NEW YORK, NEW YORK On Broadway - Reviews Thread- Page 16

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 6:09pm

Jordan Catalano said: "bwayphreak234 said: "Can someone who saw the first couple previews share what the modern epilogue was?"

It was modern day NYC, starting with a kind of “Elle Woods” lookalike with a suitcase arriving in NYC with neon signs all around and then the cast in modern day clothes, came onstage, walking around in the hustle/bustle and then we see Anna and Colton enter in their modern clothes, moving with the crowds and then notice each other and start to walk towards one another and then blackout. It was very reminiscent of the end of “Aida”."

WOW! Interesting. Thank you, Jordan!

 

[gibsons2]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 6:28pm

TellZ said: "I'm pro-Colton. His voice is beautiful, his acting was committed and driven. Anna's voice is stunning, and her World Goes Round got a partial standing ovation. A small thing that took me out of the story was her very 2023 speech patterns, but that is a minor part of her overall performance..."

Yep, at some point Anna broke into valley girl accent and it threw me off completely. Breaking the character during one of the final scenes was very obvious too. But the audience forgave and will forgive her for all that because she is truly a very powerful belter and brought the house down when I saw it. 

 

[Mark_E]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 1:38pm

I did the rush this morning, got there around 8:45 and was 16th or so in line. Atleast another 25 behind me when the box office opened. I guess its one of only a handful of shows playing on a Monday right now. I got Row E side orch PV.

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 1:53pm

I completely forgot NEW YORK NEW YORK was even on Broadway. Is that bad? Are they doing any marketing?

[WillyTheSalesman]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 8:58pm

I think “musical theatre heaven” is the right phrase. Sure - it has more storylines than the average show - but it’s a show about NEW YORK. Isn’t that the point? 
 

The spectacle and music alone is worth the price of admission. Not many other shows this season can say that. 
 

It has my vote for Best Musical…if they could make it a little shorter. 

Updated On: 4/3/23 at 08:58 PM

[DCDrama2]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 11:27pm

This was, sadly but unquestionably, the worst thing I've ever seen on Broadway. It is dull, long, pointless, and celebratory of toxic relationships. It's over-choreographed in the transitions with no added value and yet the actual dance numbers are basic and underwhelming. A LOT of people were on their phones during the show, not just checking the time, but actively texting or just scrolling. The 11-year-old kid in front of me was so bored he crawled under his seat for a nap. People gave polite applause, sometimes, for the songs. Lots of people left at intermission (including some notable celebs) and during the finale number people began filing out QUICKLY.

The performers were all good. They gave it everything they had and are not what brings this show down. The writing, music, choreography, pacing, storytelling, and direction are criminally poor. This show is a mess with almost no redeemable value. I know they will cut a lot to tighten it up, but for me, they need to cut all but three songs and do a TOTAL rewrite of the rest.

I didn't just dislike this show, I hated it. The wasted potential had me angry leaving the theater tonight. The idea of this show could be really great, but instead, it meanders with disparate characters who range from forgettable to detestable. There is nothing to grab onto and root for or celebrate. It was painful to endure. I wanted to leave at (well, before) intermission but couldn't pull myself away from the trainwreck. I wish I had, as the second act takes the listless first act and drives it slowly into a vile romance story with more dreary music and pointless vignettes.

Run, don't walk, away from this show and do anything else. I'd rather spend my evening at the Times Square Olive Garden.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 12:48pm

From this lovely NYT piece by Jesse Green (which means we can also expect someone other than JG to review it for the NYT) –

– 6 new songs are cowritten by LMM & Kander

– Some new songs have both music & lyrics by Kander

– The rest of the songs are by Kander & Ebb (from the film, trunk songs, or songs borrowed from other shows).

Updated On: 4/4/23 at 12:48 PM

[akhoya87]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 2:29pm

I saw this last night.  I had flashbacks to the ill-fated New York Spring Spectacular, with Laura Benanti and Derek Hough.

The show is ... fine.  It's not high art, and it's quite clearly tourist-oriented entertainment.  In a sense, I felt like I was watching a Kander and Ebb jukebox musical.  As if the book's sole purpose was to link together a bunch of Kander and Ebb songs.  Actually, the show made me think of the New Year's Eve/Valentine's Day films that Garry Marshall made.  (Love Actually is the most obvious example of an intertwined-stories film, but LA did a better job threading together the various subplots than NY NY.)

I can see why people's opinions of Colton Ryan are polarized.  There were moments where his acting felt brilliant, and other moments where it felt flat.  His singing seemed generally fine, and I actually quite liked him for the Music, Money, Love number at the end.  

