THE FIRST WIVES CLUB (2009-2009): Remembrance Thread — Page 7

I was actually pleasantly surprised that BOM was going to be there at the same time. I will try to catch them both :)

Nm

Updated On: 2/18/15 at 08:31 PM

Here's the song list from the first preview performance last night. I noticed the three reprises of "I'm So Lucky" missing from the 2nd act. Will post some thoughts later.

Why do I get the impression from the song list that they are singing "Stop! In the Name of Love" to the Stockard Channing character as she is about to jump off the building? PLEASE tell me that's true! lol

Also, I can't really tell what songs are pre-FWC songs. I know "Stop! In the Name of Love", "Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honeybunch)" are, but what other ones are the "classic songs" they added?

Yes, all of those songs are the classics you know - My World is Empty Without You, Stop! in the Name of Love, and Can't Help Myself. And yes, fashionguru, Stop! is sung by the Stockard Channing character in the first scene, just before she commits suicide. Which is followed immediately by a coffin that comes zipping down to the stage. Fun!

In my opinion, the show itself, is another sub-par adaptation of a recognized, but mediocre old movie. On the positive side, it's always great to see Faith Prince. Although her wig(?) made me think that, if they were casting the musical version of Orange is the New Black, she'd be a lock to play Red! I also found it amusing that Faith Prince asks her son, Jason, to take off his "Walkman" headphones, so she can talk to him about his Bar Mitzvah. Anyone? No one??

On one other positive note, Christine Sherrill is funny and does a good homage to Goldie Hawn.

On the negative side, everything else. The non-classic songs were pretty unmemorable and not very melodic. As much as I love Cyndi Lauper and Kinky Boots, for the most part, there are too many of these shows with scores by non-musical theatre composers. I'm really looking forward to having the scores of Fun Home and The Visit on Broadway soon.

I re-watched the movie recently and realized how much of a 4th rate "9 to 5" ripoff it is. The musical doesn't improve on that, other than a few funny lines delivered well by Faith and Christine. And Stop! with the bubble-headed, blond bimbos in musicals who always misspeak ("episiotomy" instead of "epiphany" - hysterical). And Stop! with the flaming, prancing, offensive gay sidekick characters in musicals. Although that character was the only male character who wasn't an adulterer, so that's something. And Stop! with the musicals that shoehorn in classic songs, just so audiences aren't too frightened by an all-original score. At times, I thought I was watching Motown the Musical again. And then, there's the disposable character of the daughter, who has nothing to do, but is a lesbian to add a bit of mild shock value? Stop! in the name of musical theatre.

The first act seems to move along, but the second act dragged, and the whole show clocked in at about 2:45 and seemed longer. In the final 20 minutes or so, it seemed like the production was a little messy. The cast seemed a little unsure, choreography was a little off, and people were stepping on each other for the curtain call. Forgivable for a first preview, I guess. It seemed to me that, at the end of the bows, the cast just seemed exhausted and glad it was over. Me too.

Updated On: 2/18/15 at 10:33 AM

Same here!

