Thoughts on the first preview of EVERYDAY RAPTURE?- Page 4

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:38am

I think she just got lucky with Megan Mullally's sudden departure of LIPS and a bunch of suscribers demanding a show, but this show screams Off Bway all the way.
Although i didn't hate it as much as Dolly, I think I somehow I agree with him. It was not my cup of tea for sure. It had a few great moments, but not enough to make me love the show or even make me like it a lot. It was just ok, and I'm being nice.

[Pianist3912]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:41am

I really did like the book writing for this show.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:43am

I saw the show tonight. I didn't realize it was the exact same thing as YOU MAY NOW WORSHIP ME from a couple years ago, just with a new title. It was funny, but I'm glad I only paid $10. It's a small show that doesn't feel like it belongs on Broadway. I enjoyed it much more as a one time benefit performance.

[maxximumvolume]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 3:11am

The biggest issue is that the theatre, only medium by Broadway standards, simply swallows up the show. Sherie is an incredible talent and she's written a very funny and amusing piece, but ultimately this is glorified cabaret and is not suited for a Broadway theatre. In fact, I'm not even sure how this would have worked at even a theatre as small as Second Stage. This really struck be as the type of piece where you need to be eating/drinking during it, sitting at a table. I'll use the word again, folks... cabaret. After 30-40 minutes I felt completely done with the show as I was tired of looking at one woman up on a very large stage. Do I think Sherie deserves the Tony like a lot of people have been saying now that Rapture made the cut off? No. Sherie's got great pipes and is pretty funny, but she's not actually acting or playing a character, and frankly I don't feel like she completely commanded the stage. On top of that, the work by the design team, while obviously just a quick transfer from Second Stage last year, comes off as very weak and rushed and cheap. If it had just been Sherie and a stool or a piano that would have been one thing, but they obviously tried for something more and it just didn't work.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 10:20am

This show isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea.

In this day and age in theatre with all the special effects we've been exposed to it is difficult for some people to be impressed by just good story telling and singing. No one flies in this show and the there are no elaborate costumes so it will be difficult for some people to feel like they are getting their monies worth.

I personally think it's one of the best things I have seen in a long time. I found it incredibly moving. It has a fantastic message about not waiting for happiness to find you but finding happiness everyday in the small moments. I think people that miss the point of this show and the story that she is telling are listening with their heads and not with their heart.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:35pm

Any opinions regarding the age-appropriateness of this show for a young teen girl? In other words, if it were a movie, would it be an R or a PG-13?

[SBwayG]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 1:07pm

This show will be perfectly fine for a young teen girl. If it were a movie it would be PG-13.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 3:35pm

"In this day and age in theatre with all the special effects we've been exposed to it is difficult for some people to be impressed by just good story telling and singing. No one flies in this show and the there are no elaborate costumes so it will be difficult for some people to feel like they are getting their monies worth."



I HATE this argument. Nobody's advocating for every single show to be a big-budget monstrosity with special effects, flying and elaborate costumes, and I hate it that when someone isn't a fan of a "small" show, people's kneejerk response always needs "Well, not everything's WICKED or HAIRSPRAY."



Like EVERYDAY RAPTURE, [title of show] was similarly an "off-Broadway" feeling show with a tiny cast, not a whole lot of weight/import, a lack of grand themes and done on an itty-bitty scale. While that may have prevented [tos] (and may prevent RAPTURE) from achieving large-scale financial success, that show resonated with me and enraptured me in a way this didn't.

They're both small, insular theatre pieces, but [title of show] had BIG consistent laughs, a modest, sincere emotional undercurrent that paid off in the end for me, characters I could care about, and it ultimately cohered as one piece, an inspiring rallying-cry to anyone with a passion for anything.

EVERYDAY RAPTURE was, for me, a moderately entertaining/fun display of narcissism, but with a schizophrenic, all-over-the-place "narrative" that never got funny or touching enough for me to get completely on board with (I mostly sat there smiling, but rarely laughed).

It's basically four or five strung-together, mildly-entertaining (and basically unrelated) anecdotes that all serve to just prove "Isn't Sherie Fabulous?"

That's obviously MORE than enough for a lot of people judging by the comments on here and aficionados of the show I've spoken to, but after hearing about its greatness for well over a year now, I couldn't help leaving with a vaguely-underwhelmed "that was it?" feeling.

It's not a bad show, per se, and it was pleasant enough to sit through, but I found it to basically be a big mess / mish-mash that people (including Brantley) have given a pass because they're blinded by their adoration of Sherie.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 3:36pm

There's going to be a generational divide on this show. We "of a certain age" dislike it, while the younger generation seems to be eating it up.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 3:39pm

I'm not at that 'certain age' yet, Dollypop, and I thought the show was a (somewhat entertaining) wreck.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 3:51pm

Ironically enough, I couldn't stand title of show. I found that to be more a self-indulgent piece of narcissism than Everyday Rapture.

To each their own.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 4:02pm

^ Couldn't agree more, adamgreer

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 4:04pm

To each their own indeed.

