P. Diddy in Raisin- Page 2

[liveforeverybreath]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 8:45pm

don't delete it...I think it's hilarious!

[ORPHAN]

Posted: 4/9/04 at 12:58am

maybe someone should explain what shillllll means to bigred. I was really hoping no one would come into this site with the dumb &*@#!!! I wanted p. diddy's risk to impress everyone and say something about him as a man (he doesn't need this role or money or fame). Then what happens.... no one from his camp has paid attention to what happened to Rosie's show Taboo when the shills came into this site. Damn.... come on Raisin in the Sun folks don't turn us against you with shameless stealth marketers trying to sound like real fans.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 4/9/04 at 1:13am

Oh, Orphan, I think you give this board too much credit. We were not responsible for the closing of TABOO because of the way the shills invaded here. I am sure that nobody stayed away from that show to get back at the marketing team.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 4/9/04 at 6:31am

most of us stayed away from the show beacuse it was BAD!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/9/04 at 9:49am

speak for yourself, sueleen! i revel in the fact that i single handedly destroyed taboo. that's right it was me! muah hahahahaha! and you'd better be nice to me or i'll do the same thing to your show! i'll accept cash, checks or sexual favors, but prefer cash.

Updated On: 4/9/04 at 09:49 AM

[bigred1571]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 10:16am

I am truly sorry if I am not as savvy as the rest of the "seasoned veterans" on this site. I am so sorry that I intruded into your little group of the gramattically correct and theater literate!! I was just looking to see if others who had seen the play had made any observations and wanted to add mine. True I only go to see Broadway plays a few times a year, so I do not spend every waking moment posting about this one and that one's horrible performances. Yes, I am an older woman who is a fan of Sean Combs, and if that offends anyone here, whatever!! I never said it was a Tony Award winning performance, nor did I say it rivaled that of Sidney Poitier. I enjoyed it and I didn't think it deserved for me to be cut up by the rest of the posters on this site. So sorry I intruded!!!

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 11:55am

I've heard the first preview was utterly annoying with cell phones and pagers going off and people talking back to the stage.

you invite someone like P.D. on stage and you are inviting a whole new breed of theatre-goer....

[LouW95]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 12:17pm

The show is an American classic and has won many awards over the last 30-40 years. This production went for star power and does not seem to be doing all that well at the BO. Looks as though most of Sean's fans are not into that genre.

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 1:11pm

Seriously, guys. Why are you all picking on bigred?

[magruder]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 2:23pm

Pop culture moment!

I'm still...Big...Red.

I sizzle, I scorch! But now I pass the torch!
The ballots are in! And one girl had to win!
She's perky, she's fun! And now she's number one!
K-K-Kick it Torrance! T-T-T-Torrance!

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 4:51pm

magruder -

I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do with that. Is that a commercial?

[joeyinpa]

Posted: 4/13/04 at 3:12pm

Sean Combs signed everybody's playbill when I saw the show. He was very nice to everyone. His acting needs some work but overall he was much better than I expected. The rest of the cast is amazing. I'd recommend seeing it. Ms. Rashad will be getting a Tony nomination. It has been up @ tkts during the week. Enjoy. The play is so powerful.

[magruder]

Posted: 4/13/04 at 3:27pm

Broadway86 -

That was the opening cheer in Bring It On. Big Red is the villainous former head cheerleader. I couldn't help myself.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/13/04 at 4:35pm

"you invite someone like P.D. on stage and you are inviting a whole new breed of theatre-goer...."

So? "New" theatergoers aren't necessarily rude ones; it goes both ways. Stop being so insular- theater, like any other art form, needs constant infusions of new blood to stay vital, both on stage and in the audience. If only "experienced" theatergoers and "veteran" actors kept watching and performing, Broadway would die a slow and quiet death, too curled in on itself to be of interest to anyone but the people already "inside."

It's quite likely that having Combs onstage was a bad idea, but I think to a certain extent people are seeing what they want to see. Keep your mind open, and don't imply that hip-hop fans are automatically inconsiderate people.

Sorry if I sound like I'm lecturing- I actually hate hip-hop, but I know art is about change. It's unfortunate if this attempt at change isn't working, but if we keep jumping on every non-traditional artistic decision that doesn't match up with our sensibilities, we could stifle good things before they can grow.

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/13/04 at 4:45pm

Magruder,

These aren't the auditions for PIPPIN?

