SOMETHING ROTTEN Reviews — Page 6

This is why I hate reviews. Is there a kernel of truth in what BB says in the NY Times? Yes there is. But there are TONS of great things going on in that show. To pan Brian d’Arcy James is just unjust. He was pretty wonderful. A "frothing" Brad Oscar!? That is just unnecessarily insulting. I thought Brad Oscar was hysterical. It's not a perfect show, but I laughed a LOT. It's easy to go into a show and rip it apart. It should have been just as easy for BB to have found the GOOD in this show. The GREAT in this show. I never thought it should beat Fun Home for the Tony. But it did not deserve this review.

"This is why I hate reviews. Is there a kernel of truth in what BB says in the NY Times? Yes there is. But there are TONS of great things going on in that show. To pan Brian d’Arcy James is just unjust. He was pretty wonderful. A "frothing" Brad Oscar!? That is just unnecessarily insulting. I thought Brad Oscar was hysterical. It's not a perfect show, but I laughed a LOT. It's easy to go into a show and rip it apart. It should have been just as easy for BB to have found the GOOD in this show. The GREAT in this show. I never thought it should beat Fun Home for the Tony. But it did not deserve this review."

Reviews are opinion-based. Brantley did not like it. No show "deserves" any type of review.

And Brantley is basically the outlier in these reviews, so what does it matter?

I've never before needed any daily reviewer to validate my opinion, but when I walked out of Something Rotten at intermission, thinking it irritatingly unfunny - juvenile and monotonous - still hearing the shrieks of the large numbers of people who were totally adoring this show - I really wondered if I had lost my sense of humor.

Never before have I felt such doubt about my assessment of a piece of theatre.

It's slightly reassuring to see the more important daily writers say the exact things I was thinking about this excessively disappointing show.

"NY Post is RAVE
"Broadway hits have a kind of white-hot energy: Everything from story to song clicks into place, the actors are firing on all cylinders — and the audience knows it’s watching something special.
Now, that something special is “Something Rotten!,” a deliriously entertaining new musical comedy that is devilishly clever under its goofy exterior. The influences are clear: “The Producers,” “Spamalot” and “The Book of Mormon.”
Yep, this is a blockbuster.""

Count me as one of those who really enjoyed the show, fully recognizing its fluff aspects but laughing all the way.

But now I'm just sad that the NY Post has the same opinion as me...

"I've never before needed any daily reviewer to validate my opinion, but when I walked out of Something Rotten at intermission, thinking it irritatingly unfunny - juvenile and monotonous - still hearing the shrieks of the large numbers of people who were totally adoring this show - I really wondered if I had lost my sense of humor.
Never before have I felt such doubt about my assessment of a piece of theatre.
It's slightly reassuring to see the more important daily writers say the exact things I was thinking about this excessively disappointing show."

Sure it wasn't the best musical out there and I wouldn't call it anything close to a masterpiece, but walking out during intermission? I guess you really didn't like it. Probably for the better as it crumbles even more during Act II lol.

I guess each to his/her own. Still humming "Welcome to the Renaissance" :)

Yes, like I said, I just found Act I to be irritating - like a drawn out SNL sketch, and not a good one. The humor seemed to be entirely derived from random anachronistic figures of speech and dance moves, with no real twist or context to elevate it to something more than random references.

If the score had been more interesting, it might have made a difference, but it just reminded me of something from one of the High School Musical movies, rather generic lite-pop, relying upon the occasional "naughty" word ("penis," "vagina," "nads") for an easy laugh.

Brooks Ashmanskas made me laugh several times, but I've never found D'arcy James particularly interesting, and Borle seemed to me to be doing his take on Austin Powers. Blickenstaff sounded very good in her upbeat Act I number. The rest of the cast were hard-working and fine.

It just struck me as laboriously unfunny.

I finally saw Something Rotten and it was hilarious! The crowd laughter and applause was thunderous. I don't think I've ever seen a show with a standing ovation mid-show (and the night I went, there was one after A Musical, and then mostly standing ovation later into the show). And when the curtain call started the entire audience was already on its feet. I also saw The Visit, An American in Paris and Living on Love this week, but of the four shows, Something Rotten is the one I would recommend to an out of town friend if they only had one show to see and wanted zero risk as to whether they would like it.

I don't get the Brantley review. The cast was incredibly. I found myself loving even the chorus members who had so much energy (e.g., during the Renaissance song at the beginning). And the leads were incredible of course.

love it, i love when I show goes against the Times, brilliant lol

HAHAHA! Literally LOL. Their marketing team is so good.

That makes sense, but it was stated that I would only walk out of an intermissionless show if I were on the aisle and in the back (and, of course, as silently as possible).

Leaving a show at intermission, obviously, affects no one else in the audience (except perhaps for the people next to you, or those who move down to your vacated seats, but those are both positives).

While I have only walked out on one show, I'm totally in agreement with you, Newintowwn. It's your money, and your time. If you aren't enjoying a show, why wouldn't you leave?