The Last Ship Lasting — Page 3

"it seems we now have the back seat drivers to the back seat drivers opining. That's pretty much the signal that a thread-weak from the get-go-has come off the rails."

Unless someone has actually invested in a given show or is involved directly in another way, isn't everyone here basically an opinionated 'back seat driver'?

With my newfound authority, I'll definitely derail and shut down any thread I deem fit. Thanks! Maybe I should just post in everything now. You'd like that, right?

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The If/Then comparisons strike me as odd. Personally, I don't really see much of a comparison. If/Then didn't have the strongest book or score of its season, but at least it held my interest. The Last Ship did not. To me, even with its flaws, If/Then was a far superior show in the structure and creativity of its design, book and score. The only things the two shows had in common would be the awkward and banal choreography and strong cast performances. Though the material of If/Then actually did a better job of highlighting the performers.

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"had little to do with The Last Ship otherwise"

presumably a good part of that "little" consists of cashing not-little checks.

First of all. Can the people on this thread please start writing in English again? Almost everything is incomprehensible and what is comprehensible is total nonsense. For example If/Then is a piece of tripe. Interesting concept done in by two dueling stories of infinite boredom. How any writer could sustain interest in someone as dull as Liz / Beth is beyond me. Oh and to somehow suggest that If/Then is better than The Last Ship is utter lunacy. In every single category from score to cast to design to direction, Sting's show is FAR superior. I like Kitt's score very much on CD , but not so much in the theater where it is over amplified and fragmented to such an extent it is all but lost. But that score is If/Then's ONLY redeeming quality. But Sting's is better.

JayG2-Please stop acting as though your OPINION is FACT. I HATED both shows equally and oddly enough some of their problems are very similar. I found the books for both shows to be utterly ridiculous. There is no character development really-which is a major issue with many musicals.

The score for The Last Ship is more bearable, but it takes on a rather predictable pattern. I think there is this misconception that a half-decent score can make up for a bad book-and I think that is a shame. The focus on book writing needs to come back to the fore. There is too much emphasis on catchy tunes and not enough on developing the characters and creating storylines that make sense. Period.

I don't know how long either show will last. I just want shows that make me feel, think and connect with the characters. A few tunes aren't enough. We have other shows to fill that (and for the record- I THINK (ok?) Jersey Boys' book is better than either one of these shows-it weaves the story seamlessly with the music).

PS-You couldn't GIVE me tickets to go back to either The Last Ship or If/Then.

Updated On: 11/2/14 at 09:23 AM

The really sad fact here is that the TDF tickets do not appear to be selling either. You would expect out of 14 dates some would now show limited seating. Nope. They are like they were a few days ago.

In the River thread we are talking about cleaning & gutting fish and a serious piece of theater here is dying. Yeah this is really what Broadway is all about. Now I see why after last season I distance myself from it. Go to an occasional show and that's that.

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Updated On: 11/2/14 at 11:12 AM

"I think there is this misconception that a half-decent score can make up for a bad book-and I think that is a shame."

I like the idea of creating a position no one would support and then railing against it.

It needs to be seen despite your pan

Whether or not people choose to is another story. Looks like they are not.

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Dear Mister Matt, what about the following sentence is incomprehensible:
In every single category from score to cast to design to direction, Sting's show is FAR superior.

Read much?

Dear Mr. Roxy, Thank you for clearing up the Royal We question. Oh, and I can't put one over on you. Nice to know there are some people whose knowledge of musical theater history precedes Wicked.

Mine really precedes Wicked

Try Gantry. You are a sly one. I thought the song title was a simple statement for the situation at hand. Well done.

By the way, saw Look and it was not to bad. It was an average musical and if they had gotten their original choice of Sammy Davis, it might have been a different story. This would be great @ Encores.

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Updated On: 11/2/14 at 07:32 PM

Thanks Sutton.

I doubt it will happen .When quality theater dies for an audience while stuff like Tiver succeeds because of a star, time to back away.

When people will almost kill each other for an autograph, DITTO.

When people do not like a show and are mean enough to call it a turd, you know the rest.

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Updated On: 11/2/14 at 07:49 PM

re the why question--
Sting has spoken quite extensively about this. Perhaps if you familiarized yourself with what he has said, you'll feel differently. Or not.