MR. SATURDAY NIGHT Previews — Page 4

How and where are they marketing this show? Has Billy done any interviews, except for like some sports show where he talked about the Oscar Smack? I heard about a week of radio ads in mid-March. I don't think I've seen any mailers or subway ads. Are they just relying on word of mouth and whatever advance they got when they started selling at those astronomical rates?

EDSOSLO858 said: "Billy Crystal is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium for Opening Day today, and Shoshana Bean is singing our national anthem."

I think they should switch at the last minute. Have Bean throw out the first pitch, and Crystal sing the anthem. Wouldn't that be fun?

Certainly not a disaster, but I found this show aggressively mediocre, to the point where I don't even feel like it's worth my energy to pick it apart in a long post.

But I will say: Crystal is genuinely very good. I expected this to be 2.5 hours of Billy Crystal just being whacky and charismatic for the audience, and not much else. But no, in addition to being very funny, it's also a technically solid acting performance; he hams it up when appropriate, but the rest of the time, he's grounded, he's focused, he's listening and responding to his scene partners, and it feels like a fully-realized character. It's a better performance than Hugh Jackman in Music Man, if you ask me.

Jordan Catalano said: "I’ve seen it twice now. I just love it."

I couldn’t stop smiling when I left the theatre. It’s a very lovable show to me.

I thoroughly agree with most of the reviews on this thread. Billy Crystal is truly fantastic in this. As expected, he nails the charisma and comedy aspects of the role (really, no one delivers one-liners better than him), but his acting range outside of the comedy is very impressive. I was also totally surprised to see how strong of a singer he is. It’s not just an evening of Billy Crystal comedy schtick; he really is a full-fledged, terrific musical theatre actor, and in a pretty big role, too. I fully expect a Tony nomination for him, and it will be well deserved.

This show, however… oof. It’s a slog and felt absolutely endless at times. The book is just not good and needs a ton of fat trimming to make the story feel more effective and streamlined. The direction is also pretty terrible here; there is no sense of pace or energy for what could and should be a pretty lighthearted, easy-breezy, energetic, fun show. Each scene slowly rolls into the next.

It pains me to say it, but this is Jason Robert Brown’s worst score. And I say that as someone who adored Honeymoon in Vegas. Just not good.

And unfortunately, when you have the trifecta of a bad book + bad score + bad direction, it makes for a bad show.

I will say though, the company is small but fantastic and seems to be really enjoying themselves on stage. Shoshana is phenomenal in a truly thankless role (which I’m honestly a little surprised that an actress of her caliber and reputation is in). I adored seeing Randy Graff belt it out in Act 2, even though I can’t remember for the life of me any part of how that song went.

If you’re a Billy Crystal nut and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to see him perform live and show off his talent and range, you should see this. You won’t be disappointed by him. However, if you’re looking for a well-constructed, engaging, interesting musical… I’d recommend other options.

I never thought Billy Crystal was funny, and Mr. Saturday Night the movie was a bad watch. Good luck though, seems like a good guy.

That’s embarrassing.

Alexander Lamar said: "Tickets for opening night are on sale to the public"

Not a good sign at all. It's rare for tickets to any opening night to be available to the public. But this is surprising due to Crystal's name and being in a smaller theater.

I won the lottery (front row orchestra right, seat A-6, not obstructed view) and saw this last night and honestly I was pretty bored. There aren't any particularly memorable musical numbers. Shoshana is underutilized, as others have said. I didn't find the main character likeable and found it a bit anachronistic that one running gag in act I is Buddy continuing to forget the name of his Black female agent - that doesn't play well for laughs in 2022. The way he treats the women in his life in general doesn't play well for laughs in 2022. I'll also admit I'm not the person this show is marketed towards - I'm Jewish, but I'm in my 20s. In some ways this show felt like hanging out with my grandfather (my grandfather has a similar sense of "Borscht Belt" humour), but not necessarily in a *good* way, and the story itself wasn't very compelling to me, nor was the music. A-6 was a surprisingly good seat though - the stage was high, but I don't think I missed anything except for maybe if there were small moments when Buddy goes into the den area. Otherwise the only obstruction came from the actors sometimes having their back turned. For $50 (with fees), not a bad seat.

I can’t remember any other show that sent out guidelines ahead of time suggesting when to arrive in such detail. It was something like if you have seats in rear mezzanine or rear orchestra, you should arrive at ‘x’ time, and if you have seats in front mezzanine or front orchestra, you should arrive at ‘y’ time.

I had a great seat in center orchestra, row O.

It sounds like the unsightly wires that a previous poster mentioned have been hidden away. The upstage band sits behind a short, barely there, hide-the-wires, 8” curb wall.

Overall, a fun night (Thursday performance) for Billy Crystal fans. And it was great seeing a dancing hot dog - maybe the first performing weiner since Bullets Over Broadway.

Musically, this is a big miss. No need to buy the OBC if one is ever made. Though there are a few beautiful passages for trumpet, trombone, and tuba, other times the undercurrent is a dull, repetitive riff.

As suggested in the script, much of good comedy is timing and delivery, and Crystal is a PRO with his comedic chops. Lots of groaners, one-liners, and bathroom humor, but one pair of ball jokes would have sufficed.

I loved the wall of past comedy stars in one of the Friar’s Club scenes: Phil Silvers, Phyllis Diller, Nipsey Russel, Johnny Carson, Buddy Hackett, Totie Fields, Sid Caesar, and many others.

There are 11 - maybe 12 - snapshot screens used as a backdrop throughout much of the show.

Overall, I liked the look of the production, as it felt like a welcoming variety show. No songs to recall, and I can’t remember half of the jokes, but in the moment, I was transported to Billy Crystal’s closing act.

MCW1227 said: "Going tomorrow afternoon just to see Crystal as I’m not expecting much from the production. I got TDF tickets and was wondering if anyone has gotten tickets through TDF and where the seats were located? Thanks in advance!"

Last Saturday matinee we were seating in row B of the mezzanine, left side. Great seats but I ended up getting moved to row D center orchestra aisle because there was less than zero leg room.

Billy could’ve kept this.

Well done, but very dry. The book doesn’t work for me in a lot of ways.

Shoshanna was the highlight of the show. When her character was front and center, the show came to life.

I can’t recommend this show in good conscience. But was nice to experience Billy and David Paymer on stage. Both are everything you imagine. But the show is a drag.

I felt bad for almost everyone involved in this. As many have said, Billy was fine, even good, if not great. He can't really sing, though, which make the duets and ballads in Act 2 excruciating - but no worse than those sung by the rest of the cast, especially the guy playing his brother, who TRULY cannot sing. Everyone just seemed exhausted, even Shoshana Bean, who is usually great.

Bottom line: There is absolutely ZERO reason for this to have been a musical. No memorable songs, a whole lot of misplaced and wasted talent. The best bits were the Borscht Belt tributes and the great schtick Billy excels at so naturally throughout, but every time those were starting to heat up, we get smacked by another throwaway musical number.

Woof.