For the record, the self-indulgent and narcissistic nature of RAPTURE isn't what off-put me from it. If there was just as much as that, and it felt funnier and less slapdash, I'd have jumped on board in a second. Nothing inherently wrong with some narcissism at the theatre.

[mina3]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 4:07pm

Saw the show last night, from the $10 mezz seats. Couldn't tell how full the orch was, but the first few rows of the mezz definitely had a bunch of empty seats.

I had also seen it at Second Stage and thought it was fine - not the best thing ever, but entertaining and fun. Last night I found myself bored very early on, more so than usually happens when I see a show more than once. My companion really enjoyed it, though, so maybe it just doesn't hold up to repeat viewings or maybe I'm just more in the "meh" camp on this one. I guess I still don't see why so many people think it'll win multiple Tonys - a nom for Sherie, sure, but best musical? I'd be shocked. Not that that means it won't happen...

And I'm in my mid-20s, so I don't think my reaction can be attributed to a generational divide.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 4:54pm

"I HATE this argument. Nobody's advocating for every single show to be a big-budget monstrosity with special effects, flying and elaborate costumes, and I hate it that when someone isn't a fan of a "small" show, people's kneejerk response always needs "Well, not everything's WICKED or HAIRSPRAY." "

I really wasn't making an argument. I was just giving my opinion but thank you for your impassioned response.

You don't like the show...so what?

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 5:03pm

"In this day and age in theatre with all the special effects we've been exposed to it is difficult for some people to be impressed by just good story telling and singing. No one flies in this show and the there are no elaborate costumes so it will be difficult for some people to feel like they are getting their monies worth."


You're making the argument that this show is a prime example of good storytelling and singing, in a roundabout way, saying people who aren't satisfied with it are only not so because there's minimal "dazzle" factor (or, flying and elaborate costumes as you put it).

[maxximumvolume]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 8:54pm

Interestingly, I am definitely of the younger generation and I did not like it. On top of that, I loved {title of show} for many of the reasons that Miracle mentioned. I hate when someone's argument gets them so obviously shoehorned into one group when that simply may just not be the case.

Not everything is so cut and dry, people. Give me a break.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 10:20pm

Being of a certain "age", what does this "meh" mean?
Someone be kind and explain it to me.
I am a big Sherie fan but she is no Barbara Cook,
well, not yet.
And comparing when Bea Arthur did this and Elaine Stritch did that, is unfair to Them, those Women had interesting stories to tell, when Sherie's voice sounds like theirs, That will be a show!
I am wondering what the Roundabout subscribers are gonna feel about this.
And Sherie fans, calm down a bit, it makes us all look bad.

[bobert5353]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 1:34am

I saw the show last night and was very impressed. I really appreciated her story and I left the theater feeling good. It had its funny moments and it's emotional moments. I felt like the 4 leaf clover and cat story did not fit in the show however. Overall I really enjoyed myself and might consider going again in the future.

[kate2]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 1:54am

I just got home from seeing the show tonight (4/23). I saw it at Second Stage and loved it... saw it tonight and loved it even more! Even my boyfriend, who is not into theater, loved it! Sherie sounded fantastic and to me, filled the stage. I didn't think the theater was too big at all! From the $10 seats in the mezz, the theater looked full which made me happy. Overall, the book is still great and Sherie is phenomenal. Get this woman a Tony already!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 8:32am

Saw this on Tues night. Liked it, wasn't particularly invested in the show, however. I found Sherie to be in great form, but just kept wondering: why is her story worth telling?

***SPOILER***
That she 'bares' it all by admitting she had an abortion? She didn't seem to be affected by it, so therefore it's not that big of a deal to admit it. (I'm not saying abortion is not a big deal to some, but that in this reference it didn't appear to be.)
***End SPOILER***


I had a friend or two RAVE about this as life affirming...but I just left feeling like I got my money's worth. Of course, I got the tix on TDF. (Front row Mezz)

Updated On: 4/24/10 at 08:32 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 8:42am

>>>"why is her story worth telling?"<<<

That's exactly what I meant when I asked, "What's the point of this?"

The real "conflict" in many of the episodes was missing--especially in the abortion segment. Do you mean to tell me that a gal who was raised in a religious environment wouldn't have any misgivings about her actions here? The emotion isn't fully mined and is really glossed over.

Concerning the love song to Jesus: Is the slide show INTENDED to be funny, or is the audience just reacting that way? It seemed so uncomfortable to find an audience laughing at the image of Jesus crowned with thorns and bleeding. Regardless of what a person's religious views are, this is the image of a man being tortured and it's nothing to laugh about.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 11:07am

"You're making the argument that this show is a prime example of good storytelling and singing, in a roundabout way, saying people who aren't satisfied with it are only not so because there's minimal "dazzle" factor (or, flying and elaborate costumes as you put it)."

You know what...you're so right.
Updated On: 4/24/10 at 11:07 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 11:09am

Who is that last comment directed at? Certainly not me.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 11:15am

Not at all Dollypop. Good morning.

Updated On: 4/24/10 at 11:15 AM