SING STREET @ NYTW - Page 3

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 5:36pm

Wolfwriter, I’m afraid most of what greenifyme said IS in fact in exposited in the musical. And most of the “filling in the gaps” they’ve done are just a result of following through with the information laid out by the text and the direction. It doesn’t take a whole monologue to understand why Brandon is depressed (though there actually is one).

**I can’t seem to do the spoiler toggle on mobile, so, SPOILERS below***

I will admit that of all your criticisms, I think the kiss, along with Eamon’s physical abuse, are the most valid. And interestingly, neither are in the film IIRC. Both are kind of thrown away and not explored completely. But the kiss is set-up by the fact that Barry calls Conor some homophobic slurs earlier, and I interpret that as subtext for what might really be going on with Barry. But I agree it isn’t addressed enough.

But as for your other main point: I don’t agree with your outlook on what constitutes “depth” and what constitutes a “throwaway line.” Many of the lines you seem to consider “throwaways” are giving us the key insight into what’s going on with the characters. And it’s not that they’re thrown away, it’s that they are established, and they assume the audience is listening carefully enough to not need to established again. And from there, we understand why they make the decisions they do. For example, telling us about the affair isn’t depth - sure. But it tells us what we need to know in order to then see the depth in their everyday interactions, and how it guides their worldview. We don’t need more than 1 scene about financial struggles to see the ripple effects of them. We don’t need them to keep telling us that the parents put pressure on Anna for us to understand what’s going through her head later when she throws the books on the ground. And these insights into the characters might not be wrung out for detail, but they are truthful to the circumstances, and the audience can understand what sort of pain they’re experiencing.

[gibsons2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 5:39pm

wolfwriter said: "Thanks for taking the time, greenifyme2. I read what you wrote, twice, and most of isn't in the show. It might be in the film, but most of what you wrote is your guess. It's how you filled in the blanks and that's totally okay. Please don't think I'm trying to be difficult or snarky. I'm not. I liked this enough to care about them getting it right. I won't drag this out beyond this. We're not going to agree, but I like reading your thoughts and the thoughts of others and reflecting on what I saw.

 

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Stating 3 times that mom is having an affair isn't depth. It's just a fact. Do we see the parents having issues that cause them to split? No. Many parents argue..a lot. They don’t split up. Dad’s an architect, which is a good-paying job in any country. The parents being “stuck” as the brother says, is not believable.

You can surmise the breakup is from financial difficulty, but nothing in the show, except for some expository lines, set the stage for that.

Most of what you wrote about the brother is believable, but hardly any of that is on stage. The brother was set to go to London and didn’t. Okay, but I need more than that to care what happens to him.

The Eamon line about being hit is a throwaway that is literally said as the mom walks off stage.

Why is Raphina there, except for convenience? I still don't know.

Brother Baxter is a nice guy, then he’s not. He’s a “rules” guy tells me nothing about him. He’s a “type” not a 3-dimensional character.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't turn superficial lines into depth unless I fill in the blanks, too, but then, it's me writing the book.

Again, we have no sense of the financial despair or historical issues besetting Ireland at the time and that might go a very long way toward explaining some of the characters and their motivations.

If what you say about the daughter is true, why does she say that she’s leaving school to travel? We don’t know her at all, so we have no idea what’s true.

The kiss is not explained at all and your supposition might be spot-on, but we have no way to know from the text. It's dropped and never mentioned again.

That’s the problem, for me. It's very superficial, so you might be 100 percent right about everything, but we have no way to know if that what the creators wanted or intended.

 

 

 

 

I think many things in that story didn't make sense to you or you didn't care for some characters/situations because these characters didn't resonate with you or represented anyone you know. How the financial harships or depression,  lack of hope, despair affect families is universal. We tend to agree with things we can relate to. I've partially recognized myself and quite a few people I know in this story. We look at everything through our own perspective and being biased is normal. Sing Street and Waitress resonated with me a lot because I recognize real people in both stories. But it doesn't mean everyone has the same perception based on their own experiences. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[R. GreenFinch]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 6:01pm

I haven't seen the film, but I saw much of the above last night on stage. I really didn't think it was that vague or too deep to understand, and the motivations were quite clear to me. 

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 6:44pm

The spoiler box is acting up for me, too, so SPOILERS ahead...


The daughter says she is leaving school to travel, not because she can’t handle pressure.

There is a line about lack of work for architects. Did the family save no money? It’s a stretch, but okay. Maybe that’s what the line about too many vacations is there for.

I guess people have affairs for inexplicable reasons so I’ll give you that.

There’s nothing about Brother Baxter’s background at all.

You’d think I hated the show and I actually liked it LOL

As for relating to it. The short version is that I grew up dirt poor Irish. My parents were on the verge of losing their home in the late 70s/ early 80s when I was a little kid. My grandfather died and left my folks about $20k which saved our house. This was my music, my era. I was very into the new wave/punk Irish/ British music thing as a kid.

I should relate to everything on that stage.

