Riedel on The Great Comet off stage battle- Page 2

[chi-town_bwayfangirl]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:15am

theatregoer3 said: "dramamama611 said: "So what, exactly have you heard that sounds dull?  The part about it being a sliver of War & Peace?  In that case, Les Miz must have sounded dreadful too."

I just saw it myself and found it to be dull. So did the many people in the mezz who didn't return after intermission.

If he thinks it sounded dull, then let him have his opinion."

Going to see it this weekend and when I tell my friends here in Chicago I'm going to see "Natasha Pierre and the Great comet of 1812", it sounds dreadful (not knowing anything else about it). It's a long and boring title and that makes one think it would be a long and boring show. I don't generally like period pieces (1812), could care less about comets and don't think the connection to War and Peace does it any favors. The only thing I can look forward to is Josh Groban and the staging. 

 

And yes, Les Miserables is a dreadful title. Great show when word of mouth/press gets around, but not something that immediately piques my interest  

 

Just my opinion

[gypsy101]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:50am

...you know it's not actually about a comet right

 

I think the title is a very good title, it's definitely unique.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 1:03am

the title was fine downtown, but on Broadway it has to overcome the hordes who think it is about Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 5:19am

theatregoer3 said: "dramamama611 said: "So what, exactly have you heard that sounds dull?  The part about it being a sliver of War & Peace?  In that case, Les Miz must have sounded dreadful too.  And only mega-successes have to reach beyond musical theater fans. (And yes, I'm truly curious about what sounded dull to you.)

It certainly didn't sound dull to all the off broadway audiences previously in NY, nor to the sold out crowds at the ART."

I just saw it myself and found it to be dull. So did the many people in the mezz who didn't return after intermission.

 

If he thinks it sounded dull, then let him have his opinion.

 

As to the Ars Nova issue, they had one of the last bios in the program, mixed in with arbitrary names and unfamiliar producers (cough financiers cough).

 

 

"

I didn't tell him not to have his opinion....I asked him to elaborate upon it.  I wanted to understand what made the poster feel that way.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:27pm

It's a long and boring title and that makes one think it would be a long and boring show.

Personally, my reaction when I first heard about the show was the opposite.  I found the title to be intriguing and instantly made me curious about the show.

And Les Miserables was the title of an iconic novel, so it makes perfect sense to keep it.  I don't understand why that is "dreadful" and it clearly did not negatively impact the show whatsoever.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:44pm

So this title sucks but "The Bandstand" is an exciting title? Or "Cats?" Or "Hamilton?"

[Kad]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 12:55pm

 I hope this is resolved amicably and that Ars Nova receives the billing they deserve. The show would not exist without them- it was commissioned and developed by the company and the production still retains the vision as it was presented initially there.

Updated On: 10/19/16 at 12:55 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 1:27pm

RippedMan said: "So this title sucks but "The Bandstand" is an exciting title? Or "Cats?" Or "Hamilton?""

Who said any of them were? 

They are all however more effective branding. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 1:45pm

I'm not convinced The Bandstand will be more effective branding.  The most interesting thing about the title is that it could be confused with "American Bandstand" if you're old enough to remember it and even then, you'd have to have been a fan to care.  The artwork on their mostly empty website is pretty generic and the only names on it that they are leveraging are Blankenbuehler and Osnes, so I don't see anything really effective yet.  It's certainly not the title alone that makes branding effective.  Look at what happened to Lennon.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:00pm

you may be right about Bandstand, but it is still not IMO as bad as Comet. Will it matter? I suspect not until Groban leaves. The other 2 shows mentioned of course are utterly post hoc since both are icons.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:12pm

RippedMan said: "So this title sucks but "The Bandstand" is an exciting title? Or "Cats?" Or "Hamilton?"

Schikaneder ?

 

 

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:40pm

Do dear, looks like Riedel has been speaking with the show press agent.