"On the Town" Preview Thread — Page 2

Are they not selling front orchestra to this one? I can't for the life of me see ANY available seats in the center section (that aren't "before like, Row G").

Dafuq?

The orchestra pit is extremely shallow, just below the feet of the orchestra seats. The result is an incredible, almost exclusively acoustic sound from Broadway's biggest orchestra. That alone is a reason to see this show.

Updated On: 9/20/14 at 11:30 PM

My reaction is a bit more tempered. There are some good things going on for sure, but other areas are definitely problematic.

The best thing about this revival by far is the 28-piece orchestra. It's so rare to be treated to such a large orchestra outside of Encores and they really sounded wonderful. This score isn't meant to be played by a small band, and they truly did it justice and beyond tonight.

The dancing was a treat as well, as especially the Coney Island ballet; the Pas de Deux in particular was thrilling. Tony Yazbeck and Megan Fairchild were excellent here.

Overall though everyone seemed to be pushing a little too hard either for a laugh or for a big note or whatever it is they were trying to do. I don't know if this can be chocked up to first preview jitters, but I rather fear it was how they were directed.

An example of this endemic problem would be in Come Up To My Place. The song alone is terrific and has no problem selling itself. You can just get out of the way and let the lyrics do all the work for you. Instead the two of them are saddled with a bouncy taxi seat, projections (an embarrassment) that are cheap and distracting and choreography all over the cab seat that muffles the words. (I could barely hear some of the variations of "Did you stop for what hey?" "Did you stop for hey what?" etc.)

Lonely Town (one of my favorites in the show) started off really well with Yazbeck in superb voice. The Pas de Deux was lovely, but then the encore with the chorus went back to pushing. This song is melancholy and contemplative. At intermission one of my friends said, "When did it become Rose's Turn?" Perhaps that's a little bitchy, but there's truth at the core of the statement. I remember how hauntingly Yazbeck sang the song during the Encores production a few years ago and I preferred it this.

This score is top tier Broadway musical theater. The only thing you have to do is trust the material and it will work. There's no need to overcompensate like you're working with floppier stuff.

When they did trust the songs things were great, like the beautifully wistful "Some Other Time." It's a stunner of a quartet and the four of them performed it simply and honestly and it paid off in spades.

I have a feeling they'll settle into it more and hopefully the director can pull some of the antics back.

The bigger problem is the set/projections. Even all the fabulous dancing and the joyous orchestra can't make up for the fact that the show looks cheap as hell. There's barely any set to speak of, and what is there is a mishmash of styles like they've been picking up pieces over the past year as Bridges, Bullets and Big Fish did their load outs. The projections were frankly cringeworthy and they detracted from rather than enhanced the proceedings. There are nicer and more elaborate sets at Encores.

There's lots of potential and cast that has talent to spare; gotta love that they have a full ensemble to work with too. The performances will no doubt settle by opening, but the physical production needs to be spiffed up and pronto.

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I don't want to say much about Jackie Hoffman...I think she's going to take a few performances to find her character and her laughs. Right now she was throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what stuck (and sometimes it wasn't much). After a weaker bit that didn't generate many laughs she ad-libbed, "It's the first preview!" which warmed my heart and made me forgiving of what she tried to do.

And not that Dilly should be a subtle character, but sometimes a little less is more.

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I was there tonight. Underwhelming is the word I thought the most.

The positive:

Anyone seeing this cannot deny the wonderful sensation of hearing Bernstein played by a full orchestra. They were incredible tonight, and the true highlight of the evening to me.

The dancing is sensational. Tony Yazbeck and Megan Fairchild's moment in act two is truly wonderful.

The negative: Some of the worst projections I have ever seen on Broadway. They are a joke to put it mildly. They looked unfinished an amateurish. These are matched well with the nearly non-existent set that never seemed to match whatever came before it. Finally, the outline of the set really bothered me. The lights that framed the stage were entirely too modern, and distracting.

The three leads are excellent, and I even enjoyed Alysha Humphress, though I thought she and Elizabeth Stanley would do well to switch roles.

Jackie Hoffman is having a rare misfire. She can usually make anything seem funny, but tonight she seemed to strike out more than land anything.

I know it seems silly to be so critical of the set and the projections, but when you put yourself in such a large theater you cannot help but wonder why something more wasn't done. At the moment it feels like a national tour of On the Town is playing.

I didn't hear anything bad sound-wise. The terrible things that people recall during most first previews didn't seem to ring true tonight. The sound designer did a great job at staying out of the way of the orchestra and only amplifying them minimally. I heard everyone very well and I didn't notice any missed pickups.

I was very impressed by the three female leads. I thought they each brought a wonderful (and appropriate) presence to the show.

I hope this is not a spoiler (or inappropriate), but for anyone interested, the three male leads are shirtless at one point during the show.

Just wondering...how long was the show, including intermission? Thanks!

The first act was long, about 1:40. I believe the whole show including intermission was around 2:45.

OK--thanks so much for the info! :)

Personally, I find her riffing or scatting or whatever you want to call it to be very period appropriate and reminiscent of some of the greats. I'm not saying she does it as brilliantly as they did but the inspiration is apparent.

Alysha Umphress is like Lea DeLaria without the subtlety.

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So, I have to ask. Is Alysha Humphress still adding all that ridiculous jarringly modern American Idol'ish melisma nonsense to "I Can Cook Too" or is she just singing the damn song?

She is doing the oh-so-era-appropriate scatting.

Here's some Jessie Mueller in Clear Day.

I agree with those that say it was era appropriate scatting rather American Idol style caterwauling. It didn't bother me that it was added, but I could take it leave it either way

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