What shows did you go in with low expectations but ended up really enjoying?- Page 2

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 10:17pm

GavestonPS said: "It was on the road (Ahmanson, LA), but I had the lowest possible expectations of BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. I had successfully avoided the novel and the film, assuming both to be bad examples of "chick lit" and "film". I still haven't read the book or seen the film, but the stage musical was one of the most moving experiences I have had in a theater in decades. No, it isn't perfect, but the score deserved its Tony and the overall effect is absolutely haunting. "And love is always better", indeed!"

My experience of Bridges is having read the book, which I found at my mother's house when I used to devour any books. It was too romantic for my taste, but I thought that the premise and the story built on the premise of Francesca's dilemma were a valid subject for a film.

My only other experience has been to have auditioned all the passionate vocals by Steven and Kellli on YouTube, Their excellence is just so clear on listening to them that I think that there must be a place for them on Broadway.

From what I remember of the few reviews I read of Bridges, it was generally agreed that the book of the musical had wasted too much time on Francesca's American family, which as I remember even from the original book was given little attention.

I wonder if it against Broadway law to rewrite the book to correct the emphasis of the book and juggle the score so that both play to the strengths of the musical. Play around with the rewritten production out of town and see what develops.

 

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 10:25pm

Honeymoon in Vegas. I got dragged there by a friend, and I ended up loving it. Saw it a number of times thereafter before its premature closing.

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 10:30pm

Once for sure.  I saw it quite late in its run. I had come in that day on a red-eye and my friends told me I'd fall asleep through it.  No way!!  I loved it  from start to finish.  It was the first show of that trip and just started it all off so nicely.

I'm seeing Bright Star on Wednesday and kind of hoping the same thing happens - although I do have some expectations on this one!

 

 

[Markie27]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 10:41pm

Bright Star definitely.  How I wish word of mouth got that show going.  Everyone seemed to like it but alas it wasn't enough to keep the show afloat.   I actually was ready to hate it.  20 minutes onto the show I was already crying.   Carmen Cusack blew me away.   

[freewilma]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 11:19pm

Once. I hated the movie and went to see the musical as a last second, rainy day TKTS booth choice.  I was charmed and loved it from the minute I walked into the theatre. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 11:30pm

Finding Neverland. Had no desire to see it. Got and invite and came out loving it!

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 11:33pm

Another vote for Once (West End version) oh, yes, and Stratford's 2015 production of Sound of Music. Didn't really want to see it.  Got inexpensive tix with plan to leave at the interval - bur from the moment the Nuns started to sing at the opening, I was transfixed.  Made for a very very late night! (We had many miles to travel)

 

Updated On: 6/20/16 at 11:33 PM

[ashk8177]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 11:33pm

Legally Blonde. I went in with no expectations but found it really cute, touching, and inspiring.

[homeimp2]

Posted: 6/19/16 at 11:47pm

I went to After Midnight at a friend's urging with fairly low expectations.I ended up being astonished by the amount of talent present on that stage.

I went to Once with low expectations having hated the movie. I didn't much like the musical but I didn't hate it either.

I hadn't expected to love Pippin, not being a Cirque du Soleil type person. I was stunned by what I witnessed on that stage. Amazing!

[StephieElise]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 12:18am

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I didn't like Mary Poppins and thought Chitty to be its poorer cousin. I only booked because it was the only show playing in Melbourne on my birthday (those were dark days!) and may have been calling it something else that rhymes with Chitty in the lead up...but ended up absolutely loving it and how much it brought back memories of the film.

I saw The Sound of Music on Saturday night and wasn't expecting much, but was absolutely blown away by what a beautiful production it was and how perfect Amy Lehpamer is as Maria.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 1:17am

LEGALLY BLONDE

IN THE HEIGHTS

ALL SHOOK UP

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE

 

[belrowley]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 4:58am

Pippin. The Tonys performance looked so busy and over the top, but I ended up loving it in person. Patina was gone by the time I went, but I loved Kyle Dean Massey and Rachel Bay Jones.

[10086sunset]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 6:09am

The Last Ship.

Saw Sting play the songs in concert at the Public a year earlier and thought they were dreadful. 

Went to see the show and fell in love. Couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 6:38am

Most recently, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed Bright Star, American Psycho, and The Father.

[bandit964]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 7:58am

In The Heights

Sister Act

[kdogg36]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 9:16am

My answer is Xanadu for sure. Not knowing much about the show at the time - or about Douglas Carter Beane - I could not imagine why anyone would want to make a musical out of that particular movie from my childhood. About a minute into the show, though, I was already loving it. :) I ended up seeing it quite a few times on Broadway and elsewhere.

[AngInFL79]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 9:22am

For me it was Rock of Ages. I had no idea what the show was even about and was handed one of their show's pamphlets after losing the WSS lotto at the time went to enter their lotto since it started 30 minutes later. There was a small group so my friend and I won tickets. We had a great time at the show.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 10:16am

American Idiot.  The Tony performance didn't do much for me, but saw the show on tour because I had a subscription.  I was blown away by the music, staging and choreography.  I ended up seeing it two more times and it became one of my all-time favorites.

