tech crew/pit - it's a living, after all. There was nothing particularly awful in that aspect, but I did find Hugh Panaro frightfully dull, which is a shame, since he has an absolutely beautiful voice.

I suppose Lestat was the worst show I've seen in a while. However, in another light, it was one of the most entertaining. I love laughing and talking about horrible movies and plays ... and in that respect, my friends and I have something to giggle about for years.

I hope my opinion is valid enough.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 4/8/06 at 7:42pm

@ Phantom05 on page six: As for Tanz doing better than DOTV, I subscribe to Ken Mandelbaum's opinion, which is that serious musicals were not in that season, and it might have hung on a while longer, but ultimately would still have been a financial flop, but perhaps critically and artistically well received.

[MaronaDavies]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:19am

I saw it Saturday. I feel very badly for the cast because they're really, really trying--and they're all excellent. I really loved Hugh Panaro and the guy playing Nicholas; Allison Fischer was great as Claudia. The book and score and sets were such a mess, though.

I was also disappointed by how much they changed the characters from the books. Poetic license and all, but they really took away a lot of the things that made the characters unique. Armand for example could have been intriguing if they hadn't made him so evil. He's not supposed to be.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:39am

Armand kind of resembled something to to likes of "Jafar meets Karen Walker"

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 1:53pm

heh. I guess Forbiddan Broadway was right. "Mr. Barfee spell LESTAT." "Ah yes of course. One moment please, B-O-M-B. "That is correct." Ahhhh too funny, anyway I'd like to see it just so I can experiance a huge flop.
Updated On: 4/9/06 at 01:53 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 10:15pm

Wait, is that really in Forbidden Broadway?! HAHAHA!!

[woman_in_white]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 10:23pm

Anyone else think Hugh Panaro sounds a bit like Zoolander in this musical?

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:08pm

Apparently the cast album is to be released by May of this year. =) Good news to those who want to listen to the lovely score (and not so lovely lyrics) with the absence of the dialogue. I am very excited.


And for a slight thread jack; Drew Sarich is also being featured on a new album of JCS. Also at the link. Whoo-hoo!




Clciky, clicky

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:11pm

I loved the show, especailly the music. I think it's very good and features many great talents as Panaro, Carmello and Fischer. I hope it stays open, I really do.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:15pm

I'm with you Theatreboy49.

I do kind of wish they had had a different director from the start though, in better hands at the helm I think wonders would have occured.

[jamie3]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:16pm

Yeah. I saw Lastat and it was horrible. People were walking out and I felt bad for the actors. There are some talented people in the cast and their just trying to work with what they have.

[mwjr16]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:19pm

*

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 11:35pm

Ep, I've been trying to find that JCS CD somewhere for something reasonable. Am I just dreaming? 'Cuz it's nowhere.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 12:45am

Well it hasn't been released yet. I want it too, but the currency exchange rate sucks.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 1:19am

I saw it 4/1 matinee and everyone including me gave it a standing ovation. I didn't see anyone leave at all. And I hope it doesnt close, I want a recording super badly. I think it is a good piece. Though there are some things to cut (coughmorality playcough)it was a good piece. Highlight of the show is I Want More.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 1:42am

It's interesting, even die hards of the show hate "The Mortality Play." I wonder if it's as bad as "Origin..."

Just as long as they add music to the end's of act 1 and act 2. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they cut it.

Also I hear the semi makeout scene on the Devil's Road with Lestat and Armand has been cut? Say it ain't so, I wanted to see that!

[ckeaton]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 10:34am

!!!! WOLF KILLER !!!!!

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 1:56pm

No matter how bad some of you think it is....its not going anywhere for a while.....there are to many fans of the book that want to see it....and they are going to keep it going as long as the tickets get sold.....which they are

[jarretSF]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 2:35pm

tickets aren't selling as well as you might think.... Go to ticketmaster and try for any date, there are no sold out performances. Plus just about every performance has been available at TKTS, again, not a good sign for a new show. I wondered when you'd post in this thread.... Can't be a Lestat thread without you!
BTW - You might want to correct your profile - under favorite performers - It's spelled "Panaro", not "Panero"

Updated On: 4/10/06 at 02:35 PM

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/10/06 at 3:03pm

There are a lot of people who are going out of curiousity despite or even because of the word of mouth. I also know some people who are going back again and again to see all the chnages and whatnot.