[magruder]

Posted: 4/13/04 at 5:40pm

Robbie -

That's it. I'm going home and watching Bring it On tonight. Who needs Broadway?!

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 4/13/04 at 6:24pm

MISSY'S the poo...
. . . . .so take a whiff.


d.b.j

[once a month]

Posted: 4/16/04 at 10:19am

I saw the Sat matinee on the 10th, and I'm very happy I went. I have to give Combs credit for putting himself on the line. He knew his lines, he acted the part, and he DID have stage presence. The ladies were flawless. I did manage to get a signed playbill for charity and I walked home on a cloud. I paid to have a cry, and that's what I got, but mostly from Ms Rashads heart wrenching performance. As the play ended with her on stage in the sunlight, I cried and will remember this image for a long time.

My ONLY complaint...even after several announcements- cell phones and pagers went off at least 6 times! People were talking back to the stage, and one woman knocked 'all men' (as a reply to a line) causing a huge laugh in the darkened theatre during a very sensitive moment. The pros on stage didn't even flinch. By all means, see it- ESPECIALLY since it has a discount!

And what's with searching my binoculars? That was weird.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/16/04 at 10:39am

now that's at least making a decent effort to not sound like an intern. bravo, once, you've earned your red wings.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 4/16/04 at 10:46am

I'm going tonight and will report back tomorrow.

God help anyone with an active cellphone or pager -- or any backtalkers. That audience will look like Sweeney Todd's cellar by the time I'm done with them.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/16/04 at 12:38pm

Oh, I love it when the audience talks back to the stage...that's how it should be! And, at the risk of indulging in stereotype, African American audiences are the best for that...I saw a tour of "Dreamgirls" when I was a kid with a largely black audience and people were leaping out of their seats in the middle of songs "SING IT GIRL!....THAT'S RIGHT!!!!" It was awesome! I also saw an all-black "Death of a Salesman" and during Linda's angry speech to the two sons, "He is a good man and he deserves respect..." people were bearing witness all around: "You TELL 'em, Linda!" LOVE IT!! There should be more of that! That's what keeps theater from being something other than heightened movie-going. Cheer! Boo! Talk back to the stage! If someone's cell goes off, rip 'em a new one! Be a LIVE audience!

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/16/04 at 12:52pm

That's the way it was done at the Globe, way back when.

I, too, saw the revival of DREAMGIRLS with a mostly black audience and (yes...at the risk of sounding racist) was electrified by the involvement of the crowd. As Lillias White rode the music of 'And I'm Telling You...', people were on their feet, cheering, shouting. It was unreal.

[Ruffian]

Posted: 4/16/04 at 1:08pm

I cant stand audience particiaption, unless I am at ROCKY HORROR

LMAO

Of course wild applause after a good tune is fine

I'm all for a LIVE moment of applause or boos or whatever at curtain

I find the Blue-Haired Ladies cant remain silent either Updated On: 4/16/04 at 01:08 PM

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 4/18/04 at 4:16pm

Sean Combs is absolutely dreadful in this production. Despite his incredibly amateurish production, Phylicia, Audra and Saana pull together an amazing show. I was blown away by Phylicia -- she's worth the price of admission. I could not stand to watch P Diddy, though. It was like a bad high school performance. The Times is going to skewer him. I could go into detail but why bother. You'll read all about it soon enough.

Social relevance makes the production just as important now as it was when it was written. It doesn't seem one bit dated to me.

A couple of cell phones went off during the show but I didn't hear any backtalk.

Posted: 4/18/04 at 4:28pm

Sometimes, a performance just makes you do that. White, black, asian, latino, whatever. It happens in all cultures. Dreamgirls just happened to feature an almost all black cast, which pulled in many african americans audience members. Combine that with Jennifer Holiday singing, shouting, emoting her butt off and somebody's bound to say someething.

I'm not a big fan of people talking to the screen in movies, and yes,I found myself one of those crazed fans that guffawed, gasped, hurrumphed and hollered when I saw JH in Atlanta a few summers ago in her last Dreamgirls tour. I think I shocked myself as much as the WASPY Bostonian sitting next me. But, then again, he was on his feet too. :)

As for Raisin, I would have to see it to make any comment. I'm sure Diddy (and the producers) knew what he was getting into when he agreed to appear. Good, bad, or ugly, that show deserved a Bdway revival and who knows, maybe Taye Diggs will replace him if it runs long enough.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. :)