The Wrong Man- Page 5

[rg7759]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 6:42pm

the code is 'live within 5 blocks of the theater,' which they should be ashamed of.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 7:11pm

I think TodayTix has a sale going on right now that includes Wrong Man

[gibsons2]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 9:17pm

Alessio2 said: "Does anyone know if there is a discount code for this, and if so can you please share? thanks :)

There are $61 stage tickets on TodayTix ​​. Only October dates though.

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 9:29pm

Agreed! If you can afford the neighborhood you can afford a ticket!

[JMac4]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 1:08pm

Saw this yesterday and have to say I really couldn’t stand it. Joshua Henry is an astonishing talent, but he can’t make this repetitive, melodramatic piece worth watching. There aren’t even scenes here. The entire thing is narrated. No characters connect. I mean...only two even have names. A talented cast is left adrift in an over-choreographed, under-conceived mess of a production. MCC is not on a winning streak with productions in their new space.

[Pashacar]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 4:09pm

JMac4 said: "MCC is not on a winning streak with productions in their new space."

Seriously. Between major cuts to ticket access initiatives and the increasing swing-for-the-fences failures on stage (most likely brought there with plenty of enhancement money), it feels as if they are letting corporate interests win out over artistic ones.

[Sauja]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 12:29pm

Have to agree with some of the earlier commenters--Joshua Henry is fantastic, but even his talents aren't strong enough to save this disastrous new musical. The story is miles beyond credulity, and the score may be catchy, but it's certainly not good. I don't blame anyone on stage for what I saw--the cast did what they could. But I absolutely hated this. It felt interminable.

[zachvandyke]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 2:11pm

Opens today. What are the critics going to say?

[Pashacar]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 5:53pm

zachvandyke said: "Opens today. What are the critics going to say?"

Alice by Heart 2.0

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 10:36pm

Reviews are supposedly embargoed until Wednesday, though some published early (and it appears that BWW has begun aggregating them).

[jonah3500]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 10:39pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Reviews are supposedly embargoed until Wednesday, though some published early (and it appears that BWW has begun aggregating them)."

Why would they do this? And how does this work? Do they police the internet for the reviews? And will the review be in the NYTimes on Wednesday or Thursday?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 10:53pm

jonah3500 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Reviews are supposedly embargoed until Wednesday, though some published early (and it appears that BWW has begun aggregating them)."

Why would they do this? And how does this work? Do they police the internet for the reviews? And will the review be in the NYTimes on Wednesday or Thursday?"
 

Not sure why --- only going by a Twitter conversation between some critics.

It's 100% common practice for the press agent to set an embargo for reviews until a certain date/time, and for publications to respect that embargo. The press agent could make a big to-do about it and uninvite those publications for future shows, or everyone could just apologize/throw some shade/move on.

Sometimes the Opening Night celebration/invited performance differs from the official press opening. (IIRC, Frankie & Johnny and Bridges of Madison County are 2 recent-ish shows that had the celebration prior to the official Opening Night). Some theatres with limited seating capacity and lots of donors also have two Opening Night performances to fit everyone.

[zachvandyke]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 10:56pm

These reviews are negative but not near what I thought they would/should be. Did anyone see the show early in previews and then also recently to talk about any changes?

[Trish2]

Posted: 10/8/19 at 9:36am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "jonah3500 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Reviews are supposedly embargoed until Wednesday, though some published early (and it appears that BWW has begun aggregating them)."

Why would they do this? And how does this work? Do they police the internet for the reviews? And will the review be in the NYTimes on Wednesday or Thursday?"


Not sure why ---only going by a Twitter conversation between some critics.

It's 100% common practice for the press agent to set an embargo for reviews until a certain date/time, and for publications to respect that embargo. The press agent could make a big to-do about it and uninvite those publications for future shows, or everyone could just apologize/throw some shade/move on.

Sometimes the Opening Night celebration/invited performance differs from the official press opening. (IIRC, Frankie & JohnnyandBridges of Madison Countyare 2 recent-ish shows that had the celebration prior to the official Opening Night). Some theatres with limited seating capacity and lots of donors also have two Opening Night performances to fit everyone."

