WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN begins previews TONIGHT!- Page 32

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 9:44pm

Ljay, thank you for disagreeing in a classy way, and also for being such a classy troll exterminator. : )

bk, it's interesting you say that. I've heard stories of how super major changes were made consistently in musicals during previews, and how even promising ones would put in new songs overnight (one that comes to mind is "The Company Way" in HOW TO SUCCEED...)

I wonder why this has become such a less common practice - more expensive, perhaps? Or are writers just more confident in their work (one could even say they're more smug about their work these days).

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 9:46pm

Kyle4, since joining this board, you have posted in exactly one thread: this one.

If you're such a fan of the theater (and not here specifically to bash a show), why don't you join some of the other discussions?

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 9:56pm

i already commented on this...

i have always read these boards, but was NEVER moved to write or join... i was SO horrified by this show that i was MOVED to write...

instantly... because i really did not like the show.... i was reviled, defiled and denounced by many.... that is cool...

had my (in this case) negative opinion been "heard"... i would have branched out and shared my thoughts on other shows and other forums... i do NOT like the tone and behavior of the people on these boards... but, i made a promise to myself to see this THREAD through until WOTV opens and then CLOSES....

it has become somewhat of a sport.... yet, EVERYTHING i say i heartily believe and will, ultimately, reveal itself to be accurate!!!

thanks for asking!!!!

Updated On: 10/27/10 at 09:56 PM

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:02pm

i have always read these boards, but was NEVER moved to write or join... i was SO horrified by this show that i was MOVED to write...
i made a promise to myself to see this THREAD through until WOTV opens and then CLOSES

Seriously, give him a Tony. Quite the performance. Did Miller write your soliloquy?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:05pm

i was SO horrified by this show that i was MOVED to write...

What an unfulfilled life you must lead if this is the sort of thing that moves you!

had my (in this case) negative opinion been "heard"

Oh, I think it's been heard. Why do you assume that just because not everyone agrees with you, your opinion hasn't been heard?

but, i made a promise to myself to see this THREAD through until WOTV opens and then CLOSES....

Really? I think you need a hobby, or need to get out more.

[bk]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:14pm

Re changes today vs. the older days: Yes, I do think there is a certain smugness as shows come out of workshop - in fact, I find what the workshop process has devolved into specious and very bad for theater. I'm sure most here are too young to even remember the not so long ago "can't miss" buzz that accompanied two workshops that came out of Livent - the best buzz I've EVER heard for any new musicals. The shows? Seussical and Sweet Smell of Success. But when both those shows opened out of town, the creators found the buzz did not carry over to real audiences, who were having none of either show. Then panic set in and changes began.

But since then it's even worse with workshops - creators get clapped on the back by their friends and family and pros who want to be positive, and they come out feeling cocky (NOT saying this is the case with Women On The Verge) and don't necessarily do the work that should and could easily be done before beginning rehearsals, or even during rehearsals (which these days are longer than most of the classic shows ever had - I mean, Leap of Faith has been in workshops for EIGHT years - and what one saw would makes that fact a little curious and even a little shocking - and that show had SIX weeks of rehearsal and a longer preview period than the actual run).

The other thing that's happened with making HUGE changes is that the show are now somewhat slaves to technology, which never used to be the case. Now, everything is on a computer and it's very complex to make wholesale changes - in the old days, they didn't care what it took or what had to be redone - they did what was necessary to FIX THE SHOW. Sugar went through humungous changes right up to its debut in New York - not the greatest show ever written but what opened managed to turn a profit and run 500+ performances - during the tryout the sets were completely redone, songs came and went with shocking regularity, characters changed, actors were replaced - and on and on. Hello, Dolly was not in good shape out of town - Bob Merrill came in and wrote two numbers, Strouse and Adams were called in and wrote a number called Before The Parade Passes By - it never made the show, but Jerry Herman, truly under the gun and under siege, used the title and wrote his great act one closer.

Moving the opening number of act two and making it the opening number of act one is not, to me, a huge change. It may work splendidly, but a huge change would have been an entirely new number. Huge changes would be entire new scenes and songs. And lest anyone comes up with "they're under the gun and moving as fast as they can) I remind only that most of the legendary changes for classic musicals happened under the gun - Send In The Clowns happened under the gun. I'll Never Fall In Love Again, was not in Promises, Promises until late in the tryout period.

