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BULLETS closing Aug 24

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adamgreer
#25BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 8:38pm

I probably would have been able to muster a lot more enthusiasm for this show if it had an original score.

The lack of a real score made me have no interest in it.

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Mr Roxy
#26BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 8:40pm

I visit as I occasionally see shows and will just not post as often .There is also off topic . Being on the board for over 10 years has let me develop a very thick skin.

Life goes on without theater. I had a good run of almost 60 years of being interested. Not bad. It is no longer about art but the Benjamins. Audience behavior or lack thereof also is a reason.


Poster Emeritus
Updated On: 7/22/14 at 08:40 PM

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DottieD'Luscia
#27BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 8:57pm

Loved the sets and costumes. Really disliked the catalog of songs they chose.


Hey Dottie! Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany

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haterobics
#28BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 9:02pm

It's not like the old days... why, we used to leave a show run for months no matter what! No one cared if it made any money! The theater was half empty, no one paid full price, but that's what the whole scene was back then! We didn't pay for seats, the show didn't pay its rent, the actors barely got paid but we had fun dammit... You'd get a **** *** in a booth on 9th street, fill up your flask, pop into a second act for free, and people greeted you like you were family! Now, it's all 'Hey, you're in my seat!' or 'Why are you eating a tuna fish sandwich?' That's not Broadway. Not my Broadway, pal.

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theatregeek6
#29BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 9:07pm

So much potential.


Lived the costumes and set. Thought Nick Cordero had his break out performance. Marin was underused and Zach Braff was stiff. Behold have lived an original score. Loved the full orchestra and the tap number.

Just a lot of good things wrapped up in meh. But glad I saw it.

rjm516
#30BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 9:08pm

Sad to see another young show go

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FishermanBob
#31BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 9:13pm

"It's not like the old days... why, we used to leave a show run for months no matter what! No one cared if it made any money!"

Very well said haterobics. This focus on profitability is just killing Broadway. What happened to the good old days where a ticket taker would ask for your ticket, you told him you didn't have one and he would wink and wave you on thru anyway?

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Hackasaurus_Rex
#32BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 9:27pm

Mr. Roxy, there's always that segment of every generation that feels culturally betrayed by the generation after them, but while I don't disagree that audiences have become less respectful of the theatrical experience, you are flat out wrong when you say that theater is "no longer about art but the Benjamins." Making theater for a mass audience is nothing new... and there are plenty of shows that continue to strive for artistic expression... even the ones that you probably roll your eyes at. (and guess what, the generation before Rogers and Hammerstein rolled their eyes at them too) It's easy to sit on your porch and shake your fist at "kids today" but I doubt it makes you any happier. Just an opinion.

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BroadwayNYC2
#33BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 9:53pm

I'm just glad Heathers is opening in September and playing at the Winter Garden, Palace, St.James, and Marquis at the same time.

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Play Esq.
#34BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 10:32pm

"Life goes on without theater. I had a good run of almost 60 years of being interested. Not bad. It is no longer about art but the Benjamins. Audience behavior or lack thereof also is a reason. "

Wait...you're in you're 70s and using the phrase (or at least a variation on...) "all about the Benjamins"??

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kade.ivy
#35BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 10:42pm

"I'm just glad Heathers is opening in September and playing at the Winter Garden, Palace, St.James, and Marquis at the same time."

THAT, my friend, got a literal LOL from me.

I remember (as I'm sure we all do) when Bullets (along with Rocky) was supposed to be one of the biggest hits of the season. Hate it for all involved...

FindingNamo
#36BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 11:32pm

"Being on the board for over 10 years has let me develop a very thick skin."

Despite nothing but indications to the contrary.

I totally get being sick of the huge section of Broadway that's just a cog in the Entertainment Industrial Complex. But Christ, if you've been going to shows for decades and haven't realized that there's a whole helluva a lot of fantastic theater that has nothing to do with Broadway, well, I'd feel sorry for you if you weren't a demonstrated dolt.



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Updated On: 7/22/14 at 11:32 PM

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Jeffrey Karasarides
#37BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/22/14 at 11:39pm

"I remember (as I'm sure we all do) when Bullets (along with Rocky) was supposed to be one of the biggest hits of the season. Hate it for all involved..."

I think people should just stop having expectations set for these high profile shows coming, the most there really should be at all is interest and that's it. Sometimes, the best things happen when it's least expected...

