Pirate Queen Opening Night Report

[queenbee2]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 12:41pm

Sorry this is a few days late but I've been crazy with real life. But as promised, here is Lin's report (with personal snippets to me cut out of course). Sounds like it was an exciting night, with some interesting observations.
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Hey You,

Opening night: energy was incredible in the theater. LOTS of Irish people. Audience was very well dressed! You could feel a buzz in the air that everyone had very high expectations. Because I'd seen it twice already, I was most excited to see what had changed since I'd seen it a week or so ago. And the answer was, not too much. More on that later.

The cast was giving everything they had. So committed to their work. Every performance seemed to have even more energy than before. Steph was stronger than ever (I later learned she had been a bit sick, but you never would have known). Hadley brought the house down with I'll Be There. Jeff was commanding as ever. Marcus sounded great and the audience loved hating him (more on his curtain call later- very funny!). William was very funny, and I have to say, I understood much more of Linda's lyrics. Not all of them, but much more. The ensemble was obviously very pumped up, and their energy really came through.

There weren't a ton of changes that I could see. A few lines that sounded different, and some minor staging changes I noticed, but for the most part the show was quite similar to last time I saw it. The audience was very into it (as you would expect from an opening night crowd), although I sensed they didn't emotionally connect the way they had hoped. Maybe that's just me. That is now my biggest issue with the show. I WANT TO CRY MY EYES OUT! But I don't. I think that is the biggest challenge the creators will have at this point, is making us care about the character more.

Curtain call was very enthusiastic. Great hands for everybody, and of course, when Marcus bowed he got the appropriate boos. He did this new thing where he kind of looked at the audience and shrugged like "what did I do wrong?" and everybody laughed and clapped. It was great. Huge hands for Steph and Hadley. Then they brought out flowers to the 6 principles. They seemed very touched. By the gesture. Then everyone left the stage and Hadley and Marcus encouraged Steph to take one more bow alone. She did and the audience loved her.

I went to the stage door after the show and everyone looked gorgeous as they came out. Big busses were waiting to take them to the party (I was tempted to sneak on! LOL), but everyone still took time to say hello to we fans that had gathered. I spoke to a few people who said they are excited about the changes. I asked one cast member if they were excited about the opening, and they responded "Sure. I just wish we had rehearsal tomorrow so we could start fixing the things we know we need to fix." So they seem to know the show is not where it needs to be yet.

Seeing the show for a third (and I think final time until NY), I really noticed what the biggest flaws are for me. We don't get to know Grace well enough in the beginning to care about her. So as her story is revealed we don't have enough invested in her as a person to emotionally connect with her journey.

Also, the NEED to develop the love triangle more deeply between Grace, Tiernan and Donal. Right now it is way to "easy". Grace wants to be with Tiernan because he is good and her childhood sweetheart and doesn't want to be with Donal because he is a bad boy and a drunk. I think we need to know more about all three of these characters. Why are Tiernan and Grace so in love? Why is Donal so bad and what is he after? I wish we thought for a second that maybe Grace actually likes Donal, but the way the characters are written at this point, we know they would never end up together so we just assume she is going to be back with Tiernan. You have three fantastic actors to use. Create some deeper characters for them to play and I think we will emotionally connect more.

And, something more exciting just has to happen in the last half hour (as we've discussed numerous times). Not sure what that could be, but the last half hour really does fall flat.

That's all for now. Sorry for being so wordy, but I know you wish you were there with me. I've decided to call us Pirate Queen Fans in the Making. If the show get to where we think it could be, this thing could really be something impressive. Right now, with all of the beautiful moments and great performances, it just doesn't get there yet.

Call you this weekend.

Love ya-

Lin-O
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Interesting. After reading the various reviews that came out yesterday, it sounds like everybody is thinking the same thing. We have to care about the characters if you want us to care about the show. Will they get there? I guess we'll have to stay tuned to find out. I, for one, am choosing to remain optimistic. I think there is too much good in it already for Boublil and Schoenberg to drop the ball now. I guess the show will remain as is for the rest of the Chicago run? So I'll look forward to seeing what happens between now and New York.

Good luck Pirate Queen.

-QB

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 12:49pm

So glad to hear everyone was well dressed.

[queenbee2]

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

Was that really what you took from all that?

