Michael R. Jackson's new musical 'White Girl in Danger' to premiere Off-Broadway in March 2023- Page 9

[dan94]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 5:13pm

I saw it last night and had previously seen it about a week and a half earlier. They have cut some, but it's still 2h45 and too long.

The first time I saw it, my friend and I agreed that we've never been on such a roller coaster in the theatre before. Seeing it the second time and knowing what to expect let me appreciate the craft at play and what he was trying to accomplish even if it's not there yet.

 

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As someone previously said, it tends to get repetitive in the first act. I hope in the future they cut away to leave only what is working best with each character. There are 3 boyfriends and I feel like 2 of them don't add much or make much impression.

There are references left to cut material. The Show Me Your H*le song doesn't make sense now that the pegging scene has been cut. (I don't know why we need Keesha singing 3 songs referencing the 3 boyfriends sung back to back with the Battle of the Bands song. I feel like the Battle song should be rewritten and cover that entire ground in one song/moment.) I didn't see the Allwhite mother song but I feel like the courtroom scene would not seem as random with that piece.

The music didn't make a large impression the first time I saw it. Part of that is the sound design, which is the one thing about the show that is truly awful. We lose any definition of lyrics any time the chorus is all singing. And there are some witty lyrics in there, I wish they weren't covered up as much. Seeing it again - there is some great and even beautiful music in there. It partly mentally gets crowded out by a few subpar songs, or it's not performed well. Which brings me to Latoya Edwards as Keesha.

I think Latoya Edwards is the biggest misstep here. She was noticeably vocally struggling. The vocals did improve the second time, but it's still not there. A bigger problem than the vocals though - she's not likable enough or has enough star quality to want to follow her for 3 hours. And she doesn't have enough personality as a performer to be a foil to Tarra Conner Jones, who is giving every ounce of a star performance one could wish for. Any performer would be at a disadvantage here, Nell is written to be a more crowd pleasing role. I think you need someone in the Keesha part who has such insane star quality you have no choice but to look at her and follow her the entire time. Latoya is fine. You need someone phenomenal to at least match Tarra.

The one change I hated - my friend and I both said after seeing it the first time "from the twist on the show is pretty perfect. Don't touch it." They touched it. They removed James Jackson Jr being taken off in a cot at the end of his song. Now he gets swallowed up by curtains. The gurney was such a striking image, I really wish they had kept it.

It will always be a somewhat haphazard show as it's satirizing soaps which are haphazard by nature. I hope they really investigate what each moment is adding and if each moment is the best possible moment. There is a brilliant show somewhere inside there and I'm rooting for them to find it.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 6:03pm

New song at every audition this fall: "Show Me Your H*ole"

[Kad]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 6:32pm

I hope we get a cast album; this is a score I would really like to sit down with and closely listen to. 
 

There’s a lot to examine in the show, and for that I am grateful to Jackson and the team. For all its messiness, it’s really trying something unique and has a lot to say. I appreciate big swings, even if they don’t entirely connect. And I think there’s enough here that does connect to merit recommending people to see it. 

[Ricey2]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 10:19am

Oh, it’s frozen? I will probably go back and see it another time in the next few weeks just to see the final product. I was really hoping that they’d add the mothers’ songs back in. A missed opportunity, but if they release a cast album… I really hope they add it in as a bonus track. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 10:32am

Alex Kulak2 said: "Only asking because I'm a dork about this thing and there's been no mention about it on this board or (even stranger), the Second Stage web page:

Who's the orchestrator? What does the band look like?"

Lynne Shankel did the orchestrations, Meg Zervoulis is the MD. 2 keyboards, 2 guitars, bass, drums, reed.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 9:20pm

Lengthy Hilton Als profile of Jackson in The New Yorker.

"How Michael R. Jackson Remade the American Musical"

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 6:01pm

Saw the matinee today. I purposely haven't been following the reactions on here, but I thought it was bonkers and brilliant, and I haven't watched anything with such rapt attention in a long time. I understand why it doesn't work for some, but, for those with a certain set of sensibilities and interests (i.e. 80s-90s pop culture, soap operas, 90210, Melrose Place, Saved by the Bell), I think it's a must-see. 

Oh, and Tarra Conner Jones is a marvel.

Updated On: 4/8/23 at 06:01 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 6:29pm

Tonight’s performance is cancelled due to non-COVID illness (and insufficient understudy coverage)

https://twitter.com/2stnyc/status/1644827330190114816?s=46&t=0XG46rJiPEOy8dyIeDsimg

Updated On: 4/8/23 at 06:29 PM

[Shubert Alley Cat]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 10:06pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Saw the matinee today. I purposely haven't been following the reactions on here, but I thought it was bonkers and brilliant, and I haven't watched anything with such rapt attention in a long time. I understand why it doesn't work for some, but, for those with a certain set of sensibilities and interests (i.e. 80s-90s pop culture, soap operas, 90210, Melrose Place, Saved by the Bell), I think it's a must-see.

Oh, and Tarra Conner Jones is a marvel."

