Wonderland reviews?- Page 4

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 1:58am

And honestly, I think WONDERLAND is WEST SIDE STORY compared to BABY, IT'S YOU.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 2:01am

And from a Wildhorn hater such as Jordan... that is the greatest compliment of the night. Actually after reading these I'm pretty sure that is the best compliment of the night.

I got to say, I never expected them to be this bad!
"It's like a Vegas lounge act threw up, but without the humor."

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 2:04am

I actually think the reviews are pretty tame. I prepared myself for a sh*t storm, but I think I may have over prepared just a little.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 2:08am

I'm glad the reviewers got this one right.
It is a colossal bore and it is next to impossible to
get Alice in Wonderland right on a "stage."

They have tried before and it always doesn't work.

Girl falls down a hole and gets chased and meets odd people.
It didn't work as a cartoon with Sammy Davis in the 60's;
many movies with the Alice theme have failed; Liz Swados had a failed Alice in the 70's which I believe starred Meryl Streep. It just doesn't musicalize well. There have been plenty of failed Alice in Wonderland Movies that are also not satisfying

Janet DeCal is not likeable in the role. Her character is bitchy and unlikeable and I just wanted to cut that mop of hair off of her head!. And the show is a big mess. Glad the reviewers saw the Diana Ross-school teacher Wiz comparisons.

They will try to make it run I'm sure with commercials and go after the family crowd ---but is just very ordinary and misquided on so many levels. Casting. Plotting. Book. Costumes.
Honestly, the least of the problems is the music.

Wildhorne's Bonnie and Clyde is next.Caught it in Sarasota. That is going to surprise everyone! An intelligent, well thought out and musical evening. I predict Bonnie and Clyde will be Wildhorne's first critical hit.

It's amazing no one pulled the plug on this before sinking all this money into Broadway.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 2:10am

And the pull quotes are....

"Inspirational, fanciful, groovy" - NY TIMES
"An INVENTIVE & action-packed Broadway fairy tale" - Bloomberg
"An IMAGINATIVE retelling of Alice in Wonderland" - NEW YORK

as already updated on the website.
Updated On: 4/18/11 at 02:10 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 2:23am

Now if only the book was that clever...

[phantom39]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 4:12am

These pull quotes are sad, especially the New Yorker's.

But if you guys were waiting for Carrie-like reviews, just wait a few more days. Baby it's You! is about to open.

Updated On: 4/18/11 at 04:12 AM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 5:42am

Anyone else want to smack that Chase kid from "Word of Mouth" right across the head.


I do! Or I did at first. He is VERY young...I suspect if you asked him about SHOW BOAT or OKLAHOMA! or FLAHOOLEY he would stare at you blankly. Something about a kid so young spouting off as a Broadway musical expert because he has seen a handful of shows does rub the wrong way. But don't worry, soon he'll join BWW and start posting his well considered comments here.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 7:55am

No way.....im shocked, really shocked, a Wildhorn show opened to bad reviews? i NEVER saw this coming

[GatorNY]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 8:15am

Anyone else want to smack that Chase kid from "Word of Mouth" right across the head.

ME TOO! Beyond irritating. Sounds like he stalks BWW and is spewing stuff he has read other people say about other shows. I like that the lady says that Darren Ricthie makes her moist....or rather that she was "more engaged" when he was on stage.

[Jenna Maroney]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 9:04am

I bet they'll use this pull quote from the Bergen Record [ http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/theater/120045819_Theater_review___Wonderland__.html ] ...

"Wonderland" is the kind of musical Stephen Sondheim would write – in his worst nightmare.

[leefowler]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 9:13am

Chase seems to be the kind of kid who could sing the entire score to Show Boat and Oklahoma, actually.

Having been a pretty fresh kid myself, I say we cut Chase some slack.

[peachesr]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 9:56am

I haven't had a chance to read all the reviews yet but we're talking worse reviews that CMIYC right? Personally when I saw Wonderland I bored out of my mind, flashy trash, if you ask me.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 10:05am

"I do! Or I did at first. He is VERY young...I suspect if you asked him about SHOW BOAT or OKLAHOMA! or FLAHOOLEY he would stare at you blankly. Something about a kid so young spouting off as a Broadway musical expert because he has seen a handful of shows does rub the wrong way. But don't worry, soon he'll join BWW and start posting his well considered comments here."

I mean... that's kind of the point. The Word of Mouth reviews are all about taking people from different walks of life and having them review a show to rate how the average audience feels about it. The kids on the show are always fairly naive when it comes to old shows - and the older reviewers are always fairly naive when it comes to new ones.

[Patash]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 10:26am

Please let it close before Friday, May 6 so that I can get my money back from my two discounted front row mezzanine seats.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 11:35am

Not sure what their weekly nut is, but although the avg paid admission is low, the attendance figures have been decent, and May 6th is the week the Cast Recording is being released.

I dont think it will close that quickly.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 11:40am

the attendance figures

They mean nothing.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 11:45am

I just watched the Word of Mouth video. That boy should never be allowed to open his mouth again.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 12:21pm

<< the attendance figures

They mean nothing.
>>

Which is why I also mentioned their "weekly nut", and "avg paid admission"- (as WELL as the attendance figues)

Based solely on your reply, should we expect "Wicked" and "Jersey Boys" to close?

[newintown]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 12:45pm

I pointed out more than a year ago that there was no way anyone could salvage this mess. I wish I hadn't been proved right.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 12:48pm

Based solely on your reply, should we expect "Wicked" and "Jersey Boys" to close?

What are you talking about?

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 12:50pm

<< Based solely on your reply, should we expect "Wicked" and "Jersey Boys" to close?

What are you talking about?>>

Was just hoping that you can expand on your post regarding the attendance figures meaning nothing.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 1:04pm

Comps aren't taken out of attendance anymore and even if they were there are still the numerous discounted seats or rush/lotto/SRO.

It's really not a good reflection of anything unless you have the grosses to back it up.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 1:42pm

Jordan, that Corine review was hilarious, but not as funny as someone thinking it was real.

Epic.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 5:06pm

Attendance is key for a lot for Wildhorn shows... just look at his two long-running flops The Scarlet Pimpernel (3 runs, ran for about 2 years) and Jekyll & HYDE - 4 years.

Perhaps dumb producers, but if there's a big attendance they'll keep a show open sometimes.


--

THat being said, these reviews are wild. A lot of them don't even match up opinions for the actors. Some loved Dacal, some hated her. Some loved Ritchie, some hated him. Looks like E. Clayton Cornelius got a lot of good compliments for his role as the Caterpillar.

Karen Mason, however, made out the best of anyone in the production!