THE HONEYMOONERS at Paper Mill- Page 2

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 1:50pm

Curious about their official opening date. Nothing is listed on their website or in any press releases.

[Cfried]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 1:59pm

ACL2006 said: "Curious about their official opening date. Nothing is listed on their website or in any press releases."

I believe their opening is set for October 8th, but I could be wrong. 

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 1:59pm

goldenboy said: Laura Bell Bundy does well with Trixie but that part doesn't make much sense as a former burlesque queen. It's as if they are trying to ressurrect Adelaide from Guys and Dolls. "

 

You do know the original Trixie character was an ex burlesque performer, right?

 

[goldenboy]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 2:24pm

Trixie may have been a burlesque performer but on the Honeymooners.... Trixie and Alice stayed in their homes and took care of their homes and their men and basically reacted to the husband's tomfoolery. This was 1950 after all and women stayed home. The key word here is "EX".    Trixie and Alice helped them get back together when they fought. Opening it up to show her burlesque tendencies just seems too musical comedy contrived.  Do you think a plumber would be okay with his wife singing and dancing in skimpy costumes circa 1950?  Trixie in the musical doesn't react to her husband's Tomfoolery--she's doing her own thing. It just seems odd for a 50's housewife to be burlesque performer still.  .  For all I know, Trixie may have been a seamstress or a bricklayer  but I never saw her sew or lay bricks on the Honeymooners series.  So why am I seeing her do what looks like an Adelaide rip off on the part of the writers?  What she and Alice did was keep peace between Norton and Ralph  Just seems an easy way out that doesn't ring true to the period.

A more interesting idea would have her turn to Alice and tell her she yearns for her fun burlesque days and then the kitchen could have turned into burlesque theatre and then back to the kitchen.

Updated On: 9/30/17 at 02:24 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 3:20pm

goldenboy said: "It was the second preview and I am told they are going to do just that... prune trim and cut. Its one thing to watch a 22 and half minute sit-com but its quite another to watch at 2 hour 45 minute sit com with music."

This is my concern exactly.   And while I agree, a heck of  a cast, I'm just not that interested in bringing this back -- the tv show never made a huge impact on me, anyway)

[BroadwayBeebe]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 3:21pm

I picked up some student rush tickets for this evening and I'm very curious to see how this plays to someone who has never seen the TV Show. I'm going in knowing practically nothing and hoping to have a good time!

[coasterking500]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 6:44pm

I was there last night and have to echo the feelings from golden boy.  It needs work.  Is there a good show here?  Yes there is but not in its current form. 

The book and plot need work and really the score does big time. A few numbers just need to flat out be cut. Not every number also needs a dance break.  I also found the score to be light as in there weren't a ton of lyrics to songs I felt could have been longer then others that good god why am I watching this.  

McGrath and Kritzer certainly stole the evening for me as Ralph and Alice. Mr. Mastro was great as Norton as well but completely agree with goldenboy on the Trixie character being an issue. They need to take a hard lol at her and her material. 

I did enjoy myself and think with enough work there is certainly a good show that could sell quite well in certain markets and areas.  Currently though its much more lackluster than I was expecting but here's hoping they get it there.  

[Cfried]

Posted: 10/2/17 at 4:53pm

Production photos look fantastic: 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-Classic-TV-Series-Graces-the-Stage-in-THE-HONEYMOONERS-at-Paper-Mill-Playhouse-20171002

Updated On: 10/2/17 at 04:53 PM

[gleek4114]

Posted: 10/2/17 at 5:07pm

Cfried said: "Production photos look fantastic:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-Classic-TV-Series-Graces-the-Stage-in-THE-HONEYMOONERS-at-Paper-Mill-Playhouse-20171002"

They do indeed. They make the show look very lavish. Love the costume design. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/2/17 at 5:11pm

kinda looks like Guys and Dolls.  (But a very well designed G&D)

[bk]

Posted: 10/2/17 at 5:19pm

One would think that after the numerous readings, workshops, labs, that the problems would have already been addressed.  But they never are - funny how that works.  Why do the readings, workshops, and labs if you're only going to stack the audience with back-patting chums who tell you everything is brilliant?  Happened to Seussical, happened to Sweet Smell of Success, and it will continue happening.  How long has this show been "in development?"

[goldenboy]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 12:56pm

I agree with you BK.

I'm surprized the director and writer and the composer didn't sit down and try to trim the fat. It would have been simpler to trim the excess fat first than,  stage all of it and then cut.  And there's a lot of fat.  It seemed to work better in its workshop form. It seems very inflated here. Perhaps a better director -editor is needed here.. Jerome Robbins and George Abbot come to mind. Needs an editor badly.  The cast is first rate. It's the top creative that needs to hunker down and find the show that is there at its core.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 1:50pm

I'm with all of you in saying that those are some of the best production photos I've seen off-Broadway in a while. The colors are so vibrant (ironic considering the TV program was black-and-white)!

I hope this does get the fix it apparently needs and can maybe slide into the spring of 2018. After all, I'm in need of a kick-butt Mother's Day gift idea...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 2:42pm

I don't feel like it looks extravagant at all? Looks like one set/backdrop. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 4:06pm

gleek4114 said: "Cfried said: "Production photos look fantastic:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-Classic-TV-Series-Graces-the-Stage-in-THE-HONEYMOONERS-at-Paper-Mill-Playhouse-20171002"

They do indeed. They make the show look very lavish. Love the costume design."

Maybe it's because it was filmed in B&W but I have to disagree. Some of those colors are way too bright and garish. Green and purple? Hot pink/fuchsia? 

[asmith0307]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 4:27pm

I'm hearing rumors that the Nederlander is out. What other theatres are possibly up for grabs? They do have a commerical producer attached (like they seem to have for most of this season). 

