Something Rotten Previews- Page 9

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:01am

"Will it probably win Best Musical? Yes."

Get back to us on June 8th.

[musicaltheatreman2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:08pm

for the $37 tickets in the balcony do you have a good view or is it to far back?

[little_sally]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:20pm

The St. James balcony is very high up.

[Jish]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:26pm

So what were some of these great improvised one liners after the technical malfunction?

[little_sally]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:30pm

I think someone mentioned it already in this thread but on Wednesday, BDJ moved the table and chairs and said, "I hate clutter."

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 1:17pm

Not to mention the actual MOVING of the furniture both on and off stage which was hilarious in itself..

It's killing me not to remember but "Nostradamus" commented about it later in the show but I cannot remember his line at all..

You had to be there..

[pboddy]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:59pm

I sat in row C side front mezzanine on Tuesday; and last row balcony center on
Wednesday and had great experiences both times.

From the side mezzanine, I missed some lines. The sound design needs work.
I got an infra red hearing device on Wednesday that solved the sound problem.

The St. James Theater's balcony had been bad when the Producers played because
stage lights mounted at the front of the balcony protruded enough that people
in the front row had to lean forward, creating a cascade that forced everyone
in the balcony to lean forward. The problem has been corrected.

An advantage of the balcony for a Renaissance show: you don't have to
mingle with the ground level stinkards.

[TheaterGal3]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 3:53pm

KathyNYC2 I was there that night and "Nostradamus" mentioned there would be “technical difficulties” in theaters in the future. That callback was hilarious as was the actual furniture scene. Question for you since you were there the same night, did Christian Borle forget his lines when he asked to redo them or was that part of the scene? I think he forgot, but friends think the latter.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 3:56pm

I really don't know. I remember first thinking he forgot his lines..and then I thought maybe it was part of the script..and I didn't decide one way or the other. I guess someone who saw this on another night can comment better than I.

Ah yes..the technical difficulties...thanks!

[little_sally]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:01pm

KathyNYC2, I saw it Wednesday and I had the same question about him remembering his lines but in the context of the scene, it makes some sense.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 6:39pm

I saw it on Wednesday and left with my throat hurting from laughing so hard. The music is AMAZING and the acting is stellar. The only issue I has was the second act was kind of a mess and less focused than the first. And some of the songs seem like they are done at wrong times (the big number usually reserved for the act 1 finale was done towards the beginning and, while the music is amazing throughout, it didn't reach the height of that one song). But please go see it because it is hysterical and such a good time. I give it a solid 3.7 out of 5.

Oh and the "I hate clutter" moment had me crying. And I think Christian Borle forgot his lines which made the scene funnier.

Updated On: 3/27/15 at 06:39 PM

[HSky]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 1:21am

I don't remember anything about forgotten lines on Monday...what scene?

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 7:32am

Was at the preview last night and had a lot of fun. The first act was great and the second act was good. Cast is great. Think this is going to do very well as it was very crowded last night.

[jasonf]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 9:03am

I was there last night as well. I loved the show - it was very funny throughout. I'm surprised people haven't been talking about the Omlette scenes since I thought they were amongst the funniest of the show.

My only real problem with the show was the women's roles weren't fleshed out enough. Bea felt like a plot device (I understand what they were going for with it, but I think she could have been fleshed out a bit more) and Portia was literally just a body - anyone could do that role since there's nothing to it. The song between her and Nigel should go - it's complete dead space in the show (and not nearly as pretty as Lovely Love or actually plot moving as Bea's first song).

That said, I think there's going to be quite a few Tony nominations for this one..

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 9:14am

Personally I found the omelette stuff to be the least funny and more stupid aspect of the show. The whole omelette concept for the first ever musical seemed like a joke stretched too far. Was that really the best idea they could come up with for the world first musical. Could they not have done something that borrowed aspects from many musicals (like they do in the act 1 song) to create some sort of bizarre mix of a show and also linking act 1s biggest number to the show.

For me the whole omelette concept is the shows weakest aspect

[jasonf]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 10:10am

I don't think they could have done that for legal reasons. Notice how short the references are - there's a limit (I don't know what it is) to how much of something you can use before you're violating rights. Besides, I felt as though Omelette had plenty of references in it already. I don't think it needed more.

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 10:23am

I think the whole idea of Omelette was that it was supposed to be bad. But it could have been done in a more creative way to make it both bad and good (funny) and the same time.

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 10:28am

Yeah I guess that's true about the rights, and I totally get that omelette is meant to be bad, it's their springtime for Hitler moment, but it doesn't achieve anywhere near that level of humour for me. I actually prefer the plague song

Updated On: 3/28/15 at 10:28 AM

[jasonf]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 11:19am

Anyone know when the cast album is going to be recorded/intedend release?

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 11:28am

Springtime for Hitler is a perfect analogy, Princeton!

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 11:59am

When we finally see the world's first ever musical, it should be a big moment, a funny spectacle but I really don't think omelette is the right theme or song

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 12:13pm

A few dates popped up on TDF this morning. Grab 'em while you can.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 12:19pm

Just a heads up: if you lose the lottery and choose to make use of the discount code for mezz seats for that performance, go to the box office to redeem it. If you use it online, it seems it's only good for rear side mezz.

I went to the box office after losing and was given a front center mezz seat for the discounted rate.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 4:10pm

I totally missed the boat on this one, I guess. Left at intermission, so I can't comment on the production as a whole. I wish it had been as clever as it thought it was. Maybe then I would have laughed more than once instead of sigh every time Brooks Ashmanskas or Christian Borle made a Bottom joke. And was "A Musical" supposed to be the highlight of the evening? If so, woof.

I'm aware I'm in the current minority. The audience generally seemed to be enjoying it and I didn't stay for act two, as I said. But when I look back at the number of shows I wish so desperately I had left in hindsight, I just wasn't in the mood to add this to that list.

Team Fun Home 2015, all the way.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 5:10pm

Another voice of dissent here... I thought the show was pretty sophomoric. Its talented cast tries hard to spin gold out of its lackluster material to very intermittent success. But mostly they're just let down- especially Heidi Blickenstaff, a performer I adore. She's saddled with a role so thankless and dull, her considerable talent, charm, and eccentricities are wasted.

The show pursues every low-hanging fruit - the Bottom jokes, seriously?- and manages to smother even its more clever jokes.

I'm honestly puzzled by the buzz, particularly over "It's a Musical." Naming musical theatre conventions, doing them, and then having a reference to an iconic musical doesn't hide the repetitive and less-than-witty lyrics or bland music.

I thought the second act actually improved, finally giving the show some heart and slightly more earned humor.

The performers are all good- and the design is very handsome (the Elizabethan equivalent to the Delacorte, complete with castle in the background and lighting towers, was very clever), but all to what end?

The Producers, Spamalot, Drowsy Chaperone, Urinetown, and a slew of others have done this schtick and better (the show actually owes a considerable, considerable debt to The Producers and Spamalot). Meta theatricality in musical theatre needs to be put to bed unless you're producing a diamond of a show or doing something new with it. For me, this show fails on both counts. And even worse, I rarely found it particularly funny.

Updated On: 3/28/15 at 05:10 PM