THESE PAPER BULLETS @ Atlantic Theatere Co.

Just a heads up, if you have tickets and did not receive a call. I received a call from the theater, that the performance of THESE PAPER BULLETS, tonight, is cancelled. They did not say why.

Updated On: 11/28/15 at 05:59 PM

Playbill mentions that performances will resume for tomorrow's matinee, but I don't think they originally had a Saturday matinee scheduled for this weekend. Did they add that performance?

The show did go on as planned last night. There were just a few tiny glitches, which the cast played off in the goofy tone of the show.

I'm not the eloquent first-preview connoisseur that some of you are, but I'll share a few of my reactions. I thought that 90 percent of the play was absolutely hysterical, packed with manic verbal and physical comedy. The last ten percent comes near the end of the play, where things start to drag. Even if you're not familiar with the source material (Much Ado About Nothing), it's obvious almost from the start how this play has to end, and there's a point in the second act where I just wanted them to get on with it. :) Even without any delays, the show took almost three hours; I think a good 20 or 30 minutes could be trimmed, and obviously that's one of the things previews are for.

Billie Joe Armstrong was in attendance, and his songs were catchy and appropriate for the play (there were six or seven of them). Without giving too much away, the songs are all sung by a Beatles-like band of the British Invasion era. But this is very much a comedy with diegetic songs, not a musical at all.

Anyhow, I can recommend the play as an enjoyable, frenetic farce. Hopefully they'll tighten things up a bit in the next few weeks.

Updated On: 11/22/15 at 09:53 AM

I was going to start a new thread for this but if the OP could change the title we might be able to use this.

I'm going to have to disagree with kdogg. This was 2 hours and 45 insufferable minutes that I cannot get back. It was bad Shakespeare and worse farce. Or maybe it was bad farce and worse Shakespeare. I found nothing funny about it and didn't laugh once.

The story was all over the place and needs some judicious cuts. There is a whole subplot about the police investigating the band but you have no idea why and it has no purpose. The writing is atrocious. Rolin Jones is certainly not a good enough writer to attempt to copy Shakespeare. The Beatles references were all groan-worthy and I think the audience only laughed at them to show they understood them.

The music was fine but added nothing to the show except for length, which they were never lacking in that department. Of the six or seven songs, maybe two were enjoyable. Maybe one of the problems was that the music was WAY too loud and drowned out the singing. There were audible loud pops throughout the performance and that was one of the few technical difficulties.

Most of those difficulties were with the set. While sitting downstairs before the show I saw people walking around with drills and other tools which I didn't take as a good sign. Once seated there was a smell of paint in the theatre and I could see duct tape that had been painted over. A lot of the set pieces started falling apart including a bookshelf that began collapsing after each door slam. Those door slams also slowly forced a portrait above the door to fall. The biggest difficulty was with a railing piece that rises up and at one point a fake bird's nest was placed there. There are a ton of moving parts to the set so I get there being issues but maybe they should have cancelled a few more performances or streamlined the thing.

Another problem is the direction. There is a LOT going on on-stage with at least five people on at all times. A great director needs to be in place to keep the focus on the necessary parts of action. Jackson Gay isn't that person. The acting was alright. I went in for Justin Kirk and he was fine but can't really do the whole British accent thing. No one was particularly bad but everyone was just kind of annoying. That's probably the script more than anything.

Also I know that some people here have an aversion to audience participation. If you're that person then don't sit on the aisle seats. There are times when a reporter comes around being filmed and she stops at certain people and projects them onto the screen. Additionally there is a wedding scene (which is endless) and the audience is asked to stand multiple times. It's quite annoying.

If you feel the need to suffer through this I would wait until they (hopefully) made some cuts and work out the technical kinks.

I saw this tonight with two friends and found it very funny. One friend disliked it and the other loved it. Yes, the story is sprawling, with too many characters and subplots, and needs some cuts. I'm puzzled as to why that hasn't happened yet, after previous productions at Geffen and at Yale Rep. Maybe it was even longer, I don't know. But it's a joyous re-creation of the sights and sounds of Sixties London, well worth seeing.

It's an amazingly expensive-looking and elaborate production, with many things happening at once, so I can see Clyde's point about the direction. It's like taming a three-ring circus. Occasionally it was hard to focus on what I was supposed to be paying attention to. The play and the production kind of reminded me of the Love's Labour's Lost that was done at the Dellacorte two years ago. That also kept piling on more and more elements, until a full marching band came out at the end! My friend who didn't like These Paper Bullets used the phrase "kitchen sink." It is like throwing stuff up against the wall and seeing what sticks. By this point, the third production, people involved should know by now.

Parts of the sets are on a turntable, but I thought it was well used. The faux Beatles band, the Quartos, were fun to watch as their stage set glided in. I thought the performances were excellent across the board, particularly the four Quartos, who were singing and playing their own instruments (as far as I could tell). The songs grew on me. In spirit they're kind of like what the Rutles produced back in the day. I thought the accents were very well done and consistent, but I'm an American, so what do I know.

My friend who didn't like the show is very knowledgeable about theater, particularly British theater. She loves Much Ado About Nothing and didn't care for the changes made in the updating of the characters, Hero especially. I understand that once the setting had been changed to the Swinging Sixties, people are going to be doing drugs, etc. Hero (Higgy in this incarnation) just can't be virginal. It's just not believable in that world.

As far as the subplot with the bumbling detectives, I thought that was funny, but I guess it could be shortened. It made sense to me that Scotland Yard would be investigating the Quartos. The Beatles, especially John Lennon, were seen by polite society as a destabilizing force, ushering in anarchy. Heck, the Sixties didn't really start until the Beatles arrived on the world stage. Besides, even if you don't remember the Sixties, there's a "newsreel" in the show that explains it.

Costumes were wonderful too.

Humor is such a subjective thing. Opinion has been split recently on Ripcord, Important Hats of the Twentieth Century, and These Paper Bullets. I enjoyed all three, but I certainly can see why others did not. Farce is very tricky and hard to get right.

My friends and I were thrilled to be seated in the first row with our Back 20 tickets. I guess some would think it's too close, but I liked being so close to the action. Check out These Paper Bullets and make up your own mind.

Updated On: 11/28/15 at 11:07 AM

I'm seeing this tomorrow because I got overly excited about the Back20 tickets and did not check on the opening date. I hope it's in good shape.

Wow, it was pretty long. The show started about 8:05 and got out about 10:45. That includes a 10-minute intermission.

the show is 2:10 plus what is supposed to be a 10 min intermission that obviously has to extend depending on how many people are downstairs using the restroom, so figure 2:30 total. I liked it and it grew on me.

an extra 15-20 minutes would not have been well received by me, but I am curious what the sour taste was. was it just that or something else. Overall I found the show an imperfect sweet.

I saw this last night. One of the weirdest shows I've seen. Act 1 was absolutely horrible that I didn't think would ever end. Act 2 was hilarious and I'm glad I stuck around(plus walking out of a show is just rude no matter how bad it is). Glad I only paid $20 to see it.

The play is not supposed to be a musical, and the songs are not supposed to be "story songs" so you are creating your own goals and then complaining they are not meeting them when they never had any intention of doing what you suggest. And a Beatles tribute concert would employ Beatles songs...

Can someone go further into detail about the improvisational bits of the show? And audience participation?

There was also an adlib last night to Camryn Manheim that was in the audience. I forget who the character was that was walking down the stairs. He stopped and looked at her and said you could be on tv.