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 7:06pm

wolfwriter said: "The spoiler box is acting up for me, too, so SPOILERS ahead...


The daughter says she is leaving school to travel, not because she can’t handle pressure.

There is a line about lack of work for architects. Did the family save no money? It’s a stretch, but okay. Maybe that’s what the line about too many vacations is there for.

 

If you watch Anne’s face it is abundantly clear to me that she feels pressure to stay in school at her father’s wishes.

Many families don’t have savings.

[inception]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 7:09pm

Interesting to read all these comments after just 1 performance. I'm not seeing this for another 5 weeks. I've seen the film twice, a couple years apart, and both times I felt like the whole script felt almost improvised or written spur of the moment with not much thought as to any character's actual motivations. Watching the film I always figured they spent more time writing the songs & story booking the music videos than the rest of the script. Was hoping the musical would be less slapdash. If it already over 2 hours, I definitely hope they DON'T add more.
Does Saraphina actually sing in the film? I didn't think she did.

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 7:11pm

inception said: "Interesting to read all these comments after just 1 performance. I'm not seeing this for another 5 weeks. I've seen the film twice, a couple years apart, and both times I felt like the whole script felt almost improvised or written spur of the moment with not much thought as to any character's actual motivations. Watching the film I always figured they spent more time writing the songs & story booking the music videos than the rest of the script. Was hoping the musical would be less slapdash. If it already over 2 hours, I definitely hope they DON'T add more.
Does Saraphina actually sing in the film? I didn't think she did.
"

Raphina doesn’t sing in the film, but she sings with the band in the show and also has a solo song.

Updated On: 11/26/19 at 07:11 PM

[steven22]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 9:42pm

Saw it tonight. It needs to be tightened up but that's to be expected for the second preview. The show is wonderful. The performances are strong. I hope this transfers, ideally to something intimate like the circle in the square.

[willep]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 9:56pm

Just saw tonight’s performance. I thought the first act was good and the second very good. I was surprised to see someone comment that they thought Zara Devlin (Raphina) wasn’t much of a singer as her songs were absolute highlights for me.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:41pm

SouthernCakes said: "Aren’t we passed being entertained by the actor/musician concept? "

Are you tired of seeing your favorite band or artist perform live? Do you ENJOY entertainment? What a silly question. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:55pm

What’s silly about it? I’m over seeing stuff at Classic Stage because there’s never a set and they don’t really use props. I’m ready for a new idea. A new concept. Perhaps there’s still more to explore from the actor/musician concept - I remember looking over at Lauren M during Sweeney on Broadway and she had tears rolling down her cheek because the person was singing about her character and I loved that connection - but I’ve yet to see something that bad me as emotionally invested as that. Sure, kids playing instruments is fun, but if there’s nothing more to it than a “wow look a 9 year old playing an electric bass” than ya I’m good.

[raddersons]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 11:03pm

I think for a show with stripped down staging, it felt overstuffed and the stakes felt low. Act 2 should have been tying up threads but instead it opened up more and left them unfinished. Lots of characters and storylines that had little payoff. Such as...

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The hot gay bully joins the band in the end? The priest (sorry — Brother) was vicious for no reason... and the explanation was “You’re mean for no reason!” The sister has a meltdown without us ever hearing from her that she feels she’s holding the whole family together... and then what happens to her? She drops out of school and...? The brother is depressed because...? We are supposed to care about this school band concert because...?

The stakes are just very low. Conflict comes from a few lines that don't feel like depth, they feel like they're explaining it away.  We don’t understand how the characters feel until the crap has already hit the fan, and then during the song I’m left thinking “well what was really upsetting you in the first place?”

Also, what was with the water background?

I think there is a special show in there somewhere, but right now it needs more work. I think all this did was make me want to see the movie so I understand what I’m supposed to be feeling.

[smidge]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 11:05pm

SouthernCakes said: "What’s silly about it? I’m over seeing stuff at Classic Stage because there’s never a set and they don’t really use props. I’m ready for a new idea. A new concept. Perhaps there’s still more to explore from the actor/musician concept - I remember looking over at Lauren M during Sweeney on Broadway and she had tears rolling down her cheek because the person was singing about her character and I loved that connection - but I’ve yet to see something that bad me as emotionally invested as that. Sure, kids playing instruments is fun, but if there’s nothing more to it than a “wow look a 9 year old playing an electric bass” than ya I’m good. "

As I stated before this isn’t a concept. They need to play the instruments. And they’re not kids.

[smidge]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 11:15pm

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the film but isn’t the character of Eamon more integral? His role seems diminished in the stage version.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 11:41pm

No, I understand that. But it kind of recalls to what someone said earlier which is just because it’s a movie with music, it doesn’t need to be a musical.

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 1:34am

macnyc said: "Carmen, does this show have original music, or is it like Once, which used the music from the movie?"

It's a mix of both...some of the same 80s songs from the movie mashed up with new music as well as new songs... e.g. Raphina sings a few times :)

[Ledaero]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 2:11am

Also, what was with the water background?

