[title of show] going to Broadway?- Page 4

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 5:36pm

There were a fair number of naysayers when DROWSY CHAPERONE was announced for Broadway as well, saying 'it's too show queeney insidery' for tourists to understand.

Ha! Ghostlight, I would! He'd probably sic HIS mother on me! :)

Updated On: 8/13/07 at 05:36 PM

[WestVillage]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 5:41pm

I am into musical theatre, did get the jokes, but did not find it that amusing. It was a cute little show. Not only will it not appeal to tourists, I don't see it appealing to mainstream audiences. Theatre geeks, yes, but my brother and his family from the Upper East Side (who are regular theatre goers) ... not a chance. They weren't interested in seeing it at the Vineyard, they certainly won't be interested at Broadway prices.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 5:42pm

"Ha! Ghostlight, I would! He'd probably sic HIS mother on me! :)"

And I hear she's a force to contend with.

For the record...it rhymes with caress.
Updated On: 8/13/07 at 05:42 PM

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 5:45pm

"....it rhymes with caress."

Well, if ya put it THAT way, sweetalker! I'll say it that way then.

More [tos] news: Susan is in SPEECH AND DEBATE (by Stephen Karam) with Gideon Glick and two other actors the inaugural production of the Roundabout's new black box space, opening in October and directed by Jason Moore.

Updated On: 8/13/07 at 05:45 PM

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 6:53pm

Michael may say it ends in "ess", but Master's pronounciation is also correct for the name. It's personal preference.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 8:08pm

Of course MasterLcZ's pronounciation is correct, Pepsi, hence my earlier post that the Italians pronounce it that way (and it is an Italian name).

It's just not the way Michael pronounces it - and it is his name, after all, and as you say, it's a personal preference.

Thanks for the info on SPEECH AND DEBATE, Master. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 8:26pm

To elaborate on what some people have said:

I love [tos], it is in my top 10 musicals of all time. I know my theatre trivia, and get most of the jokes (I still don't get the "1776" joke). However, when my roomie and I were moving into the dorm last school year, one of our friends who had already graduated, and another friend who lived near the dorm helped us move in. We played (and enacted parts of) [tos] and both of them, non-theatre people who didn't get many of the references, were in stitches. The show is funny, the pastiche of varying aspects, as well as their look at celebrity, pop culture and the world in general all appeal to the masses.

As several have said, with the right marketing, and a few more *known* theatre names (Like Idina from the NYMF show, and Audra or David Hyde Pierce) it might help.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 11:29pm

Ok, I take your point that What I did for Love is the most generic one in the show and not a fair comparison to anything in [tos], but I think overall, A Chorus Line has more "generally appreciated" numbers than [tos] with such tunes as "I Hope I get it", "Hello Twelve...." etc. Both deal with universal themes- nostalgia for youth, wanting to get "that job" or that thing you think you need. Sure, there is a message in "Die, Vampires, Die" that goes beyond musical theatre, but with songs like "Festival Medley" and "Part of it All" and "Original Musical" you aren't exactly pandering to a wide audience. Granted Forbidden Broadway has done well, but is also a in a small theatre off-Broadway and keeps its staples in of well known shows. Who knows? It might get some attention, but I don't think its fair to say the show has even remotely universal appeal.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/13/07 at 11:33pm

True.

The Martians won't get it.

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 12:08am

True, Part of It All and An Original Musical may not pander to Joe Schmuckatello from Chillicothe, Ohio - but there are songs in the show with broader messages, even those like A Way back To Then and 9 People's Favorite Thing. And even the bonus track on the album (which, though not in the show, still has validity under these scircumstances) is one that speaks to me in a pretty big way - "So take your biggest dreams in stride, and have your friends along for the ride." [tos], in my opinion, isn't just a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical. It's about breaking down the walls of your inhibitions and succeeding despite doubt and criticism from outside sources - and if that's not a fairly universal theme, I don't know what is.

[Nick Plasia]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 2:09am

NEWSFLASH:

Title of Show is.....


(drum roll)


pretty gosh darn bad. There's just nothing else to say about it.
It's nice that they have dreams--and that they are fans. But they don't really have any skill as writers, or anything to say in an interesting fashion. Updated On: 8/14/07 at 02:09 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 6:55am

NEWSFLASH:

Title of Show is.....


(drum roll)


pretty gosh darn bad. There's just nothing else to say about it.
It's nice that they have dreams--and that they are fans. But they don't really have any skill as writers, or anything to say in an interesting fashion.


