Ride the cyclone MCC- Page 3

[mpd4165]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 4:55pm

macnyc said: "Has anyone seen Tiffany Tatreau in the role yet in New York? I'm not sure when she started. Opening night is Dec. 1.

According to the Chicago Tribune, she was flown out on Tuesday and went on Wednesday...

 


"

 

 

 

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/news/ct-chicago-actor-tiffany-tatreau-back-in-ride-the-cyclone-20161128-story.html Updated On: 11/28/16 at 04:55 PM

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 5:24pm

Wow, I give performers like Tiffany a lot of credit. That's got to be really tough, to go into a show like that. True, she's performed it in Chicago, but here, in a different theater, with some different colleagues, I have to assume there's a lot to learn! I hope the show gets good reviews and extends!

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 11:35pm

I saw the Saturday matinee. Tiffany was flawless. She was fantastic in the Chicago run, and she seems to have fit into this production seamlessly. Not a single clue that she was brought in that quickly. 

[tripelite]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 2:20am

I saw an early preview and really wanted to like this show.  I thought the cast was strong and I liked the set, but like some others here, the show didn't do anything for me.  Loose narrative, songs weren't memorable, I didn't find it funny, and I wasn't invested in the characters.  All that said, the audience seemed to enjoy it more than I did.  

I will flag two things that bothered me that I don't think were addressed elsewhere.

1. The kids are supposedly Canadian, but they don't have Canadian accents (and yes, there is an accent).

2. In the show, it appears that the Cyclone is a wooden roller coaster (as most coasters named Cyclone are).  Wooden coasters do not have loops (with a handful of very recent exceptions).

Minor points, I know.  But they took me out of the show, and they could be fixed by rewriting a couple of lines of dialogue.

[Michael Kras]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 5:27pm

tripelite said: "I saw an early preview and really wanted to like this show.  I thought the cast was strong and I liked the set, but like some others here, the show didn't do anything for me.  Loose narrative, songs weren't memorable, I didn't find it funny, and I wasn't invested in the characters.  All that said, the audience seemed to enjoy it more than I did.  

I will flag two things that bothered me that I don't think were addressed elsewhere.

1. The kids are supposedly Canadian, but they don't have Canadian accents (and yes, there is an accent).

2. In the show, it appears that the Cyclone is a wooden roller coaster (as most coasters named Cyclone are).  Wooden coasters do not have loops (with a handful of very recent exceptions).

Minor points, I know.  But they took me out of the show, and they could be fixed by rewriting a couple of lines of dialogue.

 

"

Speaking as a Canadian, I can say that the Canadian accent comes in various levels of severity depending on region. Now as these kids are meant to be from Saskathchewan, the accent might be a bit more pronounced, but it's also not unreasonable for it to be relatively unnoticeable. 

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 6:23pm

Tell you the truth, the thing with the wooden roller coaster having a loop-de-loop kind of distracted me!

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 10:25am

Isherwood's review vs Jesse Green's review couldn't be more different. I really do wonder what planet Isherwood lives on.

http://www.playbill.com/article/new-york-critics-review-new-musical-ride-the-cyclone

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 10:40am

Jesse Green voices my response better than I could!

The show is SO good at so many things... but most of the songs seem so disconnected from the book. It seems so clearly to be a show created around a trunk of songs, I wonder why it's been given so much effort on a knock-out production without very much effort on integrating songs and book. 

[Kad]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 10:58am

I was there last night and had no idea it was opening. Certainly wasn't presented like a typical MCC opening- I assume they must have had the "event" opening on another performance.

I'm really surprised people like the show so much, Isherwood included. While it is a technically outstanding production (that Jane Doe number really is stunningly staged), the show itself just is... limp. It's" weird" in the way that Hot Topic is "weird."

For a show that is essentially a series of would-be revelatory and insightful character songs, there's nothing revelatory about them. The characters are pretty much exactly what they are initially presented as and their big songs just confirm that, riffing on one central concept without deepening it.

The show really brings to mind 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, but without the wit, the warmth, the commitment, or the ingenuity.  But Spelling Bee had genuinely idiosyncratic talent behind it, which made the characters so specific in their oddness and the material so distinct. It also gave the characters arcs; here, the characters fade away after they have their big moment. It just chugs along through pastiche after pastiche tailored to each character as expected and ends in a trite, uplifting song about treasuring life.

The performers are all superb, certainly. But there's so little surprise, aside from the big Jane Doe number. Its weirdness is workshopped and smoothed and safe. Its heart is like Jane Doe's head: gone somewhere.  

Updated On: 12/1/16 at 10:58 AM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 11:04am

Kad has also articulated my feelings better than I could. 

 

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 12:09pm

I saw the show last night.

 

Lots of hits and misses but mostly misses. The biggest issue in terms of structure is the opening. The automaton talks forever and just gives us exposition that the kids could EASILY give us through song. His opening monologue made me cringe. I can't remember wanting to leave a theater more than I did during that whole opening. The three questions, the rat playing base...oy. Really bad.

 

Some of the songs were great - Noel's Lament and Space Age Bachelor Man were an absolute blast for me. The Ballad of Jane Doe was also pretty wonderful. But these separate bits - spectacular as they may have been - didn't add up to a cohesive and engaging evening. I kept sitting there wondering, "When are they going to get to the part where I give a ****?" because I didn't care at all for anyone or anything up there and I actually think some aspects truly don't make any sense (the baby doll girl...WTF?!).

