Once Around the Sun ---> Broadway

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:04pm

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/95110.html

That's kind of a surprise...

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:10pm

That's an understatement. I am gobsmacked. And they better not put Maya above the title if and when it gets there......

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:11pm

Maybe they'll put her huge hair above the title.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:12pm

...Why?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:17pm

What did people think of this? The reviews were all over the map -- some loved it, some found it cliched and thought it needed a lot of work. Any opinions?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:22pm

That's because the show is all over the map. When I saw it I kept saying "this is the bizarrest show I have ever seen". It's a simple little story but it's told in such an odd and convoluted way with songs that don't always fit. The act one finale for example. What's going on there exactly? It's just really random and lacks focus.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:25pm

I just want to give a hug to the scenic designer-- Beowulf Borritt. His childhood must have been painful.

[alli2]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:26pm

This is such a disappointment. I don't understand. This show had, maybe, 2 good songs. Why fill another theatre with a crappy cliched jukebox-like musical where a decent musical/play could go?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:29pm

Maybe when you're done hugging him, you can smack him upside the head and tell him to design a better set.

Also, am I the only person who HATES it when people pretend to drink from empty glasses on stage? It really bothered me in the office scene when they all "drink" tequila.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:30pm

so this is basically "Brooklyn--round two" in my book. If I want to go to a concert I will go the Nokia Theatre.

[alli2]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:32pm

Amen, 'heyjam.'

[Gatsby]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:32pm

This HONESTLY has to be one of the worst shows I've ever seen (no offense to anyone, but it's a toss up between this and Lennon). What do the producers think they're doing? Did they not read their own reviews? It just amazes me at what people cut and paste together and expect to be a Broadway show. Someone call the morgue, because if this show is the future, then Broadway really will be dead!

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:34pm

It is a very simple show about a band...and the lead singer (played by the amazing Asa Somers) gets a solo gig, and has to leave the band. The script is a little after-school special-like...but, the performances are uniformly great. I think Asa is a Tony contender if they bring this to Bway...I don't know if the transfer is just a marketing ploy to bring audiences in, but I saw the show and enjoyed it -- catchy music, etc. It won't get good reviews as is, but...it could be another "Brooklyn" (fans of the stars will support the show).

P.S. Maya Days, thoguh headlining, is just a supporting part in the show. Asa is the real lead.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:35pm

It isn't the worst thing I have ever seen, but it's certainly a gigantic missed opportunity.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:43pm

If you want to know why Disney is taking over Bway, it is because people let things like Lippa's Wild Party, Bare, and Bright Lights, Big City slip by without getting a Bway house, and shows like Brooklyn, Good Vibrations, and Dance of the Vampries get huge backing. There are great rock shows out there, and this isn't one of them.

At least Disney has the good sense to invest in the shows well, but only after they get some nice reviews, and are solid and set. Disney knows what they're doing to market themselves. You might as well just sell all the Broadway houses to Disney theatrical today.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:47pm

People don't want to take risks anymore either. Those shows you listed, none of them had sure fire hit stamped on them. If OATS is doing good business at the Zipper, they probably don't think it's a risk to put it in a medium sized Broadway house.

[alli2]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:50pm

that's the biggest mistake of all. IMO, i don't think it will be able to last in a broadway house. this is a unwise move on the part of the producers...

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:51pm

The problem is that OATS is not selling well. In fact, they're comping and discounting more often than not. It's just a bizarre situation.

For some expert like Margo, have producers announced transfers to boost ticket sales before?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:52pm

That could be it, touchme.

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:53pm

Disney didn't invest too well in On The Record. A waste of good performers almost. If not for the nostalgia, that show may not have made it as far as it did. (Here to Denver) I saw the final performance of the show. Kaitlin Hopkins left the show before the run ended in Denver. Presumably to start work on Trailer Park.

[Gatsby]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:54pm

I agree about people not wanting to take risks anymore, but please don't insult our intellegence. That's truly what I find disheartening. Listen to your public - listen to the reviewers (they're not ALL idiots). Start by writing a decent show and go from there. Not everything has to be the "new thing". Give me a good old Gershwin or Porter musical anyday. I think looking to the past will enhance the future.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:59pm

I'm actually not sure what the producers are doing here. As you say, the show is heavily discounted and papered at the tiny Zipper Theatre. If they can't sell out a 199 seat theatre, I'm not sure why they think they'll do better in a 900+ seat Broadway house with a $95 top price. I can't remember the last time a show moved from off-Broadway to Broadway that wasn't a sellout hit Off-.

It sounds like a ploy for publicity and to boost ticket sales. They can't seriously be contemplating a move (which would set them back $3 to 4 million at a minimum).

Updated On: 9/15/05 at 12:59 PM

[joniray]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 1:03pm

Lippa's Wild Party, I agree with. I really wish that show had transferred.

Bare? Eh. I didn't care for it much, but it wasn't a total disaster.

Bright Lights Big City? Did you see that show??!! That production was a train wreck. Even Brooklyn (which I really disliked) made more sense and was a better quality show than BLBC.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 1:10pm

And the real shame about BLBC is when it started out in workshops, it was amazing. I heard some of the songs that were in the workshops that through a combination of egos and stupidity were cut from the show. There's a school of thought that the final version of BLBC that was at NYTW got everything it deserved.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 2:08pm

(with reservations.) It has a talented, attractive cast, humor and a melodic score.
HOWEVER, the book's a mess--hoary and cliched. The wonderful music often does little to advance the plot. 'Jukebox-like' indeed.
I like the phrase--'will likely open on Broadway in fall 2006.' Sounds like a publicity ploy to me. Then again, i'm still waiting for 'Bare' to open at Dodgers and 'Bridge & Tunnel' to open at Circle In The Square (evict the Bee!)

Updated On: 9/15/05 at 02:08 PM