WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN begins previews TONIGHT!- Page 20

[Jgssf]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 5:10am

I wish I could be in New York to see the show, but I cant, so I have to be satisfied reading everyones descriptions about what its like.
Can someone please tell me a little more about Justin's part and how he's doing? (i havent seen the movie) I saw him at Vassar when he was in the Good Vibrations workshop where there was a lot of singing and dancing and he was fantastic, and Ive seen him in concert where he put on a great show and his voice is beautiful, but this is his first time on broadway and I wonder what he is getting to do in the show, and how people are enjoying his performance.
Updated On: 10/15/10 at 05:10 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 8:43am

Jgssf--

I thought he did an excellent job, and more than held his own among some seasoned pros. His performance was nuanced and funny, in a role than is much less flashy than some of the others.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 9:07am

I will be attending this evening's performance. Will be sure to post my thoughts, probably in a new thread.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 11:58pm

I just got back! Karen Olivo was in attendance
Show ended at 10:30 on the dot. Was on the street by 10:32. So seems like it was REALLY tightened. There were only some minor unnoticeable tech issues.

I really enjoyed the show! I was shocked how zippy act 1 was. It ended by 9:10. It flew by. Act 2 is definitely too long. It could use some trimming. There was no "Lie to Me" reprise or "Shoes From Heaven." The last thing sung was a reprise of "My Crazy Heart" by Pepa's Concierge. The show ended with Pepa and Marisa on the terrace. It was a nice ending, but I think the audience would like to leave with a song. I think the company should sing "On The Verge" at curtain call or something.

I enjoyed the score quite a lot. I love Yazbek's two other scores. But I feel this score is not as accessible as the other two. It's a darker score, and really shows more of Yazbek's colors as a composer. This score has probably his best lyrics to date.

I had not seen the movie before, so I was basically unfamiliar with the work. I thought the book was good, but could definitely use some trimming in act 2. I think the dramatic arc was clear, and it was evident that this IS Pepa's story.

On to the performances. I thought Sherie was fantastic. She never once seemed once at sea. She was fully devoted to the character. She was sexy and quirky. I actually felt "Mother's Day" was one of Pepa's weaker songs. LuPone was hilarious. Sure her accent goes in and out, but this was such a perfect fit for her. Benanti was fantastic, but I don't think she "walks away with the show." I was shocked by how small Stoke's role was. It was a pretty thankless role, and I am shocked he took it. At times it was like we didn't even need Ivan as a character; we find out enough about him through the women. The rest of the cast were uniformly excellent. I did think Burstein's "Madrid" was a bit random.

The set was definitely busy, but I really liked it. I LOVED the opening image of Sherie on the rotating bed with the mirrors. I thought it was just a perfect image. There seemed to be some minor issues with the staircase and motorcycle. But they were hardly noticeable if you weren't looking.

A big shout out to Jim Abbott and his wonderful orchestra. They sounded GREAT. The orchestrations were also lovely. But at times the orchestra was overpowering the performers a bit.

Overall I was quite impressed. It will only get better and tighter from here. I very much felt like I saw a "finished product."

And for those wondering. We got rush at 6:00, and ended up with K 22 & 24. Not the best seats, but not completely awful. Definitely partial view.





Updated On: 10/16/10 at 11:58 PM

[adamgreer]

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

Just back from tonight's performance....overall, I enjoyed it! It's not a perfect, or even a great musical, but it was a good deal of fun. It's FAR from the trainwreck that some alarmists here on the board are claiming it is.

To start with, at no point tonight did Sherie Renee Scott appear "lost." She was sharp, funny, and sang great. She certainly had no trouble carrying the show. I thought she was wonderful, and continues to be one of the most unique, special talents working today.

LuPone was also delightful, though her accent (of course) was horrible. She was funny and really threw herself into the role. I had no problems with the changing wigs, as it was clear that one of them was her "disguise."

Benanti was very funny, though I hardly think she stole the show, like some suggested. Nevertheless, she was wonderful.

The score is probably Yazbeck's least accessible to the masses, though some of the numbers are really wonderful. However, a few numbers seem entirely random and out of place- both of Stokes' numbers (more on him later), the act 2 opener (wtf was that about?), and the act 1 finale, which was visually appealing, but lacked any kind of zip.

The book mostly works, though it doesn't quite resolve all of the plot points, and a few scenes begin to drag. Act 2 is more farcical than act 1, though it's act 2 that could use a bit of tightening. The show itself could still use a bit of tightening, though they've gotten the running time down to 2.5 hours- ljay and I were on the street at 10:32 tonight.

This is all not to say this is a perfect musical. It's not. It's a deeply flawed, though still enjoyable piece. As has been mentioned, Brian Stokes Mitchell's entire character was useless, and could easily be written out of the show. His songs were pointless (though he sounds wonderful) and added nothing to the show. The set was too busy, and all the movement was distracting at times. There were only two noticeable glitches tonight- with the staircase and the motorcycle (a stagehand had to come on and push Patti off). The considerable talents of Mary Beth Peil and Danny Burstein are both wasted (Burstein, in particular gets that awful number that opens act 2). I know they've been tinkering with the ending, and that's good, because it isn't quite there yet. It seems pretty anti-climactic.

