Living on Love!- Page 4

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 1:30am

It seemed to me that DiPietro just doesn't get what's funny about his premise because he doesn't really exploit it for maximum yocks. I think he wants it to be a rolicking farce but he didn't structure it as one. Who is this play for? I can't believe Felmming's audience will flock to see her in a middling comedy nor will comedy lovers flock to see the diva. I wish them the best but this didn't scream of glory to me.

[Fantod]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 1:38am

I just looked up the grosses for Primate, and the average capacity was 11%! How did that even happen?

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 1:42am

I don't think  they intend for this show to stay for years, this is a limited engagement.  Miss Fleming schedule is pretty busy (she has said in interviews she is booked 5 years in advance and just carving out some time for this show) and there is a show (Allegiance) waiting to take over Longacre Theater by October!

[BosBroad]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 3:51am

 

First, I don't know what people are saying about merch - they have shirts ("Diva" and "Living on Love"), large and smaller red mugs with the logo, magnets, totebags, a bunch of Fleming CDs,  and several other things that I've forgotten at the moment.  :)

 

I was there tonight, and of course I'm a big Fleming fan.  But, I honestly laughed constantly.  I thought Sills and the Butlers were terrific.  Jerry O'Connell to me was the weak link but enjoyable.  Anna was great, but the over-acting got a bit much.  Fleming surprised me because I've never thought acting is her strong suit.  I'd say she had a bunch of very good moments, one really great section, and a couple where she really could improve - especially in the more vulnerable points toward the end.

 

The audience was really laughing constantly.

 

I didn't notice any issues with not hearing.  I heard everyone fine in the balcony.  I only felt there was one spot where the pacing could have been better.  

 

Comments from audience I heard were, "This is really cute," "fun," "hysterical," "There should be more singing," and "kind of lightweight."  I thought the most farcical moment at the end, with lots of movement, came close but didn't quite make it to where it was trying to go.  

 

I asked some opera pals if they would go, and they all declined.  They said they'd just seen Fleming this year at Carnegie and at the Met in the Merry Widow.  They're not interested in seeing something where she doesn't sing and also not really interested in a farce.  Ironically, a girl I work with didn't want to go because she doesn't like opera.  (the built in marketing dilemma for this show, apparently)

 

I realize I'm not entirely objective, but I really think this show deserves to succeed.  It's not scheduled for a long run anyway - I hope people give it a shot.

 

 PS.

All of the cast except Anna signed and posed for photos at the stage door.

Updated On: 4/3/15 at 03:51 AM

[PJPan]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 9:21am

Wilmingtom, that was akin to my thoughts - it wants to be a farce but doesn't fully commit. With the idea put forth by Fleming's character that opera is grander than life, the show should have run parallel. Full-tilt all of it. Fleming needed to be on par with Sills (who I truly, truly enjoyed) in terms of manic energy and line delivery.

Chlumsky had a wonderful, slapstick-infused delivery that I felt was reflective of the kind of show this could have been. O'Connell was fine, but then again I can't say he's always been an actor I'd flock to see.

At the end of the day, yes it was a treat to hear Fleming sing. She has a gorgeous voice. And there were some genuine laughs (mostly from Sills) along with tenderness. The show would have benefited greatly from some stripping down and making it a fuller, breezier one-act.

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 11:26am

Compared to Douglas' heavy Italian-ish accent, I thought Fleming kept flipping between many different accents.  Was she supposed to be American?  And yes, the sound design was poor.  I wanted to yell out "Speak up!"

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 4:42pm

"Compared to Douglas' heavy Italian-ish accent, I thought Fleming kept flipping between many different accents.  Was she supposed to be American?  And yes, the sound design was poor.  I wanted to yell out "Speak up!"

She was supposed to be American.

*MINOR SPOIL* In the second act, when she is rattling off false life details, O'Connell's character corrects and says "She was born in Boca".

As for the sound design, I heard about 60% of the show just fine in the rear mezz, but 60% is FAR from sufficient for the price of Broadway these days. They need to turn up a bit. 

 

 

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 5:23pm

Seeing it tonight.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 5:40pm

Thanks for the warning. 

[BosBroad]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 8:45pm

I thought Fleming was intentionally doing an affected American opera diva-esque accent.

[BosBroad]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 10:17pm

I just happily noticed that the Living on Love site has rebranded the show.  

 

They are now calling it "a new comedy with music" - MUCH more representative of the show.  And "A pitch perfect romantic comedy."  

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 10:47pm

I actually think its misrepresentative. I mean, while there technically is music in it, that's going to lead people  to think that Flemming actually SINGS in it. And while yes, she did sing a little bit here and there, it wasn't enough for people to feel satisfied if they read that and go in expecting full on singing from her.  

[BosBroad]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 11:13pm

Maybe, but she did sing a lot more than in the earlier version, and the people at least I talked to didn't feel slighted.  Her singing wasn't insignificant.  But, more important, the entire play is filled with music of all sorts - it's not just Fleming.  The butlers sing, there are recordings.   It's a very musical play.  

