What is happening lately?- Page 2

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 7:27am

GreasedLightning said: "I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught that George Takei comment. 

My jaw dropped. I thought I was dreaming. "

Same here! I can't believe somebody felt the need to post that.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 7:54am

I agree - I am finding less real information on this board (or even good discussion/disagreement) and more mundane posts. It does feel like people post for the sake of posting, not providing real insight, or asking questions which would.  

 

PS - Although, I was surprised to see the Takei comment - it did come from a knowledgeable long time poster  

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 8:21am

I agree, ljay.

[10086sunset]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 8:37am

My biggest issue is the complete lack of moderation on these boards. After Murin-Gate and the adding the report to moderators feature, it has made no difference.  Has anyone reported a post or a thread and heard back from anyone? Say something about Patti Murin and your post disappears in the middle of the night. See another member post something horrible, report it and watch as nothing happens.

 

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 08:37 AM

[devonian.t]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 8:42am

The board certainly doesn't have as many highlights as it once did.  Maybe it's a generational thing.

In rehearsal these days, I find that the "old school" references, values and knowledge are disappearing.  Even though they were just names on screens, there are quite a few people I miss here.

Like they said in 'The Rink'- "whatever happened to the old days?"

 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 9:02am

I feel like a big difference between 8-10 years and now is that outside of a few big shows there is little discussion (thoughtful or otherwise) about new Broadway shows and next to nothing about off-Broadway offerings. I remember that within the first 3-4 previews of a new show there would be 20 or more responses in the preview thread and the discussion, although more snarky and heated, was at least interesting and informative. 

Of course there are still people who do offer up interesting analyses of shows, but the now an interesting post won't translate into discussion/debate. I love reading henrik's thoughts, and he offered up something particularly interesting a while back; I watched the thread plummet down the page and thought, "This board is done!"

I don't begrudge someone starting a thread asking about good restaurants around CSC or the Vineyard. Maybe someone's from out of town and are can be a fast and reliable resource for questions like that. But, and it's a big but, where are the threads discussing the actual productions at these theaters? (I know Kid Victory generated some talk, but many non-musicals at the Vineyard barely get a mention around here these days.)

 

[elephantseye]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 9:07am

I've only just joined the board as a member, but I've been lurking for quite some time now. While I'm wary of "things just aren't like they used to be" reminiscences, I do admit that the dozens of show recommendation threads can grate.

 

It may help to clear up the board a little to make one recommendations thread, where anyone needing a recommendation, or who has a question about age appropriateness, or something like that could post instead of creating an entire new thread. Most of those threads only get (and definitely only need) one or two comments; if all of those comments went into a designated thread, it would clear up the board a bit.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 9:51am

The problem with that idea, of course, is that people now join the board and make a thread immediately, or multiple threads, without even reading down the first page.

[Dave13]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 9:53am

One of the reasons why I started coming on to the board as others have mentioned was to get the latest information on up and coming shows.  Reading this board has allowed me to see shows like Hamilton or Dear Evan Hansen before anyone heard of them. I come to NYC about twice a year and it is great to focus on the better shows and not have to risk watching an unknown show.  

 

With that said, new sites like Show Score gives me quick information on new shows.  However, I think this site can and still be great as many post engaging reviews good or bad that allow me to decide if it is something I want to see.  

 

What I also miss is when I first started coming on is it felt like we had many insiders that work in the industry providing great information. I often wondered if some of the posters were actual big names in the industry. Lately, it seems the insiders have left, leaving mostly casual fans to take over the boards. 

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 09:53 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 9:54am

WhizzerMarvin said: "I feel like a big difference between 8-10 years and now is that outside of a few big shows there is little discussion (thoughtful or otherwise) about new Broadway shows and next to nothing about off-Broadway offerings. I remember that within the first 3-4 previews of a new show there would be 20 or more responses in the preview thread and the discussion."

I've noticed this as well!! Not much happens in the previews threads now. Its not the same anymore. First preview posts used to be something to look forward to, now the responses are minimal. Like someone else said, maybe message boards are a dying breed now? 

