Shuffle Along previews- Page 13

[victorg]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 2:43pm

i was in Amsterdam in september when tickets went on sale. adjusting for the time difference, i was on a computer the minute they were available. have a great seat for mid-april. cant wait!

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 3:37pm

dramamama611 said: "WHy would they care....I don't think a Playbill cover deters or sells tickets.

 

 

Gleek...I'm going next weekend, I'll try to grab an extra if you don't get a sooner offer.

 

"

Thank you Dramamama! I'll PM you If I get another offer, before you see it :)

[orlikethecolorpurple]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 3:39pm

I'm not seeing the show until May. Would anyone be willing to grab me one of the current Playbills? I'm happy to pay for packaging and shipping (and I'll send you one of the subpar new Playbills, if you'd like). 

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 3:41pm

Hopefully the new design is a place holder. Maybe they are going the traditional route and will replace it with a colorful production photo. 

[10086sunset]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 3:42pm

One could buy the playbill directly off Ebay.

You could pick one up between $2.50 and $5.00

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 4:44pm

There was a time where every show while in previews had a generic design until a proper one with production photos could be prepared. Any Chance that's what this is? Doesn't exactly make sense though since they've been passing out the poster ones in previews already.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 5:27pm

The member who posted the new Playbill cover has not posted since then. I am curious as to how this person knows the covef will change and that it will change to the cover he/she posted. Is there any way to confirm the change?

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 5:31pm

It was on Playbill's official website.

[amandaelevator]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 5:36pm

BakerWilliams said: "It was on Playbill's official website.

 

"

Yup, that is where I found it. And like other people here I assume it will change over for opening night onwards, but have no confirmation on that.

Interesting thought though that the new art might just be a place holder for another new, show specific design.

[KCW]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 9:08pm

If you look on the playbill discussion thread, it was also talked about there.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 11:46pm

Apparently, the Playbill will be changing on Monday. It's really a shame because this one looks like a collector's item, especially with the insert, it's that gorgeous.

Posted: 3/19/16 at 12:16am

I'm on the road in Maine, but I have a playbill from the first preview so it must be the original cover, with the insert larger playbill -- I live in a studio apartment as big as a tiny car, so I can't keep stuff.  I'll gladly give my playbill to any of you who is a collector.  I'll be back in NYC next week. I have high hopes for the show.  

 

I also went to the first preview of "Cagney," which is off-Broadway and I can't find a chatboard for it -- is there one?  I loved it -- Robert Creighton is like Cagney's great grandson all grown up.  The whole cast is wonderful. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 12:39am

VintageSnarker said: "Apparently, the Playbill will be changing on Monday. It's really a shame because this one looks like a collector's item, especially with the insert, it's that gorgeous."

 

So of course I am going on Tuesday. I may go over and just ask for one this weekend.

 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 12:58am

Went to the preview tonight. The show ran about 3 hours, so some changes have been made since the first preview. The first act was in really good shape, while the second one was a little heavy-footed and left more to be desired. To me, the biggest problem of the show is that it gives each of the five or six protagonists equal attention, so naturally no one really stands out despite their marvelous performance. I agree that they still need to trim it down so the story can have a better flow. Also, the audience might be baffled by what the original Shuffle Along is about until a little late into the second act when the election plot is mentioned. If they bring up the story in the first act, I do see how the conflicts between the characters can be more layered and meaningful. Regardless, I enjoyed every minute of the show and the score sounded really gorgeous.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 2:26pm

I really enjoyed Shuffle Along last night. I don't personally agree that the show is "a mess" in its current state, but I do concur that it needs some tightening and trimming.

