Posted: 4/4/15 at 8:37pm
To AC
No need to be snotty re the money remark.Think what you want
Many on this board feel the need to be snotty or sarcastic.Maybe it is the need to feel superior to others.Beats me why this is so but that's life.
Posted: 4/4/15 at 8:50pm
And you've been found unintelligent on all counts
Posted: 4/4/15 at 9:20pm
It's clear based on this and other threads that you're obsessed with what people pay for theater. It's neither snotty nor sarcastic to point that out.
Posted: 4/6/15 at 11:56am
anyone see the show this weekend? Thoughts?
Posted: 4/6/15 at 12:01pm
"To AC
No need to be snotty re the money remark.Think what you want
Many on this board feel the need to be snotty or sarcastic.Maybe it is the need to feel superior to others.Beats me why this is so but that's life.
"
Oh god Roxy, will you stop pretending that you aren't as obnoxious and sarcastic as the next poster?
Just because you have most of the board blocked doesn't make you somehow better.
Tool.
Posted: 4/6/15 at 12:33pm
I enjoyed the show. It was a nice comedy but the 2nd act was stronger than the 1st. It was nice and delightful and I left with a smile. There is enough time for them before opening night to strengthen the show and I think it can open to fairly good reviews. Renee Fleming does a fantastic job and gets most of the best lines.
I was able to get comps and if I'm able to get more when it comes closer to opening day, I would go again because I think it has the potential to be really funny.
Posted: 4/8/15 at 5:58pm
Broadwayfan24,
What would you do to strengthen it?
I've been thinking about this, and I think I have three things.
First, I'd cut a portion of the first 10-15 minutes.
Second, and I think it's way too late for this, but - I'd try to do some more choreography for the moment in the second act that is most farcical - everyone running around as Fleming sings a section of Queen of the Night. It was too random when I saw it, esp when I think back to scenes like that from plays like Noises Off and Lend Me a Tenor. In those plays there was running, freezing at funny moments and generally organized chaos. There's just running in the Living on Love scene.
Finally, I don't understand the arc of the Raquelle character. She seems to grow or at least be revealed throughout the play - from a self-absorbed caricature to someone obviously struggling with what's happening in her life... but then at the end, seems to go back to the self-absorbed caricature. She responds to Robert's offer to tour with her with compassion for HIM, but then at the end, doesn't even give a thought about him or anyone (except her husband). I thought maybe a simple line saying they should have been nicer to the writers, or she was glad the writers had been there would have shown that she'd learned, as she'd appeared to earlier.
Updated On: 4/8/15 at 05:58 PM
Posted: 4/8/15 at 6:46pm
I agree that about 10-15 min of the 1st act need to be cut. Perhaps this can make it a 1.5 hour show with no intermission which is ideal. I personally would cut part of the exposition down with Maestro and his writer talking. It seems to go nowhere and provides for very little laughter.
I think they need to boost the interaction between the two ghost writers. You knew they were going to end up together, but it sort of happened suddenly without a hint of attraction.
Most of the changes need to happen with dialogue. Many jokes just laid flat.
The Raquel arc could use a bit of work. Her character definitely had the best lines and material to work with. I agree that she should express some regret of how they both handled their ghost writers. I really enjoyed the ending though...singing "Always" as they sway to the music. Very sweet.
I really don't remember all the running around though. It must have been forgettable and they should definitely improve on that scene. They way you are describing it makes it seem like it was supposed to be a stand-out moment.
Posted: 4/8/15 at 7:41pm
Interesting points. Thanks. I think I'm okay with how the interaction between the writers is written - I suspect it's some acting choices that didn't really convey the attraction at the beginning. Although, they are both supposed to be smitten with their celebrities, so maybe a single moment of recognition of their attraction is missing.
The running around stuff ONLY stuck out to me because Fleming was singing (sort of) Queen of the Night at the time and she's never sung anything like that publicly (At the stage door, several of her fans commented on it). It was toward the end of Act 2 after the separate tables and stuff that happened there.
But clearly, it is intended as a big laugh pay-off scene. Without choreographed *moments* you normally find in farces like that within the scene, though, it just didn't work. It was the biggest missed opportunity of the night. Just fixing that would elevate the play significantly, but I don't think there's time for something like that.
Updated On: 4/8/15 at 07:41 PM
Posted: 4/8/15 at 7:42pm
When I saw the show at WTF, it seemed to be better received and frankly, more enjoyable. I saw the show a few days ago on my recent blitz and I'm finding myself stumped.
At WTF, the only analogy I could make for the show was a "white sundae." It was a bowl of vanilla ice cream with marshmallow fluff, topped with whipped cream. Tasty, but a bit boring. It wasn't anything new, but hey, it's ice cream! Ice cream is good!