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 09:54 AM

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:02am

WhizzerMarvin said: "I remember that within the first 3-4 previews of a new show there would be 20 or more responses in the preview thread and the discussion, although more snarky and heated, was at least interesting and informative."

If the current board is "less snarky", I'm quite happy to have missed the glory days. Although relatively new to this particular board, I've participated in numerous online forums over the past 20 years (for topics ranging from exotic cars to theme park ride design and various stops in between). There are some very nice people here, but there are also (and this is not directed at WhizzerMarvin) more nasty, condescending, smart-@ss posters than I've encountered anywhere else.

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 10:02 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:12am

Funny thing is, I feel like we have this same discussion every 2-3 years.  Yeah, the Patti Murin thing shook things up around here, but there have always been good times and slow times.  I do think we don't have as many musical theatre academics and historians around that would occasionally pontificate on topics educational or nostalgic, but with the good comes the bad and a few of them also proved to be the bad apples longing to spoil the barrel.  Honestly, I don't think Hamilton has anything to do with it.  As with any popular new show, there will be a wave of fans and followers that will generate a lot of the same discussions on the one show and lots of superficial topics and immature responses and once the show hits the mainstream, something new comes along and then it's trendy to reject it and we start over with the hot new Broadway product all over again.  Those of us who were around when Wicked premiered know that Hamilton was practically a walk in the park by comparison.  And while Hamilton may have broken through to popular culture, it's not this site's sole source of change.  Other shows have done similarly (like the aforementioned Wicked) and the site itself has grown and changed to a massive degree since the days when you really had to be something of a hardcore Broadway fan to even know of its existence.

The good old days also contained several bad old eggs, some of which are unfortunately still around either under their original name or creating a new name every few weeks in order to...what?  I've never understood that mentality.  And believe me, there were far more people years ago that really enjoyed the anonymity of the board to the point of unbelievable cruelty.  Some real psychopathic and sociopathic behavior.  Far worse than what we see from the political antagonists now.

This place has always undergone shifts in social dynamic and evolution of discussion topics.  I think what I miss most is what Whizzer pointed out in the fact that fewer productions are being discussed or the discussion die quickly.  I recently commented on Gloria from seeing a Chicago production and noted how odd I found it that so little was said about the show on this site.  Hopefully, we'll get more people who attend other productions or at least, more people willing to post something about them.

It may help to clear up the board a little to make one recommendations thread, where anyone needing a recommendation, or who has a question about age appropriateness, or something like that could post instead of creating an entire new thread. 

The problem is, if it's not commented on consistently every day, the thread drops off the main page and people either forget about it or don't bother to search for it and start the new threads all over again.  It probably wouldn't last more than a week. 

I do think for those asking about rushes and lotteries, just point them to this page and leave it alone.  I think the site would benefit greatly if a direct link to that page were listed in the "Sections" menu or somehow more prominently.  There's really no clear indication from the menus that the information is contained in the site at all.  And the home page has become so overstuffed with categories, headlines and photos, I never look at it.  I wish it were more streamlined and consolidated with fewer headlines and photos per category.

[curel1]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:12am

Lot666 said: "WhizzerMarvin said: "I remember that within the first 3-4 previews of a new show there would be 20 or more responses in the preview thread and the discussion, although more snarky and heated, was at least interesting and informative."

If the current board is "less snarky", I'm quite happy to have missed the glory days. Although relatively new to this particular board, I've participated in numerous online forums over the past 20 years (for topics ranging from exotic cars to theme park rides and various stops in between). There are some very nice people here, but there are also (and this is not directed at WhizzerMarvin) more nasty, condescending, smart-@ss posters than I've encountered anywhere else.

 

"

Agreed! This board can get hostile now so I can only imagine how bad it was in the past 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:13am

ljay889 said: "WhizzerMarvin said: "I feel like a big difference between 8-10 years and now is that outside of a few big shows there is little discussion (thoughtful or otherwise) about new Broadway shows and next to nothing about off-Broadway offerings. I remember that within the first 3-4 previews of a new show there would be 20 or more responses in the preview thread and the discussion."

