The audience was polite for the most part. Only two or three songs got really loud applause and I didn't see anyone get standing ovations in the end. People were laughing at the appropriate points and clapping where they needed to. After the show however, I overheard people talking about how it was just "eh" and "funny but not too good."
Looks like Brad Oscar won't be continuing with the show if it makes it to Broadway. He's going to play Inspector Kemp/Blind Hermit in the national tour of "Young Frankenstein."
Call me crazy, but I thought DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES was a lot of fun. A good show? No way. It was a disaster. But it had the same campy thrills that ROCKY HORROR presented (albeit in an unintentional, less competent way) and the cast seemed fully aware of the ridiculousness they were asked to carry out night after night. The audience understood this, supported the cast in spite of their lackluster material, and the show had a surprising amount of energy for such an obvious bomb.
Of course, it never would have run given the budget and the fact that its goofy appeal does not rub every theatergoer the same way. But for what it was, I laughed a lot and had a great time.
I think DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES had the best pop or rock score ever on Broadway. It was one of the most entertaining shows I have ever seen and it had as many brilliant moments as boneheaded ones, and given the chosen milieu of this production of the show... it almost worked. It was best in previews, when it was much more gothic and less jokey (and more Vegas-y), but that's what happens when the director is in Texas for the entire month of previews And Michael Crawford takes charge. "A runaway train," as Jim Steinman called it. At least SOMEONE took charge... all because Polanski couldn't come to NY. Ah, well.
<--- my favorite moment from the show.
A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely, I'll Show You Yours, If You Show Me Mine, P