PARADISE SQUARE - Broadway Previews- Page 6

[njguy2]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 12:14pm

I find this fascinating. I've been attending Broadway and London theatre for more than 20 years and have never seen more than one standing ovation during a performance ... and that has happened very rarely."

I have been attending Broadway for over thirty years and have only seen a mid show standing ovation once after Brian Stokes Mitchell sang "The Impossible Dream". It was absolutely spontaneous. I found the song "Let it Burn" to be shorter than I expected. It was a powerful delivery, but I was surprised by the SO, even though I was expecting it based on previous comments. My daughter mentioned the possibility of a plant especially so early in previews. To be clear, it was an amazing song performance, but I did not stand.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 12:20pm

inception said: "Many of the aspects you mention, comparing it to Ragtime (wealth vs poverty, including historical characters) are what make Moulin Rouge such an appealing show for many. I know many hate it for its pop music score, but it is staged spectacularly. In this day & age you can't just put on any dowdy looking show. Even with a simple set, a show needs to start with a story & characters people care about. I haven't read that in any of the reviews yet. Just occurred to me, Mr. D probably thinks Hamilton ripped off Ragtime."

The pop music score and brand identity to the movie are what make MOULIN appealing to so many people. I doubt anyone is seeing Moulin for the history. Just like how they aren't seeing ALADDIN for its portrayal of the Middle East. The treacly love story at the center is all the character stuff they need.

RAGTIME was inspired by sprawling musical epics like FIDDLER and LES MIS and SWEENEY and SHOW BOAT (and a popular film), and HAMILTON draws inspo from all those things. I doubt even Garth is viewing Hamilton as a "ripoff" –– it has a contemporary score and was more successful in one year than RAGTIME will ever be.

Updated On: 3/22/22 at 12:20 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 12:59pm

everythingtaboo said: "Saw my chiropractor last night, and he raved about the show, especially Kalukango, saying she got multiple standing ovations during the show."

Sounds like your chiropractor doesn't quite understand what a standing ovation is?  Or maybe he has money in the show??

I've seen mid-show standing O's happen at multiple performances of PIPPIN for Andrea Martin following "No Time At All" and at THE COLOR PURPLE for Cynthia Erivo after "I'm Here".  All were well-earned and deserved.

[LucasIvy]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 1:04pm

having conversations about standing ovations during papered previews is like giving out cigars before the birth of a baby. Not unlike Ragtime in LA and Candid in NYC, paper trumps demand. There is a reason this show is so hotly debated and defended, based on my experience, it's not that good.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 1:34pm

I have a specific question, that I was thinking of starting a new thread for. But I figured I’d give it a shot in this thread first: 

Does anyone know why Marcus Gardley is credited as a book writer in some places like IBDB, but is not credited in the program or the show’s website? I haven’t really been following this show’s development, so I apologize if this is some piece of well-known drama. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 1:53pm

JBroadway said: "I have a specific question, that I was thinking of starting a new thread for. But I figured I’d give it a shot in this thread first: Does anyone know why Marcus Gardley is credited as a book writer in some places like IBDB, but is not credited in the program or the show’s website? I haven’t really been following this show’s development, so I apologize if this is some piece of well-known drama."

I would consider the Playbill and show's website to be the most up-to-date.

Gardley was credited in Chicago as one of the several bookwriters. It could be that (a) he wanted his name taken off the book, or (b) his contributions were rewritten enough that he no longer warranted credit. Is there any kind of credit arbitration with the Dramatist's Guild like with the WGA on films? This is kind of a unique situation that more resembles a studio film –– most musicals don't have 4 bookwriters and multiple different composers, lyricists, and choreographers.

Updated On: 3/22/22 at 01:53 PM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 1:57pm

They added Christina Anderson when they arrived in Chicago and dropped Marcus Gardley when the show transferred to New York.  Presumably Christina Anderson was brought in to remove/improve what Marcus Gardley added at Berkley. I don't imagine Craig Lucas is doing much work on the book anymore but it's likely he's contract says his credit can't be removed or his contributions are still significantly in the show. 

I've been following the show closely and there hasn't been any public drama regarding these changes. I wish we knew more. It's a pretty fascinating process to witness (though probably very frustrating to be a part of).

[HogansHero]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 2:23pm

re Gardley, I don't know and there are multiple possible answers, at least some of which have been mentioned. With Garth, one of course is that something was promised and then not forthcoming.

In the theatre, as I think most know, the literary property is normally owned by the writers (who have a collaboration agreement among themselves), not by the producer (to whom the collaborators license their creative product), as it is in film. Garth never liked that and has tried to change it (e.g., in Ragtime) without success. The situation being described here seems like Garth is up to his old tricks. The bottom line is that credit (and content) are within the control of the authors and any changes would require their approval. Everything is negotiable, of course, but there is an extant contract so any negotiation would be within the context of that contract. And of course of course Garth is not one who abides by contracts. Perhaps the drama will be disclosed in what is pretty likely to be some lawsuits, another Garth feature.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 2:39pm

Thanks for the responses. 
 