It's been the same way at All That Chat, too. Although that place is a little more authoritarian.

The excitement around a preview seems to be more muted around here than it used to be. Do we blame paranoia post-Murin?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:15am

I think high ticket prices have definitely done damage to casual theatergoing. I'm not even comparing prices from the 60's/70's to today, but just from a decade ago. I remember the last two rows at the Jude Law Hamlet in 2009 were only $25 for all performances. No hoops to jump through, lines to wait in, apps or discount codes to use- $25 was the market price. I know there are issues with scalpers and bots buying up tickets nowadays, but theatergoing as a hobby was much more accessible as opposed to what now definitely feels like solely a luxury activity. Look at the rush and standing room policies for War Paint, $40 and $50 respectively. Yes $50 to stand through a show! One that's not selling well, may I add.

Yes, yes I know some will say that theater is not a given right and we are not entitled to cheap tickets. I'm merely offering up these observations as reasons why activity and discussion is down on this site.  

 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:29am

WhizzerMarvin said: "I feel like a big difference between 8-10 years and now is that outside of a few big shows there is little discussion (thoughtful or otherwise) about new Broadway shows and next to nothing about off-Broadway offerings. I remember that within the first 3-4 previews of a new show there would be 20 or more responses in the preview thread and the discussion, although more snarky and heated, was at least interesting and informative. 

Of course there are still people who do offer up interesting analyses of shows, but the now an interesting post won't translate into discussion/debate. I love reading henrik's thoughts, and he offered up something particularly interesting a while back; I watched the thread plummet down the page and thought, "This board is done!"

I don't begrudge someone starting a thread asking about good restaurants around CSC or the Vineyard. Maybe someone's from out of town and are can be a fast and reliable resource for questions like that. But, and it's a big but, where are the threads discussing the actual productions at these theaters? (I know Kid Victory generated some talk, but many non-musicals at the Vineyard barely get a mention around here these days.)

 

 

"

I agree with this.  I learned about a lot of off-Broadway theater companies from this board.  While I don't end up seeing so many of those shows, I do keep these groups in my mind if I do decide to see some. But, the buzz here for many lately has been lacking. Like I remember starting a thread on Irish Repertory Theatre's production on Finian's Rainbow and being surprised to be the first to start it. 

I've also noticed little discussion on annual things like Shakespeare in the Park. The shows have been announced,  but it feels the last buzzy discussion was about Into the Woods in 2012. I get Shakespeare isn't for everyone,  but I know people were going to these productions. 

I also end up not adding too much to show discussion threads either because I usually am the last to see a lot of things, so I feel weird bringing back threads to discuss things people probably don't care about anymore. Or my opinions will be similar to those earlier comments. 

I'll also add myself to the more busy list. I've been working for a company I absolutely love for the past couple of years. With no Internet access there,  plus not carrying my phone around with me because I know I'll be too tempted, I don't get on here as much anymore.  

I do think most threads here are welcome.  I don't want to censor people from what they want to post. Obviously there are things that should not be discussed. I have no answers though for how to separate some of this though.  I'm talking about preview or show threads turning into stage door discussions mostly. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:37am

Mister Matt said: "...once the show hits the mainstream, something new comes along and then it's trendy to reject it and we start over with the hot new Broadway product all over again."

Precisely. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Hamilton-Hate will be all the rage across America (is anyone here old enough to remember Steve Dahl?). Virtually everything that takes popular culture by storm is doomed to eventually becomes loathsome and contemptible.

Mister Matt said: "...there were far more people years ago that really enjoyed the anonymity of the board to the point of unbelievable cruelty."

And some of them, or at least their progeny, are apparently here today. What causes such behavior, this compulsion for meanness and intolerance of different perspectives? Is it just because they feel safe behind their screens?

Mister Matt said: "There's really no clear indication from the menus that the information is contained in the site at all.  And the home page has become so overstuffed with categories, headlines and photos, I never look at it.  I wish it were more streamlined and consolidated with fewer headlines and photos per category."

