THE FIRST WIVES CLUB (2009-2009): Remembrance Thread — Page 10

Just watched the video montage of clips from the show. Very sad to see that with a new original score the only song prominently featured is "Reach Out (I'll Be There)"...

It's on this site, Playbill.com, Broadway.com...

Be warned, it is dreadful. If you know that going in, you won't feel too cheated.

I didn't think it was dreadful.

The songs aren't bad, they're just really bland. Several of the book scenes landed pretty well when I saw it, and I thought the structure was effective. The acting is good. It seems like they're making a lot of changes and they all seem to be good ones.

However. Too many ballads that accomplish the same thing. The last number is terrible. The chorus has nothing to do. The husbands (who are so talented) have very little to do. It's got a long way to go, I think, but it seems like it could get there.

The middle-aged ladies around me LOVED it. I know because they talked through the whole show (in between sips of champagne) and keep telling each other how much they LOVED it. This applies to the group in front of me, behind me, and to the right of me. The group of ladies to the left of me might have loved it, I don't know as they were silent through the show.

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Kris Vire of Time Out Chicago is the first review out. It's completely spot-on for me.

The ladies ARE charming and great when together. Faith Prince sells these one-liners like no one else.

But good lord, the music is just awful. Ballads that say the same thing over and over, none that really capture the humor of the film, even with one titled "Whirlpool of Emotion." The book and the score clearly are not speaking the same language. The structure as KJisgroovy mentioned is there and CAN work...but you need composers that understand their songs need to propel this story forward.




First Wives Club

Updated On: 3/12/15 at 09:39 AM

The video reel is just bizarre.

On one hand, they seem to have Annie wearing almost exact replicas of Diane Keaton's costumes from the movie, but Elise (who looks a lot like Goldie Hawn) is wearing one hideous ensemble after another. Is this the costume designer's version of chic? And what the hell is that wig they have on Shelly? She looks like a member of an 80s metal band. The character is tacky, yes, but she's also someone who's trying to make a legimtate impression on society. I'm also puzzled by the dresses the women are wearing in the finale- I gather they're supposed to be three variations on the same dress, yet it looks like Annie and Elise are matching while Brenda wears something completely different.

As far as the material goes, what is there to say that hasn't already been said? It looks like yet another complete misfire.

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Man, Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune HATED it. And he's usually pretty kind to pre-Broadway tryouts.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-first-wives-club-review-20150312-column.html

Chicago productions don't really have window cards, although if you contact Broadway in Chicago maybe they'll sell you a poster. Get it now, 'cause after these reviews there ain't gonna be no Broadway production.

They should update and take off > Broadway bound from all their press releases etc.
Cuz it ain't happening with those reviews...

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Updated On: 3/12/15 at 05:30 PM

What?!? I thought this show was gonna be Outrageous Contagious!

I wish that Carmen Cusack had found a better project to appear on Broadway. She was fantastic in both 'Wicked' and 'South Pacific'. She apparently did not want to return to 'Wicked' because she did it for two consecutive years, in Chicago and on tour, and then temporarily returned the role in 2009 as a standby in the Australian production.

The night I was at the show, there were definitely pockets in the audience that loved it. That being said, it was about 50% full and those that loved it seemed to be groups of middle aged women out for a girls night.

The husbands sitting with their wives around me were commenting on their dislike for the show, and those with me (late 20s) were certainly disappointed with the show. Is there an audience for it? Perhaps, but from the audience reactions I saw, it's a pretty limited one.