Based on what you all said, it seems like the sources that are still crediting Gardley are out of date, right? It’s not some bizarre situation where he’s allowed to be credited some places but not others? Or that he actually does still have contributions in the show that Garth isn’t acknowledging, but IBDB is? 

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 3:23pm

On Broadway, the book is almost entirely the work of one book writer, Christina Anderson. Craig Lucas created characters that are in the current script and retains credit for that work. Larry Kirwan is credited as well, since the original concept was his. Because of two movie commitments (including The Color Purple) and a TV series, Marcus Gardley couldn't continue after the Berkeley production. Sources such as IBDB haven't updated their information which they usually do with the opening night Playbill.   

Updated On: 3/22/22 at 03:23 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 4:58pm

Has anyone done rush or lottery for this show? If so, where were your seats and what time did you show up for rush?

[LucasIvy]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 7:09pm

chrishuyen said: "Has anyone done rush or lottery for this show? If so, where were your seats and what time did you show up for rush?"

 

my friend did and got orchestra J, one hour before and he said mot got in

 

 

 

[theaterdude2]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 9:12pm

I saw the OBC of Dreamgirls the week after the Tony Awards, and there was a standing ovation BEFORE Jennifer even started the song, so I'm not sure what you're referring to.

[LucasIvy]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 9:28pm

theaterdude2 said: "I saw the OBC of Dreamgirls the week after the Tony Awards, and there was a standing ovation BEFORE Jennifer even started the song, so I'm not sure what you're referring to."

this is ain't no dreamgirls for a country mile. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 9:58pm

I fall in the camp of those who liked her performance quite a bit but I did not stand mid-show. To be honest, it felt kinda sketchy to me and I have already disclosed that I don't trust Garth as far as I can spit. I spent my time seated and unable to see the stage very well looking at the dynamics of who was standing, which made me not trust that either. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 10:19pm

Just getting home from the show. I didn’t know ANYTHING about this going in, and I mean nothing at all besides the fact dreamy Matt Bogart was in it. *sigh*
 

I quickly perused this thread and I guess I’m going to be in the minority of folks who just really really enjoyed it. My friend who was with me hated everything about it and the two guys on the other side of me got up and left at intermission (or woke up and left, I should say). I’m going to read more in here about peoples thoughts on the show but I loved it. Gonna go back in a couple weeks and take another friend who I think will enjoy it. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 10:33pm

I also felt like I was watching a true star making performance from Joaquina Kalukango. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that way about about someone so it was great to see. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 11:01pm

chrishuyen said: "Has anyone done rush or lottery for this show? If so, where were your seats and what time did you show up for rush?"

I won lottery for the first preview, my seat was left orchestra, Row F Seat 15.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 12:06am

"nothing at all besides the fact dreamy Matt Bogart was in it. *sigh*"

Is this sigh for the fact that if you had blinked you might've missed him?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 12:10am

I’ll never miss him. ;-p

[kurtal]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 12:37am

I saw this tonight (TDF ticket, front center mezzanine).  I've been following the drama surrounding this show for a while and was braced for a lot of things.  But I was surprised in two key ways: 1) overall, the show was tighter and easier to follow than I expected.  I thought the pacing was good.  I didn't have any issues with extraneous characters.  There were a few tiny things I would tighten up, but, in my opinion, they seem to have fixed the issues that were coming up for them. 2) Joaquina Kalukango was very good, but not mid-show-ovation-Cynthia-Erivo-in-The-Color-Purple good.  Still very Tony-nominatable, but certainly not a shoo-in to win, imo.

But I definitely think the show is worth the price of admission.  I was very pleased overall.

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 1:04am

Starting standing ovations during shows and spreading word about them during previews is a time honored trick.   All the early plant posts on "Something Rotten" were OMG -- a standing ovation in Act One!  They will stop when the reviews come out. 

[David10086]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 1:04am

TaffyDavenport said: "Last week, a friend sent me a screenshot showing it on a papering site for both shows today and tomorrow night."

What are some of the papering sites? I’d like to check them out for future reference. Thanks! 

[LucasIvy]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 10:09am

This show will certainly be gambling on the reviews (Tony noms will not help). In a factual back of the envelope look at the weekly gross as reported by Variety and Deadline, the show is losing approximately $250k per week. That is an unsustainable gross should the box office not explode on unanimous positive reviews and word of mouth.  https://deadline.com/2022/03/broadway-box-office-26-million-music-man-march-20-grosses-report-1234984341/

 

 

Updated On: 3/23/22 at 10:09 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 10:23am

LucasIvy said: "In a factual back of the envelope look at the weekly gross as reported by Variety and Deadline, the show is losing approximately $250k per week. That is an unsustainable gross should the box office not explode on unanimous positive reviews and word of mouth. https://deadline.com/2022/03/broadway-box-office-26-million-music-man-march-20-grosses-report-1234984341/

Where in the article are you seeing that figure? In any case, it feels disingenuous to say it's "losing $250k per week" when we literally only have 1 week's worth of data. 

"