Thoughts on the first preview of EVERYDAY RAPTURE?- Page 3

[actionjaxson91]

Posted: 4/20/10 at 4:46pm

YANK! is coming next season.

[SBwayG]

Posted: 4/20/10 at 9:02pm

I too was as last night's performance. After seeing it last year at Second Stage a few times, I didn't think it could get much better, but last night, it was. Sherie is phenomenal-she truly knows how to captivate an audience and the amount of talent she has is incredible. This was the most moving and inspiring show I have seen all year - I can not wait to get back to the theater!

As to the question about the stagedoor-I don't think anyone waited after the show-I, myself, am not quite sure where it is even located...does anybody know?

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 4/20/10 at 10:18pm

The stage door is on the 43rd street side, it's kind of hard to find but it's really close to the exit. No one was waiting anyway.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 11:55am

I had a great time. I agree that it isn't quite a musical. It's more of a solo show, theatrical evening with sort of thing. Whoever talked about Sherie Rene Scott's weak singing voice, I'm curious about what you mean. I thought she sounded absolutely incredible. It's so strong and wonderful to listen to.

I also didn't find it too self-indulgent because she sort of make fun of how self-indulgent it is, if that makes sense. She's witty, clever, and a joy to watch.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 12:03pm

I also didn't find it too self-indulgent because she sort of make fun of how self-indulgent it is, if that makes sense.

Exactly.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 12:06pm

Well....that, and let's just kind of go in knowing: it's a solo show. Of course it's self-indulgent.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 12:30pm

About what time did the show let out?

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 12:35pm

It's 90 minutes.

[AricCartman]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 1:50am

AWFUL. Why did I bother to previously say more. One word sums it up.

But, with an edit or two. I will re-post:

In 21 years of being a Broadway professional, I have never walked out of a Broadway show until tonight. Everyday Rapture is worse than Starmites, Nick and Nora, Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and Chu Chem, just to name a few. It isn't a musical. It is an overblown cabaret show. But, not just that. "The cabaret" show that every intelligent professional in the industry warns people against doing: "How I got to NY." (In this: after my partial Mennonite upbringing). How I fell in love with the Musical Theatre. Plus, an offensive though slightly humorous Jesus tribute. The entire same old boring done thing. It's been done, and done, and done. It includes: "Why" I do this. It even adds a touch of "Oh, poor pity me. I lost my friend to AIDS." Finishing with "Ain't Children Grand?" (At least as I was told by the person I attended with who liked it significany more than I.)

Ms. Scott sounds like she often does live: pinched and pitchy. It takes her way too much work to produce sound that is often unlistenable. Thank goodness she has Lader as a voice teacher. She has little to no upper voice. Yet, attempts to use it poorly in a scratchy: "I just smoked half a pack way." At the Last 5 Years, sitting in the second row, I thought her larynx was gonna pop out her nose and land in my lap, causing her to bleed uncontrollably. (Although, partly that can be blamed on JRB and his band playing too damn load so that she and Mr. Butz had to screech over them.) I find her quite listenablle on recordings. But, all live shows I have seen her perform in she has been in far less than ideal voice.

Pop/Jazz/Showtune arrangements of recycled songs from Mr. Roger's neighborhood do not make a musical. No one besides Judy or the like (Streisand, MacDonald, Mazzie) should ever attempt "The Atchison..." or "Over The Rainbow." David Byrne and Henry Nilsson are featured as well proving what? That more inappropriate, recycled songs should be accepted as appropriate and well crafted "new musical" material.

Backed up by two lovely, zoftig women with better chops (barely) than her's. She is placed center between them, quite often, which only emphasizes her freakish figure: melon breasts, a waist line that looks like she strapped on and squeezed into an industrial strength rubber band to make it so pinched it almost doesn't exist, enormously pronounced odd shaped hips and skinny legs in pants too long for her heels. (I was just waiting for her to trip. Why wear the heels if no one will see them?) Is she worried she won't look skinny enough? (Quick call Intervention and tell them "Karen Carpenter alert".) Where is a good costume designer when you really need one? Or was it Carnahan making continually poor casting choices who urged her to go with them behind her? Isn't it time for that talent light casting geezer to retire?

This is simply a write off for the Roundabout. It got poor reviews off-Broadway. So, move it to Broadway? Yes! Just write the flop off as a tax write off in a season of the worst musicals in years. I don't know anyone who wouldn't prefer to have a season like Sunset Blvd's. Which won its awards for attempting fine craft and because nothing else was up against it.

Nothing Appealing. Everything appalling. Not even close to any comedy seen tonight.

AricCartman Wed.4-21-2010 Updated On: 4/23/10 at 01:50 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 1:52am

Was Sherie mean to you at the stage door or something?

You joined today just to bash Everyday Rapture?

Well, that's a little suspect.

ETA...

It got poor reviews off-Broadway.

