Just saw this on Thursday and I will agree it doesn't compare to Bat Out of Hell at all. If you've ever seen people try to write a story as a joke where they shove in as many pop song lyrics as possible, this is basically what it is for 2.5 hours (it looks like they trimmed some songs off from the Wikipedia plot). Before this, I would've thought that to be enjoyable, but it just plodded along so heavily and the set gave you nothing interesting to look at. I will say that the performers were fantastic (especially the guy who plays Galileo) and this show is definitely just one to go to only for the music, but even some of the arrangements seemed to suck the life out of the songs.
AntV said: "Anyone see this here in NY? I'm thinking of skipping it based on reviews here and online. I loved Bat out of Hell but this looks like it doesn't compare at all. Is the running time 2:45?"
I saw this last night and I thought it actually WAS Bat Out of Hell just with Queen music. Honestly, it's almost exactly the same "story" as it were (although possibly slightly more coherent.) The lead actually has an amazing voice, and the production is actually fairly high although most of the staging was done with video screens.
I saw it a couple of months ago. Trevor Coll (Galileo) and Kerri Kelly (Scaramouche) are beyond fantastic - definitely two names to watch out for. The show is kind of a dud, but it is fun. See it if you can. The vocals are worth the price of admission alone.
I still am a fan of the original production but so sad that THIS is the production that is making it's way to NYC. The show actually did and can work but it does need to be tarted up a bit. This production is just too cheep for this show. The lady they have on the base guitar is amazing and the cast is doing what they can but christ on a bike I felt like I had to give my friends their money back after seeing taking them to see this.
Oh, God, I saw this piece of garbage over the weekend and it is truly, truly one of the worst things I have seen in my life. This makes Bat Out of Hell look like a masterpiece of modern musical theatre. All I kept thinking through the whole thing is “someone actually wrote this” and “someone thought it was a good idea to produce this.” I mean, I guess it ran for twelve years in London or something, so I don’t get it, at all.
The plot is practically incoherent. A junior high school kid with a crayon and a spare half hour could have strung these Queen songs together much more cohesively than the totally bonkers nonsense they settled on here. Not one single character to care about.
The set is non-existent, the costumes are garish and the acting is all over the place.
I guess the only reason anyone comes to this is to hear the songs, and hear them you will. Allllllll of them. The night I was there, this dragged on for nearly three hours.
I guess since this was at the Hulu Theatre, I should not have been surprised with the audience behavior. Tons of people wandering in more than a half hour late. Tons of people getting up and wandering in and out during the show, shoving hot dogs and popcorn and churros down their throats. Talking, texting, recording the performance in full view of ushers, singing along, it was the trashiest crowd ever. Thankfully, I didn’t care because the show sucked so much.
Matt Rogers said: "Oh, God, I saw this piece of garbage over the weekend and it is truly, truly one of the worst things I have seen in my life. This makes Bat Out of Hell look like a masterpiece of modern musical theatre. All I kept thinking through the whole thing is “someone actually wrote this” and “someone thought it was a good idea to produce this.” I mean, I guess it ran for twelve years in London or something, so I don’t get it, at all.
The plot is practically incoherent. A junior high school kid with a crayon and a spare half hour could have strung these Queen songs together much more cohesively than the totally bonkers nonsense they settled on here. Not one single character to care about.
The set is non-existent, the costumes are garish and the acting is all over the place.
I guess the only reason anyone comes to this is to hear the songs, and hear them you will. Allllllll of them. The night I was there, this dragged on for nearly three hours.
I guess since this was at the Hulu Theatre, I should not have been surprised with the audience behavior. Tons of people wandering in more than a half hour late. Tons of people getting up and wandering in and out during the show, shoving hot dogs and popcorn and churros down their throats. Talking, texting, recording the performance in full view of ushers, singing along, it was the trashiest crowd ever. Thankfully, I didn’t care because the show sucked so much.
A God awful production of a God awful show."
Great review, Matt. I saw this mess a couple of weeks ago. The only good thing was my audience was more well behaved than yours.
SouthernCakes said: "Kind of crazy this ran for 12 years yet never made it to Broadway."
Is it crazy that it never made it to Broadway despite running for that long, or is it crazy that it was so bad yet it managed to run for 12 years? I say the latter. I'm guessing the Brits like musicals with painfully stupid books or they have a higher tolerance for bad shows.
When I complained to Royal Caribbean about putting it on their NJ ship, I pointed out that there was a reason it had never made it to Broadway.
yeah, I saw this for free on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship a few years ago. It was one of the worst shows I've ever seen. Truly a terrible piece of theater. There's no way I'm paying any amount of money to see this.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
I wanted to see this but I cringed so hard at the online clips. It seems like I dodged a bullet. I definitely ran the other direction when you guys said "non-equity".
As a massive Queen fan, I actually saw and liked the original Toronto production. It was fun and I liked all the peppered-in Queen references and of course hearing all the songs performed live for the first time in my life. I disliked when they changed lyrics though.
Always regretted not catching it before it closed in London when I worked there. I have a coworker who saw it 10 times there, lol.
Yeah... the story is not wonderful, so you need the spectacle, the camp, the whole kit and caboodle. This can't suffer a poor man's production. Even then it won't be everybody's cup of tea. (Obviously if you don't like Queen you need not apply. Classic rock IS my favorite genre of music and I love musical theater... so it works for me.)
I hope for another West End caliber production with real production values.
I saw the Royal Caribbean production a few months ago and really enjoyed it! I’m not even particularly a Queen fan. The show was under two hours and the extremely committed cast made the book work (as with most jukebox musicals).
I decided to skip this in hopes that it ends up in a smaller Off Broadway theater, perhaps New World Stages, although I will not hold my breath. It came down to deciding between this and "Evita" at City Center, and I chose the later, even though I've seen two other productions of "Evita". I saw "A Christmas Story" at MSG six years ago and decided I would never venture there again unless it was closer than where I sat. Fortunately, I had seen "A Christmas Story" when it was on Broadway so being a re-visit, I wasn't all that upset by the distance, but for an introduction to a new show, I'd prefer to be closer. I actually enjoyed "Bat Out of Hell" at City Center (front row mezzanine seats which were perfect), but just don't want to see finger sized people from seats practically a block away from the stage.
