Power Balladz?

[tking001]

Posted: 8/16/10 at 9:17pm

Does anyone know if Power Balladz does a student rush? Or offers any other type of rush tickets.
Cheapest I found with a discount is $40

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/17/10 at 7:15am

Power Balladz is crap. If you need that fix go see Rock Of Ages, not some cheesy knock off.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/17/10 at 8:23am

Magic, did you see the show? my friend is going tonight.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/17/10 at 10:27am

yes. it's lame. and it's lack of originality offends me.

[tking001]

Posted: 8/17/10 at 10:28am

I've seen Rock of Ages 7 times
N I know that Power balladz has different songs so I wanted to check it out

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 8/17/10 at 11:24am

I saw POWER BALLADZ for free and it felt like I paid too much. Had there been an intermission I would have left during it. (The show is around 90 minutes, though there's 30 minutes of "rock trivia" beforehand which is incredibly lame.) I don't know how they can charge $40 for this. I don't see any audience for this except bachelorette parties for women who grew up during the time these songs were popular. The drunk women in the audience who yelled back to the actors were more entertaining than the show itself.

(The three actors are very talented singers, but unless you LOVE LOVE LOVE these songs, you will be bored out of your mind waiting for the 90 minutes to be over.)

[swimmingzeppo]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 11:48am

Wow, there seems to be lots of unjustified anger. Methinks Cape Twirl and MagicalBroadwayFart are ROA-tards (if not involved with the show itself)? Yeah, Power Balladz doesn't have a plot, but it's more about the musical performances than Rock of Ages. If you want something more akin to a permanent rock concert (with great vocals and even better instrumentation) than a Broadway show - then Power Balladz is exactly what you want. Otherwise go blow $60 on the same songs in a storyline. Honestly, those two treat Rock of Ages like it *wrote* the music and has exclusive rights. All blasts of "unoriginality" are extremely hypocritical.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 1:39pm

Without hating on either show, can someone explain to me the actual difference between Power Balladz and Rock of Ages? Do they both use most of the same music? I haven't been able to get a clear answer on this from anywhere.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 2:20pm

Yep, us and the NY TIMES are total tards. You got us! Clearly YOU have some kind of connection with Power Balladz to bother to defend it... and so weakly I might add.

If you don't see that this thing is just a cynical excuse to cash in on somebody else's idea (using this genre of music as a night of theater) then A) you aren't paying attention or B) you are making money or are involved in Power Balladz in some way.

Now for those that don't give a crap about either show, you may think the idea of using this music for a stage musical is retarded. Many would agree with you. But whatever your thoughts are of the ROA, you have to at least give it to them for being the ones who thought to do it... right or wrong.

The fact is there are several of the very same songs in both shows. And yes... you are correct. ROA did not write the music nor owns the rights to use it. Not sure that was ever something anybody claimed. BUT the fact is they did come up with the idea to use it theatrically first. THAT was the original idea. Power Balladz is simply unoriginal. That is what I am accusing it of. It's as if I decided to do a show off-broadway using Abba tunes. I wouldn't expect anyone patting me on the back for my brilliant idea.

And PS.... better instrumentation? Are you high?

For Vespertine... just read the NY Times review of "Power Balladz." It will tell you all you need to know about the differences of the two shows.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 2:37pm

Wow, there seems to be lots of unjustified anger. Methinks Cape Twirl and MagicalBroadwayFart are ROA-tards (if not involved with the show itself)?

Honestly, those two treat Rock of Ages like it *wrote* the music and has exclusive rights. All blasts of "unoriginality" are extremely hypocritical.



LOL! I have never seen ROCK OF AGES and I have absolutely no desire to. I didn't refer to it in my post, and in fact I don't think I've ever even mentioned that show before on Broadway World.

Updated On: 8/20/10 at 02:37 PM

[swimmingzeppo]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 3:14pm

"I didn't refer to it in my post, and in fact I don't think I've ever even mentioned that show before on Broadway World."

My apologies, I think your comment became colored by magicalbroadwayfarts in my mind and I lumped the two together.

"Clearly YOU have some kind of connection with Power Balladz to bother to defend it."

Oh good, the "I know you are but what am I" defense. We're in mature company here. The fact is I have seen both (and yes, with only a 5-person band Power Balladz still wins in instrumentation), and besides music the two really couldn't be further apart in tone or concept. Your ABBA analogy is irrelevant as that would be one specific band as opposed to an entire genre or musical era. A bit of a difference. I'll admit, having seen ROA first there was a twinge of "Are they really doing this?" as I sat through Power Balladz, but by the end you understand how far and apart the two are from one being a rip-off of the other.

What's even funnier is that I'm 99% sure that magicalbroadwayfart is Chris D'Arienzo, the writer of ROA, venting on a message board. Trolling? On Broadwayworld? Pathetic and downright egotistical.

If you really want to get an accurate feel for how critics are receiving the show, yes, check out the various reviews. NYTimes has one up, as does Theatremania, Backstage, Best of Off-Broadway, The NY Press. The latter four are positive, and even the NYTimes is lukewarm - not negative.

Have you even seen Power Balladz?