Indeed, BWW.com is, unfortunately, one of the most poorly designed and maintained sites of its kind. It's messy, the coding is decidedly less than optimal, and the mobile version is particularly tedious to use.

MisterMatt, thank you for an intelligent, insightful, and respectful post.

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 10:37 AM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 10:42am

WhizzerMarvin said: "But, and it's a big but, where are the threads discussing the actual productions at these theaters? (I know Kid Victory generated some talk, but many non-musicals at the Vineyard barely get a mention around here these days.)

At least personally I feel a bit awkward tearing into a show like Kid Victory or The View Upstairs that didn't offend or upset me but was just perhaps not as good as it could have been. 

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:12am

What causes such behavior, this compulsion for meanness and intolerance of different perspectives? Is it just because they feel safe behind their screens?

It's MGS...Mean Girl Syndrome.  The sociopathic compulsion to abuse others in order to feel and appear superior within a social hierarchy.  

[PianoMann]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:18am

Marianne2 said: " I also end up not adding too much to show discussion threads either because I usually am the last to see a lot of things, so I feel weird bringing back threads to discuss things people probably don't care about anymore. Or my opinions will be similar to those earlier comments."

This is exactly why I don't post more frequently, unfortunately! Although reviews might have decreased in recent years, I think the previews threads of shows still contain the most excitement as BWW readers are anxious to hear about a show from posters who saw it, and read how it's changing over time. Whenever I go to a preview performance, I'm sure to post about it because I know there's an appetite, i.e. the Shuffle Along previews thread had fantastic conversation about the overstuffed book, what changes would most improve the show, and a running catalog of the changes made in each performance Conversely, I saw Jitney on Wednesday but didn't bother to share my thoughts because a) most on the board has already seen it and b) my opinion didn't differ much from what everyone else had already contributed.

I think Tony season will be an exciting time this year, though, with some many categories so intensely competitive. That'll be a time when everyone who has seen a show can contribute a (moderately) unique perspective as we debate who will be nominated and who will win based on the merits of the performance, buzz, etc.

[deltatee]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:32am

I agree with a lot of what has been said.  I have been surprised how threads that actually discuss shows die relatively quickly or don't really take off at all.  I think part of it has to do with message boards being harder to follow on mobile devices.  Personally, I don't find myself sitting around with a laptop on my lap as frequently as I did 10 years ago.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:35am

Speaking purely for myself, I think some topics are absolute nonsense and some users are bizarrely obsessed with certain performers. I choose to take a laissez-faire attitude and follow the threads I'm interested in.

I do love getting firsthand answers to my (many) inquiries and having a laugh with those posts that are hilariously well-written. And I appreciate everyone's support with my creative projects/openness about having an ASD.

Onwards with courage and kindness, folks, as Cinderella might say...

[markypoo]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:42am

Someone I've been both messaging and corresponding with on here for 11 years now refuses to speak to me since I voted for .....

[Dave13]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:42am

One thing that can help this board is to update it with software being used on other message boards. Oftentimes you make a comment, and no one quotes it. It it hard to gauge if the post is simply being ignored or if people are finding it informative. On other message boards, people can like or agree with posts and it provides great feedback. I think that would make the board more interactive. 

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 11:42 AM

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:50am

WhizzerMarvin said: "I don't begrudge someone starting a thread asking about good restaurants around CSC or the Vineyard. Maybe someone's from out of town and are can be a fast and reliable resource for questions like that. But, and it's a big but, where are the threads discussing the actual productions at these theaters? (I know Kid Victory generated some talk, but many non-musicals at the Vineyard barely get a mention around here these days.)

 

 

"

It really seems like very few people who frequent these boards nowadays see or post about any Off-Broadway shows, unless someone of note is in the cast (e.g., the recent NYTW Othello or the Sutton Foster Sweet Charity). It's a shame because you used to be able to learn about shows that might not even be on your radar from this board. As someone who sees way more Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows that Broadway productions--mostly because only about 10% of shows that reach Broadway hold any interest for me anymore--it saddens me how many people here now seem to think that a 20-block radius in Midtown represents the entirety of New York theater.