Shows That are in Desperate Need of a directors visit.

Chicago.

neonlightsxo said: "Chicago."

Seconded. Also, Book of Mormon.

MadonnaMusical said: "Recently saw Book of Mormon... and it has not aged well at all. It might just be that none of the "outrageous" jokes can be consisered outrageous anymore considering the things 45 says on the regular. Something was not right... the audience was not laughing...



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I used to be so angry when I saw the Broadway production of Rent in its last few years because it got so sloppy. The actors were out of character so often and it was so sad to see a show I deeply loved being so disrespected by its own cast and yes, its director.

Any time I see a bootleg of Hamilton, I cringe at how awful a lot of it looks, and I have yet to see BVD put on an acceptable performance as Burr.

Never been disappointed by the upkeep in direction in Wicked, Phantom, Lion King, or Chicago. And when it comes to Phantom and Chicago, I see those about 6 to 7 times a year and I keep a sharp eye out for even the slightest indiscretion lol.

Book of Mormon on Broadway.......yes there is a noticeable lack of energy especially in the missionary scenes, like the tap number for example. They seem bored out of their minds.

In my experience, other than Rent, shows get the sloppiest a few months in their runs rather than a few years.

Phantom4ever said: "I used to be so angry when I saw the Broadway production of Rent in its last few years because it got so sloppy. The actors were out of character so often and it was so sad to see a show I deeply loved being so disrespected by its own cast and yes, its director.

Any time I see a bootleg of Hamilton, I cringe at how awful a lot of it looks, and I have yet to see BVD put on an acceptable performance as Burr.

Never been disappointed by the upkeep in direction in Wicked, Phantom, Lion King, or Chicago. And when it comes to Phantom and Chicago, I see those about 6 to 7 times a year and I keep a sharp eye out for even the slightest indiscretion lol.

Book of Mormon on Broadway.......yes there is a noticeable lack of energy especially in the missionary scenes, like the tap number for example. They seem bored out of their minds.

In my experience, other than Rent, shows get the sloppiest a few months in their runs rather than a few years.



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I saw Book Of Mormon the other night and to me the missionaries didn't seem bored at all?? They were all smiling ear to ear and hitting every step and the audience was cheering for them so? And Two By Two was filled with energy and at times I felt like to much energy......

Keep in mind guys that every show has an ongoing associate director that give notes to the cast every week if they saw a lack in energy I don't think think they would be like "eh oh well they can figure it out" and they also have rehearsals every week too so they fix things that the ongoing director thought should be fixed

Shows that have held up very well over the years include Chicago and Wicked, but the one that takes the cake for me is Phantom. Sure, I've seen it with some Phantoms and Christines I just didn't like, but the production itself has held up unbelievably well over the last 29 years. It never feels stale to me.

Book of Mormon, however, felt phoned in when I last visited. It was still splashy and funny (because the material is so good), but the show seemed to lack an energy or a vibrance that I felt earlier in its run. It wasn't electric anymore.

I don't understand what you mean by a "DESPERATE directors visit" every show has an ongoing director that give notes to the cast and they subsequently have rehearsals to fix these issues? Once the show opens and begins its run the original director is done.....they have spent a ton of time working on this project and are moving on to another one....does Casey Nicholaw the co director and choreographer of Book Of Mormon have time to go back and watch every single thing wrong with the show? No this is job now lays in the associate director's hands its their job now to keep the show fresh and good and the director's give them this responsibility very carefully once they depart the show to work on other projects. And once the show opens the director like I said is done...they are happy with it and since its their show they probably could care less about what the critics and audience members think when it comes to the direction and dancing because they put so much hard work into it. It was THEIR vision not what the New York Times had to say what was wrong with it.

thank you

I honestly just think that BOM is fairly dated by now. Yeah, the humor is still funny and the show is still a good time, but whenever I see footage of the newer shows it always just looks fake-cheery and tired. Nic Roleau is good, but his Elder Price never makes me laugh as much as Andrew did. There was a special charm to the OBC that the newer casts just don't seem to have imo.

Updated On: 8/9/17 at 11:52 PM

trpguyy said: "BwayDreamer00 said: "I don't understand what you mean by a "DESPERATE directors visit" every show has an ongoing director that give notes to the cast and they subsequently have rehearsals to fix these issues? Once the show opens and begins its run the original director is done.....they have spent a ton of time working on this project and are moving on to another one....does Casey Nicholaw the co director and choreographer of Book Of Mormon have time to go back and watch every single thing wrong with the show? No this is job now lays in the associate director's hands its their job now to keep the show fresh and good and the director's give them this responsibility very carefully once they depart the show to work on other projects. And once the show opens the director like I said is done...they are happy with it and since its their show they probably could care less about what the critics and audience members think when it comes to the direction and dancing because they put so much hard work into it. It was THEIR vision not what the New York Times had to say what was wrong with it.

thank you "

Actually, Casey checks in on his shows and holds notes sessions pretty regularly



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Okay yeah he probably does but since then he's also had to choreograph Aladdin, Tuck Everlasting, and Something Rotten so that's pretty busy

I can't vouch for the truth of anything said in this thread - I haven't seen Book of Mormon in years, and I haven't previously heard about whether or not Nicholaw checks in on the show.

But if both things are true - that he checks in on the show, AND that the show has declined significantly - than that's more worrisome than if he left them to their own devices. Seems that his check-ins aren't helping.

Phantom4ever said: "Then why does Harold Prince still go back to Phantom AND give notes to the cast AND rehearse them?"

This is definitely true. When I saw the show in May, a friend in the cast texted me just before it started to say that Mr. Prince was in the house to take notes.

I was just at Mormon last week and it's in fine shape; the problem is that it's not as much of a surprise or shock to a ton of people here anymore. In the past year I've seen both the tour and the production in Melbourne, where the audiences are a lot fresher (and arguably, so is much of the cast) — the spontaneity in laughter can really change the experience for the better.