 

My two biggest issues with the show have already been pointed out earlier in the thread. First and foremost, it is an issue that we don't get to see enough of Shuffle Along and the songs in the context of the original story, especially when they try to connect the significant of the musical to theatrical history and even contemporary politics. Second, the first ten to twenty minutes of the show also need significant reworking: It's heavy on exposition, but the exposition is not done very well at all. After a very charismatic, if slightly irrelevant and standalone, opening number "Broadway Blues", we are introduced to Noble, Eubie, F.E., and Aubrey so quickly and so haphazardly that I bet a lot of the audience was confused as to who was who and how they all came to collaborate. As for what I would consider removing from the show entirely, I would mostly focus on the second act. I found it to be as entertaining as the first, but they focus too much time on secondary characters that we don't necessarily care about, i.e. "That Comedy Chorus Gal". Bless her heart, Felicia Boswell sells the songs and gets a lot of laughs in a bit part, but it doesn't do anything for the second act and could save about 10 minutes.

 

Oh, speaking of the cast, what a tremendous group of actors they've assembled and they're all cast pretty pitch-perfectly in their roles. Audra, Brian, Billy, Brandon, and Josh are all great and each get a moment or two to truly shine. I'd say Josh is most shortchanged of a big standout, solo moment, but he's equal parts charming and sleazy as Noble. Billy's "Low Down Blues", Brian's double-duty "Shuffle Along" and especially Audra's "Memories of You" are all highlights of the show. And wow that ensemble is killing it. I can't believe how much dancing there is in this show and they are nailing it number after number (after number, after number...). 

 

Quickly on the run time: The show started around 8:06 and intermission ran at least 20 minutes and we were out by 11:08, so I think they're already under three hours if they start more promptly and wrap intermission faster. There will definitely be additional changes to come, too, so I'm sure they'll get to 2:45 or 2:50 by opening.  

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 2:37pm

I'm glad to hear that they are now at a three hour running time. That is definitely an improvement. I saw the show on Wednesday night and it was so rough and clocked in at three hours and fifteen minutes. I, personally, thought the show was an absolute mess. The opening number was GREAT, but it just went downhill from there in my book. This was one of my most anticipated shows of the season, and it also ended up being one of the most disappointing. The show is just so BLOATED. I felt like they were trying to give each lead equal stage time and material, and the end result wasn't pretty. I'm very curious to see what changes they make during previews, but I honestly don't know if I can sit through this again, even after changes are made.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 3:44pm

I can't remember the last time we had such a wide range of opinions during early previews!

 

(Again, I prefer that to a unanimous "It was pretty good."  

Updated On: 3/19/16 at 03:44 PM

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 4:02pm

PM Sent, Christine!

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 5:18pm

I asked a girlfriend who is seeing the matinee today to grab me a few extra playbills. She grabbed 10!   I am more than happy to mail one to anyone who wants the original cover / program insert.

Updated On: 3/19/16 at 05:18 PM

[SweetLips]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 5:45pm

Question......Who does the director listen to during previews?

Most on here have very constructive ideas on how this show should be 'improved'.

I suppose it all boils down to what the director does as that is his job, but surely he would listen to colleagues and even take note of ideas from the audience and maybe from here [am I being naive?].

If the ideas for change seem so obvious to others[and obviously changes are being made every day], I am just curious about the decision making during re-shaping of a show.

Nothing can be perfect as we all have our own ideas/perspective of something. Perfect for me is not the same for you.

It probably irkes me a little that while all these changes are being made, and there are those here who love to watch and be a part of that changing process, there is no price reduction. The majority of the GP probably doesn't have a clue what's going on unless an announcement is made at curtain.

Would a restaurant put a new dish on the menu before trial in the kitchen?

I suppose I have a 'thing' about full priced previews-pay till we think we get it right.

I know you need an audience response for laughs/timing etc but surely charities could fill a theatre for a few nights and then maybe a week of previews.

That's enough of my Sunday morning ramble-hope some of it made sense and I DO love reading everyones' ideas about a show I will never see-in whatever shape it's in.

 

SL.....x

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 6:13pm

QueenAlice said: "I asked a girlfriend who is seeing the matinee today to grab me a few extra playbills. She grabbed 10!   I am more than happy to mail one to anyone who wants the original cover / program insert.

