#1
Posted: 4/12/06 at 2:24am
Ok… so don’t hate on me for putting a review up during previews. Also don’t hate me for my lame attempt a review,, I’m just downloading the nonsense in my brain.
I really hope someone on the creative end is listening to the opinions on these boards. Many of the concerns and complaints on here are valid and noteworthy. Tarzan and Lestat have a lot to lose come review time.
So here goes: (SPOILERS)
I have never read the Ann Rice books and vaguely remember seeing part of the Tom Cruise movie. I know of Elton, Bernie, Wolverton and Rob’s work, it’s not exactly the group I would put together for this project,,, but well it is sort of spilled milk.
Anyways I went in with an open mind. Elton was there tonight April 11. I remember him being there for an Aida preview once; he walked out of that in a tiff. Sorry this review is already a mess. Focus…
Ok right... so from my POV, I think the show is pretty easy to follow. The music isn’t that bad at all. Elton writes pop music and it’s pretty nice to listen too. I think the sound design is probably not where it should be,, but it is previews. Some of the songs have “runs” in them and I don’t really know if Bernie knows what they are… so at times it is weird for me to sit there and like hope the actor can fit all the words in. So abstract for me,, and i think the audience felt it too.
I read someone’s post saying the show needs to have songs at the beginning and the end of the acts. They are right…. It is weird coming back from intermission with just lame dialogue. I want something rousing…. and the end should have an anthem like....well… about valuing time on earth and internal something or other. Just something to leave the audience where we need to be. There isn’t a lesson learned and there should be…. at least that’s what I think. Bring it home guys… The ending is just lame right now.... we are Americans... give us something happy or sad we need something!
The biggest problems for me were in the book and direction. This is one of the first musicals I have seen where I wished that everything WAS sung. Whenever the actors started to talk I got jilted out of the story. The jokes are terrible and it wasn’t so much I got lost or confused by the story, I was just not caring. I think the show is supposed to be about Lestat traveling through life with guilt and overcoming it…. I don’t know if he does and I don’t know what other story there is. I think that maybe in the books there is some parallel to mortals having similar demons to kill or whatever. I need to have that in this story and I need it to be sent to my brain by the end. I will mention Wicked because it is a recent adaptation that I felt was successful break from the book. Wicked the musical took one part of the book, Elphie and Glinda’s friendship and made that the story. It works. Any other way and I think it would have been like Lestat… because the book is like 30 years and has so much liberty to go this way and that. I also do not really get the dynamic with his mother…. I think that maybe there should be less or more of her.... oh and the hugging thing is really lame… and cut Armands hair it will make him look scarier.
It feels like there was so much potential here with Rice’s work and it just got cut or dismissed. The sets and lighting are amazing and fantastic. Oh one other complaint… the character Marius, is TERRIBLE. I did not get whether he was a villain or what. I was only confused by that guy…. his motivations were vague and not helped by his terrible acting. I think he should have been less Zen like…. He just made me cringe…there was no depth. I read a few places and have heard it over and over again "we decided to remove any gothic cliches.".... well it is made obvious in the show many times by the characters... i didn't really care either way,, i wanted fangs and blood. That seemed like something that was again abstract to the story at hand...show dont tell and all that.
This show opens in a few days… I wish they had more time, some simple changes and this show could really keep the seats filled. It’s not that bad really….
I really hope someone on the creative end is listening to the opinions on these boards. Many of the concerns and complaints on here are valid and noteworthy. Tarzan and Lestat have a lot to lose come review time.
So here goes: (SPOILERS)
I have never read the Ann Rice books and vaguely remember seeing part of the Tom Cruise movie. I know of Elton, Bernie, Wolverton and Rob’s work, it’s not exactly the group I would put together for this project,,, but well it is sort of spilled milk.
Anyways I went in with an open mind. Elton was there tonight April 11. I remember him being there for an Aida preview once; he walked out of that in a tiff. Sorry this review is already a mess. Focus…
Ok right... so from my POV, I think the show is pretty easy to follow. The music isn’t that bad at all. Elton writes pop music and it’s pretty nice to listen too. I think the sound design is probably not where it should be,, but it is previews. Some of the songs have “runs” in them and I don’t really know if Bernie knows what they are… so at times it is weird for me to sit there and like hope the actor can fit all the words in. So abstract for me,, and i think the audience felt it too.
I read someone’s post saying the show needs to have songs at the beginning and the end of the acts. They are right…. It is weird coming back from intermission with just lame dialogue. I want something rousing…. and the end should have an anthem like....well… about valuing time on earth and internal something or other. Just something to leave the audience where we need to be. There isn’t a lesson learned and there should be…. at least that’s what I think. Bring it home guys… The ending is just lame right now.... we are Americans... give us something happy or sad we need something!
The biggest problems for me were in the book and direction. This is one of the first musicals I have seen where I wished that everything WAS sung. Whenever the actors started to talk I got jilted out of the story. The jokes are terrible and it wasn’t so much I got lost or confused by the story, I was just not caring. I think the show is supposed to be about Lestat traveling through life with guilt and overcoming it…. I don’t know if he does and I don’t know what other story there is. I think that maybe in the books there is some parallel to mortals having similar demons to kill or whatever. I need to have that in this story and I need it to be sent to my brain by the end. I will mention Wicked because it is a recent adaptation that I felt was successful break from the book. Wicked the musical took one part of the book, Elphie and Glinda’s friendship and made that the story. It works. Any other way and I think it would have been like Lestat… because the book is like 30 years and has so much liberty to go this way and that. I also do not really get the dynamic with his mother…. I think that maybe there should be less or more of her.... oh and the hugging thing is really lame… and cut Armands hair it will make him look scarier.
It feels like there was so much potential here with Rice’s work and it just got cut or dismissed. The sets and lighting are amazing and fantastic. Oh one other complaint… the character Marius, is TERRIBLE. I did not get whether he was a villain or what. I was only confused by that guy…. his motivations were vague and not helped by his terrible acting. I think he should have been less Zen like…. He just made me cringe…there was no depth. I read a few places and have heard it over and over again "we decided to remove any gothic cliches.".... well it is made obvious in the show many times by the characters... i didn't really care either way,, i wanted fangs and blood. That seemed like something that was again abstract to the story at hand...show dont tell and all that.
This show opens in a few days… I wish they had more time, some simple changes and this show could really keep the seats filled. It’s not that bad really….
Hahaha, oops.
