REDWOOD Previews- Page 5
REDWOOD Previews
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
REDWOOD Previews#102
Posted: 2/3/25 at 3:18pm
getatme said: "Firstly, they should stop saying it's 1:45 or 1:50. It is solidly 2 hours. And that's fine. Just tell people that. "
Why do shows insist on doing this lately? It's especially inconsiderate to the commuter crowd, who is relying on train schedules and such to get home.
ENGLISH (which I loved, regardless) was a good 10-15 minutes longer than the advertised running time of 1:40. GYPSY was running at a solid 2 hours and 55 minutes last I heard (advertised at 2:40). I feel like MHE also exceeded the advertised runtime of 1:40 when I went, but I can't remember for sure...
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/04
REDWOOD Previews#103
Posted: 2/3/25 at 5:38pm
pagereynolds said: "It's 2 hours with no intermission?"
Ugh. I’m out.
REDWOOD Previews#104
Posted: 2/3/25 at 5:53pm
Redwood is indeed two hours with no intermission. That being said, it could EASILY be trimmed. Whether or not they choose to do that during previews remains to be seen.
REDWOOD Previews#105
Posted: 2/4/25 at 3:56am
I'm intrigued about the preview process as when I end up seeing US musicals in Australia they are for the most part set in stone apart from a few little variations. (as for Australian musicals, don't get me started how the beautiful Australian production of The Boy from Oz was gutted of some of it's best moments to add more Judy & Liza for an American audience).
Is there any recent examples of shows doing a massive overhaul of a show during previews? major cuts, changing songs etc? Is they any chance they will make some major changes to this one before it's locked?
Leading Actor Joined: 7/2/03
REDWOOD Previews#106
Posted: 2/4/25 at 5:37am
Press performances have to start on Thursday or Friday this week for an opening next Thursday, which means the show is about to be frozen. At most, some small cuts could go in, but a major overhaul is not possible without delaying the opening.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
REDWOOD Previews#107
Posted: 2/4/25 at 8:26am
Opening Night for the original 1964 Broadway production of FUNNY GIRL starring Barbra Streisand was postponed 5 times. There were 41 changes made to the finalé of the show before freezing it on Opening Night. Barbra was rehearsing the final version of the finalé behind the curtain as the audience was being seated.
REDWOOD Previews#108
Posted: 2/4/25 at 9:00am
Yeah, that doesn’t happen anymore. When’s the last time a show bothered making substantial changes during previews? Especially one that already had an out of town?
REDWOOD Previews#109
Posted: 2/4/25 at 9:07am
BrodyFosse123 said: "Opening Night for the original 1964 Broadway production of FUNNY GIRL starring Barbra Streisand was postponed 5 times. There were 41 changes made to the finalé of the show before freezing it on Opening Night. Barbra was rehearsing the final version of the finalé behind the curtain as the audience was being seated."
Cool but that was 60 years ago and not relevant.
REDWOOD Previews#110
Posted: 2/4/25 at 9:13am
Since the rise of the workshop in the last twenty years, that’s where big changes happen, not during a production in performance.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
REDWOOD Previews#111
Posted: 2/4/25 at 9:39am
Cool but that was 60 years ago and not relevant.
My bad. I was simply responding to your mom's inquiry.
REDWOOD Previews#112
Posted: 2/4/25 at 10:35am
While you’re out there Googling Broadway historical trivia to make yourself look knowledgeable, why don’t you look up some better comebacks?
Broadway Star Joined: 10/13/06
REDWOOD Previews#113
Posted: 2/4/25 at 11:15am
Technology does an awful lot for theater production, but one downside is that it makes changes very expensive. For every substantive change, about a zillion things have to be reprogrammed, so major overhauls in previews are cost-prohibitive. Alas.
Swing Joined: 1/10/24
REDWOOD Previews#114
Posted: 2/4/25 at 12:33pm
willep said: "Yeah, that doesn’t happen anymore. When’s the last time a show bothered making substantial changes during previews? Especially one that already had an out of town?"
Which is a shame because I enjoyed the show SO much more in La Jolla than on Broadway. There is a campiness to this version of the show that just doesn't sit well with me.
