Pirate Queen to close June 17 — Page 4

I had a chance to go see The Pirate Queen when I was last in New York, but I didn't. I'm not a huge fan of Boubil and Schonberg so my main reason was to just see if it was really as bad as everyone was making it out to be. That's not a good reason to see a show, so I decided not to and opted for something else.

I don't know if I regret my decision or not. It might have turned out to be a show I would like, and now I won't get to see it anymore.

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orangeskittles, now that Pirate Queen has posted a closing notice, go ahead and crow about how it was inevitable that Young Frankenstein would take the Hilton. With this past week's grosses I don't see how Pirate Queen could have kept going through the summer.

A few weeks ago when PQ's numbers were around 70% it wasn't so clear, and I have no doubt that some people on the YF team were a little nervous when the St. James was taken off the table. I still say all the talk we heard about YF having already signed a deal with the Hilton a month ago was b.s.

Now perhaps Mel is going to find that getting what you wish for isn't always such a grand thing. It's a lot easier to sell out the St. James with a silly musical spoof than the Hilton.

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cant say i didnt see it coming,

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An interesting story, thanks, Contributor.

They had a good run - I've said before that one of the principals was heard to have said they were happy to get that year's worth of paychecks.

Plus, yes, people will be out of work (again, it's the business), but at least other hard-working people won't be out $100 to see a show that's apparently not very good.

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'The Pirate Queen wasn’t judged fairly in another regard, O’Brien believes. “Alain [Boubil] and Claude-Michel [Schönberg] have written some incredible pieces of music, and they’re only going to be compared to their own work,” he says. “Had they not written anything [previously], I believe people would have looked at their music in a different way.'

I see what he's saying and it may be true for some people, but I had never heard or seen any of their shows before, yes, including Les Mis, so their previous work didn't affect me personally. I am sure there are other folks who had the same experience as I.

In any case, moving on...

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A few weeks ago when PQ's numbers were around 70% it wasn't so clear

Actually, when a show is at 70% within 3 months of opening, it was clear, the fans were just in denial.

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well, regardless of who you are, a show is never as bad as the worst opinion and never as good as the best.
that said, I'd have wished a better fate- I am more than ready for different musicals--- I've seen the current line up and endless revivals enough now. apparently not enough folks are tired of them yet---

I saw the show tonight and had a good time. Maybe since I went in thinking it would be absolutely dreadful (thanks in large part to you all), I allowed myself to be pleasantly surprised. And after a long, stressful day, going to the show had a lot working against it. I see the flaws and the melodrama and the sometimes awful/trite lyrical choices, but I somehow still really enjoyed it. I'm glad I got to see it before it closed. I found the story to be compelling and interesting, and Ms. Block was great- as were the other leading/supporting actors. Though for the majority of the time I wanted to smack Linda Balgord; not her fault. Best of luck to the talented cast, and i hope they enjoy their last week+ of performances!

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“Had they not written anything [previously], I believe people would have looked at their music in a different way."

If these guys hadn't written "Les Mis" and "Miss Saigon" first no one would have ever invested a dime in producing this score. The lyrics they started with in Chicago were beyond belief.

Edit: To be fair to Boublil and Schonberg, this wasn't a case of investors putting up money for someone else's project. Doherty and McColgan comissioned them to write the show. I would love to know if those guys ever saw "Martin Guerre".

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Updated On: 6/7/07 at 07:09 AM

Can't believe it lasted as long as it did.

I just saw TPQ last Thursday and I actually liked the show. LOVED the music too! But what I found lacking was the acting, EXCEPT for Stephanie J. Block and Linda Balgord. Both of these ladies were exceptional. Everyone else I thought was a little 'blah' (ok, William Youmans was pretty good too). But I liked the show overall and it had a LOT of "girl power". LOL!

It's a shame it's closing and that more people didn't give it a chance. It's an amazing story, that of Grace O'Malley.