The water projected on the back wall is the channel between Ireland and England. The design serves a duel function of establishing the setting (that's what the west looks like from the shores/port of Dublin), as well as being thematic of the kids' desire to flee their depressing lives in Ireland to somewhere nicer and more modern like England, a place where MTV rules the airwaves and the economy is stable. I actually thought that set/projection design was one of the strongest aspects of the production.

[raddersons]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 7:58am

Ledaero said: "Also, what was with the water background?

The water projected on the back wall is the channel between Ireland and England.“
 

That’s what I presumed, but I didn’t quite get it until they were sitting at the channel in Act 2. I actually wrote this theory on my previous post (Water representing the seas surrounding the island of Ireland, giving a sense of the characters feeling trapped) but deleted it since I felt I was making it up after-the-fact.

Personally I think the lack of clarity on this encapsulates one of the biggest problems for me. It seems like everyone is looking to escape something — Economic hardship, loveless relationships, a messed up home life — but it’s not really provided as a thruline. Conor “escapes” his new school life thru his music, but we’re also provided with additional reasons why: to impress a girl, for a music competition. It minimizes the escapism of the piece that’s prevalent. There’s no sense that anyone really wants to escape until suddenly they’re running away. 
 

I really hope this gets tweaked because I think it could be fantastic with some adjustments to the book. I liked most of the songs (and found the new-wave influences so charming) and I don’t want to resent them.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 7:30pm

willep said: "Just saw tonight’s performance. I thought the first act was good and the second very good. I was surprised to see someone comment that they thought Zara Devlin (Raphina) wasn’t much of a singer as her songs were absolute highlights for me."

Completely agree with you about Zara Devlin. She was wonderful last night! As someone who went in blind---never saw the.movie, unaware of the story----she was, for me, the heart of the play.  If I have one quibble, I'd love to see Amy Warren as Sandra and Anne L. Nathan as Penny. It's one of the best things I've seen this season. I hope to return.

[theaterdude2]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 11:44pm

I am absolutely SHOCKED by the people on this thread who loved this. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you, I'm just finding it difficult to believe. 

You can dissect the subject matter and themes all you want, but if a show isn't entertaining, it doesn't matter what points are being made. A fan of the movie and the music, I was genuinely SO excited to see this. I will go so far as to say I expected it to be great - at the very least, a fun and entertaining show. Well, it's not. I'm still trying to figure out how they screwed this up, because the material is perfect for a musical. But it goes along and it's just...there. It's totally lacking in energy, no joy. You keep wanting it to pick up but it doesn't. You don't care about the characters. It's like you're making your favourite soup. You follow the exact recipe, add in all the ingredients, but when you put your spoon in, it's missing all the flavour. You don't know why, but something is off. 

That's how I felt all night. For this kind of story, its pretty slow. And even the best songs never take off. There's no one to root for. I don't know how else to describe it. It has potential, but it never takes off. The people sitting next to me work for another theatre company in the city and they were also very disappointed. Everyone has such high hopes for this. 

One of the biggest disappointments of the season for me. I hope that they find the show between now and opening.

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/28/19 at 2:52am

wolfwriter said: "
Now, if somebody would just do a stage version of 'The Commitments'"

Someone did.  We saw it in London in 2014.  It was .... not good  (in my opinion)

[IHeartNY2]

Posted: 11/28/19 at 2:35pm

VotePeron said: "Was at the first preview tonight, and I’m bracing myself for this thread to light up like a Christmas tree. It’s absolute magic."

I guess this means I can skip it. Thanks!

 

[VotePeron]

Posted: 11/28/19 at 2:40pm

IHeartNY2 said: "VotePeron said: "Was at the first preview tonight, and I’m bracing myself for this thread to light up like a Christmas tree. It’s absolute magic."

I guess this means I can skip it. Thanks!

"

LOL. For someone who only posts on BWW to defend Moulin Rouge, one of the most financially successful musicals of the decade - yes, you should probably skip Sing Street. 

Updated On: 11/28/19 at 02:40 PM

[IHeartNY2]

Posted: 11/28/19 at 3:48pm

VotePeron said: "IHeartNY2 said: "VotePeron said: "Was at the first preview tonight, and I’m bracing myself for this thread to light up like a Christmas tree. It’s absolute magic."

I guess this means I can skip it. Thanks!

"

LOL. For someone who only posts on BWW to defend Moulin Rouge, one of the most financially successful musicals of the decade - yes, you should probably skip Sing Street."

Happy Thanksgiving my elite friend.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 11/28/19 at 4:18pm

IHeartNY2 said: "VotePeron said: "IHeartNY2 said: "VotePeron said: "Was at the first preview tonight, and I’m bracing myself for this thread to light up like a Christmas tree. It’s absolute magic."

I guess this means I can skip it. Thanks!

"

LOL. For someone who only posts on BWW to defend Moulin Rouge, one of the most financially successful musicals of the decade - yes, you should probably skip Sing Street."

Happy Thanksgiving my elite friend."

Happy Thanksgiving!