Bjivie2,
Did you see his Little Night Music or Yankee Doodle Dandy? They were awful.
He's a rambling, overpaid (you don't even want to know what he gets paid) ass clown. I know I don't come off very well calling him that but...I really don't care. The 5th Avenue theatre puts on some of the worst "professional" theatre I have ever seen. Their productions of Forum and Wizard of Oz were laughable.
And again, that Yankee Doodle Dandy was a big ego trip. I believe I left 45 minutes into the show (a first for me. I have walked at intermission, but never in the middle of the first Act. and believe me, it takes a lot for me to do that), when I realized the show would be about 4 hours of Armstrong trying to credit GEorge M Cohan with the invention of musical theatre, which, is not even factual or accurate in any way.
The 5th's big problem? THey don't know how to design sound, and everyone looks like they are lip-synking or your ears ar ringing cause the sound is too high (ala Rocky Horror)
Armstrong also made a promise to do 1 Sondheim show per season, and well, that hasn't really happened. I think he realized how unsophisticated Seattle audiences are (sit in the audience of the 5th or Paramount and just listen, you'll see I'm right)
I hate 5th Avenue's space too. It's an old movie house, too narrow to see past row 10.
I just think they do terrible shows there, just my opinion. I cannot stand the "talent" from Seattle he constantly casts (won't name names but the same old people with the mediocre voices), and now I only go to the touring shows there. Loved Hairspray and the tour, intrigued about Princesses, excited about Wedding Singer. Odd that the touring shows are able to fix the sound problem. I would hardly credit Armstrong with the success of Hairspray, as basically, he provided the space, not much more. He has no artistic imput.
Armstrong's Rocky Horror was alright, but I couldn't hear a freaking thing because of the sound. Oh, and he said he wasn't going to use anyting from Ashley's production and copied, oh, a lot of it. I believe I once heard him say before a show that Fidller on the Roof and Flower Drum Song are basically the same show.
But hey, if you like it, then great, glad someone does. But I stay away from anything local in Seattle, as it has a strong smelll of very good community theatre (Village Theatre, hello!)
The last stellar thing in Seattle was Piazza, and how long ago was that, almost two years?
And also to clarify. Sweeney and Pippn aren't COMING to the 5th, they are being produced by the 5th. And despite what some clown wrote somewhere else on this board, this Sweeney has no relation to the Broadway production. And I believe for the press release, Armstrong is directing Sweeney.
Updated On: 4/29/05 at 09:58 AM
