THE MUSIC MAN Previews- Page 6

[SueFB]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 10:07pm

422 said: "That’s the curtain after bows."

Yes, exactly. You can see it in this video, where the person filmed the orchestra after the curtain dropped, and you can see the bottom of the painted image. 

https://twitter.com/BrigidNYC/status/1473146173905063944

[jo]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 10:13pm

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 10:13 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 10:23pm

hollebolle said: "Merch:https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwsiTeB2TU/"

Huge miss on the designs. Yuck. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 10:41pm

Sutton Ross said: "hollebolle said: "Merch:https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwsiTeB2TU/"

Huge miss on the designs. Yuck."

 

Agreed, none of that looks appealing. 

 

[SoCalDirector]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:00pm

SouthernCakes said: "Friend was at the first dress and it was indeed the drape of Iowa so guess they changed it for whatever reasons."

During previews they might change multiple things. That's sort of what they have the previews for.  Without an out-of-town tryout they'll be much more changes during the Broadway previews than there might've been elsewhere.

Ask Lainie Kazan how out of town tryouts for Seesaw worked out for her.

 

[SoCalDirector]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:01pm

jo said: ""

That is a cool thing to have.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:02pm

Well, that was splendid. Everything was so wonderful. Hugh is obviously a perfect human being and Sutton reminds you why she’s as special as she is. Just…wonderful. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:18pm

Are Jackman and Mullen performing “Gary, Indiana” in act one?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:21pm

No, it’s in Act 2.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:24pm

songanddanceman2 said: "Sutton Ross said: "hollebolle said: "Merch:https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwsiTeB2TU/"

Huge miss on the designs. Yuck."



Agreed, none of that looks appealing.

"

Spoiler, but I’d say the merch is pretty representative of the whole production. Big misfire imo, especially compared to Hello, Dolly. Hopefully they can tighten some things in previews, but I don’t see this having much of a life post-Hugh. Big Carousel flashbacks.

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 11:24 PM

[jo]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:30pm

Sutton Ross said: "hollebolle said: "Merch:https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwsiTeB2TU/"

Huge miss on the designs. Yuck."

Yes, nothing quite appealing & a good souvenir!

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:32pm

Those Hoodies are $75. Insane. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:36pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Those Hoodies are $75. Insane."

Insane. And ugly. 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:43pm

So I collect t-shirts from musicals and those t-shirts are really ugly. I've had T-shirts from productions of Hello, Dolly!, Waitress, Moulin Rouge, Kinky Boots, My Fair Lady, Mean Girls, and Company that I wear often.

[Skip23]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:44pm

OK.  So it's second preview.  Hopefully they'll work out kinks.  But lots of things are fatal.

 

1.  Hugh Jackman.  Too light for Harold Hill.  Fades into the background.  

2.  Way too much dancing for Hill.  He's supposed to be a conniver, not Ray Bolger.

3.  Way too much dancing, period.  Sure we're supposed to suspend disbelief, but these kids must spend their whole day practicing plies and pas de chats.

4.  And the dances go on FOREVER!!!  Sometimes less is WAY more.  And some of them are downright odd.

4.  Most of the supporting roles also disappear into the scenery.  

5.  Sloppy, boring blocking.

6.  The show itself has problems.  You gotta work to make things work.  Zaks and Co. didn't here.

7.  That problematic ending - (again, sloppy blocking).

8.  The endless pre-curtain call dance.

9.  Felt like the Producers said "We're gonna charge $699 per seat and for that we're gonna fill the show with Jackman and Foster dancing their tushies off, justified or not.  What else can we do?  Rewrite the libretto"?

 

Pros:

1.  Sutton Foster makes the role work.  There's a star onstage when she's around.  And her vocal choices work too.  "Til There Was You" was lovely.

2.  Not a lot else.

 

PS:  if you must go, buy the $99 seats in the mezz.  Can see everything and WAAAY cheaper than $699 (highway robbery - for THIS!)



 

 

 

 

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 11:44 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:49pm

Well, I liked it. *shrug*

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:52pm

Wow.

So. Much. Dancing.