In London, Zorro and Lord of the Rings.  Zorro was fun and utterly charming with one of the most dedicated ensembles I've ever seen.  I was never a fan of the LOTR films or books and I was dragged to the show.  Probably the most spectacular piece of staging I've seen with the greatest special effect I've witnessed on any stage.  The music was gorgeous and the show just flew by for me.  I only wish I could have seen it again.

[Sertzo19]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 11:20am

Honeymoon in Vegas definitely comes to mind. I only got tickets because I was living in NY for work for a couple of months as I love JRB. I had seen the movie and could not see how JRB would connect with something so broad, also figured this might be my only chance to see a JRB show on Broadway and I fell in love with the show. It was hilarious, songs were catchy, score as expected was fantastic and I fell in love with Rob McClure and Brynn O'Malley. 

Another one (don't all jump on me at once) was It Shoulda Been You. I expected NOTHING out of this show, went because it had the best seats on TKTS and I wanted to see Tyna Daly in something. For what it was, it was great. I fell in love with Lisa Howard, she needs to get cast in better shows, she is fantastic and completely overshadowed everyone in that cast. 

[mikey2573]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 11:33am

A CHRISTMAS STORY: The Musical

I was never a big fan of the movie as it always came across as too "jokey" and self-aware (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).  But I absolutely loved the musical and was very surprised at how good it was, and especially how emotionally moving some of the material was (since the movie always leaves me cold). 

 

 

[PepperedShepherd]

Posted: 6/20/16 at 1:12pm

Another vote for ROCK OF AGES.  It was more fun than it had any right to be.

 
Also, KINKY BOOTS.  Even though it had won the Tony, for some reason I didn't expect to enjoy it half as much as I did.

 
Recently, THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL. Saw it on a whim in London last month, and then again last week at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Both were wonderful -- and proof you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to see terrific productions.

 

Updated On: 6/20/16 at 01:12 PM

[binau]

Posted: 6/21/16 at 5:24am

BRIDGES - that AWFUL red wood grain artwork and all, along with terrible sales - no knowledge of the content matter and no real interest. Wasn't prepared to pay anything more than a rush ticket, so I did and was shocked at how much I enjoyed it when I actually saw it. It's become one of my favourite scores. 

Updated On: 6/21/16 at 05:24 AM

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 6/21/16 at 7:35am

Because I try to avoid show coverage as much as possible I usually go in with no expectations good or bad (unless I'm excited to see a certain actor and have an expectation in their performance). But 3 or 4 shows come to mind.

The only reason that I saw LEGALLY BLOND in London was because I was there with my mum who doesn't speak a lot of English, so we were looking for shows where she would know the source material to make it easier to follow the plot. I ended up loving it, it's so much fun and great music.

VIOLET I got a ticket for because I had never seen Sutton live before and I had this silly prejudice of not liking her for no particular reason... so I wanted to see her in a show to actually be able to form an opinion. I walked out in love with the show, and I really liked her performances as well. I went to see it a second time (thank you HipTix) even though I was only in NY for  week. I'm still obsessed with the score years later and I do like Sutton now

HONEYMOON IN VEGAS I had low expectations just because of the title. I didn't know anything about it (never saw the movie) but it just sounded cheesy and lame. But I lived in NY for a year (March '15 to April '16) and was on a mission to see everything. So I went on a rush ticket the week before it closed and such a good time, and I discovered Rob McClure and Brynn O'Malley, whom I both loved in it.

 

My MATILDA story is a little different. I knew the movie and just couldn't get excited about the idea of it being a musical so I didn't see it on my trip to London (way before it opened in NY). But then I listened to the cast recording and fell in love with the music so much that I went to see it on a work trip to London about 6 month later and absolutely loved it. But at the time I saw it I already had quite high expectations because of the music. It was the cast recording that changed my mind, not seeing the show.

[steven22]

Posted: 6/21/16 at 7:39am

Tuck Everlasting and Big Fish! 

[quizking101]

Posted: 6/21/16 at 7:49am

DISASTER - By no means a great piece of theatre, but given the vitriol on this board, I was hesitant to go. I threw caution to the wind and had a fantastic night out and cannot wait for the cast recording!

THE LAST SHIP - I always fancied this to be a more morose and darker version of KINKY BOOTS, but one day I pulled up the score on Spotify for a listen and I fell in love with the music. When I got to the theatre and put music to the story, I mostly fell in love with the whole thing (although one or two parts were a bit trite).

THE COLOR PURPLE (current revival) - I had ZERO interest going in, and a listen to the OBCR didn't really sway me, but I mainly just wanted to see Jennifer Hudson. Boy, was I feeling this show all over for days and days after. Cynthia Erivo had me screaming "YAAASSSS" and crying by the end of "I'm Here" because her portrayal of Celie was so real that it didn't feel at all like a performance, it was an embodiment and an event.