Shopws that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Shopws that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
#1Shopws that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 9:33pmI randomly came to some theatre blog that was complaining how, flaws and all, Lestat was a much better show in San Francisco than a month later on Broadway. While I take such fan opinions with a grain of salt (this blogger was pretty lestat obsessed) it made me think what shows do people think worked better in their earlier versions and were made more problematic once they actually opened on Broadway?
#2Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 9:34pmGrr and I meant Shows. I have no idea what shopws are.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#2Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 10:47pm
Three Wishes for Jamie, Kean, Mack and Mabel.
And Breakfast at Tiffany's was bad out of town, but when Edward Albee rewrote the book, that was the coup de grace.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#3Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 10:49pmThe only worse job for Albee would be working at a suicide hotline
#4Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 10:59pmWHo wrote the original libretto for Tiffany's? I did always find that such an odd, odd, choice. Love Albee, and know he was just starting to really make his name when Tiffany's hired him, but already by his past work, they should have known it was not his strong suit... Did someone confuse him with Neil Simon?
#5Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 11:04pmDoctor Jazz
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#6Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/2/11 at 11:12pm
Abe Burrows wrote the original book for Breakfast at Tiffany's.
With the show not working, David Merrick decided to shoot for all the marbles with the audacious decision to bring in Albee. With disastrous results.
Curious that the multi-volume complete works of Edward Albee does not include Tiffany's. Or maybe not so curious.
#7Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 12:32amI had no idea Burrows wrote the original book. By any wild chance, anyone here have a copy? I'd dearly love to see what he did with it.
#8Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 10:19amJekyll & Hyde was a terrific show before it was completely changed for Broadway.
#9Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 2:18pmBonnie and Clyde! IMO.
#10Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 2:31pm
Where do I begin with my old favorite, Dance of the Vampires? That was a show plagued with out-of-town issues. They had a working product in Europe (still do; with minor cuts and occasional song/scene shifts, it's one of the most successful shows on the Continent almost 20 years later), and, as Michael Kunze tells it, someone decided to pull the trigger and change everything.
More like a group of someones, really. Jim Steinman wanted to change the face of Broadway with rock and roll (apparently never having heard of Hair, JCS, Tommy, Rent, and the like); Michael Crawford wanted to be known for something funnier than Phantom; hack producers followed only dollar signs, changing a dark and brooding opera with a witty sensibility into a campy romp with a score that didn't fit and wondering why everyone hated it.
The sad part is that, when you see the show over there, for all the talk on the European fans' part about it being dark, Gothic, sensual, erotic, operatic, [fill in your adjective here], it really is funny, because they play it totally straight, a la Rocky Horror. They don't make fun of themselves while they do it. When they sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at the top of Act Two, they've prepared you to take them seriously; it's not a mood whiplash from Act One's total buffoonery. The American version made the mistake of planting its tongue firmly in cheek throughout the proceedings, and hitting the audience over the head with the jokes as if they were beating a dead horse.
#11Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 2:50pm
I second JEKYLL & HYDE.
It was much, much more exciting out of town.
BWNUT
Featured Actor Joined: 9/26/07
#12Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 4:21pm
Flower Drum Song revival. Charming and intimate on the small stage of Mark Taper Forum in LA. Became bland and trying-too-hard on the big stage of Bway.
Updated On: 12/3/11 at 04:21 PM
#13Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 4:25pmgevndo--this isn;t part of the question, but do you think ANY version of DotV (which I love too--being a huge Steinman nut) would have worked on Broadway? I personally don't (more due to the nature of Broadway than the material), though I think at least in its Polanski form it would have got slightly better press and not have been such a debacle.
Gaveston2
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/11
#14Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 7:00pm
Ah, Eric, I should have known you'd be a Steinman fan. BAT OUT OF HELL is my all-time, favorite rock album.
After Eight, what did they do to MACK AND MABEL to ruin it out of town or in previews? I love the score, but have never found the book really workable.
#15Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 7:57pm
gevndo--this isn;t part of the question, but do you think ANY version of DotV (which I love too--being a huge Steinman nut) would have worked on Broadway? I personally don't (more due to the nature of Broadway than the material), though I think at least in its Polanski form it would have got slightly better press and not have been such a debacle.
You, me, and Ken Mandelbaum are on the same page about that. Even with cuts and songs/scenes being shifted that helped the plot, the European version is still very much a mostly sung-through, operatic piece from Europe, in the way that Les Mis was and, as we learned with Tale of Two Cities, once was enough for the NY critics.
I agree with you, however, that the European version would have gotten better press. Indeed, what with the ongoing vampire craze caused by Twilight, I think it would be insane for the European producers not to capitalize on that by touring an English version closer to the original in the U.S., and maybe making an in-road back to Broadway. Sure, there are a lot of people who still remember what a debacle DOTV was, but it was almost 10 years ago now, and I think enough time has passed that it can be reevaluated in the public eye.
My company developed a translation that would have worked for that purpose in the 2007-09 period, but trying to get it produced turned into a clusterf*ck. More's the pity; our version is the only workable English translation of the show, very similar in form, meaning, and spirit to the German stage hit, and plays brilliantly in English, while also having its own unique sense of poetry, language, etc., geared to the sensibilities of an English-speaking audience. The door's still open on that one, so don't rule out its appearance!
#16Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 7:59pm
A quick sample from the vaults: this is a demo of our version of the "Gott ist tot" number, retitled "Original Sin" in the American version.
In our version, it's called "Hungry for Love."
#17Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 8:31pmSEUSSICAL
mrweasel2
Swing Joined: 5/21/11
#18Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 8:55pmWonderland
#19Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 9:56pmThat song was completely forgettable gvendo...
#20Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 10:27pmNow you're just going out of your way to be mean to me in countless threads. What did I ever do to you? As for your opinion of the song, you're welcome to it. Others, I'm sure, would disagree.
#21Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 10:37pmHow was that mean? I stated my opinion of the song.
#22Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 10:46pm
Your ongoing onslaught of bad faith has not gone unnoticed by just about anyone. You're only able to jump on the defensive now because the threads in which you tried (in vain) to tear me a new one are gone.
As for your opinion of the song, as I already said, you're welcome to it. Others, I'm sure, would disagree.
#23Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 10:52pmYour posting a song about how your company's script and score of Dance of the Vampires is so amazing then you post a forgettable song of course I'm going to post it's not as great as you think. If you hadn't built it up so much maybe I would think that it had potential but you act like it's better than West Side Story.
#24Shows that were better in Previews/Out of town than after opening on Broadway
Posted: 12/3/11 at 10:57pm
It's better than any other version of the show, as I said above (quote):
...our version is the only workable English translation of the show, very similar in form, meaning, and spirit to the German stage hit, and plays brilliantly in English, while also having its own unique sense of poetry, language, etc., geared to the sensibilities of an English-speaking audience.
No sane person would claim anything related to this (or any other) show is better than West Side Story. As if anyone would have the audacity! You're the only one who said anything like that. I merely stated it was the best version of this particular show in existence. Furthermore, one song is hardly a basis on which to judge the translation.
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