The Griswalds' Broadway Vacation (World Premiere First Performance Tonight!)

First performance tonight at Fifth Avenue in Seattle. Who's going??

Updated On: 9/10/22 at 11:57 AM

I LOOOVED the films (well maybe not so much Vegas Vacation) can't wait to see this.

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I will be at second preview, a bit concerning Kate Rockwell withdrew literally the day before this starts...."

She is 9 months pregnant!!!!! The bigger question might be why she continued with the Seattle run in the first place, but it could help her involvement with the show down the line.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I will be at second preview, a bit concerning Kate Rockwell withdrew literally the day before this starts...."

She is 9 months pregnant!!!!! The bigger question might be why she continued with the Seattle run in the first place, but it could help her involvement with the show down the line."

I more so ment why was this announced the day before when she was clearly visably pregnant in rehearsal and promo videos and unlikely to be able to do the run, just seems odd

Based on the title, I guess this has plans for Broadway in 2023?

I despise the Griswold movies, but I think this has more potential than most of the IP they try and mine these days. Writing a new story set inside the world of the films affords more flexibility in adaption. SpongeBob had a similar advantage.

Call_me_jorge said: "Kelli O’Hara did exactly what Kate Rockwell did when The Bridges of Madison County was about to do their Williamstown tryout. So, no. It is not Ken Davenport producing choice. It’s almost like expecting mothers shouldn’t be forced to not take jobs."



Not the same thing at all. Williamstown never sold Bridges of Madison County using Kelli O'Hara's name. Rockwell's name has been listed in all of the Griswold press materials.

Also, while it may not be the "PC" talking point -- yes, sometimes women DO need to make a choice between career and motherhood.

It sounds like they may have wanted her in the room for further development, and never intended her to do the run. The announcement style of her “leading” the production I place more on Davenport.

I'll be at the first preview tonight and will report back! (No, I'm not a shill registering today - I just haven't commented since the tryout for Doubtfire and seem to no longer have access to the email I used to register as BobbysApartment).

Keeping an open mind as this is the only new musical in what looks to be a bland season at the 5th. The less said about the last half-season the better. I only noticed the director for Vacation was also the director for Bruce earlier this year at Seattle Rep upon reading the casting update which has tempered my enthusiasm somewhat. Admittedly, I think I liked Bruce more than most despite its flaws (the score grew on me, and yes, I saw it more than once), but I was pretty much in full agreement with the reviews including on the fairly repetitious and unimaginative staging for that show.

So we'll see what I make of tonight! I don't think I've seen Hunter Foster on stage since Urinetown oh so many years ago.

All in all, pretty good shape for a first preview. However, there doesn't seem to really be any automation with the set so I guess that tracks (so to speak ). It moves along at a pretty good clip - while I didn't get exact timing, Act 1 seemed to come in at around or just under an hour, and I was out on the street and down the block by 9:45pm (I'd say the show started at 7:40pm at the latest).

I'll share more tomorrow as anything I've tried to write keeps reading more negatively than I'm intending which I'll blame on brain fatigue. Because I really enjoyed myself! It was much funnier than I expected, and the score surprised me.

Quick thoughts:

• When I said it moves at a good clip, I mean it! After a short overture, the show proper starts with the Griswolds already arriving in the Truckster in Times Square. I'd be curious to see how this all plays to someone not very familiar with the movies, as I feel like we're expected to know who this family is and what their dynamics are. Part of me wonders if there was ever an opening number that portrayed their drive from Chicago to New York that maybe set things up a little bit more.
• I missed a good portion of the opening number reading the signs and trying to catch all of the jokes and movie series Easter Eggs (they made me laugh, although not quite sure where I land on the stunt casting idea for Pippin!)
• I appreciate we got a printed songlist as a paper insert in the program
• The MacGuffin for the plot makes me wonder how long this show has been in development
• The more I think about the plot, some of it seems to be straddling the line between playing homage to and adapting plot points from the various films
• Ellen's song "Doofus" was the highlight of the score for me, and Megan Reinking sang the **** out of it
• There is a problem with several songs building and then just petering out, or just not quite building to where they feel like they want to go. It's ok to make the audience want to cheer.
• The chorus of fortune tellers is random as hell
• It took me a minute to get what they were doing with Rusty, but the way they dropped his scenes in made the show feel choppy at points
• The Act 1 Finale needs work (speaking of letting stuff build). It wasn't just the prop mishap that killed the momentum - the slapstick needs to be much bigger for this to land and have a bigger finish to send us off to intermission laughing
• The Times Square mascots were pretty hilarious
• There were a couple of jokes they seemed to be building up that never paid off or they slightly whiffed

Again, I'll share more later, but happy to try and answer any questions.

