Will Chase on HiFi's Closing — Page 2

I agree with WickedGeek - there was a semi-review of the show on CinemaBlend that was based on the show's website, before the show even opened! And it was written by a staff writer who was clearly biased against the show being done at all. When pressed by another poster, the author admitted she hadn't seen the show! Dreadfully unethical, at least.

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I was postive toward the show leading up to its arrival because I think Will Chase is a fine actor.

However, having seen the show, I think it's awful and it's not related to the talent quotient of the actors, it's the trashy composition and themes of the show. Watching it I felt sad that so many shows just don't have any taste, or any style that can elevate iffy material.

The treatment of sex was disgusting, a song about "I just slept with somebody who slept with someone else"--truly a horrid piece. The lead woman singing about when some guy "mounted" her--what 13-year-old uneducated sickening male wrote this show?

The rap number with the wouldbe killing and peeing on the male rival in the show was beyond revolting. It wasn't funny, though the reaction from part of the audience was loud. It was vulgar. Done with an all-white cast I also felt it was insulting to blacks and I was chagrinned that no one was aware of that, not the writers or performers or those hooting in the audience. The black friend I was with was appauled.

The use of the "f" word and "mother-f'er" in the play was the pathetic drivel of lack of dialogue.

And you know what. In a way I do fault the actors, and you, too, Will Chase, for deciding to perform in this insipid piece of trash.

Choose better material for the exploration of your God-given talents! You can get other work!

"The rap number with the wouldbe killing and peeing on the male rival in the show was beyond revolting. It wasn't funny, though the reaction from part of the audience was loud. It was vulgar. Done with an all-white cast I also felt it was insulting to blacks and I was chagrinned that no one was aware of that, not the writers or performers or those hooting in the audience. The black friend I was with was appauled."

That scene made me laugh as hard as anything else I've seen in a theater. Your finding the rap portion of that scene offensive only shows your racist view that only black people rap. It was a parody of the overly crass and moronic lyrics that are often in rap music. The scene rotated through different genres of music.

God, I'm sick of political correctness.

"you just assume they could get another job no problem"

I'd rather see them wait tables than act in trash.

The internet is no different than any other word of mouth after people have seen a show and talk about it.

It just extends the size of the coffee shop.

It's perhaps an adjustment regarding the speed or quickness of the spread of word of mouth, and theatre has to adjust.

Will writes very well and I feel bad for him

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I felt bad to see him in the show.

Especially after I saw what a good acting job he pulled off as Lennon and the fine work I saw him do in Miss Saigon. I would have liked to have seen and heard him sing the role in Rent, too. I was looking forward to his having his first OBCR.

This show is just not a good show. It may be hard when something is still in development to being able to tell how good it is going to wind up when it's finally staged. I hope to see him in something better suited to his talents soon.

Updated On: 12/16/06 at 12:00 PM

Will was fantastic in Rent.

I don't think the issue is that reviewers -- amateurs on the internet or professional critics -- put negativity in their writing to make it sound better. I think negativity has sort of become a way to prove having taste and that criticism has sort of become a contest for who can be bitchy in the wittiest, most sarcastic way possible. The idea seems to be that if you hate everything, you're very picky and therefore people will listen to you. But still, I think Will also makes a good point to say that reviews can be negative without becoming bogged down with the exhaustive attempts at being funny.

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I agree. All of that "wit" and sarcasm can get in the way of a review. A lot of reviews will focus on the lead actor or actress and touch on a few other things. I want to hear more about the supporting actors, sets, costumes, etc. The Grey Gardens reviews were a bit frustrating because they were mostly about Ms. Ebersole. Few went into the other performances.

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Honestly, I more often than not agree with Uncle Ben's reviews and appreciate his depth of knowledge and wit BUT, his review of HIGH FIDELITY was needlessly bitchy. I was shocked at how mean it was. Almost unforgiveable, really.

While I'm not a fan of HIGH FIDELITY, it has its merits. As I wrote several weeks ago, Will Chase is a really talented, likeable guy but his star power is not yet approaching a wattage that can send the marketing of a tough show like this to a place where people are really motivated to buy tickets. It's that simple. Again, the marketing thing.

Art is art. But, business is business.

Listen, if you're employed as a reviewer for a major daily newspaper (some say THE "newspaper of record") and you have an attitude going into the theater because you might not want to see it, then recuse yourself from writing the review or change professions. It's irresponsible to write about stuff if you're gonna bring a bias like that. Good golly -- reviewers are nothing more than writers with perspectives and experiences that better equip them to write about what they see for others. They are not gods.

I notice there are several other writers for the NY Times, and it does seem that Isherwood and others get sent off to see what Brantley doesn't want to cover.

And perhaps given Brantley's pathetic review for The Light in the Piazza, which I have still not forgiven him for, he doesn't get sent to as many musicals anymore. I haven't noticed that closely if he's covering all the musicals, and I didn't read his review of High Fidelity. Having Will Chase in it was enough to make me want to go and see it.

Yes, I do remember some unfavorable comments on here from Boston when I did my "will High Fidelity be the next hit" thread a while back.