What were your biggest theatrical disappointments of the season...

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 9:01pm

...and did anything far exceed your expectations?

My disappointments were "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" and "All About Eve" in London and "The Lehman Trilogy" in New York, plus the cancellation of my "Moulin Rouge" preview in Boston.

On the other hand, "The Inheritance" was even better than I expected, and I enjoyed "Jagged Little Pill" and "The Prom" much more than I thought I would.

 

 

[BOM]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 9:07pm

The Flamingo Kid at Hartford Stage.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 9:08pm

Laura Benanti in My Fair Lady. I took my mom to see it and was certain I'd love her in her dream role. What I saw was an Eliza who struggled with the notes, wasn't funny, and was cold and charmless. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 9:12pm

To Kill A Mockingbird - Mainly because it’s staged very cautiously like a museum piece, and didn’t really innovate the material in any new way (in my eyes)

Network - The writing is god-awfully bad and Tatiana Maslany was so stiff and robotic in a role that should have been robust and calculating

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 9:15pm

Burn This. I had huge expectations and only found the play alright. I will defend Keri Russell to the heavens though, no idea why her performance is being bashed like it is.

I also found American Son to be pretty crappy and a disappointment. On the musical front, I thought Tootsie was pretty bad.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 10:01pm

Hard to say, because while there were PLENTY of bad shows, in most cases my expectations weren't all that high to begin with. So it's not like I was "disappointed" per se. 

So in terms of shows for which I had the highest hopes that were not delivered, I'd have to say Gary and King Lear. 

EDIT: I'll also add Lehman Trilogy and Fiasco's Merrily We Roll Along

Updated On: 6/5/19 at 10:01 PM

[supersam1026]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 10:27pm

Lear was, and still, looked amazing on paper, but everything on that stage was just SO wrong! Was so upsetting to see something I was so excited for fail so spectacularly.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 10:56pm

Based on expectations I had going in, LEAR was a waste of talent and time, Fiasco's MERRILY lived up to its name, and the Encores! season gets a thumbs-down.

I also think this is the weakest Best Revival of a Play category in recent memory. Not that the productions are awful (I liked most of them), but none of them scream "winner" to me. I guess I should be grateful that instead there were so many excellent new plays.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:18pm

For me it’s Kiss Me Kate. I had expectations of a fun evening with great performances, and idk. All fell flat for me. No one was “bad” but I also don’t think O’Hara had great comedic chops.


Also is this play revival category really that weak? Saw All My Sons for the first time tonight, and it was incredible. Waverly was very strong too. Surprised to hear that statement, but I am also a bit more new to the straight play scene

[BroadwayMarley]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:24pm

Dying City.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:28pm

I probably wasn't that disappointed by KMK becauseI did not expect much; I got less.

I would have to say Gary.  I still dont know the point of the play, although I heard Nathan Lane's character talk about making the world a better place.  Based on the praises from this board, I was disappointed with Julie White's performance, although i thought that Lane and Nielsen could not have been better.

Finally, Torch Song: although I did enjoy the play, I was disappointed by it, for two key reasons: (1) it seemed much longer sitting through than the original production, even though it was over an hour shorter...not good; and (2) even though I did enjoy the last scene, it did seem very dated to me; and the second scene seemed interminable.

 

Updated On: 6/7/19 at 11:28 PM

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:34pm

Mike Barrett said: "Also is this play revival category really that weak? Saw All My Sons for the first time tonight, and it was incredible. Waverly was very strong too. Surprised to hear that statement, but I am also a bit more new to the straight play scene"

I don't think any of them are "bad" revivals, but maybe we've been spoiled in recent years. There's no Angels in America, or Three Tall Women, or View From The Bridge, or Skylight, or 12th Night, or Glass Menagerie, or Virginia Woolf, or Salesman, or Normal Heart.

[Pose2]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:48pm

King Lear and American Son.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:50pm

This aint' No Disco. With the exception of a few good performances, the show was a bit of a mess.

GARY.. was a surprise favorite for me this season.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:56pm

I was perhaps was the most disappointed in The Ferryman. It was by no means bad. It was probably the best new play I saw this season. I just found that after almost three hours of riveting theater, the pay-off of the ending didn’t live up to what had proceeded it. It just seemed too over the top...