I'm a fairly critical theatre-goer, and I also really don't like The Music Man (from a storyline perspective any way...I actually appreciate a lot of the writing inside of it), so take my thoughts with the grain of salt they are worth.

Over all, the production delivers in all the ways you hope and expect it to.  I think most people will find it incredibly satisfying.  I didn't find it as detail-perfect as Hello Dolly, but then again, I saw Dolly after it had opened, and this was still only the second preview, so maybe that checks out.

No new takes or anything like that.  Same old story.  Traditional telling of the story.  All the things you always see in The Music Man.  No significant new flourishes or changes or anything.  Except that there is a lot more dancing...and a big tap dance finale from the two leads.

76 Trombones, Marian the Librarian, and Shipoopie have incredibly lengthened dance breaks added in. Plus a very long finale.  76 Trombones (the first time) was at least 10 minutes long.  I mean, I didn't time it, so I might be wrong, but it sure felt at least 10 minutes long. And I don't mean that negatively. A lot of dancing. And an ensemble up to the task.

One thing I appreciated is that there are actually 10-12 boys who look like they range in age from 8-20 making up the "River City Boys Band" and they are all stellar dancers (and for any So You Think You Can Dance fans, that really adorable JT kid who was on the Kids-Take-Over-SYTYCD Season is here and is really incredible).

I find Hugh Jackman to be a very sincere and charming performer, but I am a huge Sutton Foster fan.  It was great seeing them both together. I thought Sutton sounded great. As mentioned earlier in the thread, the end of My White Knight gets a bit of a brassy beltey makeover, but I liked it.  Made the scene end with more passion and aggression than usual. Everything else was pretty much as you'd expect it to sound.  I appreciated what she brought to the role, even though I wouldn't say it is a very difficult role to play.  She gives her a good arc, and some real moments of thoughtfulness, and I think I understood better why she flips by the end of the show.  Now don't get me wrong, I think this show should definitely be reexamined in 2021 and I think it has some pretty problematic tropes that get reinforced, but in the hands of Sutton they didn't seem as bad...

They have added a lot of dancing and vaudeville scenes for Hugh (including an odd suitcase physical comedy bit that goes on for a couple minutes that is straight out of a laurel and hardy skit) and he has clearly worked very hard.  You can really see how hard he is trying.  And I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, because he really is charming and performs them well, but ya. Second preview.  Lots of stuff he has been given and he has done a lot of work.  it was endearing.

Although this has a stellar supporting cast, in my opinion they all have done better work in other productions.  Jefferson Mays, Shuler Hensley and Jayne Houdyshell are all actors I love, and so it was great to see them again.  They all do a great job. Nothing incredibly special though. Mays has some good moments.

Tommy (another SYTYCD almost-champ) and Zenita (from the NYC ballet maybe I thought I saw in the playbill?) were both clearly hired for their dancing abilities and not their acting abilities.  But hey, they don't have to say much, and Warren Carlyle gives them a lot of dancing to do. They were also a joy to watch.

Winthrop is given a lot more focus in this production, and becomes the center of attention towards the end.  And he is fantastic.  Almost steals the show from Hugh and Sutton. Haha.

Oh, and there is no reason given or even suggested as to why everyone in town has chosen to wear yellow on the day they rehearse Shipoopie...haha...

Sets and costumes get the job done if not a little uninspired. Some of those choices made it feel like they were just living in a painting the whole time. Which was a bit uh well whatever.

Maybe that all sounds kind of negative, but it really was a great night and I think people will absolutely love it.  A lot of work and care has gone into it, especially from the ensemble, and you can tell.

Oh, and as for the 'non-staging' of Iowa Stubborn as mentioned by a previous poster.  It did seem to me to be done on purpose. For laughs.  I don't think however, that the concept was that as Harold Hill enters the town, he brings it to life gradually...because everyone in the town is dancing at an extreme level immediately after that number.  So they go from 0 to 100 really quickly.  Not sure if that is intended but it is noticeable.

Anything else?

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 11:52 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:56pm

I will agree there was a bit too much dancing. A good 10 mins or so could be trimmed just from that. 