Nick Plasia, I am really curious as to who you are behind that screen name. It's clear that you work for someone (or someone who works for someone) in the industry.

Throughout GREY GARDENS' run, you repeatedly took cheap shots at other shows and held a veritable knife to the throat of anyone who had constructive criticisms to make about the show or the cast album.

And here you are again, making blanket statements, that [title of show] is "pretty gosh darn bad. There's just nothing else to say about it."

You clearly have some sort of an agenda, and it gets tiring to read unconstructive comments about a show or an artist from someone whose opinion is far from pure.

You say that the creators of [title of show] "don't really have any skill as writers."

Well, neither do you. And we're only on a message board.

They are out there creating art, while you sit back in your computer chair spewing vitriol without a trace of a worthwhile point or supporting argument.

I suggest that you come back when you're no longer getting paid to write, because even now, your bosses are most definitely NOT getting their money's worth.

Updated On: 8/14/07 at 06:55 AM

[tourboi]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 7:07am

I'm in the minority, but I just didn't love [title of show].

And, I agree it would be a disaster on Broadway. The material is too "insider". It's not a show for tourists, and thats what makes a show run on Broadway long term.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 8:26am

For the last two weeks, I've been on a major [tos] jag that has helped me kill some vampires with an artcle I'm been plugging away at that I couldn't get a grip. I finished and I'm thrilled.

Then the news this morning that my favorie editor unexpectedly died has me reeling. And "A Way Back To Then" has kept me from rolling over into despair.

I don't write on theater, but I do think the struggle to create (the ultimate message of [tos]) is universal. The more I listen to my [tos] CD, the stronger it seems. In tough times, [Tos] has shown its mettle - it holds up, like (dare I say it) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE.

[Nick Plasia]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 10:33am

But it IS pretty gosh darn bad. What else to
say when the emperor has no clothes? Point and
yell, point and yell!

[postergirl]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 12:00pm

I agree with Nick. I loathed the show. If there had been an intermissiion, I'd have been out the door like a shot. At one point someone says something to the effect that "maybe this is all to self-referrential". Well the answer to me was YES, it's far to self everything - referrential, indulgent, aggrandizing, and smug. Right from the first scene, my mind started screaming "oh dear god no - not an hour and a half of arch tripe about your boring artistic struggles", but indeed that's what it was, and by the end I found myself very angry.
Not to say that these people aren't talented - a lot of the writing was tight, the songs certainly musical enough, (I liked Heidi's song about childhood a lot) and the performances competent to good. To me it was all to do with the subject matter - like a joke that wan't funny to begin with, but got blownout of proportion as they started believing their own hype. I would far rather see this group tackle something new rather than drag this out to what I can only believe will be a short brutish run on Broadway, which could only lead to an epilogue show at next year's fringe about the demise of tos.
Updated On: 8/14/07 at 12:00 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 12:27pm

VonTussleGirl, thank you for your post.

And MasterLcZ. "I don't write on theater, but I do think the struggle to create (the ultimate message of [tos]) is universal. The more I listen to my [tos] CD, the stronger it seems. In tough times, [Tos] has shown its mettle - it holds up, like (dare I say it) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE."
Beautiful.

I can't tell you how many people have told me that they listen to "Die Vampire Die" for inspiration to kill their own vampires. And "Way Back to Then" is the "Nothing" of the new generation. Viva la vie title of show!

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/15/07 at 6:44pm

What could be swee-a-ter!

Um... if Jeff single?
Updated On: 8/15/07 at 06:44 PM

[BillFinn]

Posted: 8/15/07 at 6:59pm

Jeff is dating Michael Berresse.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/15/07 at 7:06pm

You're kidding me...
That's so sickly perfect it makes me sick!
Hehe

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/15/07 at 11:06pm

Seriously Nick,
Just turn on your Grey Gardens CD, think about all the money they've lost, shed a tear, wrap a T-Shirt around your head, pretend you're Christine Ebersole, and buzz off.

[Nick Plasia]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 12:22am

I don't have to pretend, I AM Christine Ebersole. And as
surely as I have a couple of Tony Awards sitting on my mantle,
I know good theatre from bad(even if you taste-challenged ninnies don't...) which is why I'm down on the utterly lame
____ of ______ (I can't even bear to write it).


Updated On: 8/16/07 at 12:22 AM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 12:25am

Ya know "Nick" you really shouldn't pass yourself off as someone like that.

Really, go away.

[Nick Plasia]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 12:28am

The truth always hurts....

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 12:31am

The truth about WHAT?