I found the whole thing (saw this on 3/19) was a hot mess though I did laugh a lot.  But I agree with you about Tarra Conner Jones 100% - what a talent!

[Gopher4]

Posted: 4/10/23 at 5:27pm

Any chance this extends past 5/21? Will be in town for Memorial Day weekend and would love a chance to see it...

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/10/23 at 6:21pm

Gopher4 said: "Any chance this extends past 5/21? Will be in town for Memorial Day weekend and would love a chance to see it..."

DMed you.

Tonight is opening night! I'm excited to see how the show will be received.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/10/23 at 10:22pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/theater/review-white-girl-in-danger.html

 

[Rakesh Natarajan]

Posted: 4/10/23 at 10:24pm

https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-girl-in-danger-review-michael-r-jacksons-soap-spoof-cea63a96?mod=opinion_reviews_pos2

https://nystagereview.com/2023/04/10/white-girl-in-danger-michael-r-jackson-musical-in-danger/

It seems like most reviews are mixed (leaning slightly more positive than negative)

Updated On: 4/10/23 at 10:24 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/10/23 at 10:26pm

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-white-girl-in-danger-depicts-the-hostile-takeover-of-an-all-white-soap-opera_1697332/

"Despite its flaws, White Girl in Danger is a musical bursting with big ideas about the transactional relationship between storytellers and consumers (which is what American audiences are). It also highlights the ways our obsession with race obfuscates persistent class disparities. Jackson boldly obliterates contemporary manners while dreaming of a day when individuals can tell their stories without having to cram themselves onto a shelf in the store. That makes White Girl in Danger a must-see new musical from one of the sharpest voices in the theater today."

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/10/23 at 10:35pm

https://www.thewrap.com/white-girl-in-danger-off-broadway-theater-review/

"One of the many splendors of Jackson’s previous musical, “A Strange Loop,” is the speed and economy of the narrative. “White Girl” plays like an inspired but deeply flawed first table reading that needs to shed several repetitive scenes and at least three of its endings. For sure, there is a great ending here, among the lesser ones, in which the musical’s big secret is revealed to stupendous effect. And that’s the other wonderful thing about “White Girl in Danger”: just when you’ve given up hope that the show can turn itself around, Jackson and his talented cast startle us back to attention with their theatrical legerdemain. Given the chance to revisit any new musical that opened this season (“Kimberly Akimbo” opened Off Broadway in 2021), I’d pick “White Girl” in a TKTS heartbeat."

[JasonC3]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 1:52am

Vulture:

https://www.vulture.com/article/white-girl-in-danger-theater-review.html

[TheOnlyOne2]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 3:10am

I'm honestly shocked at how many of the reviews like the long monologue/song near the end of the shoe. I've watched it a few times in previews, and I dread it every time. 

[Ricey2]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 7:33am

I haven’t seen it in a few weeks, but I thought it was a lot better on a second watch. I suppose because I knew it was coming, but it also felt shorter which I think helped a lot too. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 9:40am

What is it that people don't like about the monologue? its length, its content, its execution, or the fact that it even exists at all?

Personally, I thought it was amazing, and a highlight of the show. After the 2 1/2 over-the-top hours that preceded it, I was very happy to sit for 9 minutes and listen to Michael R. Jackson explain what was going on in his head.

Updated On: 4/11/23 at 09:40 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 10:14am

I honestly liked the monologue and didn’t think it was particularly long at all. I was expecting some wall of text, based on reactions here, and it is… absolutely not that. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 10:26am

TaffyDavenport said: "What is it that people don't like about the monologue? Its length, its content, its execution, or the fact that it even exists at all?"

All of the above, and simply a case of “show don’t tell”. I think theatre normally, I don’t know, uses the three hours of performance to explain what is going on inside the author’s head, not just the final scene. This just feels like a case of “we’re doing too much for the audience to follow every plot point, and they most likely don’t understand everything we did, so let’s do a wrap up summary to get them back on track.” Simplify. Edit. Narrow down the focus. 

It reminds me of when overly complicated plot-heavy shows have to put out a video (not a “last season on…” but a full character and timeline layout like How to Get Away with Murder or Scandal) explaining everything that happened leading up to a new season. If it’s that serious, you need to edit the piece down. People should be able to follow a play. 

If you need to lay it out for people after they sat for 2+ hours watching it, doesn’t that speak to the quality of the storytelling? 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 11:29am

I agree with so much of Jesse Green's review (which feels like he is being very encouraging). There is so much good stuff buried in this messy show. I don't know if this is primarily a Lileana problem or a MRJ problem or both, but hopefully they'll keep working on it, maybe take it out of town, and work on refining it.

[DaveyG]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 11:32am

Is there a commercial producer attached to this show? I looked and couldn't find one. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 11:37am

DaveyG said: "Is there a commercial producer attached to this show? I looked and couldn't find one."

Barbara Whitman, who also produced STRANGE LOOP and FUN HOME.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/11/23 at 11:45am

Broadway would not be a friendly place for this show.