"People" reviews some Cast Recordings & EW grades shows

[renthead92]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 12:32pm

In the June 12th issue of "People," they review some cast recordings. They are as follows:

The Color Purple- 3 0ut of 4 stars
The Drowsy Chaperone- 2 1/2 Out of 4
Jersey Boys- 3 1/2 Out of 4
The Pajama Game- 2 1/2 out of 4
Sweeney Todd- 4 out of 4
The Wedding Singer 2 1/2 out of 4


Updated On: 6/3/06 at 12:32 PM

[renthead92]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 12:55pm

I just got my EW magazine in the mail, and in it they have a section on Broadway. They have grades, then they predict the Tony award winners. I'll start with the grades.

History Boys: A
The Wedding Singer: B+
Shining City: A
The Drowsy Chaperone: A-
Faith Healer: B
The Lieutenant of Inishmore: B-
Hay Fever: A
Tarzan: C+

Now I'll type who & what they predicded to win Tonys.

Best Play- History Boys
Best Musical: Jersey Boys
Lead Actor in a Play: Richard Griffiths
Lead Actress in a Play: Cynthia Nixon
Lead Actor in a Musical: John Lloyd Young
Lead Actress in a Musical: Patti LuPone

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 12:56pm

shucks. They got Lieutenant and Faith Healer wrong... both deserved at least A-

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 12:57pm

Thanks for the grades...always interesting to see what that magazine gives things...their reviews are so inconsistant and bizzarre. The Tony thing was alreaddy posted in another thread, though...

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 1:03pm

Why did they rate it out of 4 rather than out of 5? It seems like an odd number to score out of.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 1:05pm

Most review systems are out of four - especially for film, tv, and theatre.

[jasonf]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 1:11pm

In education school we were taught to always grade on a rubric that has even numbers so as to avoid being able to go right to the middle. On a five star scale, not sure you like something, give it a three. Problem with that is, is 0 stars an acceptable rating (if so, then a five star system is preferrable) or half stars, which throws the whole thing off mathematically.

What it boils down to, and Ebert has said this many times, is the star rating system is a result of the media wanting to be able to advertise using "4 stars" because it's a quick system to show quality - or indeed any rating so those too lazy to read the review can get a quick sense of the reviewers opinion.

I prefer EW's grading system of A-F. It's more universal than the stars, I think. There's less confusion in saying something is a "C" rather than 2/1/2 stars.

[tophertilson]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 3:04pm

INISHMORE rates a B- and WEDDING SINGER a B+?!?! What a world, what a world, what a world.....

I enjoy EW, but a source of theatre wisdom, it most assuredly ain't.

TT

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 3:10pm

Tarzan is a C+? shouldnt it be like D- or F?


ETA

What is Hay Fever?

Updated On: 6/3/06 at 03:10 PM

[renthead92]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 3:52pm

Hay Fever is a London production, ZONEACE.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 4:42pm

I don't agree with People. To me, Sweeney is an atrocity (keyword: TO ME, so don't even start), but everyone loves it, so I'm fine with it being high up in the charts. But for it to beat out everything -- even Jersey Boys and The Color Purple -- seems just wrong to me. Bah, I should be a critic one day, just so I can give a different opinion on something that I feel is overcelebrated. :)
Updated On: 6/3/06 at 04:42 PM

[Yeah, um, no.]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 4:45pm

"I enjoy EW, but a source of theatre wisdom, it most assuredly ain't."

Keep in mind that they're reviewing the Cast Albums, some of which you may not have heard, and not the musicals themselves.

[renthead92]

Posted: 6/3/06 at 5:58pm

Yeah,um,no.- EW reveiwed the actual shows, not the cast recordings. People reviewed the recordings.