They put the GLORY DAYS Sign up- Page 2

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 12:47pm

And how much money do you have invested?

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 1:09pm

I think he's referring to quote on the sign....

[NYC10040]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 1:15pm

Yeah - it's the quote on the sign.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 4:47pm

I like it. It's got a good color scheme, and I love the demo. I'm really pulling for the show, but some of the lyrics are a bit dumb, and it does sound like normal "just-graduated-from-college" type musical theater (I.E. Pasek and Paul).

the worse line is "Yeah but you are gay .... but just remember, he hasn't always been that way." I'm not sure what the writers were trying to say with that line.

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 5:36pm

That lyric officially irks me. Just sayin'.

[SayitSomehow]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 6:12pm

It's a good show. Perhaps the most lyrically current and realistically scripted musical I've ever heard - the book is straight college banter - your mom jokes, street fighter II and a ton of other pop-culture references that you had to grow up in the 90's to catch. It really was something special to watch a musical that sounded like my friends talking/singing about things I've enjoyed in my own life, rather than a dated Sondheim piece or classic musical fare. I swear, the jock/abercrombie wearing character IS one of my friends from high school.

But then again, you won't come out singing any of the songs. They are not distinct enough from each other and the strong pop hooks aren't there.

Still, I think the writing really nailed that ambiguity of feeling your childhood seep beneath your fingers and facing your rapidly oncoming adulthood that one experiences in college, since I'm there right now. Plus, the book writer graduated from my school (U of Maryland) and I saw him perform in several shows here, and he's magnificent, so I'm rooting for him and this show whole-heartedly.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 6:15pm

It doesn't seem to have something to say, which is where I think it will fail.

[NYC10040]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 6:38pm

"the worse line is "Yeah but you are gay .... but just remember, he hasn't always been that way." I'm not sure what the writers were trying to say with that line."

Actually - that line is sung by the character who is least comfortable with homosexuality and with the fact that the character is gay. It is foreshadowing the conflicts that come later in the show.

The show definitely has something to say - it is very realistic and a true representation of the first time most humans are faced with major change in their lives.


Updated On: 3/29/08 at 06:38 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 6:48pm

07-08 = The season where creators put themselves and their coming of age musicals on Broadway?

I'm still confused, is this about a transition from high school teens to college years?

[jordangirl]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 6:57pm

Count me in the minority, but that logo/marquee does absolutely nothing to make me want to see the show. Nothing at all. Yuck.

[GetUp&LiveIt]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 7:24pm

"Yeah but you are gay .... but just remember, he hasn't always been that way."

That lyric was cut. I saw the show 2 times. Once in previews with that lyric.. which was pretty awful. But it wasn't there the second time I saw the show and it's not in the new demos on their myspace.
Updated On: 3/29/08 at 07:24 PM

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 8:18pm

I'm still confused, is this about a transition from high school teens to college years?

blaxx, I saw the thing, and I'm confused too. I can't even remember much of it. The book is a godawful mess. Or maybe the "realistically scripted" "college banter" went right over my middle-aged head. None of that articulate, "dated Sondheim" stuff here! But yeah I think it's supposed to be a coming-of-age thing. Four friends who haven't seen each each other since high school meet up two years later. "Secrets" are revealed. Beer is consumed. Getting "pu**y" is discussed.
Updated On: 3/29/08 at 08:18 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 8:21pm

Oh ok, so it's about the specific characters. That's very different.

For a moment I thought it was about the cruel and grueling sadistic transition of not being a high schooler anymore and having to start college, and I thought it sounded pathetic.

