#51
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:35pm
AP review on NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/04/22/arts/ap-us-theater-review-something-rotten.html
SOMETHING ROTTEN Reviews — Page 3
#52
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:53pm
Clive was the lord high executioner for the Times before they dumped him for Frank Rich . He then moved to the Post. I remember a story that he had a speaking engagement in Pittsburgh the same day he was to review The Happy Time. He plane was delayed but the curtain was held for him. The rest of the critics took umbrage at this alleged slight to them (they would not have the curtain held for them they felt) and as a result they were much harsher toward the show than they normally would have been.
Speaking of critics, wonder where John Simon is these days if he is alive. He made Brantley look like a little fluffy kitten by comparison.
The reviews for this prove no matter how good a show is, there will be a few who dissent. There is truth in the statement you cannot please everyone.
Poster Emeritus
Updated On: 4/22/15 at 09:53 PM
#53
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:54pm
^That means the real Times one is coming soon! I'm glad I bought tickets a few weeks ago...this looks like it will be a hot ticket.
#54
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:55pm
"WHY MUST YOU DERAIL EVERY F*CKING THREAD?"
Im just having a conversation, what are you talking about????
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#55
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:55pm
Why wouldn't Brantley or Isherwood write their own review?
#56
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:57pm
They will. They also publish the AP review, usually first.
#57
Posted: 4/22/15 at 9:59pm
They will. The NYTimes picks up AP articles all the time.
Variety is positive but pulls its critical punch at the last minute.
And that’s all the plot you need to know, because there’s entirely too much of it in the messy second act. But by that time, the show is steaming ahead, fueled by the bold-as-brass music, the ingenious lyrics and the sheer lunacy of the whole enterprise.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Updated On: 4/22/15 at 09:59 PM
#58
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:01pm
"Clive was the lord high executioner for the Times before they dumped him for Frank Rich . He then moved to the Post. I remember a story that he had a speaking engagement in Pittsburgh the same day he was to review The Happy Time. He plane was delayed but the curtain was held for him. The rest of the critics took umbrage at this alleged slight to them (they would not have the curtain held for them they felt) and as a result they were much harsher toward the show than they normally would have been."
Barnes, on the other hand, gave the show a fairly favorable review-- maybe out of guilt?
Just because one writes for the Times doesn't mean that he's "lord high executioner." Barnes was a slightly idiotic critic that kept pressing for more "contemporary" scores and failed to "get" the Sondheim/Prince collaboration for the most part. Hardly an executioner, though. Ditto Frank Rich, who is my favorite Times drama critic. He actually loved...loves...the theater.
And Richard Eder took over for Clive Barnes for a few years, so he wasn't dumped for Rich. Just wanted to correct you on that error.
#59
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:03pm
Brantley in NY Times is lukewarm. Gee, what a surprise!
Actually, after reading the entire review, it sounds much more like a pan.
Updated On: 4/22/15 at 10:03 PM
#60
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:07pm
Ouch. That's a rough review. I agree with much of it.
#61
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:10pm
thoroughly enjoyed this show, inventive and fun!
#62
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:11pm
That's not very lukewarm... it's pretty out-and-out Negative to my eyes.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
#63
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:11pm
I think I like Ben Brantley a little bit more. Then again, he'll probably give THE VISIT a lukewarm notice. Then I'll find him irritating again.
#64
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:11pm
As it happens every April due to the mass of openings, I have used up all 10 of my free articles on NYT. So could someone copy and paste the whole thing here? Pretty please? (Will be begging the for the same thing tomorrow for The Visit)
Thanks!
#65
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:12pm
He liked It Shoulda Been You and Living on Love more lol
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#66
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:13pm
That is not very lukewarm at all, that's downright cold.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#67
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:13pm
>So could someone copy and paste the whole thing here? Pretty please?<
It's a copyright violation.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#68
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:13pm
Maddie, I posted the url above for the Times. You should be able to get to the whole review from there.
#70
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:14pm
"As it happens every April due to the mass of openings, I have used up all 10 of my free articles on NYT. So could someone copy and paste the whole thing here? Pretty please? (Will be begging the for the same thing tomorrow for The Visit)
Thanks!"
Sometimes if you delete the cookies from them in your web browser's privacy pane, the counter will be reset.
#71
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:15pm
http://www.didhelikeit.com/shows/something-rotten-review.html
***That is NOT an On the Fence review from Brantley...
it should be changed on the Did He Like It site!
"Anything you do, let it it come from you--then it will be new."
Sunday in the Park with George
Updated On: 4/22/15 at 10:15 PM
#72
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:16pm
Didhelikeit is wrong. Brantley pretty much hated it.
#73
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:17pm
Yeah... that's not lukewarm that is a pan. Ouch. Completely agree with everything... except that I still had a great time at the theatre even though I was breaking it apart dramaturgically in my head...
Per usual: they shoulda gone out of town...
#74
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:17pm
Like ljay, I agreed with almost every thing he said. I would have found room to give a little praise here and there, but I don't think any of the criticism is off the mark. If anything, his repetition of his basic critiques mirrors the repetition of the show...
And does Davenport have any money in SOMETHING ROTTEN? Because LOL at that review being "on the fence"
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
#75
Posted: 4/22/15 at 10:18pm
Golly, I hate Did He Like It. Stagegrade was superior in every way.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
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