You're 100% off-base. The show got RAVE reviews off-Broadway, including a love-letter from Brantley who called it the best musical of the year. What are you talking about???
Updated On: 4/22/10 at 01:52 AM

[LittleBitRacist]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 2:14am

wait, the show doesn't have an intermission right? so you walked out, like, mid-performance?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 3:41am

I don't know WHAT show AricCartman saw and why this person might have such a vengeance against Ms. Scott but they could not be more incorrect or downright cruel. Wow.

I was at the show tonight and this is my fourth or fifth time seeing this incredible show. Sherie has NEVER looked better and she sounds absolutely phenomenal. No tension in her larynx, an amazing upper range, resonant and perfectly on pitch.

And on top of all this, she is giving a truly extraordinary performance at the American Airlines Theatre. She is so remarkably committed and everything from her thrilling entrance to her last note and hilarious exit, is unapologetic, nuanced, polished, and quite beautiful.

Go and see this truly joyous show. Every word and note that comes from her mouth is filled with hilarity, love, and sincerity. She is a true gift to the theatre and I recommend this show to all.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 3:43am

^ Yeah, but did you like it?

[Tom-497]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:04am

I saw the show using one of the $10 seats, and I thought it was worth the time. However, I would have been unhappy to see something so cheaply put together at anything near full price. Also, I thought it really headed off in the wrong direction with the whole "I love my child/four-leaf clover" segment near the end.

In all, the parts that were supposed to be funny and cute succeeded, but the attempts at being inspirational and moving didn't really work for me.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:49am

So cheaply put together? What does that mean? This is a SOLO show?

Did Bea Arthur cheaply put her show together when she put a chair and a piano on stage? Or how about Stritch when she put a stool on the stage and called it a day? (Oh and anyone who wants to claim RAPTURE is self indulgent need only to look at AT LIBERTY to see the true definition of that)

The show is exactly as it was off-broadway in every respect and AricCartman (whatever show you work for that's causing you to bash this one since you know it's better than yours) can suck a big one.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 10:28am

I went in totally blind with tickets from TDF. I was immensely entertained by the show. The scenes were funny, sweet (even if it some did drag on too long). Sherie was absolutely impossible to take your eyes away from though, and it was definitely worth the price that I paid from TDF (38 or so...). I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed it as much as I did if I paid full price for it, but I would definitely recommend it to others. Standout scene for me was definitely the youtube scene, Eamon was delightful.

I haven't seen AI yet, so I can't speak for Best Musical but I would like to see Scott get a nomination.

[Pianist3912]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 10:59am

"Whoever talked about Sherie Rene Scott's weak singing voice, I'm curious about what you mean. I thought she sounded absolutely incredible. It's so strong and wonderful to listen to."

Again, I liked the show, just wasn't blown away as a lot of people here seem to be.

In terms of her voice, I think her performance was not (or ever really sounds) thrilling, since she stays in a pretty level mix the entire time (which I would not even consider strong enough to be a belt), and her actual range is very small. I mean, in one of the songs near the end, she took down a note after sustaining a high one and not being able to squeeze it out! But overall, I just never really LOVED her voice.

[Amneris]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 5:20pm

I saw the show and want to wish her a big congrats for getting it to Broadway. I had fun but wasn't blown away. I wouldn't say that it was the best thing I have attended this season. I think the person who wrote that it qualifies more as a special event was correct. I do think she is very pretty though and her voice is like no one else's.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:10am

I saw it tonight, it was ok. Cute little show, but it is kinda insulting that they would charge 65-116 dollars for such a cheap show. 5 people band and 4 actors.
I want big shows, but I must say it was pretty good for being basically a one-woman-show.
I was expecting to hate it, but although I didn't love it, I liked it a little bit. It had a few funny moments, although it dragged a lot at times.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:12am

It was a lot more enjoyable than Wishful Drinking BTW.

[sgv123]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:13am

Is there an understudy for Eamon?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:16am

Riley Costello, who was in Bye Bye Birdie if you are referring to the male character.

[JP2]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:17am

Saw it tonight and it was without a doubt the best show I have seen this season by a mile.
Updated On: 4/23/10 at 12:17 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:25am

I just got back from this evening's performance and felt it was the longest 90 minutes I've ever had in my life.

What was the point of this? It's episodic, offensive (I almost walked out during the love song to Jesus), over-amplified during the rock numbers and features step-together-step choreography that you'd expect in school plays.

Yes, Sherie Rene Scott has a terrific voice and the You Tube segment was amusing, but the rest of the evening was intolerable.

[lull89]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:34am

I saw the show tonight and I really really enjoyed the show. Sherie is wonderful not only in her singing, but in some of her brilliant deliveries of great monologues (that one letter from her to the magician was chilling) and one liners. And I think this is probably the best written new show I've seen in a while. It flows really well, and I was continually engaged and interested the whole time.

This is certainly an interesting hybrid of a show, more structured than a concert, but not as structured as a traditional book musical, and I'm really glad that something this different, unique and powerful is able to be seen on Broadway.