I wasn't a fan of Anna Uzele's performance in Act I, but she grew on me in Act II.  I don't think the book gives Anna enough material to work with.  Cut the opera cleaner storyline and the completely unnecessary DV subplot, and let Anna shine for a little longer.  By the end, I was sold, and was singing along to the title song like everyone else.

Also, more Emily Skinner, please.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 4:33pm

Also, more Emily Skinner, please.

I want this sold as a shirt at the theater because yessssss. 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 1:11am

Mark_E said: "Curious about in person rush reports for this? And seat locations."

I did the rush today (April 4), and got orchestra row D seat 17 on the left side. I got there 20-30 minutes after the box office opened, so I don't know what was available earlier but everything left was obstructed view seating. 

On the extreme left side of the orchestra in the first few rows, there are a few seats blocked by speakers. I didn't think I missed anything critical on a story level, but for instance in this picture of the set, I never saw the part of the background that says "Astor" or "Automat". 

Also, the rush line itself seemed to be moving unusually slow. This is not a criticism of the person working at the box office, she was extremely nice and helpful. But every transaction seemed to take at least 5 minutes. I'm not sure if that's their norm, or there were just a series of random complications (my ticket needing to be redone because of a printing error, the couple in front of me wanting a different ticketing solution for their party of 45 people).  

[Voter]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 1:46am

According the Jujamcyn website, loud noises and a gun shot effect are used in this performance.

can someone please explain and tell me more about this? I don’t like loud noises

[kwoc91]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 9:55am

Voter said: "According the Jujamcyn website,loud noises and a gun shot effect are used in this performance.

can someone please explain and tell me more about this? I don’t like loud noises"

Not really a spoiler but included in a spoiler tag anyway:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

During one of the transition vignettes toward the beginning, someone is shot. Loud noises are general "New York" noises - cars honking, construction sounds, etc.

Saw the show last night via lottery win. Seats were in mezz right row L, and I thought they were great.

The show itself....meh. Echoing the previous sentiments that there are simply too many characters/plot lines that are not really fleshed out in meaningful ways, so the entire show comes across as scattered and somewhat aimless. That, plus all of the lengthy (beautiful! but lengthy) transitions/vignettes gives you a show that is almost 3 hours long yet doesn't have much to say.

Performances were uniformly good to great (Colton being the real standout for me). Anna can certainly sing but seems dropped in from the year 2023 with her dialogue and mannerisms. The ensemble is given a lot to do and is working very hard!

I really enjoyed some other aspects of the production. The sets, lighting, and backdrops were gorgeous to look at, and the orchestra sounded fantastic. Too bad the book drags everything down so much.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it (especially with a $35 lottery ticket), but have zero desire to see it again unless significant cuts are made.

[Voter]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 10:09am

kwoc91 said: "Voter said: "According the Jujamcyn website,loud noises and a gun shot effect are used in this performance.

can someone please explain and tell me more about this? I don’t like loud noises"

Not really a spoiler but included in a spoiler tag anyway:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

During one of the transition vignettes toward the beginning, someone is shot. Loud noises are general "New York" noises - cars honking, construction sounds, etc.

Saw the show last night via lottery win. Seats were in mezz right row L, and I thought they were great.

The show itself....meh. Echoing the previous sentiments that there are simply too many characters/plot lines that are not really fleshed out in meaningful ways, so the entire show comes across as scattered and somewhat aimless. That, plus all of the lengthy (beautiful! but lengthy) transitions/vignettes gives you a show that is almost 3 hours long yet doesn't have much to say.

Performances were uniformly good to great (Colton being the real standout for me). Anna can certainly sing but seems dropped in from the year 2023 with her dialogue and mannerisms. The ensemble is given a lot to do and is working very hard!

I really enjoyed some other aspects of the production. The sets, lighting, and backdrops were gorgeous to look at, and the orchestra sounded fantastic. Too bad the book drags everything down so much.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it (especially with a $35 lottery ticket), but have zero desire to see it again unless significant cuts are made."

So there is only one gun shot and it’s in Act One? 

is it a blank or a sound effect?

[akhoya87]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 10:13am

Voter said: "kwoc91 said: "Voter said: "According the Jujamcyn website,loud noises and a gun shot effect are used in this performance.

can someone please explain and tell me more about this? I don’t like loud noises"

Not really a spoiler but included in a spoiler tag anyway:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

During one of the transition vignettes toward the beginning, someone is shot. Loud noises are general "New York" noises - cars honking, construction sounds, etc.