This time, it felt more like a plain bowl of vanilla ice cream with no toppings. It wasn't as fun and a lot of the fluffiness is missing. It's too long. If they cut about 15 minutes, it would feel better. This really should be a 90 minute, no intermission show. As some has said, there's a lot of unnecessary exposition. It doesn't lead us anywhere and perhaps most importantly, it's not that funny. The arc between the biography writers needs to be beefed up, especially because they just seem to end together without much information.
Renee Fleming was okay. Strong any time she sang, but it seemed uneven. I love Douglas Sills and I'm so glad to see him back on stage, but at times, it felt like he was laying it on too thick. I wanted him to tone it down just a bit.
Jerry O'Connell was the most consistent on stage in my eyes. He gives a strong performance and while I liked Justin Long from WTF, I found Jerry to be more charming.
Posted: 4/8/15 at 7:54pm
There seems to be such a wide range of opinions on this play. If you look at social media, even a lot of non Fleming fanatics are posting about how funny they thought it was. But then others... not at all. It's really odd how divergent opinion is.
Of course, I thought it was very funny.. but I have a bias going in.
Updated On: 4/8/15 at 07:54 PM
Posted: 4/8/15 at 8:16pm
Same thing with It Shoulda Been You, Honeymoon in Vegas, Finding Neverland, Wolf Hall, Its Only a Play, and Something Rotten. You can't please everyone and especially since they are in previews and still toying with line delivery, and choices they make on stage to see what gets the laughs. People also have different senses of humor.
Updated On: 4/8/15 at 08:16 PM
Posted: 4/8/15 at 9:28pm
I agree with most of you, they could literally just cut the first fifteen minutes, and the play would be much more interesting... all the other points are good too...
Posted: 4/8/15 at 11:55pm
...and the last 15. And those 15 minutes before intermission. And the first 15 minutes of Act 2.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 12:57am
I was invited to the final dress rehearsal and went again with a friend who had an extra comp tonight. I didn't love the show at final dress but thinking it might have improved I went again. The good news is that they have tightened up the first act, it seemed to be a good 10 minutes shorter. Tonight we were sitting in the second row so we had a great view of the gorgeous set and beautiful costumes. I would love to get a closer look at all the photos on the back wall of the set, they look to be actual production photos of Renee Fleming and Doug Sills from other shows. The show ran about 2 hours including the intermission. It would definitely play better as a one act but I suppose they need the intermission to change clothes and clean up the set from act 1.
The orchestra was only about half full and it seemed to be heavily papered.
My two random questions would be: 1) is Renee Fleming wearing a wig? I assumed she was but when she came out after the show her hair looked very similar.
and 2) what are they using for the olive oil in act 1? I would hate to have to clean that up every night!
Posted: 4/9/15 at 9:23am
"I thought Fleming was intentionally doing an affected American opera diva-esque accent."
That's what I thought -- and she actually DID do that from time to time and it worked when she did it, but what bothered me was that it was so hit and miss. At times she'd talk softly and without any drama at all -- a true DIVA-esque would never let her "drama queen" down for a minute. And with a voice that sometimes was a strain to hear -- who has to strain to hear a DIVA emote? -- the whole characterization seemed to me the weakest link and least "over-acted" of the piece, which really seemed to be going for that.
I saw yesterday's matinee, but nearly dozed off a couple times -- it wore very thin for me.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 9:26am
I'm curious to see how it did at the box office this week. Friends at Equity have been telling me there have been stacks of comps at the Equity office this entire week.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 10:10am
I guess that's why Gold Club hasn't been getting them!
I saw the show with the $19.57 deal and really enjoyed it. I thought the performances were solid, and the show was consistently funny.
Posted: 4/10/15 at 5:39pm
I just saw pics. I don't think Anna's wig is ugly at all
Posted: 4/13/15 at 10:48pm
https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.php?colid=975666#.VSx88_nF-yU
BWW has posted "highlights" although the first 1:24 are just a montage before a few scenes are played out.
It's tough to sell a play with small sections - but if these are the "best bits," then even though I'd love to see Ms. Fleming live and in person, I think I would pass - if I were in NYC or visiting before August. Indeed, these clips make it seem like I would need to know a lot more about opera to understand the jokes.
Updated On: 4/13/15 at 10:48 PM
Posted: 4/14/15 at 12:10am
She is FABULOUS!!! Im starting to see a lot more advertising for this show :)
Posted: 4/14/15 at 12:13am
Her entrance is HILARIOUS!!!
Posted: 4/14/15 at 12:55am
I still have hope for this one. Some good reviews and summer traffic I think could give it a boost.
