a RAVE for Dracula!

[NBRISBY]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 5:54pm

Cut and paste if the link doesn't work. This is a genuine liking of the show. Wow.
Journal news link

[NBRISBY]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 5:56pm

and...it's already posted. thanks! I'll be here all week.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 5:56pm

:::"Dracula, the Musical" will, like its predecessors, run a nice long time:::

Which predecessors and what's the working definition of "long time?"

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 5:58pm

If they mean Dance Of The Vampires, then about 4 months.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 5:59pm

Maybe HELLO, DOLLY. Oh, no. Nevermind, that starred a vampire it wasn't about one.

[adp22]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 6:03pm

hey...carol channing isnt a vampire

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 6:13pm

but Jacques le Sourd is a hack.

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 7:50pm

Margo, have you seen it?

[showstopper]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 11:31am

Well it's about time somebody saw it as it is... nice piece of work and Frank Wildhorn deserves the praise. I wish people would stop bashing him. Some of these stupid critics go about writing their articles on their hatred for Frank Wildhorn and not the show itself. This IS a great show.

[CurtainUp2]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 11:44am

Critics don't make or break a show anymore. They just don't carry the kind of weight that they used to. Which I'm sure really pisses them off and only spurs them on to right even more vicious and hateful reviews. That's the only way they can get noticed!

[gwapnisky]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 11:54am

No, the audience with word-of-mouth make-or-break shows.

I'm curious... Who here has seen the show besides myself?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:01pm

And just why do you think the critics hate Wildhorn? Because he stole their candy? If they hate him, it's his work they hate.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:04pm

Oh, please. There are people who hate Wildhorn the same as there are people who hate Webber and no matter what they put on the stage, those people will trash it.
I happen to enjoy Wildhorn's work and I can't wait to see DRACULA. In fact, it's one of the shows this season I'm most looking forward to. And GW, it definately seems like you have a deliberate vendetta against this show and Mr. Wildhorn.

[gwapnisky]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:39pm

I don't go in with preconceptions on a show.

I have seen it, and like I said, I could not agree more with the critics.

The show is bland, inchoherent, boring. The lighting design is poor. The sets just keep moving and opening and popping-up or dropping down. There are no ensemble musical numbers. There, honestly, is not dancing at all.

The cast looks bored on the stage. There needs to be some campiness. There need to be accents from the cast.

The flying is enough already. Up, down, sideways, diagonal. Looks like a Southwest commercial.

I do not enjoy half of the pit filled with synthesizers. I want musicians. I want an orchestra. I want something that sounds different than his other shows. I don't want music that I can turn on Light 106.7 and listen to.

[Peter]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:04pm

If it really matters, Jeffrey Lyons is another who raved about it.

I have no problem with people blaming Wildhorn, but there are those reviews, including the NY Times who place the majority of the blame on him. That to me is wrong..this is a collaboration. Wildhorn wrote the music here, not lyrics, direction book etc. Those critics who also totally blame the "material" for less than stellar performances from their favorite actors forget that many of the actors in Wildhorns previous efforts (including some not on the critic's "star" lists) were able to rise above the material and give good performances. So blaming the "material" for poor performances only goes so far with me.

I also think it's totally misleading to label Wildhorn's music this time all "pop" as some have done. Even if you didn't like the music, it was much more theatrical this time than he normally does.

[pacificnorthwest]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:15pm

I saw the show Friday night and deliberately tried to ignore the reviews Friday morning to have an open mind. I had skimmed the NY Times and saw it wasn't pretty. And the first 10-15 minutes of the show, I was with the critics. It kind of left it cold at the beginning. But it started to grow on me, and the audience, too. I found myself really enjoying it, especially some of the music. I liked the characters, too, the band of men chasing Dracula. I'm not all that familiar with the tale, and I'm sure liberties were taken, but overall I liked it. Acting and singing was excellent. Coming out of the theater, I heard the murmurings of many saying, "that was really good." So what do the critics know?

[Arthur Mervyn]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 2:13pm

What's really strange is that this show made it to Broadway at all in its current state. Saw it in San Diego several times - and it was a bloody mess. I'm amazed that the talented creative team (at least the director and librettist) appear to have barely made an attempt between then and now to resolve the obvious lack of basic structure, characterization, and dramatic build that Dracula lacked in La Jolla - the show even lacked the consistent tone that holds even the fluffiest musical together.

What were the producers thinking? Brand name, I suppose.

[gwapnisky]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 2:29pm

Last Tuesday, before the show, Des MacAnuff came out before the show to address the audience. He informed us that they had made changes to the show and that we were the first audience to see the changes.

If that is what it was changed to, I wonder what it was before.

This show has taken 3 years to get to Broadway. But, let's look at what has appeared on the stage this season and analyze how wonderful these shows have done.

Bobby Boland?
The Violet Hour?

[Testing1232]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 7:21pm

I saw it, and agreed (for the most part) with the critics. I just thought it was boring, and the score is totally underwhelming. The lyrics are abysmal !!!

[CurtainUp2]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 11:41pm

I saw the show once in previews (a week ago last Friday) and have tickets to see it again mid-September. I for one, really enjoyed it. Is it the greatest musical to ever hit Broadway? ... No. Was it a fun and enjoyable night of theatre? ... Absolutley! Loved the staging, Loved the lighting, Loved the set design, Loved the effects, Loved the atmosphere created, enjoyed all of the performances and the music. (Lyrics were admittedly weak.) And thank God they didn't go for "campy" and for the most part played it straight. And who would want to see "dancing" vampires and vampire hunters anyway? There wasn't much dancing in "Les Miserables" as I recall. And IMO that's a Great musical! Not every Braodway musical needs, or should have, dance numbers. This "Dracula" is more of a chamber piece, and IMHO very effectively staged and executed. Don't believe the critics, both amatuer and professional alike. Go see it for yourself and decide. I'm really looking forward to seeing it again next month!

Updated On: 8/21/04 at 11:41 PM

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 11:51pm

I liked it alot also CurtainsUp. It does have its flaws - as do most other shows. I often disagree with critics so it goes to figure how much i liked it!