I’m in a grey area about First Wives Club. I neither hate or love it. On the plus side: Most of the funny lines from the movie remain and several new funny, sassy lines were added. The three leads created different characters and aren’t channeling the stars of the film. Faith Prince on stage is always a treat and it’s especially thrilling to see her in Chicago. Carmen Cusack’s comic antics are amusing and her voice is a powerhouse. I can’t recall seeing Chicago actress Christine Sherrill on stage before. She sounds like and looks like (from the first row of the Mezz) Jean Smart and is wildly talented to boot. The set looked costly especially Morty & Shelley’s garish, pink apartment. The costumes were good with a few misses. Elise enters in a floor length black and white fur coat. All I could think was that Cruella Deville is going to be pissed when she finds that coat missing. The coat needs to be in different colors to avoid the diversion. On the negative side: The exposition is too long and takes up most of act one. What period is this show set in ? The sets and costumes scream 1980’s but there are references to Target and Starbucks. Please decide because it’s a distraction. A huge con is the new songs. I wouldn’t even call them songs. I would call them ditties. They are neither ballads or belt songs and sound simple with mostly banal lyrics. Act two was a muddle. I don’t recall a scene where the three wives plotted revenge together. Plans unwind briefly in separate scenes. I think that people that haven’t seen the film will most likely be confused. Most of the revenge comes in a very long scene at Sotheby’s. The wives in the film decide “that revenge would make them no better than their husbands” < Wikipedia quote. The ending and final musical number on stage unraveled quickly and seemed tacked on. Actually the ending number appeared to be thrown together and under rehearsed. You can’t avoid the celebrated ending of the film with the three wives singing You Don’t Own Me and walking off into the night. It’s like the 800-pound gorilla in the room. I and I’m guessing others expected THAT ending. Minor quibbles: The three brides in the opening musical number toss their large bouquets over their shoulder and they hit against a wall then plop down to the floor and lay there. Ladies: please toss the bouquets off stage to imaginary wedding guests and not on the floor. It’s odd and a diversion staring at the large white lumps of silk flowers. The handsome and accomplished Gregg Edelman needs makeup. He looks pale. The producers of the Honeymooners musical need to hire Sean Murphy Cullen as Ralph Kramden. He looks and sounds like Jackie Gleason. Next up I’m looking forward to Chicago Shakespeare’s April production of Sense and Sensibility with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon. I’m a huge fan of Jane Eyre and Daddy Long Legs. The set and costume designs on their web site look impressive. On Your Feet opening in June is on my list too.

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ChgoTheatreGuy - so agree on the Cruella reference. I heard more than one person whisper "Cruella" when she walked onstage. (That is, the whispers I could hear over the noisy popcorn bags and chatting behind me for the entire show. What is this, a circus?? But, that's another thread.) And I had the same discussion after the show about the time period. It was very confusing. We were trying to figure it out from the clothing, furniture, verbal references, mentions of dates, but none of it made sense. On top of a plot that is difficult to follow, that is a problem.

By the way, Christine Sherrill played Norma in the recent Sunset Boulevard at Drury Lane Oak Brook, and I thought she was really good.

Those Starbucks and Target references aren't very appropriate for 1992. The San Diego production had a similar problem - it was supposed to be set in the modern day but the whole thing looked straight out of 1985.

Of that song list, several numbers are from San Diego. "I'm So Lucky" was originally sung by the husbands at the top of Act 2, about how happy they are with their younger, sexier mistresses. It seems like now it's about the wives' denial of their bad marriages ("That'll Never Happen to Me" in San Diego).

"My Heart Wants to Try One More Time" was originally the Act 1 closer, but now appears to be sung by Brenda after she's embarrassed by her husband's mistress in a clothing store. "I Am Duarto" is sung by the sassy gay friend as the wives attempt to break into the penthouse. "One Sweet Moment" is a ballad between the wives and their husbands - it ground the show to a halt in San Diego. "Payback's a Bitch" is the auction number.

These are just my impressions from the song list as I haven't seen the show yet. I'm disappointed the hilariously bad "Ready (aka RED-DAY) for Change" and "Jump for Joy" are gone, but a glimmer of the old First Wives remains.

Are there still awful stereotypes, like the lesbian daughter and the aforementioned gay BFF?

Updated On: 2/18/15 at 04:20 PM

Can anyone tell me why we are not starting a new thread with a more apt title like "FIRST WIVES CLUB Chicago Previews" or similar? Don't want to be yelled at for starting a redundant thread so I have not thus far

Just ask ABB to edit the Subject of the original post.

I'm gonna be that person. Did anyone stage door? Also what kind of merch did that have?

Another photo. The costumes look... interesting?

Looks like Witches of Eastwick. That sofa is straight out of the London production. It was the main set piece for Darryl's house and used for the flying sequence at the end of the first act.

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