LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE reviews- Page 2

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 3:51pm

Is everything in boldface for anyone else all of a sudden?

Updated On: 11/15/13 at 03:51 PM

[broadfan327]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 4:15pm

I thought Nobody Loves You was a masterpiece compared with Little Miss Sunshine. The musical lacked the chemistry the movie had, among its other problems. I am seeing the boldface as well.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 4:23pm

There was never any serious talk around NOBODY LOVES YOU transferring. And I agree that it was 1000 times better than this half-baked adaptation of an overpraised film. The reviews are on point.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 4:49pm

How could the show have gotten worse from La Jolla? The sets in San Diego were simple but much nicer than what they ended up with in NY. The van is a character too and they seem to have lost that off-Broadway.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 6:15pm

Everything that's successful does not need or want to be on Broadway. Fun Home is perfect exactly where it is, and this show is too slight for a Broadway berth, even if it were successful. Why do so many believe that if a show is successful, it must move to Broadway? The material dictates where the show belongs.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 10:15pm

"How could the show have gotten worse from La Jolla? The sets in San Diego were simple but much nicer than what they ended up with in NY. The van is a character too and they seem to have lost that off-Broadway."

I'm too lazy to look for the LaJolla thread, but I remember barely a kind word, to say the least, leveled at the score in that version. Here, at least among fellow posters, many people seem to largely like the score, even if many have complained the songs are done in too short fragments. I honestly don't remember one kind comment about the show in general in San Diego.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/15/13 at 10:17pm

Wilmington, that seems to be the current state of many off-Broadway shows, unless they're at New World Stages, etc. I can't think of too many situations that have followed the original Little Shop Of Horror when, reportedly, Howard Ashman chose not to try to move it to Broadway, to much success.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/16/13 at 12:34am

I don't think Broadway is this big scary thing like people think. I mean most of those houses feel pretty small to me. I think most shows would be fine on Broadway. The problem is going from an off-broadway theater with a small budget and technical difficulties (2nd stage has like no wing space, and doesn't use an elevator lift).

I knew the show was destine to fail when they cast Will Swenson in the role Steve Carrell created. I mean, really? We go from Steve Carrell to Will Swenson? Obviously they were going for a bland-version.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/16/13 at 12:35am

Picture of the La Jolla design. Does that work?
Set

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/16/13 at 1:22am

There's also the fact that it seems, more often than not, the short initial off-Broadway run is largely subsidized or at least mostly paid for. When a show moves to Broadway that usually is not the case.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/16/13 at 1:27am

Truth, but you honestly never know how things will fare. "In the Heights" was basically giving tickets away off-Broadway. But it moved to Broadway, won the awards, and ran for a few years. Avenue Q too. And who would have thought "Spelling Bee" - at Circle in the Square no less, one of the least desired theaters, would have been such a hit.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/16/13 at 1:42am

But AVENUE Q, IN THE HEIGHTS, and SPELLING BEE all had the critics (each with extremely positive notices from The New York Times, in particular) in their corner. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE clearly doesn't.

As far as Broadway not being scary, tell that to the 40-something productions that open each year, 95% of which flop. The stakes couldn't be higher when it comes to the entertainment business than they are on Broadway. Films can flop domestically, but make up for it with foreign grosses. Or they can make a crapload of money on DVD and On Demand; sometimes even more than they did in theaters. TV shows can garner cult followings that revive the show (ie: FAMILY GUY) or even get life after cancellation on other networks (ie: COUGAR TOWN and the just-announced Netflix/THE KILLING deal). There's no grey area when it comes to theater, especially Broadway. Trust me, this creative team completely and wholly revamped and rewrote the show for this mounting. They were banking on a critical 180 from La Jolla to NY in order to transfer to Broadway.

And not to split hairs, but Steve Carell played Rory O'Malley's part in the film; Greg Kinnear played Swenson's. Updated On: 11/16/13 at 01:42 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/17/13 at 4:13am

No, I totally agree. What I was trying to argue/say was that I don't think you can just determine if a show is right or not for Broadway based on its size. To say its "too small" or it is not doing well off-Broadway, doesn't mean a whole lot. It's a whole different playing field.

I think they'd be stupid to move this B'way or anywhere. It's obviously a terrible show the way it is.

[AirJewels]

Posted: 11/25/13 at 12:58pm

The matinee for this Wednesday is currently up on TDF if anyone is interested.

[Patash]

Posted: 11/25/13 at 1:27pm

Wow, I'm shocked by the LaJolla set. Yes. Why did they drop the van? It could have worked with just chairs if they had even been consistent -- but they'd wander around each other as if they were in a room -- not a van! Like Priscilla, the van IS or should be a character. Other than that, however I rather liked the set and the screens and projections.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 11/25/13 at 1:39pm

La Jolla makes the set design of Second Stage look sub high school production. Nice to see that Olive and Grandpa actually had beds at La Jolla rather than just sitting in the "van" chairs.

And while I would much prefer seeing Malcolm Gets than Rory O'Malley, I NEVER want to see Taylor Trensch in anything. At least that role is mostly silent.

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/25/13 at 1:43pm

Is the stage at Second Stage any smaller than the La Jolla one? (I have never been to the La Jolla venue so I have no clue.)

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/25/13 at 2:21pm

"We go from Steve Carrell to Will Swenson? Obviously they were going for a bland-version."

Did you even see the performance? Will Swenson is, of course, played by Greg Kinnear in the movie version and his character is supposed to be bland, initially. He nailed it, just like the rest of the cast. I enjoyed it very much, despite some of the flaws. Get your facts right next time you post. Yikes.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 12:48am

Eh, whatever. What I was trying to say is we go from a character-actor to a handsome-leading man type. I just think they ruined the charm of the show by the casting.

Also, I don't get why Second Stage took on a show that was just too large for them to produce. Surely they didn't think a show with chairs like that would transfer to Broadway?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 1:09am

Kind of a huge difference. Did you see the show at Second Stage?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 1:14am

Yes, and yeah I was wrong about the character, but the idea is the same.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 1:19am

What chairs? The ones on stage or in the audience? Those goddamn chairs were totally uncomfortable to sit in, so I wasn't sure which ones you meant. Did one stage version have an actual van on stage?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 1:24am

Ha yeah. I posted a link to the La Jolla production, which has a more expansive design. I still don't love it, but eh. It's better than what's at 2nd Stage.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 1:30am

That stage seems to be much wider and deeper. At times, I thought they were going to fall off the stage with those chairs. I guess they were more versatile but that VW bus looks fantastic.

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 3:01am

I saw both versions. Sorry for repeating myself from other threads, but I honestly do not have the words for how bad the La Jolla version was. One of the three worst pieces of theatre I have ever seen. The opening number was Hunter Foster on an acoustic guitar singing a folk tune about his ten steps to success. That was the entire number. If I had to bet (and I was just at La Jolla twice for SideShow), I'd say the La Jolla stage was a tad bigger...mostly because they didn't have that map structure thing. As for the van, I actually think the chairs added to the show. The van confined some scenes, with the chairs one could have a bit of choreography and open up the stage beyond the van walls (Priscilla was a much bigger prop to work with). I liked the Second Stage version a lot, but maybe part of that is that it is magnitudes better than what was staged in La Jolla.