 

"

Would love one QueenAlice, I am not seeing the show until May, will send pm

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 6:20pm

I was able to get the $70 rush tickets for this matinee and the show ran about three hours.

Just from the playbill, here's what's been cut: "Campaign Songs" and the entire Trenton tryout scene, "You Got to Git the Gittin' While the Gittin's Good", "Uptown Noir" (although the drop still displays the title for the scene), and the scene in Paris including "Musical Selections with Sissle and Blake".

The show is constantly entertaining even if it isn't cohesive. The opening number is phenomenal - just theatrical perfection, but what follows it fails to deliver. The show is stuck between two modes: Vaudeville and conventional book musical. The beginning of the first act fails to define the main characters - we barely know who's who and suddenly they've joined together to make a show. Never do we get a book scene to help us know who these characters are as people. That was kind of my main problem throughout - there are far too many songs, most of which do not directly effect the plot, when there should be more scenes. Wolfe if the master of theatrical conventions, but it seems that's all this show is: extended sequences of music and dialogue intertwined and numbers that are meant to comment on the action - mostly when the action is nonexistent. I was hoping to get more of them actually writing the show in the first act. As of now, it looks like they wrote the book in two scenes and then tour for the next fifty minutes. The romance between Lotte and Eubie is believable and enjoyable - most likely because something concrete is actually happening. "Love Will Find a Way" is a highlight, but the entire score is really wonderful - I'm already looking forward to the (hopefully double disc!) recording.

The second act has many incredible sequences that work really well because they actually affect the plot. "I'm Cravin' That Kind of Love" was wonderful, as was "The Buzz" sequence (although "It's Gettin' Dark On Old Broadway" could be cut easily). Both "Musical Interludes" could be cut without much consequence, but the first is more liable because we have never met the character - at least we know who Freda is from act one! "Low Down Blues" is really unearned, especially because Aubrey is really not a likable character and does little before this number. It felt very show-horned into the plot and I don't think that character needs a big number - and his voice sounded tired this afternoon. "Memories of You" is a fine song, but I think adding another verse or chorus will strengthen it. Today, it felt very short, although Audra was amazing. The final two scenes felt like they were from another show. Even though "The Original Broadway Rag" is a great sequence, it would only work if Curlie had been narrating the entire show. The last scene was very Brechtian with each character narrating their final days and deaths. The show ended with a whimper when it should go out with a bang - a reprise of the opening?

I'm being harsh on the show because I think it can be something incredible, and with the week of rehearsal, there's no reason it can't be. I really enjoyed the show, and the actors were all incredible (and that choreography!). All in all, if I had known who the characters actually were, I think the show would have worked a lot better for me. But, without that, I was distanced from most of the cast, excluding Audra, who got a nice book scene to introduce her character.

Here's hoping nothing but the best to the cast and crew!

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 6:51pm

All good cuts except Campaign Songs. We get LESS of the actual Shuffle Along? We get LESS of an idea that it was about elections?

[PianoMann]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 7:10pm

Sally Durant Plummer said: ""Low Down Blues" is really unearned, especially because Aubrey is really not a likable character and does little before this number. It felt very show-horned into the plot and I don't think that character needs a big number - and his voice sounded tired this afternoon."


I disagree, because I think of all of the main characters, the show does a very good job explaining and developing Aubrey's self-consciousness (for lack of a better description). One of the most emotionally effective scenes in the first act is: 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Aubrey at the dressing room mirror, putting on blackface, explaining his modest origins and the effect of F.E.'s friendship on his life and career.  And when F.E. dismisses him in the second act, you can feel that emotional foundation falling out from underneath Aubrey. 

I do agree about Porter's voice, though. He seemed to be running out of steam at the end of the number last night, too.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/19/16 at 7:21pm

PianoMann said: "I do agree about Porter's voice, though. He seemed to be running out of steam at the end of the number last night, too."

 

That was even true at the first preview. Still, his emotion was so raw. I was floored by that number despite the strain in his voice.