Updated On: 11/1/17 at 04:27 PM

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 4:46pm

The costumes look pretty and colorful, but I would hardly say that the production looks "lavish."  The set looks rather plain actually.

[Cfried]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 5:14pm

B-roll footage: 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-TV-Bang-Zoom-Watch-Highlights-from-THE-HONEYMOONERS-at-Paper-Mill-Playhouse-20171003

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 7:05pm

The show looks so explosive in energy, I'm really hoping this one manages to slide into the 2018 season.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/3/17 at 7:09pm

asmith0307 said: "The Nederlander is out."

?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 9:57am

ACL2006 said: "Reports are that KINKY BOOTS has a name coming in for the winter, so this won't be going into the Hirschfeld. But I could definitely see it going into the Nederlander."

 

 

Oh, please!  Loretta Swit needs to sparkle in KINKY BOOTS!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 9:58am

ACL2006 said: "Reports are that KINKY BOOTS has a name coming in for the winter, so this won't be going into the Hirschfeld. But I could definitely see it going into the Nederlander."

 

 

Oh, please!  Loretta Swit needs to sparkle in KINKY BOOTS!

[Hank]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 12:41pm

I saw this show the other night, even though I'm old enough to remember the 50's, I was never a fan of the TV show, but I loved every minute of the musical.  Everything I love about musical comedy is here:  big production numbers, jokes, sets and costumes all first rate, and perfect casting.  This is a fun show.  I wish it well and count me in as a fan!

[Melissa25]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 11:07pm

Caught this today and really had a great time.  McGrath, Kritzer and Mastro absolutely kill in this.  Some tightening with the story would help especially in Act 2 but I was surprised at how much I liked many of the songs.  I was grinning from ear to ear on the way out.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 10/9/17 at 11:47pm

The Reviews   1 Rave  the rest Mixed and pans

Marina Kennedy, BroadwayWorld: Leading the outstanding cast are Broadway greats, Michael McGrath as Ralph Kramden, Michael Mastro as Ed Norton, Leslie Kritzer as Alice Kramden, and Laura Bell Bundy as Trixie Norton. Their performances are faithful to the original characters, yet they bring a new and delightful spirit to the roles.

Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: But, like McGrath, who's reportedly wearing a fat suit, the show is uncomfortably wedged into one as well. The musical keeps grafting concepts onto a simple idea that would have resolved itself in 22 minutes. On stage, Ralph's jingle schemes lead to Madison Ave. dog-eat-dog business antics, Park Ave. high-life fantasies and eventually to the real-life variety series "Cavalcade of Stars," which Gleason hosted, and a weirdly bloated and busy production number (choreography is by Joshua Bergasse) that's led Trixie that's not even half as funny or winning as it thinks it is.

Matt Windman, amNY: Whereas the original episodes had speed, unpredictability and grit, the musical is sappy and sanitized, resembling a two-and-a-half hour valentine to a half-hour sitcom, depending heavily on sentimental romance and bromance, plus shout-outs to classic moments and contemporary fads for easy laughs. The production...is polished, peppy and pleasantly old-fashioned in style. The cast...is game for the occasion. McGrath evokes (without directly imitating) Jackie Gleason's exaggerated physical mannerisms, and Kritzer excels at offering snappy, street-smart replies to the deluded men around her. But the book...takes the characters out of their natural habitat of working-class Brooklyn, and the score...is workmanlike and forgettable.

Frank Rizzo, Variety: Even those who are favorably inclined toward nostalgic recreations of beloved TV shows will find their affections tested in "The Honeymooners," the lumbering, scattershot musical premiering at the Paper Mill Playhouse. Musical stage adaptations of TV sitcoms have had a history of disappointing at-bats ("Happy Days," "The Addams Family" and this outing - which has been in development for several years - won't do anything to change the stats.

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter: Whether you're old enough to have seen them when they first aired or grew up watching the reruns that have become a television staple, everyone loves The Honeymooners. The classic 1950s sitcom only produced 39 episodes (although the characters were seen in numerous other incarnations), but its cultural impact was massive. And if you watch one of the shows today, the comedy still holds up. But here's the thing. The shows were only a half-hour long. That, unfortunately, is not the case with the new musical version receiving its world premiere at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse. Running two hours and 40 minutes, this bloated extravaganza feels like a Madame Tussauds exhibit come to sputtering life.

Patrick Maley, NJ.com: Nostalgia can be warm, charming, even uplifting. Rarely is it revelatory or exciting. "The Honeymooners," a world-premiere musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse, based on the classic 1950s Jackie Gleason-Art Carney sitcom, delivers punchy laugh lines and bouncy songs to accompany a large dose of purposeful nostalgia; it is perfectly pleasant by any measure. But like most successful sitcoms, "The Honeymooners" musical -- which many have suggested will follow such recent Paper Mill efforts as "Bandstand" and "A Bronx Tale" to Broadway -- invests itself above all in that which is time-tested and safe.

Jim Beckerman, NorthJersey.com: It's a given that a musical called "The Honeymooners" is going to have songs called "Baby, You're the Greatest" and "To the Moon." The trick would be to make them memorable. It doesn't help that, in deference to modern sensibilities, Ralph has to spell out that he Really Doesn't Mean It when he threatens to send Alice to the moon, in case anybody should think the show condones domestic violence. Or that Alice, in reply, tells Ralph - cue soft music - "you're over the moon for me."

Jay Lustig, NJArts.net: Book writers Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss make the musical feel like a super-long episode of the hallowed TV series: They recycle its catchphrases and even some routines, like Ralph teaching his best friend Ed Norton (Michael Mastro) how to play golf. But they also give Ralph et al. some new things to do, and come up with a great surprise twist, near the end, that I never saw coming.