One I can guess some people may have but will spoiler tag just in case:

Updated On: 9/14/22 at 02:57 AM

Act I

“Overture” - Orchestra
“Vacation” - The Griswolds, Ensemble
“Wilson!” - Ellen, Clark, Ensemble
“Times Square Hustle” - Ensemble
“The Battle of Ellen Hill” - Naked Commando, Ensemble
“We Are The Griswolds” - Clark
“Go For It” - Madame Sherie, Ellen, Naked Commando, Ensemble
“Get on the Bed” - Ellen, Clark, Broker
“Marty’s House of Pancakes” - Marty Moose, Singing Server, Ensemble
“Hopes and Dreams” - The Griswolds, Quackers, Ensemble

Act II
“Entr’acte” - Orchestra
“Outside Wilson” - Ellen, Naked Commando, Ensemble
“The F Word” - Cousin Eddie, Clark, Ensemble
“You Can Tell Me Anything (But You Don’t Have to Tell Me Everything)” - Clark, Audrey
“Doofus” - Ellen
“Granny Flüug” - Cousin Eddie, Clark, The Flüugs
“Brace for Impact” - Chuck, Ensemble
“Nothing in the World” - Clark
“Love is an Island” - Rusty, Ensemble
“Finale” - Everybody!

Bettyboy72 said: "No “Holiday Road?”"

Check my spoiler tag

Well, BoringBoredBoard40, I can't disagree with a lot of what you wrote, but somehow I still had a really good time. Part of it may be growing up with what I consider the "core" three movies, but I laughed a lot throughout the show. Little things like Clark's lyric in one song that was something to the effect of him feeling like he was stuck driving circles around Big Ben had me cackling, but I realize this would mean nothing to someone who isn't fairly familiar with European Vacation.

However, I didn't find the score to be forgettable. I can easily recall the melodies to the few songs or themes we heard more than once ("Vacation," "Wilson!," "The Battle of Ellen Hill," "Love is an Island". Like any show, there are always a couple of numbers that feel like throwaways to me, but I believe the case here is that most of the songs tend to be shorter with melodies we only hear once. I'm confident after seeing the show again, most of it will stick with me. Now, Marie, Dancing Still or Austen's Pride - those were some truly forgettable scores in recent memory. And it's leagues better than the score for Mrs. Doubtfire.

The show is closer in tone to Vegas Vacation than the earlier movies. Which is fine but not optimal - that movie grew on me, especially when not trying to compare it to the others. Those earlier films had an edge - a bite or a meanness to them that is definitely not present here. This show called to mind The Producers more than The Book of Mormon for me, though. Some of the sight gags and jokes like the vet/veteran confusion driving a character's decision making (which, randomly was also used in a new movie I saw recently) felt more Mel Brooks to me, and the entire chorus of fortune tellers in "Go For It" made me think Producers too. But then they do odd things like not taking the opportunity to have the boy Audrey meets

I appreciate it wasn't a string of super short scenes as some other recent shows have been, but the direction/staging could benefit from being a LOT more cinematic. I think it's fine to pepper Rusty's storyline throughout the show, but if I think of it like a movie, I see old school wipes across the screen as almost a transition. As it is done here, they do stop the momentum, like having a whole set piece for the shoe store/church along with being dropped in the middle of another scene. There's a perfect opportunity for a number by the Church of Studyology! OR maybe Rusty has a short song (like really short) that can be done in a different style with each group he encounters. I thought the forced perspective of the set fit the tone, but this show needs automation and more dynamic staging or a different structure.

I didn't mind the blending of things from real pop culture with the imagined world of Vacation or using some out-of-date cliches, but yes, staring at a giant Kellyanne Conway face is unpleasant and specific references like TikTok can date very quickly. Also, don't mention anything more than once. Especially if you're going to get it wrong - it's a Speedo or bikini, not a thong. No one I know would call that thing a thong and you can easily rhyme Speedo. But I digress.

So, it's not really of a piece with the movies, but what would it be without the branding, so what do you do? I think it can be fixed, but how many shows actually seem to do that during a fully staged run these days? I had a really good time, so maybe I'll find out when I see it again! (I took advantage of the clever $19.83 sale and will be going again Sunday night as well as probably another time near the end of the run). Friday and Saturday this week seem to be decently sold, and I'm curious how it will play to a fuller, weekend audience. The audience was somewhat sparse Tuesday night - I was the only person in my row in my section (Mezzanine Row A, house right center-ish aisle) until a couple of people moved down during intermission.

I don't feel comfortable discussing performances at a first preview, but we'll see how things are by Sunday.

Overall, I thought it provided some great laughs, a fun score, and an enjoyable night! Will that be enough? It's tough out there for any show these days. At the very least, yes, they really need to introduce us to the Griswolds before we dump them out of their element in Manhattan.