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 11:37pm

Saw the show tonight and had a blast. I laughed throughout most of it, even though I really wanted to hate it. 

The first 15 minutes or so are absolutely terrible... It feels likes a first draft of a college freshmen in playwriting 101... but once they get through the clumsy setup and Ms. Fleming enters the play really gets going... 

I think everyone expects a certain archetype/stereotype out of an operatic diva, but that is not the character that has been written... she's a regular woman who is afraid of aging and losing her career. It did feel as if we might be getting setup for a farce... but it never takes off into farce territory (which is too bad)... I'm not really sure what the show wanted to be at all... I think it ends up being a Romantic Comedy... but that isn't clear until the end. 

I thought Renee Fleming was tremendous. She landed all of her punchlines flawlessly and the audience laughed for long periods of times after several of those zingers leaving the actors frozen on stage waiting for laughs to die down. She doesn't sing that much but when she sings it's of course perfection.

It's literally worth the price of the ticket just to hear her rendition of ALWAYS at the end of the show. WOW... she needs to record that asap. 

As a big fan of LEND ME A TENOR and TOO MANY SOPRANOS... I really wanted this to be more like that... which is why I decided half way through act 1 that I hated this piece... HOWEVER... the cast is great, and I kept laughing... and by the end I really ended up liking it... I just wish DiPietro had a good dramaturg to help him with rewrites and reshaping this thing... 

... as far as hearing goes, I heard everything perfectly from the mezz. 

To sum up my mixed review I would say I would recommend this play... though I can't imagine who would buy a ticket except for opera fans who also like plays... the mezz was half empty tonight. Douglas Sill does a fantastic Steve Martin impression throughout the piece which kept me in stitches... though maybe it would sell more tickets with the ACTUAL Steve Martin.

Anyway, it's good to see some opera/broadway crossover this year... Kelly makes her MET debut and Renee makes her Broadway debut! Who would have thunk it? 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 12:03am

 

I saw this tonight. It's an entertaining but very, very slight show and could definitely benefit from being 90 minutes. I scarcely can remember much from it less than two hours after getting out. 

Fleming acquits herself very well but is not giving a revelatory acting debut. Sills, as the script even notes, sounds like Chico Marx and is delivering a bargain version of a 70s Steve Martin performance. 

The 11th hour slide into sentimentality felt very contrived. 

It's fluffy and light, very much in the midcentury comedy mold, but I wouldn't say it's a top-drawer example of that.

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 1:20am

Saw it tonight and found it to be a very slight comedy. It's assets are a great scene chewing performance by Douglas Sills and a couple of scene stealing butlers with a twist. Big problem is unless Sills is screaming it is almost impossible to hear him.We sat in the back of the orchestra

The reviews won't be great. If it lasts, it closes once Fleming departs.

'

 

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 8:26am

I saw the first act last night. It was more than enough.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 9:20am

Doesn't sound as though it has improved since Williamstown last summer. We left after the first act then too. How did this ever get to Broadway? Who in their right minds thought people would play top dollar (or even $19.57) to see this feeble attempt at the art of drawing room comedy? From the sounds on this board, there will be very few "hits" front the spring season...

[BosBroad]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 1:19pm

Looks like ticket sales are picking up a bit, but only going from a quick glance at the seating chart.  Don't know what's comps, etc.  Fleming's fans are tweeting like crazy.  

 

It may not be getting love here, but the audiences have been laughing consistently - at least they did when I was there and when a couple friends went.

 

 

 

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 1:54pm

Thanks for your posts on here Bosbroad!  I got tix for May and I am looking forward to it, more so I have read your reviews!!

[BosBroad]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 2:21pm

Thanks, Ebontoyan!

 

I'll be interested in your comments to see whether much has changed between now and when you see it.  

 

I just hope it lasts through even the limited run.  No idea what they need to last.  I'm not an expert Box office report reader but it seems some plays are getting in the high 30s of potential gross and still open.  We'll find out.  

[Polka Dot2]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 2:23pm

I saw it last night and paid $20. I thought that it was thoroughly delightful, and I very much enjoyed myself. It is the best show of the season? Probably not. But it was a really fun night out. In terms of over the top comedy I liked this much more than On the Twentieth Century.  

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 2:30pm

A number of people in our row never returned after intermission. Would they have stayed if the seats were not uber cheap? Who knows.

20th was far superior in my opinion but to each his own. If you enjoyed it great. Question: where were you sitting and did you hear OK.

 

[Polka Dot2]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 2:41pm

I was in the rear orchestra on house left. I heard everything just fine.

 

Also, I'm guessing that the script for this is not available anywhere yet, right?

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/4/15 at 8:08pm

<i>A number of people in our row never returned after intermission. Would they have stayed if the seats were not uber cheap? Who knows.</i>

I would have left at intermission regardless of what I paid. Not everything is about money, though you seem to think it is.

Re: amplification. I had no trouble hearing anyone. I was in the rear orchestra, as well.