"Pull the Plug" article/LENNON in trouble?

Personally, I think this show will make it to Bway without a problem. The name John Lennon will bring in out-of-towners. And I could see Yoko tossing in some money if the show was in danger of not making it to Bway. I don't think she'd want to see it fail.

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Reidel reliable? They're words one doesn't always see in the same phrase.

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So could some one fill me in on all the things Reidel was WRONG about? It seems to me that I see a lot of people don't LIKE the things Reidel says so they claim he's a "liar" or "Innacurate." I've only been reading him sporadically for a year or so, but he seems to be dead on to me.

Does anyone truly believe Lennon is a bigger mess than Brooklyn or Good Vibrations? Honestly! Lennon should do fairly well on its title and tunestack alone. It may need fixing up, which is the PURPOSE of out-of-town tryouts (and he knows that, but hopes his public won't think about it), but Riedel is just wanting to create buzz based on nothing newsworthy whatsoever. IDIOT! He claims the closure of Good Vibrations signifies the end of jukebox musicals. If that generalization were true, then the closure of any musical would signify the end of musical theatre, right? IDIOT! He then says, "This should make producers of future jukebox musicals squirm." Uh, no. It should make producers of any poorly written and poorly staged musical squirm. Mamma Mia is still a smash hit and All Shook Up is doing fine. IDIOT! And finally he remarks that "you have to be smoking something" to understand the concept of the show. Maybe if you have the IQ of a squash. Is he really that dumb? IDIOT!

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Updated On: 4/22/05 at 02:24 PM

I was gonna say, "Lennon" is far removed from "Mama Mia" and its ilk, so to group it with "Good Vibrations" and such doesn't make much sense.

Does it need some overhaul? I'd say yes. But I don't think it's as dire a mess as Riedel seems to think, and I hope if any actors leave it is because they want to do so, not because they are "replaced."

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Looks like the claws are out.

Local news here in SF just ran a story about the "Lennon" show on their 6pm broadcast. They interviewed Yoko Ono, who apparently was there opening night (earlier this week?). No mention of the critical coverage, more of a "how did Yoko feel about it" story.

Considering she was involved in the book process, I was not surprised when she said it was wonderful.

I haven't seen it yet, but plan to this weekend. I thought it looked interesting. Spare sets, but the cast looked top notch. I'm looking forward to seeing Terrance Mann on the boards again.

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i don't see where he's helping b'way at all.

um, he's not getting paid to help broadway, he's getting paid to generate water cooler talk and to boost the sales of the ny post.

i thought lennon could use some tweaking (particularly the 2nd act) and it could soften up a bit and try to get more of a heart that was like that of lennon himself, but on the whole it was entertaining and kept my attention. which is more than i can say for a lot of what i've seen recently.

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It certainly looks as though there are some people who would rather not see John Lennon on Broadway. And I can't help but wonder -- especially considering this particular source -- what their true motives are.

I've heard, on good authority, that there are no cast changes planned for "Lennon". There will likely be, as Shawk mentioned earlier, some changes made in the show -- as is often done during out of town runs. But Lennon is coming to Broadway no matter how hard some people try to stop it.

There was a time when NY critcs wouldn't bash a show until it at least opened on Broadway. But then Reidel isn't a genuine critic, so I suppose he's within his bounds. But in recognnition of that fact, Reidel should at least stick with work he's more qualified to critique -- "American Idol" comes to mind. It's much more his speed.

I can't believe that anyone who frequents Broadway would read the Post to begin with. IMO, the Post really isn't worth the ink they waste to print it or the paper it's printed on. I refuse to read the Post or watch Fox. I've never had any use for foreign nationals who come to America and purchase special dispensations from their political cronies in order to build illegal media empires that they then use to support those very same cronies.

But hey, that's just me.

"I agree with MB that Julia Murney will probably jump ship before the show hits Broadway. "

Gads, I hope not. The cast is the least of this show's worries. She'd better not go anywhere!

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Movin Out had horribile out of town reviews. And look what happened.

-- "Movin Out had horribile out of town reviews. And look what happened." --

And Lennon's out of town reviews haven't even been horrible.

-- "the potential trouble for lennon is that they are not taking much time to fix things before letting the critics in to take whacks at it in boston. what is it, one? two? previews and then "have at us you beantown butchers?" if good vibrators made it and crooklyn too, lennon will have its day on the boards." --

Maybe the Boston critics won't have the opportunity.

But you didn't hear that from me.

-- and as far as the post, never heard of keeping an eye on the other side? better to know that your opposition is up to rather than sticking your head in the sand and pretending they don't exist. same reason i read the times...when i can stomach it. --

The NY Times is in no way comparable with the Post, IMO. But yes, it seems there are still those people who don't want to hear "Give Peace A Chance," especially at this particular moment in history. Well, they didn't want to hear it back then and they have even better reasons for not wanting to hear it now but they're just going to have to hear it. It's not as though they ever listen anyway.

Newsweek has a piece on "Lennon" in their May 2 issue that's far less strident than Reidel's hatchet job, to say the least.

-- "Twenty-eight songs. Nine actors. One white piano—and one extraordinary life. An exclusive look at the new musical 'Lennon,' as it finds its voice in San Francisco." --


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