 

The set, costumes, props, lighting and effects were all top notch but almost to a fault. They were so good that it made us see all of the storytelling hiccups.

 

I don't think this has a life beyond MCC but I don hope it gets a cast recording. Would love to rock out to Space Age Bachelor Man.

[jbird5]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 12:39pm

You guys might want to learn to use the spoiler box.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 1:09pm

For what information, exactly? There's been no detailed discussion about the show's plot or its outcome, or even its staging.

Updated On: 12/1/16 at 01:09 PM

[gimlet2]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 1:18pm

Extended 2 weeks:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/MCC-Theater-Extends-RIDE-THE-CYCLONE-Due-To-Popular-Demand-Now-Through-December-29-20161201

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 1:50pm

I'm surprised by the mixed to negative reviews (outside of Isherwood's rave). I used to be based in Chicago and still keep up with all the news and reviews of shows over there, and this was a critical and commercial smash at Chicago Shakespeare last season. I'm not sure why the reception is so different in New York.

At least they got Tiffany Tatreau back on board before opening. She is obviously great in the role and the producers had just been worried about having a non-Equity recent college grad playing the main female when a Broadway transfer was (probably) the ultimate goal. Glad she has reclaimed the role that was rightfully hers to begin with.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 1:54pm

It's hardly the first time something that's done well out of town, in Chicago even, hasn't been embraced by NY critics.

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 1:56pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I'm surprised by the mixed to negative reviews (outside of Isherwood's rave). I used to be based in Chicago and still keep up with all the news and reviews of shows over there, and this was a critical and commercial smash at Chicago Shakespeare last season. I'm not sure why the reception is so different in New York.

"

Different markets/audiences have different expectations. A show that works in one city won't necessarily work in another. And let's be real -- there is a distinct culture of boosterism in regional theater that doesn't exist in New York. This isn't the first or the hundredth time a show that was hailed in Chicago (or Boston or DC) has come to New York and been met with an icier reception. For every Dear Evan Hansen there's ten Glory Days.

 

Updated On: 12/1/16 at 01:56 PM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 2:25pm

Context is also fairly key. This played in a small theater in a large non-profit that normally does Shakespeare and other arty-farty productions.

I don't think expectations were very high going in... so reviewers, and audiences, were maybe surprised at being delighted in the way they were. I don't think it was being viewed as a big New York transfer. I think for a late night, fun show... it is delightful... so I understood the reviews here in Chicago... to some extent. It just doesn't hold together as a musical... IMHO 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/6/16 at 10:35pm

I saw this tonight. While there definitely some strong points, this was mostly a miss in my book. The concept and plot, while interesting, are both hindered by a book and score that are just not very strong. The show is all over the place in terms of writing. Nothing really feels cohesive. The cast, however, is extremely talented. Top notch talent all around. The set is quite impressive, especially for a small Off Broadway Theatre. The Jane Doe number was breathtaking. While I didn't love this show, I can't say that I disliked it. It is definitely not a show for everyone.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/6/16 at 10:56pm

I'm surprised by the mixed to negative reviews (outside of Isherwood's rave). I used to be based in Chicago and still keep up with all the news and reviews of shows over there, and this was a critical and commercial smash at Chicago Shakespeare last season. I'm not sure why the reception is so different in New York.

If you were based in Chicago, I'm surprised you're surprised.  When Chicago critics smell a NY transfer (or are advised well in advance), they usually break out the kid gloves and are overly generous in their reviews, hoping to pave the way for a hit.  Once in a while, they hit the mark, as with Kinky Boots (not that I agreed with them on that count) or are thrown the obvious, such as Spamalot.  But I've found them to be often unreliable and only read their reviews to get some basic information on the production, rather than their opinion on it.  Especially Hedy Weiss.  I don't know how she's been able to hold down her job with some of the batsh*t stuff she says.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/11/16 at 4:28pm

Saw this yesterday and really enjoyed it. It's a weird, entertaining show with a wonderful cast. I agree that there's too much exposition in the beginning, and the ending started to drag for me right around Constance's number. I don't really think it has any transfer potential but I can see it being done a lot at regional theaters.

[Glittergrrl]

Posted: 12/11/16 at 9:36pm

Just curious... in a previous post someone said the group picks who gets to be brought back to life.  Who is that group? The audience? Does the ending change depending on who is chosen? Just wondering. Is it like the "Clue" of theatre? I'd like to see this, but I'm already going into NY twice over the holidays and won't be able to make it a third time, but this sounds dark and quirky, and right in my wheelhouse.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/11/16 at 9:43pm

Glittergrrl said: "Just curious... in a previous post someone said the group picks who gets to be brought back to life.  Who is that group? The audience? Does the ending change depending on who is chosen? Just wondering. Is it like the "Clue" of theatre? I'd like to see this, but I'm already going into NY twice over the holidays and won't be able to make it a third time, but this sounds dark and quirky, and right in my wheelhouse.

 

"

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The six choir members have to unanimously pick the person to send back to life. There's only one ending.

 

[Glittergrrl]

Posted: 12/11/16 at 9:53pm

That clears it up. Thank you!

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 12/11/16 at 10:30pm

Major spoiler question.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

When Jane Doe's identity is revealed, what is the reason she was on the ride in the choir uniform? I must have missed that part. Thanks!