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 9:14pm

Gymdudeva it's sad that you had that response to the musical. I'm nearing 40, actually in less than a week I will have reached the dreaded age- yikes, and I left the show with a very different response. It tells me a lot just in the way you ended your last comment- "beer is consumed, getting p***y is discussed." Seems like you shut the show off in the first 10 minutes, since that is a very minor part of the musical. I applaud the writers from not shying away from this discussion and language. What group of 20 year old guys wouldn't talk about sex and girls? That is what makes the show "authentic." The dialogue takes on a 19 year olds vernacular. Did you expect them to speak like you Gymdudeva or sound like the upper middle class characters of a Stephen Sondheim musical? I believe there was something very beautiful in the writing. Certainly on the surface it is a lot of guy talk, but underneath these are 4 boys struggling to identify themselves and come to terms with the fact that their friendship is falling apart. The childish banter, quickly gives way to very serious discussions about the world, their ideals, and the meaning of their relationships with each other. And that soon gives way to a complete inability to articulate their feelings at all, because they are after all boys trying to be men. Men who don't show their emotions, men who refuse to let themselves share those emotions. Rather the boys reject and hide their emotions by discussing trivial things. For me this provided a very rich subtext for the boys. I too was a little uncertain what to make of the early part of the show as this group of 19 year old boys drank, swore and tried to one up each other with their sexual prowess. But I soon saw that this was necessary to establish their relationships and this childish banter was in fact the only way these four guys knew how to relate to each other. And as they become men and face the realities of their friendship they take on much more mature viewpoints and voices. It is certainly simple to dismiss the show as a group of oversexed, annoying kids but then you have missed the entire point of the play. It is about transitions and the loss of a child's idea of friendship. It challenges what they thought they knew about a bond that they believed to be invincible. Sorry gymdudeva that you could not get past the language and sexual discussions to see that it was crucial to see the development of the 4 characters. Sadly you missed the boat. Luckily the majority of the middle aged critics got exactly what the writers intended and that shows in some of the best reviews I have seen for any new musical in Washington DC. I am ecstatic for these two young writers.

[FIERCEY516]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 10:45pm

**yawn**

[Liverpool]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 10:49pm

yes fiercey that seems to be the general consensus regarding this show.

[FIERCEY516]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 10:58pm

putting aside the fact that I think the score is very weak (but I do think the book is great!), I think it's funny that many of the show's defenders argue how "realistic" and "true" it is. or whatever.

there are tons of shows that have been extremely revealing and realistic on Broadway. GLORY DAYS is not the first musical to accurately portray young adults while maintaining a sense of organic realism... silly.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 11:21pm

I guess I am in the target age group (20-somethings) but nothing in that show resonated with me at all.

[SayitSomehow]

Posted: 3/29/08 at 11:27pm

bestofbroadway i think you put it amazingly - very organic 20 year old interaction

convo goes from getting **** and your mom's hot to where is my life taking me? i don't know - i'm the exact age of these characters and at the same exact point in my life cycle and i just felt like i was watching a clip from christmas break when my friends reunite

[NYC10040]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 12:16am

Amen bestofbroadway....I agree 100%

I don't think the score is weak at all. As a reviewer put it: "Blaemire's songs match the accuracy of the book, and are extremely tight to each character. Each song is unique and similar, in that each is different for what is going on in the moment, but similar in that Blaemire, like other theatre composers, has his voice stamped onto each number in that same way that you can tell instantly a song by Sondheim or Kander and Ebb."

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 12:19am

Each song is simliar, while they're not bad, I think the songs "My life Story" and "after All" just don't deliver a punch like a good solo should.

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 1:34am

RentBoy86- After All was stuck in my head for days after I saw the show and "My Next Story" was a beautiful aria for the main character.

And I think I'll just copy the review that NYC10040 posted one more time:

"Each song is unique and similar, in that each is different for what is going on in the moment, but similar in that Blaemire, like other theatre composers, has his voice stamped onto each number in that same way that you can tell instantly a song by Sondheim or Kander and Ebb."

Sad for those of you who place judgement on a show you have yet to see. And Liverpool- the "general consensus" according to who?


Updated On: 3/30/08 at 01:34 AM

[FIERCEY516]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 4:03am

I will re-post my comment because it was clearly directed at the majority of those who have recently posted.

I am placing judgement because I've seen the show and I know the material... so I can.

so for those defending this little show....

I think it's funny that many of the show's defenders argue how "realistic" and "true" it is. or whatever.

there are tons of shows that have been extremely revealing and realistic on Broadway. GLORY DAYS is not the first musical to accurately portray young adults while maintaining a sense of organic realism... silly.

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 10:26am

As I'm in the target age group of young adults, I have yet to see anything that has grabbed my interest. Hell, I have the demo and I haven't even bothered to listen to it.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 10:31am

The Tickets are on-sale now too. I wonder if they would offer this on TDF?

J*