Love in Hate Nation at Two River

I saw this yesterday afternoon. There was a public memorial for the theater's founder, Robert Rechnitz, directly before the matinee, so the performance itself started about 15 minutes late. They didn't start seating the audience until after 3 o'clock, and I was impressed by how quickly and easily the staff got the audience situated, given the circumstances.

The show itself isn't perfect, but it's really strong, and I find myself still humming many of the songs hours later. (How often does that happen anymore?) The cast is excellent, and Amina Faye and Kelly McIntyre, as the two central girls, are phenomenal. Faye seems exceptionally polished for someone who is still in college. Lauren Marcus is having a lot of fun with her villainess role.

Two River Theater has clearly thrown a lot of resources at this show, and it's very well designed. The audience was a lot younger and more blended than the average regional-theater matinee crowd, and there was a sense of genuine energy that was nice. Clearly, there are designs for the show to have a life beyond the current production.

That's the worst type of Times pan for a show hoping to come to NYC –– a second-string critic who probably wouldn't review it on/off-Broadway.

I still find it amazing that someone whose influences are "Caged Heat" and 60s/70s Movies That Do Not Exist has developed such a young following.

Ledaero said: "Ouch.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/19/theater/love-in-hate-nation-review.html"

Damn and she takes stabs at BMC and The Prom all in the same review.

Alex Kulak2 said: "Ah yes,The Prom. The pandering, manipulative piece of garbage that was a NYT Critic's Pick"

Thanks for staying on topic!

Sad to see this get panned. Agree with everyone about the inexplicable NYT vendetta. It's bizarre how gloves-off mean they are in reviews of his shows, while pulling punches for so many others.

Pashacar said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "Ah yes,The Prom. The pandering, manipulative piece of garbage that was a NYT Critic's Pick"

Thanks for staying on topic!

Sad to see this get panned. Agree with everyone about the inexplicable NYT vendetta. It's bizarre how gloves-off mean they are in reviews of his shows, while pulling punches for so many others."

The reviews for BMC and Broadway Bounty Hunter struck me as Mean-spirited. I didn’t think this review was particularly nasty. It states that the show could be better. It has good songs and a strong cast, but the writing is lacking. I found the prior two reviews of his shows thoroughly obnoxious. I didn’t think this one was as biting. Not that it matters. Mediocre isn’t good either...

Sauja said: "My utterly biased perspective: Joe Iconis is the 21st century’s Frank Wildhorn. Utterly without talent but inexplicably beloved by some and continuing to get produced in spite of his failures."


I'm no fan, but you really can't compare them:

Wildhorn worked successfully in the pop music world prior to Broadway. Jekyll & Hyde ran as long as Waitress and recouped; Scarlet Pimpernel lost money but still ran 770 perfs over 2+ years. His biggest issue is probably poor choice of lyricists & librettists.

Iconis has had one flop on Broadway and a handful of shows at LORT theatres (for which the bar of success is much lower) and off-Broadway.

LightsOut90 said: "be more chill is not a good show..."

be more chill is a good show...

clever2 said: "Be More Chill is a cute show with one great moment."

Be More Chill is a cute show with lots of great moments.