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

[robbie_731]

Posted: 5/24/22 at 11:15am

I'm confused.

This article says it opened last night: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photos-Inside-Opening-Night-of-THE-BEDWETTER-20220524

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

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/24/22 at 11:37am

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.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/24/22 at 11:38am

Being that the third lead has had basically 3 performances in front of a paying audience at this point, it makes sense to move the opening, and perhaps will do some other tightening too.

[theaterlover10]

Posted: 5/24/22 at 11:54am

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

[Tom5]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 10:30am

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

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 10:52am

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!

[Tom5]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 2:36pm

OK. But still just a few weeks before it closes so why bother?

[gleek4114]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 2:48pm

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

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 3:05pm

Tom5 said: "OK. But still just a few weeks before it closes so why bother?"

 

It’s a musical in development, presumably hoping to transfer to Broadway. This means it’s in their best interest to have a maximum amount of time before critics come to see it – especially, as mentioned above, because one of the leads has been out with COVID. 

Furthermore, the production is very well-sold, meaning they don’t need to rely on reviews to sell tickets for this particular run. 

Not to mention, many limited runs Off-Broadway are only a month long – meaning it’s quite common to have only 3 weeks of performances following the release of reviews. 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 11:17pm

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.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/27/22 at 11:37pm

Saw it this evening.

Fun show. Good performances from top to bottom. This was actually my first time seeing Bebe on stage. I also have never seen Levy onstage and she was fantastic. 

I found it to be a really fun off-Broadway musical. I couldn't help but think of "Fun Home". I just don't see this on Broadway but think it deserves a long run at an off-Broadway theater. It is quite funny and the music is catchy. Just not strong enough for Broadway, in my opinion, unless they do some work on it. 

I am glad I saw it though. After a very busy week it was nice to have a good number of laughs and even have my heartstrings tugged on a bit. And the title song is great. (As are a few others)

[VotePeron]

Posted: 5/28/22 at 2:53pm

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.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 6/1/22 at 8:16am

Saw this on Sunday night.  SO GOOD.   Ended a great weekend of Take Me Out (Ferguson wasn't as good as O'Hare), Music Man ("Better than Hello Dolly", Hamilton (felt dumbed down) and then Bedwetter.

 

We are big SS fans, got the book at a signing many years ago and have been waiting for this for 3 years.  Definitely deserves a transfer uptown, more than Kimberly Akimbo does in our opinion

[joshdog2014]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 11:18pm

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

[VotePeron]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 12:23am

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

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 9:41am

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.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 3:22pm

The reviews are very mixed across the board. The show will need some serious work before any talk of a transfer could happen.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 4:12pm

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.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 8:13pm

I don't think it finds the balance between being a show about a child and being a musical that would appeal to adults like Fun Home or Caroline, or Change. The dramatic bits felt clumsy, if well-intentioned, and everything with Sarah's brother and the mental health struggles of the various characters could have been a lot stronger. I liked the costumes but otherwise all the design elements felt cheap. However, I think the bigger issue was a lack of strong direction and a command of tone. Some songs should have played better and I could see what they were going for with Miss New Hampshire and the therapist/doctor but it was never quite...enough. And frequently unfunny. They were so close to making those camp elements work. It just needs fine-tuning. But apart from the comedic highlights, it has issues with structure and pacing and again, making those heavier issues cohere with the rest of the show. It helped me appreciate Kimberly Akimbo a little more but it also really stuck the landing where KA did not. That finale melody is still stuck in my head and the easy moral at the end was a pleasant send off. 

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 12:31am

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

[raddersons]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 12:33am

You didn’t miss much.

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 12:44am

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??

[gleek4114]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 12:55am

I loved this show at The Atlantic last year, as did many other (see previous thread posts). Last I heard is that a workshop is happening/did happen with Stephanie J. Block again attached. Take it with a grain of salt. 

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 1:08am

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

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 6:13am

A friend of mine said that she went home and read Silberman’s book of the same title and enjoyed it more than the adaptation.