Something Rotten Previews — Page 10

I am a fan of the product as a whole, but I admit that there are a few flaws left to be handled.

The show just kinda ends. With the Courtroom scene it kinda feels like the Producers, if it would have ended with Prisoners of Love and not being released. That said, I was on such a high from the rest of the show that I didn't really remember it until someone pointed it out later.

I saw it twice, Mezz A6 for the Final dress (able to see Nicholaw's reaction to IT's A Musical) and Tuesday from Balcony C101. The view from the Balcony was fine but the opening number the sound was a bit muddy. The rest of the show seemed clear enough tho. I would say that Mezz will be my preferred vantage point for all future returns, and I imagine I will have a few

Hate to be a pest about this, but I'm curious for the consensus: Orchestra Row C or D, or front row of the Mezz? Which would you all say would be a better vantage point to take this in?

I'd reccommend front row mezz because the view is truly great. The stage at the St. James is on the high side and at row C, you may be doing some awkward next straining,

Got a chance to see this Friday night. Overall I enjoyed it and thought it was a really fun night out at the theater. I agree the show has problems, especially in the 2nd act, but the problems didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the show.
I'm usually really suspicious when I read about audience reactions on here. Thanks to the Dance of the Vampire days. But I have to say the audience was eating this up. People were gushing at intermission.
Looks like they have a hot on their hands. Flaws and all.

I saw Hand To God based on a careful reading of the reviews ere and I was very glad I did. But with Something Rotten I sense oversell.

The show is for sure entertaining but come on guys, brilliant comedy it is not. There's a handful of actually clever lines and then a bunch "wink wink, nod nod, isn't that funny audience?!?!?" lines.

****SPOILERS****

I think @Kad said it best. "It's a Musical" is some of the easiest and cheapest musical comedy writing I've seen. The joke of "people breaking into song" has been skewered before and with more subtle wit. There are countless songs about musical conventions and how they delight audiences, but this one had really trite, simple lyrics and staging. I'm sorry but having a character just simply reference other shows without saying anything interesting or biting about them isn't comedy! "Dancing cats! An uncle named Scar! Nazis!" - These aren't jokes, they are matter of fact statements. But people like hearing things they are familiar with, so they crack up.

Blatantly ripping pieces of music from Annie and Pippin?! That's NOT inventive. The Les Miz bit was more on point. But look at "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" from Book of Mormon. That's a straight up Wicked satire without ever making explicit reference lyrically or musically, and it's hysterical! Same with "A Wicked Memorial" from Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. You have to add something new! It's much funnier in "Turn it Off" from BOM when the tap dance happens unexpectedly but it totally makes sense. It isn't forecasted from a mile away. I felt the same way about a lot of the Shakespeare comedy, "if we just mention familiar things, people will laugh" - and unfortunately they were right.

I adore Brooks Ashmanskas but he's stuck in a rut of boring comedic characters. Last season it was "FAT GUY WHO CANT STOP EATING" and now it's "STRICT PURITAN WHO IS PROBZ ACTUALLY GAY!" - this also feels lazy/easy. Blowjob and anal sex puns are the comedy of middle school boys. Sorry just had to get this off my chest. That mid-show standing ovation irked me haha.

****END SPOILERS****

The score was really good, Brian D'Arcy James is doing incredible work carrying this thing, and I think John Cariani is actually running away with the comedy. His body language and characterization is hysterical and fully committed. He got the most laughs from me. Anyway, very solid night out, but from a comedy standpoint, this is NO Book of Mormon that had smart commentary/comedy in layers and original/thoughtful religious satire. This is slapstick, winking, Shrek-style comedy. There's a place for that too.

Updated On: 3/31/15 at 09:17 AM

Did the authors of Title Of Show write the book for this? Insider jokes and references to other musicals?. I will take a pass. There is a difference between clever writing, spoofing and juvenile humor.

I don't think it's clever that I know them. I think it's an homage that they are well known enough to be noted..and used in this manner.

So I don't really agree...but to each his own. We don't all need to find the same things funny and/or enjoyable.

>I get Book Of Mormon's smart comedy and intelligent fun but I don't see why we need to compare them. They are totally different shows..

Book of Mormon takes some very crude humor and makes it extremely consistent and funny on Broadway. SR is a show that tries to rhyme "penis" with "genius. If you're gonna do bathroom humor get it consistent. Book of Mormon gets one thing right, it never changes tone or loses the audience. Mormon's material and characters maintain a consistent intelligence throughout. This is seen in the actions, dialogue and songs.

Besides serious plotting and story issues, SR has characters that have inconsistent intelligence and behavior.

Also I'm gonna guesstimate some 10% of the jokes in this show are lighting cues. Is this a record?

But look at "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" from Book of Mormon. That's a straight up Wicked satire without ever making explicit reference lyrically or musically, and it's hysterical!
And the humor holds up for people like, um, my friend, who didn't recognize the Wicked reference but finds that song even more funny now that he just found out.

If a show relies on in-jokes to deliver the laughs, that seems really limiting to me. I don't think I'm the target audience, the more I read about it.

Did anyone notice that Shakespeare's opening of Act II number was a rip-off of "Hard to Be a Diva" from Starmites?

I'll say this: I think the core of the show is the message of "going with your heart, and not caring about the crowd's reaction."

Huh? The opposite of this is true. Nick Bottom cares more about beating Shakespeare than he does about art. He makes Omelette because he was told musicals would be successful, not because he goes with his heart. He forces everyone to continue with Omelette not because he believes in the product, but because he was told he would find success.

Anyone know if this is a legitimate review or not? Show has only been playing for a week! http://britishtheatre.com/review-something-rotten-st-james-theatre-5stars/