[swimmingzeppo]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 3:38pm

Vespertine,

The straightest and easiest answer relates to their formats.

Rock of Ages is a more traditional (only by comparison with Power Balladz (edit: by this I mean it's still a musical with scenes and acts, but it eschews the fourth wall many times, unlike most musicals)) musical with a large ensemble cast and a few storylines going from point A to point B with some of the greatest music of the glam rock era ushering it along.

Power Balladz is a barebones production with 3 actors and 5 musicians on a stage in what is closer to a rock concert with brief lectures/jokes in between songs.

The music used has a fair amount of overlap, but what each song represents to each play is entirely different. For example, Rock of Ages has a character named "Christian" which is where the Night Ranger song "Sister Christian" gets tied in. With Power Balladz "Sister Christian" is included not as a plotpoint but as a musical example of the power ballad artform.

It's a question of style and substance. Each has different intentions for both.
Updated On: 8/20/10 at 03:38 PM

[TheatreFreak3]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 4:00pm

Well fart boy you do appear to be a total tard, but more interestingly you've either been out of work too long or are somehow affiliated with Rock of Ages (crush on Constantine? American Idol fan?). Power Balladz was first conceived and performed in Minneapolis 10 years ago (predating Rock of Ages). The show stays true to the songs and the songs are sung by performers who can pull them off. Rock of Ages has manipulated the harmonies and jammed in dialogue between verses, which devalues the songs and is at best irritating.

I really don't understand all the fuss. Rock of Ages was contrived to be a broadway jukebox show. Power Balladz was written and intended for more of a cabaret setting. It's all about the music plain and simple. I don't know what your personal beef is but it's quite obvious that you have a personal bias. Now go back to your comic books or video games or who knows what.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/20/10 at 5:34pm

Yes, because name-calling, baseless accusations, sock puppets and hypocrisy will totally help win over fans. Way to go, swimmingzeppo and brand-new board member TheatreFreak.

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/21/10 at 1:33pm

Short answer:

Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical.

Power Balladz is a cabaret show, albeit one that instead of traditional showtunes and jazz, uses three decades of arena rock for its material.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/21/10 at 7:00pm

hahaha... I wish I was Chris D'Arienzo. I'd have a little more change in my pocket.

Okay, you win. Power Balladz is incredibly original. I'm sure the creators of it knew nothing of Rock Of Ages when they decided to put it up here in NYC and there was never a conversation about possibly pulling that audience into their show. No you are right I'm sure the creators of Power Balladz had nothing but the purest of artistic intentions.

I love how by taking the side of one show over the other suggests that I must be involved in that show. (I threw that back at you in my response only because I found your first accusation so freaking silly). Take a look at this entire f*&king message board. it is nothing but people talking about things they like and things that suck. Why is Power Balladz so special?

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/21/10 at 7:46pm

You can't create theater in a vacuum.

Is it obviously inspired by the success of Rock of Ages? No doubt. However, what I've seen of this show seems less like "blatant ripoff of Rock of Ages" and more like "seeing that there's a market for this kind of thing, three actor-singers with a passion for hard rock start the first metal cabaret show."

I haven't seen it, and I probably would rather go to ROA anyway, but it's not like this is a "book musical" or even a jukebox show. It's just sort of a concert/cabaret type thing, almost a less pretentious version of those Over The Top or Dream Engine Jim Steinman cabarets.

It's not like it's killing theater.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/21/10 at 7:53pm

Why are people all of a sudden acting like Rock of Ages is high art? It's a piece of s@#t jukebox musical with 80s music.

This is a piece of s@#t cabaret with singers performing hairband music from the 80s.

Everyone needs to relax.

Updated On: 8/22/10 at 07:53 PM

[PeterJamesZielinski]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 2:25am

What's funny to me is that that's the first mention of Power Balladz being created and performed before ROA. No reviewer or person on this board seemed to know about that fact.

Tiny thing everyone likes to leave out :)

That said, absolutely no reason why both of these shows aren't valid. Lot of talented folk created both of those shows.


Full disclosure:

- I am currently a part of the cast of POWER BALLADZ.

- I am very close with most of the cast of ROA and also the person who shot the photos for and created the ROCK OF AGES Mens & Womens calendars.




Updated On: 8/22/10 at 02:25 AM

[Leia947]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 8:16pm

I saw Power Balladz on Saturday. I have seen Rock of Ages 3 times. They are both fun, enjoyable shows. As a matter of fact, my friends an I are trying to plan when we can go see Power Balladz again because it was extremely fun and funny.

As for critics, I never take their word for anything. I loved things they've hated and hated things they've loved.

I never get why people on this board feel the need to bash every freaking thing that comes out. Threads degrade into arguing and name calling and an unenjoyable place to talk.

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 9:29am

Zelinski, you are doing a show that you made and that is obviously close to your heart. That's highly commendable, and I wish I could go to work in my own brainchild every night.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 10:10am

magic, my friend walked out 1/2 an hour into the show.

[swimmingzeppo]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 1:36pm

To answer the original poster's question, Power Balladz just announced a student rush on their Facebook page. These are the details as stated there:

Power Balladz- Student Rush
Available one hour before curtain
$25.00 Cash only
Limit 2 tickets per student ID