Saw the show last night via lottery win. Seats were in mezz right row L, and I thought they were great.

The show itself....meh. Echoing the previous sentiments that there are simply too many characters/plot lines that are not really fleshed out in meaningful ways, so the entire show comes across as scattered and somewhat aimless. That, plus all of the lengthy (beautiful! but lengthy) transitions/vignettes gives you a show that is almost 3 hours long yet doesn't have much to say.

Performances were uniformly good to great (Colton being the real standout for me). Anna can certainly sing but seems dropped in from the year 2023 with her dialogue and mannerisms. The ensemble is given a lot to do and is working very hard!

I really enjoyed some other aspects of the production. The sets, lighting, and backdrops were gorgeous to look at, and the orchestra sounded fantastic. Too bad the book drags everything down so much.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it (especially with a $35 lottery ticket), but have zero desire to see it again unless significant cuts are made."

So there is only one gun shot and it’s in Act One?

is it a blank or a sound effect?"

Definitely not a blank -- a sound effect, I think.  Wasn't frightening/scary/alarming in any way.

Not like when I went to go see the Jungle, somehow missed the gun warning, and had a blank fired off within earshot in Act II.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 1:29pm

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 1:31pm

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 1:32pm

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 1:33pm

 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 7:33pm

It’s so great to see (and hear) a full orchestra in that performance. That got me excited to see the rest of the show.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/5/23 at 9:02pm

TaffyDavenport said: "

That was not a wow moment but a vacuous one from her of a beautiful and powerful song! Anna has no connection or understanding at all of what this song is all about... She's emotionless. Her voice is fine but nothing special. Such a disappointment. Orchestra sounds beautifully lush though. 

"

 

[inception]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 1:40am

I found her pronunciation of the words "world" & "round" to be a bit odd, but it was OK.  It is hard not to compare to Liza's version.

Part of the way in I started to wonder how Patina Miller would perform the song?

[UWS10023]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 2:04am

akhoya87 said: "I saw this last night. I had flashbacks to the ill-fated New York Spring Spectacular, with Laura Benanti and Derek Hough.

The show is ... fine. It's not high art, and it's quite clearly tourist-oriented entertainment. In a sense, I felt like I was watching a Kander and Ebb jukebox musical. As if the book's sole purpose was to link together a bunch of Kander and Ebb songs. Actually, the show made me think of the New Year's Eve/Valentine's Day films that Garry Marshall made. (Love Actually is the most obvious example of an intertwined-stories film, but LA did a better job threading together the various subplots than NY NY.)

I can see why people's opinions of Colton Ryan are polarized. There were moments where his acting felt brilliant, and other moments where it felt flat. His singing seemed generally fine, and I actually quite liked him for the Music, Money, Love number at the end.

I wasn't a fan of Anna Uzele's performance in Act I, but she grew on me in Act II. I don't think the book gives Anna enough material to work with. Cut the opera cleaner storyline and the completely unnecessary DV subplot, and let Anna shine for a little longer. By the end, I was sold, and was singing along to the title song like everyone else.

Also, more Emily Skinner, please."

What happened to Laura Benanti? Is she still in the industry?

 

[inception]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 9:41am

UWS10023 said: "

What happened to Laura Benanti? Is she still in the industry?
 

https://people.com/parents/laura-benanti-reveals-miscarriage-during-performance/

 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 11:53am

I just came back home from The Broadway Cruise yesterday. I was in attendance for Laura Benanti's performance. I never would've guessed she was going through a miscarriage at the time. No wonder she had to leave early.

Updated On: 4/6/23 at 11:53 AM

[Mr. Broadway3]

Posted: 4/6/23 at 1:10pm

Long time lurker, first time poster. I attended first preview and then happened to win the lottery, so I saw the show again last night. They've already made a lot of changes and the run time is closer to 2:45 now. Besides the cutting of the ending that others have mentioned, the dance interludes are more concise, the minor characters like the trumpet player's storyline has been streamlined with one scene cut/combined with one of the booking office moments and Jimmy/Francine's scenes. It just feels more cohesive and better paced.

This show really hits me in all the feels and reminds me why I love New York, and yes, the ending with the title song is so smile-inducing. I love the little NYC moments like the rat on the subway, and the cast is doing some incredible work. I'm going to keep entering the lottery, I want to go back again after opening to see the show once it’s frozen.

Updated On: 4/6/23 at 01:10 PM