-QB

[queenbee2]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 1:15pm

Oooops. No need to respond to that question. I just went back and read some of your previous posts. You are one of the people who have already decided this show is a "turkey" with no theatrical validity and shouldn't even bother coming to New York, so I understand the tone of your response.

Sorry for the confusion.

-QB

Updated On: 11/1/06 at 01:15 PM

[Popular]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 1:22pm

Thanks for sharing, QB!

"I asked one cast member if they were excited about the opening, and they responded "Sure. I just wish we had rehearsal tomorrow so we could start fixing the things we know we need to fix."

That's pretty much sums up why I'm staying positive.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 1:45pm

But they WEREN'T having rehearsal. That says something. Just because the CAST wants to fix things doesn't mean they will be fixed.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 2:15pm

Word is they are gonna play out the Chicago run with ths show mostly as is and the writers and Creative team will work on what they feel needs to be re worked before the show goes back into rehearsal in NYC.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 2:22pm

"Oooops. No need to respond to that question. I just went back and read some of your previous posts. You are one of the people who have already decided this show is a "turkey" with no theatrical validity..."

SuleenGay, I didn't know you were a theatrical critic with one of the major Chicago newspapers!

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 2:52pm

I'm going a THIRD time on Thursday...see what has changed since Oct. 18th!

Thanks for the review! It's good to hear from someone else who has seen it a few times!

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 11/1/06 at 6:10pm

Exactly how did you learn that Stephanie was sick? Did you just hear it from someone, or did you actually talk to Stephanie?

Anyways, glad to hear that it was fun!

[queenbee2]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 1:01pm

COOOOLkid:

I called her last night and asked for you how she knew Steph was sick. She said she was talking to a few of the cast members after the show on their way to the party, and mentioned how great Steph sounded that night. And they all said they couldn't believe what a trooper she was even making it through the week as she was really not feeling well at all. Apparently there was a fear she might not do all of the shows that weekend leading to opening. But according to Lin, she sounded just incredible on opening night.

CurtainPullDowner- I asked her if she heard anything about anymore changes coming during the rest of the time they're in Chicago, and she heard the same thing that you did. That they are going to run the show as is and make all the significant changes in New York rehearsal. She said the people she talked to were very excited about the changes they heard were coming. So apparently, Sueleen, it's not just the cast that wants to make changes, but they've heard the creators are already working on them, so it sounds.

TechEverlasting- Did you take from the major Chicago reviews that they found nothing worth while with the show and that they shouldn't even bother coming to New York, as you've suggested in numerous posts? I actually thought the reviews were better than I had expected and pointed out the good and the bad. A lot MORE bad than good perhaps in some of them, but I didn't get the idea that any of the major Chicago papers were stating that the show was worthless. You?

Steph Star- I look forward to hearing your thoughts upon seeing the show once again.

-QB

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 1:35pm

"TechEverlasting- Did you take from the major Chicago reviews that they found nothing worth while with the show and that they shouldn't even bother coming to New York, as you've suggested in numerous posts?"

You do realize that I was sort of pulling your leg there, right? However, you are SERIOUSLY misquoting me. I have never said that they shouldn't bother bringing The Pirate Queen to New York. I have never said that there's nothing worthwhile there. I just think they should get it ready first. I truly believe this show could be a big hit, and I have said that over and over again.

For the roughly 40 minutes in the middle when the current version works it's fabulous. What I think is that the current story treatment is utter crap, and the current score just isn't good enough to make for a hit show. The major Chicago reviewers and Variety have all said that this show needs a major overhaul. I believe it needs a new book writer. I don't care if it's an uncredited ghost writer, if they have John Demspey redo the entire thing or if they just send Boublil home. Even most of the "positive" reviews of this show have brought up the fact that this story does not work.

Watching the development of Broadway shows has always interested me. In three months it's possible to write a few new songs, rearrange a few scenes and make some judicious cuts. I don't think it's possible to come up with an entirely new opening 45 minutes and an entirely new closing 45 minutes, which is what "The Pirate Queen" needs. (As I've said before, I think the one hour in the middle is great, but that does include the intermission.) This is why I so hope that John McColgan and Moya Doherty will finally come to their senses and admit that they need to go back and start over. Making a determination like this is one thing that out of town tryouts are supposed to be used for. No one seems to realize that any more.

The Pirate Queen deserves a chance. If the same creative team that brought us the clusterf*ck now playing at the Cadillac Palace brings it in in March 2007 it won't have one.

Updated On: 11/2/06 at 01:35 PM