Welcome A CATERED AFFAIR — Page 2

Those of you who found it dismal and unpleasant, did you go in expecting a musical comedy? Because though there are some really funny moments, it's a drama.

And, therefore, I think it would be more appropriate if that distinction was made---was it truly bad in your opinion or was it just not your cup of tea?

If you truly didn't like it and you do enjoy musical dramas, then I guess it will be another show that people love or hate.

Otherwise, maybe the rewrites were a success. But it did win a bunch of awards in Cali, so I'm guessing it wasn't horrible at all.

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From what I have heard - no rush but balcony seats will be priced at $30. I am going to check at the box office in about an hour and see what they say. I'll let you know.

jrb_actor:
I didn't go into A Catered Affair expecting a musical comedy. I expected a musical drama along the lines of The Light in the Piazza (which I liked) or Grey Gardens (which I loved). What I received was neither comedy or drama just a feeling of being exasperated.

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tgrabon, that's fair. Thank you.

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Yep, no rush as of now. Balcony was something around $30 dollars. I was told to check in next week, they should know for sure by then.

Well that certainly wasn't the sentiment of most of the Cali critics, awards, or the audience at last night's dress.

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larry is entitled to his opinion ! However, so far, he is clearly in the minority, so we'll have to wait and see ! I'm really excited about the show and I'm seeing it on April 12 !!!

Yes, but all it matters, more than critics and awards, is what the audience thinks and what is the word of mouth ! Shows with awards and praise closed early, because people didn't warm up to them and shows that only the audience loved ran for years !

I saw the show in San Diego and didn't think it was a success but I saw a lot to like- all the performances (especially Faith Prince and Leslie Kritser) were very good. The sets, lighting and direction were fantastic as well. My biggest complaints were the book- which had some inconsistencies, and the score which was very functional and not catchy or interesting. I really love John Bucchino's cabaret songs but he seems to be at loss when writing show songs- his songs are functional, they move the action along and they express thoughts (as musical theatre songs should) but they are very boring.

I hope that the score has been greatly revised since San Diego. I do think, however, that Brantley will give Catered Affair a positive review- he seems to love John Doyle's direction- and John Doyle's direction of this show is superb- stripped of the gimmickry of actors playing instruments, he directs the show like it's a Pinter play and the silences work beautifully.

If the score will be greatly revised before opening on Broadway then any remaining book problems should not glare as much and the show can become a hit. As I mentioned- the performances are uniformly wonderful - and Faith Prince should count on getting another Tony nomination.

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Who orchestrated it out of town?

IF anybody can save a score, it's Jonathan Tunick. Good orchestrations can take a mediocre score and turn it into gold (Young Frankenstein's orchestrations are a good example of a mediocre score that sounds a lot better due to the orchestrations). I'm happy to hear that they are re-orchestrating the show.

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Did you find Faith Prince as brilliant as others are claiming?

Uh oh...

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