Again, I'm speaking in general terms because I don't know what they're doing with this particular show, having not seen it - it may well be they are doing exactly what needs to be done - or not - depending on which obsessive fan or non-fan camp you fall into.

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:14pm

i LOVE my life.... and my best friend's last name is MILLER!!!!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:15pm

And they still haven't used my suggestion of using "Tangled" as the Act 2 opener?

Sheesh.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:18pm

That might work...
but i still love the beginning of Act 2 before (what was) Madrid with the women dangling. and the lollipop. love.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:29pm

thanks for the insight, bk. I guess it's easy to forget that it's industry professionals, who are all close-knit and friendly, that watch, comment on, and develop new musicals in the workshop process, and when all a show has is the workshop process, it's easy to brush over the fact that an audience is still incredibly important.

It's pretty mind-blowing that LEAP OF FAITH has had so much prep time and still isn't/wasn't perfect.

I guess what WOMEN ON THE VERGE is allowing us to realize though, even in this information age, where boards like this can build negative word so quickly, an out-of-town tryout can't, and doesn't hurt. Pitfalls like shows being slave to their technology (like this one is) are given time between productions to come up with changes like new numbers, etc - similar to what SHREK went through, and although that show wasn't perfect, it certainly wasn't terrible and probably far stronger than it was out-of-town.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:32pm

Yankee, that's a great idea, but they'd have to move the "big reveal" with De'Adre Aziza earlier. Plus, that number really does work where it is.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 11:12pm

this is still running?

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 11:21pm

its a WORK IN PROGRESS!!!!!!!!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 11:24pm

oh is that what they're calling it now?

work in progress my fat puerto rican @ss!

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 11:40pm

thats what they call it on here!

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 7:05am

What does everyone think of De'adre Aziza?

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 8:06am

I thought De'adre Aziza was awful. Her singing and acting both. I couldn't believe it when I saw that she was Sherie Rene Scott's understudy. Really? Ugh, can't imagine that.

So when are the critics seeing this show? I've seen posts saying that it would be this Saturday and posts saying that it would be this Sunday. Is it either? I always thought they saw the show on opening night.

After seeing this show, I've really scaled back on my theatergoing. It's a shame, but I felt that I wasted my hard-earned money, time, energy, etc. on this utter mess. The same thing happened to me after I saw the play "Is He Dead?" with Norbert Leo Butz. It was so bad that I vowed I'd never see another play after that. I did go back to seeing plays, but very cautiously. "Is He Dead" has even become a verb in my house (as in "I hope the show doesn't Is He Dead me again." Well, what "Is He Dead?" did for me with plays is what "Women on the Verge" has done for me with musicals. I will tread lightly next time before buying tickets to any musical.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 9:25am

"What does everyone think of De'adre Aziza?"

I thought she was terrific.

[newintown]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 10:24am

After seeing this yesterday, I'm in a real funk and will only say that I'm deeply disappointed. A real missed opportunity here. I wish them well, and of course the Times may be nice (they've been nice to other messes before), but my heart was in my shoes by final curtain.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 11:43am

I thought Aziza was fine.

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 12:16pm

http://www.broadway.com/shows/women-verge-nervous-breakdown/photos/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown-show-photos/156902/show-photos-women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown-brian-stokes-mitchell
SOME PHOTOS

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 12:17pm

I thought De'adre Aziza was awful. Her singing and acting both.

That's a bit harsh. She basically sings one solo line about an ice cream truck lol. How is that enough to call it awful?
Updated On: 10/28/10 at 12:17 PM

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 12:22pm

She sang a little more than just one solo line. And I didn't like her singing voice -- it sounded very weak to me. I don't need her to sing a full song to be able to have an opinion about her voice. And I thought it was awful. Her acting was really poor as well. Sorry, didn't like it.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 12:31pm

Just adding my kudos to bk's post.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 12:34pm

I'm pretty sure it was a solo line in "My Crazy Heart" which is now cut. And that solo line in "Tangled."

I'm almost positive that's all Aziza had/has to sing solo wise.
Updated On: 10/28/10 at 12:34 PM