 

It looks like someones head is going to roll this morning--considering that the "review page" was discreetly taken down since last night.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/8/19 at 10:56am

Pashacar said: "JMac4 said: "MCC is not on a winning streak with productions in their new space."
Seriously. Between major cuts to ticket access initiativesand the increasing swing-for-the-fences failures on stage (most likely brought there with plenty of enhancement money), it feels as if they are letting corporate interests win out over artistic ones."
 

I would think it's artistic as much as it is corporate. When Tommy Kail and Alex Lacamoire (who, ya know, helped create the biggest hit musical in a generation) go to Bernie Telsey and say "we want to premiere our next project at your theatre and there's enhancement money in place," that's a hard thing to say no to. Obviously there's hope that a show will be improved with readings and in previews, but clearly that didn't happen with Wrong Man. And whether the show is good or not, it's also a way for MCC to solidify its relationship with A++ level musical theatre artists and an up-and-comer like Rob Golan. The Public and 2nd Stage have had plenty of stinkers throughout the years despite originating shows like Fun Home and Dear Evan Hansen; hopefully this is just a rough start for MCC.

[jonah3500]

Posted: 10/9/19 at 9:55pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/theater/the-wrong-man-musical-review.html

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/9/19 at 11:43pm

That review has a "don't give up hope" tone from Brantley. It's not a killer. The problem is, about half the lyrics need to be rewritten, and the show needs to be re-structured (probably with the aid of an actual bookwriter). And that's a tall order for a novice theatre composer.

[cjmclaughlin10]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 7:53am

I swore I would never be gullible enough to fall into a Michael Riedel trap again (he burned me bad on Bullets Over Broadway) but he sucked me into The Wrong Man and Sing Street this season. So far, he’s 0 for 1 in my book this season.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 9:37am

cjmclaughlin10 said: "I swore I would never be gullible enough to fall into a Michael Riedel trap again (he burned me bad on Bullets Over Broadway) but he sucked me into The Wrong Man and Sing Street this season. So far, he’s 0 for 1 in my book this season."

 

I hate to day "I told you so," but when people were discussing Riedel's comments on these two shows, my first comment was "let's wait and see if they are actually well-received." Riedel didn't really know anything, and he didn't really promise anything either. All he said was that these shows "could" do this or "might" do that, or "don't be surprised if" this happens. He just likes to stir the pot for the sake of it. 

As I said in my earlier post, I actually enjoyed Wrong Man. But my opinion isn't relevant to whether or not the show is likely to transfer. What matters is whether the overall word of mouth/reviews are strong enough that investors will believe in its commercial prospects. And Riedel had know way of knowing whether that would happen or not. And clearly it didn't. 

I'm still looking forward to Sing Street, but Riedel's comments are not in the equation for me. 

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 11:04am

What’s the running time?

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 11:09am

90 minutes, no intermission.

Wasn't this originally a one-man show performed by the author when it was in LA? Do you think that might have worked better?

[Trish2]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 12:33pm

Based on those tepid reviews, my guess is that "Chasing Rainbows" at Paper Mill has a better chance at a transfer than this.

[Hamilfan2]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 1:48pm

I’m clearly in the minority here but I really enjoyed this show. It’s far from perfect and it doesn’t really know what it wants to say, but the central performance by Josh Henry is phenomenal, the music is catchy the set and lighting are well utilized and the show is often a lot of fun. It’s not one that will necessarily stay with me, but I enjoyed it in the moment and honestly would recommend it to others. I think if they wait a season to transfer and do another workshop in the meantime it could be really great. At the very least I see teenagers discovering this cast recording and propelling it to success even if it’s not so much a success critically.

[zachvandyke]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 9:02pm

A show about a man wrongly accused and executed is “a lot of fun.” That might be the problem.

[raddersons]

Posted: 10/10/19 at 10:10pm

For a show that has a lyric about how “They say all kinds of clichés here”, it is chock full of cliche. I got so bored so quickly. It’s mind numbingly repetitive. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Joshua Henry has an amazing voice but gave no character. I think that’s partly the writing partly his acting.