It's far from a perfect show, and it's never going to be a "great" musical. However, the problems are definitely fixable. It's far from the lost cause people are proclaiming it to be.

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:21am

i'm glad you guys enjoyed it!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:21am

I strongly disagree with the thinking that The Microphone doesn't do anything for the story. It sets up Ivan's motivation and something for his son to either take up or reject as the story goes on.

It uses Mitchell's voice to seduce the audience and explain why all these women keep falling for him.

I just have to say my only investment in this is proving to dweebs like Kyle that his is not an opinion reflected unanimously. I think if they keep tightening, they'll have a sweet little show with heart about strong adult women.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:24am

I think if they keep tightening, they'll have a sweet little show with heart about strong adult women.

Amen!!

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:31am

the church of the EMPEROR's NEW CLOTHES!

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:44am

adamgreer and ljay889 - (maybe it's late and I'm tired or something) are you the same person?? Your reviews are almost verbatim in several paragraphs...
Anyway, glad you enjoyed the show.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:53am

No, we're not the same person, though we're friends and attended the show together this evening and had very similar thoughts. We've disagreed plenty of times, most recently about Marin Mazzie's performance as Diana Goodman.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 12:57am

OK.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 1:59am

Please! adamgreer and ljay889 are like WithoutATrace and WhizzerMarvinTrinaJasonMendel. The latter agrees/disagrees on EVERYTHING, likewise the former. No dissenting opinion in each camp.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 2:33am

Well as Adamgreer wrote: He absolutely hates Marin Mazzie in Next to Normal. I happen to think she's phenomenal. We don't ALWAYS agree.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 3:16am

SO HAPPY to hear such great things about the show! It sounds like it has come a long way since that first preview, and there's still quite a lot of time to fix things even further. I'll definitely be revisiting after opening.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 3:32am

Oh, please. I've seen both adamgreer and ljay & WAT and whizzer disagree on things on multiple occasions. Dumb.

Anyway, glad you both enjoyed it! Can't WAIT to get to this!

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 10:20am

is the bedraggled director still coming out and apologizimg for the show? nobody has mentioned this for a while...

oh... and is the lollipop still in the show?

please advise.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 10:35am

Didn't see Bart last night, though I spotted him going in the stage door when the show ended.

Yes, the lollipop is still in.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 11:19am

Kyle. Perhaps there's another crowd somewhere else interested in your torches and pitchforks?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 5:32pm

Whizzer and I violently disagreed on PASSING STRANGE and FELA!, just to name a few, but yes, we are best friends and see everything together.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 5:43pm

I saw the matinee today...also I apologize for any typos/grammatical errors as I'm on my Blackberry.

Anyway they seemed to have cut or tightened some things...even with a set glitch that halted the show for about 5 minutes (during which Laura Benanti came out and played charades with the audience while still in character...ridiculously funny) the show was still over by about 4:25 or 4:30. I don't think it's unqualified disaster as some were making it out to be, but it still needs work, mostly in the 2nd act. I loved the opening image with Pepa on the rotating bed, I thought it was a fantastic visual. For the most part, though, I felt that nearly everyone was underused. Danny Burstein and Brian Stokes Mitchell in particular had severely underwritten roles...Stokes sounded wonderful though. I was really impressed with Justin Guarini, he sang really well and gave a very good performance with not much material. Laura and Patti stood out the most to me, and Laura's song in act one was definitely the highlight of the show, she's absolutely hysterical and seems to be having a lot of fun. I loved the score, I'm a big fan of Yazbek's other work (particularly Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and I thought he wrote some excellent music, though some of it seemed out of place. Hopefully they'll keep tightening and working on things, I think there's a really good, fun show in there somewhere. I had a great time today and I'm looking forward to going back after they open to see what they've done with it.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 8:13pm

Glad to hear people are warming up to it!

Also, how does one get to the stage door? I've never seen a show at the Belasco so I wouldnt know...

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 8:40pm

You can't get to the stage door proper, it's behind a locked gate. The stage door is essentially the big black gates to the left of the lobby.

[rgdave]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 10:41pm

Saw the Web 10/13 matinee. Much more fun that I expected. LOVED the set. I don't think it's busy. I think it's one of the most creative sets I've seen on Broadway in years. I think they should bring out the stage hands who pull this off for a curtain call. The set is incredibly complex, and it's mesmerizing to watch the puzzle pieces come together.

The book and music have been trashed to death on this blog. It isn't a disaster. It just isn't, well, zippy. Given the talent on stage, they're missing an opportunity by not giving the women in particular more belt out ballads.

I sat in the first row of the balcony. Great seat. I also saw Patti Lupone from a first row balcony seat. She plays to the whole house, including the balcony. At a number of points she's singing straight at that balcony. It's something I really appreciate, and is a sign of a real trooper ... playing to the 'cheap seats' just like the expensive ones. The rest of the cast doesn't quite do it ... they're playing to mid orchestra and front mezz. So kudos to Patti for keeping her fans in the rafters in mind.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 10:57pm

I was most grateful for the lack of belting.