School of Rock Previews- Page 7
School of Rock Previews
Joined: 12/31/69
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#151School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:00am
Saw this tonight thanks to the lotto. Was not crowded (they give out 24 tickets - no seats together). I was in the last row of the theater, but, since the Mezz is so shallow it was an awesome seat.
I think the show is solid, but that doesn't mean it's good. There were moments of weird transitions, that I think in this stage are a little too late to change. There are moments where we're left just kind of starring at someone in a spotlight, but not much is happening. Or there's just darkness and the set is moving around. The show felt a little stilted, and there felt like a good bit of filler.
The book is...dated. It just didn't feel current. The jokes were CBS sitcom funny, and the story kind of plodded along. I mean, they're playing rock music in a classroom and no one can hear? I know it's theater, so suspend your disbelief, but suddenly a bunch of kids are in your apartment? Huh? The gay kid has a whole conversation with his father about how he has to play football and then nothing is resolved. It just all felt a little too messy and a little too broad. And I totally see the misogyny: All 3 females (The girlfriend, the principle, the student) are all shrewd and suppose to be unlikable at first, and then all come around. It felt very dated. And the only solid jokes in the show are the gay kid and the gay parents? C'mon now.
Alex was fine. I felt like there was quite a bit of dead space in a lot of his lines, and he was trying his best for a Jack Black character, but was missing a bit of the zanny. It felt a little too MFA Theater Program. I was never wondering what his next move is or what he's going to do next. It felt all very planned out. But his voice sounded great, and I was surprised to learn he didn't have more songs. No 11 O'clock number or anything. But his "Mount Rock" song was great.
Sierra is totally miscast. She was fine as the stuck-up principle, but sorry, just like in "It Shoulda Been You," her voice just does not suit this music. Her big song in Act 2 is quite pretty and the melody is great, but her trying to legit-belt-riff over a big, rock sound is just laughable. It felt awkward and I was uncomfortable. Also, her character never really has an arch. She's stuck up. She's drunk. She's stuck up. They kiss. There's no initial flirting, no interest, nothing. It felt very forced.
The rest of the show is fine. I mean, sure, the kids are crazy talented, but incredible actors maybe not so much. I mean, Tamika wanted to be "included" but she's up there dancing and jumping around with the other kids? So why does she feel excluded? She said "I'm not a back up singer," but then she basically is for the rest of the show.
It all just felt very pandering. Like, okay, we should applaud these kids and yeah being mean to your kids IS bad, so we should listen to them. Ho-hum. Nothing new is said and nothing new is explored.
Score wise: I thought "Mount Rock" was a really fun, interesting song and I was excited to hear the rest of it. But... it all felt very "same." "Mount Rock" and "Where Did the Rock Go?" felt like the two stands out. But, I think if someone else had written this score most people would call it "generic." Nothing really stood out to me, and they kept trying to make "Stick It To The Man" a thing, but it just isn't that interesting. And the song they sing at the Battle of the Bands isn't so great either.
Set wise: It's pretty beautiful. There is some great depth and some really pretty moments. There's a lot of moving pieces, and the Battle of the Bands at the end is a nice big set piece. Anne does good work, but it did feel like Avenue Q a little. I wish there had been more of a "Theme" to the design, but it was fun to watch work. The lights were blinding me and kind of took me out of the moment because I kept looking down at the floor.
#152School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:33am
Good filming there (though they've clearly paid for it).
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#153School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 3:47am
RippedMan said: "Saw this tonight thanks to the lotto. Was not crowded (they give out 24 tickets - no seats together). I was in the last row of the theater, but, since the Mezz is so shallow it was an awesome seat."
When did the lottery stop being the front row?
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#154School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 4:02am
No clue! The lotto girl (cute, and very stylish) said that the seats would not be together. I was in Row U and the seats in front of me were not sold. And they offered $37 "obstructed" view seats to the loser. But, about 90% of this show is played down stage, I think those would be fine seats. There aren't any really "must see" seats.
