Taboo - Good or Not??

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:00pm

Was Taboo really that bad? It was doing awful at the box office, and critics HATED it, but what did you people who saw it think? How many stars would it deserve??

[WiCkEd4LyFfE]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:02pm

I thought it was rather entertaining. Boy George is my God!

[POLisPOL]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:03pm

I saw the show in london (which was very different from the broadway one) and I LOVE A LOT the show....
I've seen the dvd many many times, and I'm addicted to the cd.
so for me, it deserves the maximum stars!
I'm not sure about the broadway running of the show, 'cause they changed many things, but the obc is still one of my favourites cd's.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:04pm

Ok... the deal with Taboo, as I saw it at least, is this. It had A LOT of flaws, but given a better chance, I think it could've really been wonderful. By far the strongest thing that Taboo had going for it was it's score. George is truly a genius, and his score is one of the best I've heard in a very long time. But the problem with Taboo was that it had a really limited audience. I really think that a lot of people were afraid of it, if not just disinterested because it was different. I don't know a single person who saw it and didn't like it, and I think that the strong fan following that it did manage to develop says a lot for it, both good and bad. It did pick up a lot of loyal fans, but the fact that only those loyal fans really loved it shows what a limited audience appeal it really did have.

I miss Taboo.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:06pm

I personally loved certain aspects of Taboo. It was a truly flawed work, but it had something that some of the shows this season haven't had. In a season when we've been given Bombay Dreams and Boy From Oz and other crap (love Hugh, but the show wasn't that good...), I thought the performances and the music were great. True, the book sucked and the character development left a LOT to be desired (Charles Busch I'm dissapointed in you!!!) I also think the whole Rosie drama going on really didn't help things. It sucks that the media used so much of what was going on in Rosie's life as fodder in hating the show. Rosie's said this isn't the last we've seen of the show. One can only hope. But LORD, please let someone take a crack at that book. URGH.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:08pm

i liked the score, most of the performances, the staging, and the general visuals. i think it got an unfair backlash. i also think that as adequately as he performed, it would have been better without George O'Dowd in it. The "ego factor" of both him and Rosie was just too much. In my opinion, as a road show, with pop star "comebacks" in the Bowery role and/or the Big Sue role, it could make money. The vocals are really good, and the main acting chops in the piece are in the roles that younger (cheaper) better musical theatre performers could play: Boy George young, Marilyn, the photographer composite, and Bowery's wife.

Updated On: 7/5/04 at 10:08 PM

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:09pm

You can tell where i stand from my icon! I think it's funny that my girl LuvtheEmcee left out the main reason to love taboo-RAUL ESPARZA

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:10pm

Well dear, Raul was out sick when I saw Taboo, so can't really comment there, unfortunately.

BUT I LOVE RAUL!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:10pm

Hmm.. so basically what youre saying is it was good, not great and full of flaws?? So like 2 and a half stars?

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:12pm

I enjoyed the show. I had a lot of fun and the score was awesome. However, I do have a terrible feeling that Rosie's personal life in the press going hay-wire hurt the show a lot too. Personally I think the show would have done a lot better off-Broadway and I definately believe that it did not deserve the majority of the bad rap it got. Euan, Raul, and Liz were amazing, THAT's for sure.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:12pm

2.5 stars if Raul is out. 3.5 if he's there. He raises the bar for everything.
The book was WEAK. The score and performances were wonderful.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:12pm

2.5 stars if Raul is out. 3.5 if he's there. He raises the bar for everything.
The book was WEAK. The score and performances were wonderful.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 10:29pm

i completely forgot the Raul character, that's another good role for a pop idol comeback. i didn't think the book was all THAT bad, really. Good bookwriting is the hardest of the collaborative arts of a musical. There are not truly great ones in a show i can think of for the last three seasons or even more.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 11:14pm

great score and performances--the CD is kicka$$!

unbalanced book and direction

should be revised--it's not finished

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 11:22pm

I think the show was really good but it just wasnt right for Broadway. I think it would of done a lot better off-broadway or at a smaller theater on Broadway like Circle in the Square or Studio 54. Both those theaters would allow for more audience interaction.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/5/04 at 11:26pm

AHH! Taboo would've been fabulous at 54.

[SammyGal]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:36am

Taboo would have ROCKED at 54. George would have been in the audience harassing people!!
Taboo was by far the most influential show I saw. The music was FANTABULOUS and I think the critics gave it a bad rap b/c of Rosie and Mike Riedel and his gossip.
It def. deserves a second chance with revisions!

[J.]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:39am

TABOO was a good show but not a masterpiece like PRYMATE or BOBBIE BOLAND or anything and it has some nice tunes in it.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:41am

*chokes on his donut* you ARE kidding me, right J.?

[SammyGal]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:43am

yes J. is kidding...
but Taboo deserved a LOT more credit than it was giving. I never saw fans/cast/producer more dedicated to making it succeeed.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:49am

i agree Sammy. Tho as much as I will remember the show, I will also remember it being the time when i had the most rude, obnoxious person at the box office window. he said some pretty inappropriate comments that made me want to march down to the Gershwin to put my name on the list for the lotto. but my love for george and my curiosity got the best of me, plus raul was actually there that night, so i was SO thrilled.

[J.]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:52am

I was kidding. I like making fun of shows that flop horribly. (unless they're ones I love)

[SammyGal]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:54am

Star, I went to Taboo a bunch of times. I know the box office guy. He had moods. TERRIBLE moods! haha
Thank goodness you saw Taboo over Wicked! Raul is INCREDIBLE! He stole that stage every night! Sometimes I just miss it so much and want to go see it again... lesigh.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 2:55am

oh i know, raul just made the show for me. i've seen him numerous times and he's always amazing. between talking to him in rocky and taboo, i can die a happy man...*le grande sigh*

[SammyGal]

Posted: 7/6/04 at 3:03am

oh he's to DIE for! "Petrified" stopped my heart!
Did you see The Normal Heart? That man deserves Tony after Tony!