THE STORY OF MY LIFE Reviews- Page 3

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 10:52pm

[mikem]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:08pm

Although Brantley's review is a pan, I wouldn't call it "very negative." The beginning couple of "summary" paragraphs are much harsher than his actual description of the show's flaws. It seems like his main issue is that he thinks the show is unoriginal, which I don't think is an insurmountable problem in itself -- there are plenty of unoriginal movies/TV shows/books/etc that are still liked or even beloved by many.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:19pm

IMO, the plot takes no chances, and because of that there are no payoffs. The possible gay association is one of those circumstances....there are moments where you think: ah! perhaps THIS is where the story is going...but it doesn't. Yes, I think the story could have been told simply as a NON sexual story at all...but there's the rub....it doesnt' finish what it starts.



I don't think you can see its a good review if he talks about punching the actors in the face.

Updated On: 2/19/09 at 11:19 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:22pm

I'm with Brantley 110%...I do feel terrible for the cast/creative team though.

[April Saul]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:23pm

This is so sad...I haven't even seen The Story of My Life, but it sounds like yet another play that would have found happiness and an audience at a small off-Broadway house. WHY DO WE INSIST ON PUSHING THESE LOVELY LITTLE SHOWS ONTO BROADWAY WHERE THEY FACE HUMILIATION AND CERTAIN DEATH?? I guess the old American way--which obviously, looking at today's economy, has served us so well!--of bigger is better must prevail. So from Caroline or Change to Title of Show, we take productions that could have enjoyed long, rewarding runs off Broadway and put 'em where they have to please the mainstream. Next up, Next to Normal! So unfair, and really unnecessary....

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:28pm

April Saul, commercial Off-Broadway is dead.

ADDING MACHINE was a brilliant commercial Off-Broadway musical that received RAVES from critics and excellent word of mouth that had to close because of poor ticket sales.

Tourists don't see shows Off-Broadway anymore. Broadway is the only way to go unless you're a non-profit.

The fact that STORY OF MY LIFE played Broadway will now open up the creative team to opportunities at a healthy regional life, despite what New York critics thought.

If it would have played Off-Broadway, it would have closed shortly after opening, and would have next to no life beyond New York.

[GIZMO2]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:28pm

Thanks, PiraguaGuy2. You totally made me 'LOL' with that pic. I needed that.

Still, I'm going to bed depressed tonight. I mean, I actually LIKED TSOML. Since when did Brantley get so . . . so . . . SNARKY?

And it is horrible of me to still long for an original Broadway cast recording of this show?

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:30pm

Makes you miss Glory Days, huh?

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:49pm

Since when did Brantley get so . . . so . . . SNARKY?

Since about 1994, I'd say.

What you should be asking is, "If Ben Brantley is snarky enough for the rest of us, then why do we need Charles Isherwood?"

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:51pm

WBAF, do we really need to get into this argument again?

Commericial Off-Broadway is as not "dead". As I have been saying all along, this shows failure is because of the stupid decisions of the producers. Closing in a week (or less) will not lead towards a "healthy regional life"!!!!

Though, a run off-bway could have! (Altar Boyz, I love you, you're perfect...)

I do not feel bad for the producers who idiotically thought this would stay open on Broadway - come on, think you are supposed to be businessmen (and women)!

Unfortunately:

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:55pm

I don't think it will get enough of a run on B'way to get a huge regional theate life. I don't think it would have made a great Off B'way show either. Perhaps with more work on it.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/19/09 at 11:59pm

ALTAR BOYZ and I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT are the exception, not the rule.

Plus, those shows are both comedies. Much easier sells.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:06am

The Wall Street Journal is VERY NEGATIVE:

"Might "The Story of My Life" have worked in a small Off-Broadway house? At the very least it would have worked better, if only because of Mr. Gets, who has the more grateful of the two roles and makes the most of it. Immensely likable and physically graceful, he never fails to give you something worth looking at (and listening to). Mr. Chase, by contrast, comes off as a stiff, for which he's not to blame -- his part is written that way. Richard Maltby Jr. has staged the show with extreme care and resourcefulness, and Robert Brill's set, a stylized bookstore, gives Mr. Gets plenty of room to maneuver.

I hate to say it, but "The Story of My Life" reminded me of "Glory Days," last year's small-scale Broadway musical about male friendship, which closed after one performance and a chorus of critical catcalls. Does a similar fate await "The Story of My Life"? I wouldn't be surprised."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123508764376327909.html?mod=article-outset-box

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:10am

Time Out New York gives the show 3 OUT OF 6 STARS:

"The Story of My Life is a two-man musical with a dual personality. Half of Brian Hill and Neil Bartram’s well-meaning piece examines the tension between memory and fiction, as seen through the lives of two men with a knack for verbose self-reflection; the other half is a collage of cultural platitudes about butterflies, angels and snowflakes. The show can’t decide if it wants to be Stephen Sondheim or a gift shop in Topeka."

