Sarah Silverman's THE BEDWETTER musical at Atlantic Theater Company - Previews — Page 3

robbie_731 said: "So, they changed the "opening night" for the release of reviews, but still had an "opening night" with invited guests, and photo calls?"

This has become a not-uncommon thing during the Covid era for any show that has had to move its official press opening. POTUS, PASS OVER, etc. The "invited performance"/photo ops will happen as-scheduled (because party venue contracts are already going to be set and invites probably went out much earlier), but the actual critics' opening will be a different time. It even happened pre-Covid sometimes, but not frequently.

I had to cancel my ticket due to covid contact tracing. I emailed them and they kindly refunded the ticket.

Tom5 said: "Am I missing something or have all the reviewers boycotted Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter?"

It was discussed/clarified in the most recent exchange in this very thread. Just scroll up a little and read!

It runs until July 3rd… reviews coming out 3 weeks before isn’t unheard of… plus it could extend again.

I saw this tonight and really loved it! It’s not a perfect show, but it has so much charm and heart that I was totally under its spell. I laughed out loud consistently and had to choke back some tears at times. The book is quite strong and manages to stay tonally consistent throughout, no matter how far the pendulum swings from silly to heartbreaking. All of the characters were very well drawn and the cast delivered them beautifully. It’s a great ensemble piece where everyone gets their chance to shine. I was also quite impressed with the set for such an intimate stage.

My only quibble was that the songs were a bit hit or miss for me. Some were knockouts, but others were just okay or sounded too much alike. I don’t know if they’re working on them at all because, sadly, the great Adam Schlesinger is no longer with us. That said, nothing was ever less than pleasant to me. So many new scores tend to have at least some moments that make me groan or roll my eyes or feel like the writers were being incredibly lazy. None of that here. Just some songs felt like they didn’t reach their full potential or felt unnecessary.

Also, Laura Silverman was sitting near me. As a Comeback super fan, that was a real thrill.

This should have been so much better, but ultimately it left me scratching my head as to why it is not. But could it be? I don't know. IMO, the source material is too thin to be a stage show, let alone a musical. At 1:55 including an intermission, with a lifeless first act and a randomly emotionally overcharged second half, I don't think they found a convincing book-to-stage structure. The music itself is really mediocre, and underutilizes the talent of the company. It doesn't help that the direction, set, lighting, and often book, do nothing to help. There are some good zingers, but I would've loved to see Josh Harmon be given more reign to transform this out of the confines of an awkward musical. Maybe there is a 75 minute straight play/dramedy in there, but as it stands, I found it unsuccessful.

TL;DR, I didn't hate it, but won't be recommending to anyone.

Reviews are out! DTLI Consensus - 3 positive, 5 mixed (including Jesse Green’s NYT review)

VotePeron said: "Calling NYT mixed is…generous. Did he discuss anything he liked about the show?"

He liked the comedy and some of the music and Bebe...but he took issue with some of the changes from the memoir and the way they handled some of the more dramatic moments. I look at it as an encouraging review, but certainly not one that's going to make Barry & Fran move this to Broadway next month.

I saw this on Sunday and hated it SO much and I love Sarah Silverman. I can't imagine it having much of a life after this.

Anyone know if there are talks for a future production of this show? I was bummed to have missed it at the Atlantic…

raddersons said: "You didn’t miss much."

The friend who got my ticket liked the score, but said the book needed work. Did you think the book was unfixable??

If true, that’s SUPER exciting! I’m a big big fan of Ms. Block’s work!!