As far as musicals go, I’d have to say Superhero. I’d been warned on here so I went in with lowered expectations. Still, I mostly loved Act 1. I loved the sparse and effective use of special effects, the set and the surprises. So I went into intermission on a high. Then Act 2 happened. It basically limped along and squandered all the goodwill it had garnered from me during Act 1. But I don’t regret seeing it. I mean how can you regret spending any time in a theater when Kate Baldwin is on stage. And she was positively lovely when I met her afterwards.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 12:44am

Surprisingly great: GARY— loved it and thought about why for weeks after.

Surprisingly awful: OKLAHOMA! Hated it and thought about why for weeks after.

[Skip23]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 12:52am

DISAPPOINTMENTS:

Tootsie - Hoping for so much more

Hadestown - No there, there

King Kong - Don't know what I was expecting, but I got even less

My Fair Lady with Benanti - SO looking forward to - BIG disappointment

Burn This - Never saw it and wanted to.  Total miscasting.

From last season - Frozen - a stiff.

 

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS:

Beetlejuice - Don't get the dissing.  My fave of the season.

Network - Usually don't like Hové's work.  It all worked for me.  And Cranston was a revelation.  Didn't want to go but SO glad I did.

Ain't Too Proud - Didn't expect anything.  Solid.  and those songs!

From last year - Mean Girls - Thought I'd hate it.  And I respected it.

 


 

Updated On: 6/6/19 at 12:52 AM

[hveasey]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 1:20am

Beetlejuice, which failed to meet my already lowered expectations after hearing about the DC run.

Merrily We Roll Along, which wasn’t bad but still wasn’t good enough to be the one great interpretation of the show I’m always hoping to see.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 4:06am

Bway:
American Son
Burn This

Off:
Norma Jeane Baker of Troy
Socrates

[magictodo123]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 6:20am

Don't jump down my throat, but...Kiss Me, Kate! I just couldn't get into it. I loved some of the songs and there were standout performances, of course, but I didn't enjoy it.  

[magictodo123]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 6:24am

poisonivy2 said: "Laura Benanti in My Fair Lady. I took my mom to see it and was certain I'd love her in her dream role. What I saw was an Eliza who struggled with the notes, wasn't funny, and was cold and charmless."

I also have to agree here. I thought she sounded like she was holding back, in a way--like at the end of "I Could Have Danced All Night". It sounded to me like she was holding back giving everything to that song. 

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 7:16am

magictodo123 said: "poisonivy2 said: "Laura Benanti in My Fair Lady. I took my mom to see it and was certain I'd love her in her dream role. What I saw was an Eliza who struggled with the notes, wasn't funny, and was cold and charmless."

I also have to agree here. I thought she sounded like she was holding back, in a way--like at the end of "I Could Have Danced All Night". It sounded to me like she was holding back giving everything to that song."

Same here. Benanti's acting was good IMO. But her singing wasn't there at all. She tried so hard in I could've danced all night, but still giving out a 'weak' voice. 

[jbp1232]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 8:01am

I was definitely most disappointed by Oklahoma! I went into so excited for this reimagining and convinced I was going to love it. I did not.

I was most surprised by Gary. I went in only to see Nathan Lane but the entire show and cast blew me away. I’ve never laughed that hard.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 8:20am

Sounds like you all saw Benanti when she was sick because her voice was in immaculate shape when I saw it.

Lear was a massive disappointment. Especially Jackson who I've just decided I'm not much of a fan of. The design was odd, but surprisingly aesthetically pleasing however.

Tootsie was also a disappointment. The score was bad, the dessign was bad, the choreography was bad, and the book was fine. The performances, however, were phenomenal all around, which I think is the only thing keeping it afloat.

[magictodo123]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 8:30am

 

 

GeorgeandDot said: "Sounds like you all saw Benanti when she was sick because her voice was in immaculate shape when I saw it. As far as I know, Benanti was not sick when I saw it. I wouldn't assume that. People can have different opinions on how good someones voice is without having to make excuses like saying they were sick. 

Lear was a massive disappointment. Especially Jackson who I've just decided I'm not much of a fan of. The design was odd, but surprisingly aesthetically pleasing however.

Tootsie was also a disappointment. The score was bad, the dessign was bad, the choreography was bad, and the book was fine. The performances, however, were phenomenal all around, which I think is the only thing keeping it afloat."  I can't tell you a single song in Tootsie that stood out in my mind.