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/theater/71773/the-story-of-my-life

[Actor 7]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:12am

Gizmo2: I think it is completely reasonable to hope for an Original Cast Recording of this show. Making your comments known to the producers and composer wouldn't hurt. I too, hope for a cast recording and I do not think off-Broadway is commercially dead. That's just not true. The Story of My Life got very little press attention on morning Network TV shows like The Today Show or The View. That might still pull off a miracle for this show, should it happen. If so many people enjoyed it and returned to see it, then it has already achieved its' purpose. Like you, I am hoping word of mouth and perhaps some miracle TV coverage from people who love this show might give it another five or six months on Broadway. I know it's a long shot, but let's hope for those people who really want to see this show, they just might have a shot. For those who did not enjoy it, that's fine. You have every right to like or dislike any show. It's always an individual thing and many times I agree with professional critics but just as many times I do not agree with their reviews. It is what it is. You enjoyed TSOML, that's all that counts.

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:13am

And WBAF, no one gave an answer when after the whole Glory Days fun I asked for a recent successful 4 person or less musical on Bway... there are none!

At least there are several exceptions from small Off-Broadway shows, there on none from the good ole great white way!!!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:36am

I don't get Brantley's review? I hate reviews that just meander and don't make any sort of a point. Sure, the story line is similar, but hey, aren't most stories rip-offs from something else? Can't all love stories be boiled down to Romeo and Juliet? Who cares. If it's done well, who cares where their inspiration came from.

I wish he would have said more about the performances. I really think they're giving Tony worthy performances up there, but yet he gave them one sentence in his review. Stupid. Chase is much better than the shows he's been put into.

[Insider2]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:39am

Um...EXCUSE ME.....I answered you. THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG was a two character musical that was a huge hit, and more recently, there was the four character musical, ROMANCE, ROMANCE, which was a modest hit.

That said, I find STORY OF MY LIFE to be complete and utter crapola, and these horrific reviews are completely justified.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:40am

"Put into"? Um, actors accept roles.

[Elke]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:40am

Well, this is depressing...

It's remarkable how some reviews praise Chase & Gets, while others think they're "part of the problem".

[Elke]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 12:44am

And to cheer us all up... Pictures (well, thumbnails) from opening night: http://www.wireimage.com/ItemListings.aspx?igi=355467&nbc1=1

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 1:07am

Insider- First, glad that you are in the "sane" mindset about SOML :)

I remember you mentioning They're Playing Our Song in that last thread, and I think I responded but honestly too lazy to go back and check right now... but, TPOS doesn't "qualify" under my rules from before, because it opened 30 years ago (when I said 25) as well as it starring two known performers (the famed daughter of Desi and Lucille and an already established comedian). The performers definitely brought in audiences.

However, Romance/Romance might work... though I don't know if it recouped. But, I will give you that Romance/Romance had an 8 1/2 month run on Broadway. Though it did have an Off-Bway production that preceded it to give it some critic success and notability before its transfer.

But, I think overall we can say that it is safe to say that small shows don't work on Broadway. It's as simple as that!
Updated On: 2/20/09 at 01:07 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 1:32am

I don't think the reviews talk much about the performers because they cannot overcome the book and score. I agree that if something is done WELL than it doesn't necessarily matter where inspiration comes from...but this isn't.

It book hasn't decided WHAT story it wants to tell: One of artistic integrity or inspiration? One of missed opportunities? One of missed love? A story of abused friendship? It dabbles in all but doesn't BECOME any of them.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 1:36am

If this does close soon... Will can run over to Wicked, Aaron is gonna be leaving for Next To Normal.

[LadyDramaturg2]

Posted: 2/20/09 at 1:55am

But the greatest shows...are those that translate the petty concerns everyone experiences in searing words and music that make them dramatic and universal inevitabilities. Deeply felt as Bartram and Hill’s story may be, it never makes the leap from their existence to ours.

I think that the "failure to make the leap" judgment is wrong.

I know more than a dozen guys, not mushy, literate, touchy-feely guys, -- techs, frankly -- each of whom had a Different Positive Reaction to this show. Not their kind of show, but it touched each of them in a different, unique way.

And (me, I'm a girl) it touched me in a way different from each of their experience.

And while it was doing that, it was just Such A Pleasure To Sit There [from a theatrical experience perspective]. Extraordinary artistry (music, lyrics, book, orchestrations). Seamless transitions between book and song -- it was as though the show was (either) sung-through, or was entirely dialogue; thanks due to many "craft" disciplines for that, not just writing and performance.

Brantley missed the point -- talk about phoning-in your critiquing job: the show is like an inkblot: you have to listen, pay attention, absorb, react, analyze, feel -- Brantley was so intent upon comparing the show to this movie and that other show, He Just Didn't Get It At All, and in an extraordinarily, unintelligent way.