#155School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 4:06am
That was the location when this was first announced:
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#156School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 4:10am
Fort $25 I had no qualms. I like seeing the production from afar so I can access the stage pictures and whatnot. And the mezz at the Wintergarden is so small, I don't think there is honestly a bad seat in the house. The set is rather shallow, and the final concert set tracks downstage, so I think you'll be fine.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#158School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 9:27am
Odd, when I won lotto I was first row in seats 111 and 112.
#159School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:01am
Saw this last night and thought it was... fine. Not great. Not awful. Just fine. Found the show fell flat- and tepid audience response seemed to confirm this- until we actually get to "You're in the Band," which seemed to take ages.
The kids are all undeniably great performers, and are such fun to watch.
The score is very generic, with all of the "rock" sounding the same. My friend and I were hard pressed to remember anything on the subway home.
Soooo Glad to see the trope of "this child is a flaming queen, ain't that funny!" is inexplicably alive and well.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#160School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:11am
That's just who the kid he is. If the audience thinks its funny, that's on them.
Updated On: 12/4/15 at 11:11 AM#161School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:31am
He is expressly written to be comedic. That is pretty evident in the show.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#162School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:34am
When I caught the concert version this summer, the kid who played the queen in the movie was in attendance and told ALW he loved the show. And...
Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content
He's still a big queen.
Updated On: 12/4/15 at 11:34 AM
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#163School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:34am
your'e right, but aren't there little boys who like Streisand out there? I was just like that boy. Were you offended?
#164School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:45am
Haven't seen the show, but just based on the production photos that were just released, Sierra Boggess looks extremely out of place.
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
#165School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:47am
I thought he was characterized as a joke- his effeminacy is presented as the joke. And that's not on the audience. The audience is laughing at what is set up as comedic.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#166School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:49am
fashionguru_23 said: "Haven't seen the show, but just based on the production photos that were just released, Sierra Boggess looks extremely out of place."
No worries. No one has ever let seeing a show get in the way of having an opinion on here.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#167School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:59am
I didn't think they were laughing cause he was gay. I think they were laughing at what he was saying. I don't know to many little boys listening to Streisand so it is unexpected in that way, and that is why I laughed. Especially after the other two said Taylor Swift and Kanye.
#168School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 12:16pm
Great. You didn't take issue with it.
I did.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#169School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 12:19pm
Did it offend you? You want gay characters in musical theatre to stop being presented as a joke?
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#170School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:29pm
It just felt like a dated concept/show. The gay dudes were clearly there for humor. There was one "straight" acting one and one feminine one. It was super awkward watching someone "play gay." And I just would think we'd all be past that by now.
And when the shrew principle finally gets to "rock" it's pretty...disappointing.
I didn't hate the show, just felt like it didn't really need to be on Broadway as a musical. It's not doing anything new. It's not saying anything new. We all know the plot and know the outcome.
The ending is so forced - one parent says "I love you, and I've never been more proud of you." C'mon. That's soooo generic.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#171School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:34pm
Its pretty safe to say that a lot of musicals are like that. I thought On Your Feet was even more generic and had even more cliche lines. Both fun even though I enjoyed School of Rock way more.
Cinderella was probably the most generic out of them all lol
Updated On: 12/4/15 at 02:34 PM#172School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:37pm
Aida Revival said: "You want gay characters in musical theatre to stop being presented as a joke?"
Are there really two sides to that issue?! 
#173School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:41pm
Aida Revival said: "Did it offend you? You want gay characters in musical theatre to stop being presented as a joke?"
No, I think the psychic damage caused by decades of depictions of gay men as being inherently ridiculous and laugh-worthy is awesome!
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#174School of Rock Previews
Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:41pm
It's just that laughing at a gay character or making the girlfriend the nagging bitch are all just stock, base comedy characters. I'd rather see a show that turns all that on its head. And I think audiences are smarter than all of that.
And lordy that curtain call goes on for days. Do we need to say the names of each character and the actor playing them? Jeez.
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