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 11:56 PM

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 12/21/21 at 11:58pm

I agree wholeheartedly about the overabundance of dance in this production.  Some of the numbers went on so long that you almost forget what they were about to begin with.  I’ve never seen The Music Man onstage before - is it usually a very dance-heavy show?

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 12:03am

At the same time though, I think the dancing is really the big thing that makes this production special...

And they did hire Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, who are two stars who can dance circles around a lot of other people they could have cast in those roles, so maybe we should have seen this coming...haha...

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 12:07am

Jordan Catalano said: "Well, that was splendid. Everything was so wonderful. Hugh is obviously a perfect human being and Sutton reminds you why she’s as special as she is. Just…wonderful."

Great to finally hear from you again, Jordan Catalano. Welcome back from quarantine! 

[VotePeron]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 12:08am

It also feels the entire production was directed around the fact there’s so much dancing…minimal/boring scenic design so there’s room for dancing, practically no lighting design to not distract from dancing, bland blocking to emphasize the dancing…the whole show felt purposeless and dated, except for the fact Hugh clearly wanted to do it  and dance in it. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 12:09am

There are several extended dance sequences in the original, including 76 Trombones, Marian the Librarian, and Shipoopi, but I don’t think any of them overstay their welcome. The original movie is a good example of their respective lengths.

I often feel like shows are overchoreographed. I do love a good dance number, and I also love a good dance-as-storytelling moment. The second that it becomes all about the tricks and the athleticism and the stamina just because you can, I zone out (it might be blasphemous, but that’s how I felt about Newsies). I hope there’s some editing that will be done throughout the preview period.

[Hamilfan2]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 12:17am

Saw the show tonight and really enjoyed it!  As others on the thread have mentioned, it’s definitely not without its flaws and also certainly not worth the insane prices they’re charging.  That being said the $99 mezz seats are not a terrible deal.

Not much to add over what’s already been said.  The lead performances are both excellent and I enjoyed a more dancey Harold Hill.  I was skeptical about Sutton’s casting but she works really well in this role!  The supporting performances, are just fine… none of them really stand out besides Jefferson Mayes.

I thought the set was just plain ugly, very drab and kind of gloomy.  The painting backdrops just felt a bit cheap, was hoping for the lavish sets of Dolly and was disappointed to see something that felt so scaled down.  For those ticket prices I expected more.  

That being said, it’s still a fun night at the theater. I’m glad I saw it, and I don’t think it’s a disaster.  But can I recommend shelling out top dollar for this one?  Not really…  Cut all of the ticket prices in half then I think it would be able to recommend it.  If you have tickets, I think as long as you temper your expectations you’ll still enjoy this production.

And yes, the bow sequence is bazar and goes on for way too long.  I fully expect this to be cut down before opening

 

[LesMiz24601]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 12:28am

Skip23 said: "OK. So it's second preview. Hopefully they'll work out kinks. But lots of things are fatal.



1. Hugh Jackman. Too light for Harold Hill. Fades into the background.

2. Way too much dancing for Hill. He's supposed to be a conniver, not Ray Bolger.

3. Way too much dancing, period. Sure we're supposed to suspend disbelief, but these kids must spend their whole day practicing plies and pas de chats.

4. And the dances go on FOREVER!!! Sometimes less is WAY more. And some of them are downright odd.

4. Most of the supporting roles also disappear into the scenery.

5. Sloppy, boring blocking.

6. The show itself has problems. You gotta work to make things work. Zaks and Co. didn't here.

7. That problematic ending - (again, sloppy blocking).

8. The endless pre-curtain call dance.

9. Felt like the Producers said "We're gonna charge $699 per seat and for that we're gonna fill the show with Jackman and Foster dancing their tushies off, justified or not. What else can we do? Rewrite the libretto"?



Pros:

1. Sutton Foster makes the role work. There's a star onstage when she's around. And her vocal choices work too. "Til There Was You" was lovely.

2. Not a lot else.



PS: if you must go, buy the $99 seats in the mezz. Can see everything and WAAAY cheaper than $699 (highway robbery - for THIS!)









"

Wow, maybe Jerry Zaks will take notes from some of these comments haha. How is the ending problematic? What was blocking?