RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW- PREVIEW THREAD — Page 2

Updated On: 12/8/18 at 07:43 PM

Mr. Aiken, you have already shut down one thread about your show. Please don't get this one shut down too.

GreeneStreet said: "All kidding aside, I feel like this show could be a hit if Clay and Ruben were not the singers. Give me some other american idol duo who actually have a rather large fan base and watch the money pour in."

Lol, that could be said about any concert. "It would be more successful with someone who had a larger fan base".

Well... Yeah.

I want one too, but not for this show.

Theater3232 said: "The average price paid per seat will be coming out Monday. If a web sitecharges $20 for a "comp" ticket, will $20 appear in the grosses for that ticket or will $0 appear? If I did a markup of prices and charged $20for a gallon of milk, I would be ashamed of myself."



If it came from a comping service, and the service decided to charge a $20 fee, then the weekly grosses should count that as $0.

"And yet they're charging $150+ for orchestra seats."

Why wouldn't they? Everyone else does. It's pretty much a standard.

After taking 24 hours to reflect upon whether my reaction to the show last night was too harsh... Nope. It was truly awful. Like “icky feeling” awful. I literally paid $5 each for a pair of tickets, and I feel ripped off. I’m going to try to muster the energy to go into more detail, but I feel like my theatrical spirit has been broken after experiencing this atrocity. Here we go (spoilers abound...)

Ruben didn’t know the words to the Christmas songs. There was a bad “levitating” magic trick that opened the show, making Clay’s mic cut out as he gripped the bike seat he was sitting on, “hidden” behind a black curtain - he looked so damn uncomfortable. Ruben almost got hit by a falling scrim. At an awkward point between two scenes, Clay muttered, “Transition,” obviously commenting on the irony of the lack of one. Come to think of it, there were NO transitions between each of the awkward “sketches.” Clay’s voice cracked multiple times. There was a running gag about a “swear stocking” which wasn’t funny at all. For what seemed like an eternity, Ruben played a preacher “preaching” to the audience words that were clearly being read off the podium in front of him while stereotypical gospel chords played in the background. There was a super-awkward audience participation segment with a pre-selected audience member giving bland answers to “Mad Libs”-type questions to fill in the blanks for lyrics for “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” (Among the new choices - Six Moist Stars.) A “Ghost of Christmas Future” smoking an e-cigarette joked that if they didn’t cut a scene with Clay being wrapped in Christmas lights, Clay would die. (Spoiler: Clay gets electrocuted by Christmas lights at the end of Act One. Seriously. There was still a whole second act to get through. We debated leaving, but we almost couldn’t look away, like passing by a train wreck.)

Act Two (why did we stay again?) took an even darker turn. Basically one slow, depressing Christmas song after another, Act Two’s selections were mixed with recorded stories on tape meant to tug at the heartstrings - including one about the recent death of Ruben’s brother (man, no wonder I was depressed - there was so much death in this little Christmas pageant.) Mercifully, (transition!) we got to (what the audience thought was) the end, with a lackluster performance of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by the cast, looking exhausted. The cast took their bows, the curtain fell, the audience then left their seats and began to file out. But the house lights didn’t come on. After an eternity of darkness and murmurs from the confused crowd, up came the curtain for an “encore” performance (REALLY? We thought we were home-free!) So, the remaining audience members watched two additional numbers - sadly, this is the point of the show that worked the best, and some of the half-filled orchestra were already gone! It was just Ruben and Clay, sitting on stools in front of a scrim, singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” as a gentle “snow” fell on the first couple of rows. To paraphrase the classic “Mame” song, we needed a little more “Christmas” like this and less of - well, everything else, frankly.

If all these thoughts seem a bit scattered, you basically have an idea of the type of evening you’re in for if you decide to see this hodgepodge of a show. My advice...keep your five bucks.

Updated On: 12/30/18 at 12:56 AM

Saw this tonight and while there are a few moments, the show is rough on just about every level. The actual idea of this type of Christmas show isn't horrible. It's the execution, actually the complete lack of execution that ultimately proves to be the biggest flaw.

The first act is uber cheesy. Some of it, actually works, at least for moments. The opening number is somewhat enjoyable, as Clay and Ruben attempt to top each other throughout the song while working in a number of Broadway references. The show simply starts a downward spiral afterwards and never seems to recover. The skits run long and the jokes are not funny.

The second act got a little too heavy handed for my preference. There were a couple of video packages that were rather serious and heavy, along with a segment that featured Ruben doing a preacher bit. Before that, there's a spot where they tell Christmas jokes while putting their heads through a thin curtain. Let's just say it leaves something to be desired as the majority of jokes fall pretty flat.

The script is a mess. There's a gimmick with someone playing a ecig smoking, ghost of Chirstmas future who warns Clay he's going to be electrocuted. Clay gets electrocuted at the end of act 1, with no further mention in act 2. They completely dropped it like it never happened.

While the singing was fine from Clay and Ruben, it never reached the heights of amazing or special.

The orchestra was fairly filled, more crowded than I had expected. That said, the sides in the back were pretty empty. The Mezzanine and Balcony were another story. You could have picked your own seat with little to no problems.

The show runs too long. Perhaps some of this would be less painful if the show ran a tight 90 minutes with no intermission. Tonight clocked in at over two hours.

Clay Aiken has some charisma and can hold his own. The rest of the cast seems misplaced. While I'm sure the back up vocalists are talented, the material doesn't just doesn't seem like the right fit. Ruben is another story. He has trouble selling lines, spends a good amount of the show sitting down and just seems very uncomfortable the entire time.

The costumes are bad, especially in the first act. Part of it was they were not attractive, part was inexcusable things like skirts having fold lines and being wrinkled. It felt like they didn't have an iron or steamer in the back. The sets were weak and the props were worse.

A good amount of the crowd were made up of older women who seemed to be loving it. While the show provides a couple of enjoyable moments, I think they have some real nerve charging the prices that are listed. The money is no where seen on the stage.

This show probably could find a life touring. It wouldn't surprise me if it was better received on the road. It's simply out of its element in a legit Broadway house.

To the person that asked about the stage door, apparently they did come out and came out rather quickly. They signed and went through the line but apparently were not posing for pictures or very big on conversation.

Updated On: 12/9/18 at 01:03 AM

10086sunset said: "The opening number is somewhat enjoyable, as Clay and Ruben attempt to top each other throughout the song"

Seems mildly inappropriate for a Christmas show.

musical3 said: "However, for those of us not residing nearby, accommodations are terribly costly. I'd like to think non-profit hotels could be instituted for Broadway fans first and foremost."

But if you want to come to NYC to see Billy Joel, an exhibit at the Met, a sporting event, taking in a holiday show with the Rockettes, then.... they're all not approved and have to pay the current hotel rates? I guess it's good that this endeavor lined up with your interests so well...