Bring back Michael Park's song from La Jolla, revert to the old opening number, and cut that stupid rap (Which used to be Deja Vu by Beyonce). The run-time in my notes from La Jolla was just about 1:45.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
REDWOOD Previews#115
Posted: 2/4/25 at 10:55pm
Intriguing to hear that the show had more daring in its first iteration. I recall reading one review which made it seem so promising; fresh in all the right ways. It’s another chamber musical arriving at a time when larger and splashier seems to sell.
Leading Actor Joined: 11/15/07
REDWOOD Previews#116
Posted: 2/4/25 at 11:13pm
I saw the show tonight. Idina was back in, but you could hear she was sick. She was sniffling a lot throughout the show, and her enunciation was off, making it hard to make out some of the lyrics.
Got out a minute or two before 10pm, so the show was very nearly 2 hours and could definitely use a trim. I love a one-act show, but my tailbone really appreciates when they max out at around 90 minutes for the sake of comfort!
Khailah Wilcoxon was great, but I definitely agree with those who say the wife and Becca should be played by one actress. The storyline with the wife felt a bit underdeveloped and unresolved at the end.
REDWOOD Previews#117
Posted: 2/5/25 at 4:12am
Any thoughts on whether the material is more or less satisfying than if/then, especially the score?
REDWOOD Previews#118
Posted: 2/5/25 at 5:22am
binau said: "Any thoughts on whether the material is more or less satisfying than if/then, especially the score?"
I LOVED If/Then... I pretty much loathed everything about Redwood.
REDWOOD Previews#119
Posted: 2/5/25 at 5:55am
Kad said: "Since the rise of the workshop in the last twenty years, that’s where big changes happen, not during a production in performance."
Thanks. That makes sense. I mean I know Spring Awakening did a bunch of workshops over 7 years before getting to the Atlantic theatre, then Broadway.
REDWOOD Previews#120
Posted: 2/5/25 at 6:19am
Producers don’t have balls anymore, that’s the start of issues. They see something, go that’s great, reviews say otherwise, instead of trying to fix, they just say to the writers, directors, it’s great, let’s open and than still can’t figure how and why it all went wrong.
REDWOOD Previews#121
Posted: 2/5/25 at 7:30am
This is also why strong directors such as Hal Prince or Michael Grief matter. Next to normal was shaped with Michael Grief, DEH score basically does not resemble at all what it was like before he went on board. Hal Prince will challenge composers to produce new songs if the existing ones don't work or are lame (e.g. Kiss of the Spider Woman).
Reflecting on the Swept Away closing where the Avett Brothers said they thought it would run for like 20 years...seems there are too many yes men around. It hurts, but someone needs to put their foot down and show leadership to help protect the show, actors, creatives, investors.
Broadway Star Joined: 8/11/05
REDWOOD Previews#122
Posted: 2/5/25 at 8:36am
willep said: "Yeah, that doesn’t happen anymore. When’s the last time a show bothered making substantial changes during previews? Especially one that already had an out of town?"
The only show that comes to mind is Titanic, and that was almost 30 years ago. They went from a disastrous first week of previews to deservedly winning Best Musical.
Broadway Star Joined: 12/9/23
REDWOOD Previews#123
Posted: 2/5/25 at 8:51am
binau said: "This is also why strong directors such as Hal Prince or Michael Grief matter. Next to normal was shaped with Michael Grief, DEH score basically does not resemble at all what it was like before he went on board. Hal Prince will challenge composers to produce new songs if the existing ones don't work or are lame (e.g. Kiss of the Spider Woman).
Reflecting on the Swept Away closing where the Avett Brothers said they thought it would run for like 20 years...seems there are too many yes men around. It hurts, but someone needs to put their foot down and show leadership to help protect the show, actors, creatives, investors.
"
I fully agree and think I even said that the yes men involved with this one don't surprise me why it closed down so quickly.
Leading Actor Joined: 11/15/07
REDWOOD Previews#124
Posted: 2/5/25 at 10:44am
binau said: "Any thoughts on whether the material is more or less satisfying than if/then, especially the score?"
I thought "If/Then" was brilliant, and I'd go back and listen to many songs. I can't see myself doing that with the material I heard last night.
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