NYMF 2010 — Page 2

I agree that Without You is incredibly moving. Bring a tissue.

Saw "I Got Fired" and "Nighttime Traffic" over the weekend. Thoughts below:

I Got Fired - I wanted to like it but just couldn't get there. For starters, I'm 99% never a fan of when a show references that it's a show or talks directly to the audience (the 1% being Drowsy Chaperone where it worked). It takes me out of the moment and cheapens the dialogue. Unfortunately, this show had an infinite number of those references. It also had pretty bad transitions and the dialogue as a whole was mediocre and bland. The music was catchy with some pretty good songs, but this show could have been so much better I left pretty disappointed.

Nighttime Traffic - The biggest take away here is how unbelievable the cast is. They all have incredible voices which was the only thing that really kept me interested. As referenced in earlier posts, nothing really happened. No action nor character development at all. The music was good but here I am two days later and I couldn't name/sing any of the songs.

Like last year (apart from Academy and Fantasy Football) I'm pretty disappointed with the selection of shows. But with Trails on Friday and then Without You and Tess on Saturday, I'm thinking this could turn around pretty quickly.

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Anyone see Frog Kiss?

I have seen Frog Kiss twice in the past week, as well as many other shows. I'm sorry I haven't had time to share my thoughts, but here are a few.

Frog Kiss: A very cute, very fun show. The dancing is amazing (particularly Curtis Holbrook, who is a triple threat!),and the score is very light and happy.

Things as they Are: Beautiful, meaningful show! The score reminds me of Sunday. Garrett Long is incredible in the lead as famous photographer Dorthea Lange. The book captures the story of her life in incredible detail.

Tess: A New Rock Opera: Haunting. The score sounds like a mix of Duncan Shiek, Pink Floyd, and The Moody Blues. The story stays extremely close to the source material, and Jenna Pasqua (also co-creator of the show with her sister/musical director Annie Pasqua) is perfet in the lead role.

POPart: A little ridiculous, but a lot of fun.

The Tenth Floor: Anyone who is a fan of The Twilight Zone will feel right at home at this one.

I Got Fired: Hilarious! I love the cast, and enjoyed the way the lead character talks back to the audience.

The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid: Brilliant re-creation of an old time radio show. All three of the actors playing the Marx Brothers were dead on!

Jay Alan Zimmerman's Incredibly Deaf Musical: Touching, and sometimes heartbreaking story. The score was very innovative, no doubt a result of Mr. Zimmerman's interesting life.

V-DAY: Completely insane! It's topical, engaging, and hilarious. It's everything you would expect from the creators of Don't Quit Your Night Job.

Food on the Aisle: very Monty Python-y, a series of skits based around food (obviously!). The Ethel Merman/Earnest Borgnine sketch was classic, and Erin Markey freak-outs were worth going to see.

My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding: Perfection! If the the score, heartwarming story and rest of the incredible talented cast weren't enough reason to see this one, than seeing Christina DeCiccio in a Hooters outfit certainly is!

The Great Unknown: I really liked the score and the cast, but the book needs work. It felt more like a history lesson than a balanced musical, something Things As They Are got right.

Special Letter: A fun and engaging show, but too long at 2 hours without an intermission.

I'll try to post my thought on the rest of the shows I see this weekend.

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TRAILS is by far the BEST show I've ever seen at NYMF... It's so good that calling it a NYMF show does it a disservice. This is a show with an incredible future...

Saw my final three shows (reviews below) then my overall thoughts on the festival.

Vote For Me - Great concept, horrible execution. The best way I can describe the show is awkward. The woman playing the democratic lead was jittery and fumbling her lines and 98% of the jokes fell flat. The score was entirely forgettable. No idea how Kristy Cates got roped into this production, especially since she had a nothing role.

The History of War - I've never been more bored at a show than I was during this train wreck. The music was terrible. Not one song was enjoyable. I laughed twice...TWICE. That was it. The jokes/stereotypes were overplayed to the point that I sighed rather than laughed. The lead kid was also quite annoying to the point where it was a distraction. Arguably the worst production of a show I've ever seen. When in the lobby before another show a lady was asked "how long is the History of War?" and she goes "90 minutes too long". Couldn't agree more.

The Great Unknown - After the History of War debacle I went into this with very little hope. Once the opening harmonies in the a capella version of Take Me Down started, it already was better than History of War. The plot was slow at times, but the voices of the leads were more than enough to make up for it (the final solo was tremendous). I ended up liking it much more than I thought I would given the plot summary.

Overall thoughts - Like last year, I'm pretty disappointed with the festival. Granted I only saw 8 of the 30 productions, but only 3ish of them left any impression on me. Not exactly sure what the selection process is, but some of these shows must do a hell of a job marketing themselves. Holding out hope for next year...

My favorite shows, in order:

Trails
Without You
The Great Unknown
Tess (it grew on me so I moved it up)
I Got Fired
Nighttime Traffic
Vote For Me
The History of War


Shows with the most potential for future productions:

Trails
Tess
Without You
The Great Unknown
Nighttime Traffic
I Got Fired
Vote For me
History of War

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