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CurtainPullDowner
#38BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:37am

I wanna see the Original HELLO DOLLY re-take the St. James. Put Channing on a "dollie" and wheel and dance her around.
Please!

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Sutton Ross
#39BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:53am

Shame so many shows are closing, but it's a business. This one was fun though.

"Now I really see why I do not give a ****** **** about Broadway"

Please tell me you typed f*ckin f*ck because that's awesome. Some of the best shows are way the hell off Broadway dude.

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lovebwy
#40BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 1:00am

Now maybe that stupid idiot Zach Braff can get around to keeping his promises to the backers of that horrible movie of his.


Waiting for perks Updated On: 7/23/14 at 01:00 AM

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devonian.t
#41BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 2:27am

"I probably would have been able to muster a lot more enthusiasm for this show if it had an original score."

This criticism of 'Bullets has really baffled me. Most shows now- and in the past- have relied on a familiarity with the score. Only brand new scores with limited exposure truly affect an audience without pre-existing connections. Be it jukebox musicals- some of which are highly regarded and nominated for a Tony- or revivals of shows with songs that have become standards, popular in many other contexts from concert recitals to advertisements, those scores contain songs which the audience will consciously or subconsciously link to other moments in their lives. It doesn't stop the songs still working in the context of the show. I have heard very few people complain about the choice of songs in 'Bullets- apart, perhaps, from 'Bananas' in the finale.
It seems like people feel "cheated" by going to a new show and hearing songs they are familiar with. When I see 'Sideshow' I won't think, "oh this 'Who Will Love Me...' is no good because I heard it in a concert last year" and when I see 'Beautiful' I won't think, "oh 'I Feel the Earth Move' doesn't work because Dudley Moore sang it in 'Foul Play'."
It seems like the "no new score" line is a handy stick to beat Woody Allen with- as it was for Bob Fosse and 'Big Deal'.

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Hackasaurus_Rex
#42BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 2:35am

I agree. The knee jerk distain for "jukebox" musicals is boring. The fact is there are good jukebox musicals and crappy ones. Same is true for musicals with original scores. At the end of the day the question for ALL theater is... Did the show achieve what it set out to achieve and were you entertained? That is it. The rest is just pseudo intellectual diarrhea.

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SweetLips
#43BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 2:55am

Mr Roxy--Shut up and go away---This is BROADWAY World and if you are no longer interested in BROADWAY-you should not read or contribute ANYTHING relating to BROADWAY.
Go to the other topic board and prattle away your senile comments to your hearts content-you certainly are a bitter old 60yo.or someone who flunked too many auditions.

Updated On: 7/23/14 at 02:55 AM

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WhizzerMarvin
#44BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 7:00am

Re: original scores/jukebox musicals, One of the most exciting aspects of a new season for me is getting to be exposed to new music. Even if I ultimately don't care for a new score, there is a certain thrill to hearing new tunes for the first time.

In terms of Bullets specifically, the material seemed so ripe for creating a really bang up new score that it felt lazy that they went with pre-existing material. In non-bio jukebox musicals it seems to me that a big step of the developmental process of a musical is bypassed, namely the creation and integration of a score that furthers plot and develops character to maximum potential.

Sure, there are well-crafted Jukebox musicals and ones that are a pile of junk, but personally it will never be as exciting to hear old music at a new show. (Revivals, of course, are in a different boat. We go into those shows often knowing the material; the excitement lies in the new production/performances. So we've all seen 50 productions of You Can't Take It With You plus the film. What will the upcoming revival bring to the history of this show? That's where the newness factor lies for me.)


Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco. Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!

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jkstheatrescene
#45BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 7:28am

"It seems like the "no new score" line is a handy stick to beat Woody Allen with- as it was for Bob Fosse and 'Big Deal'."

I agree. I think the problems with BULLETS are far worse in the book and casting departments. The whole thing had a dusty and slimy feel to it, and, aside from Nick Cordero, there were overrated supporting performances, underutilized star power, and a great leading lady who was forced to chew scenery. Besides, doesn't it fit that a Woody Allen vehicle used recycled songs? His movies are critically lauded for doing just the same.

"Sometimes, the best things happen when it's least expected..."

AMEN! I remember as a kid being so excited to see CATS, then getting there and thinking, "This is it?" It was The Book of Mormon of its time, and I was so disappointed. Then I think about the absolute thrill of seeing Next to Normal, based only on wanting to see Alice Ripley - LOVED her in Side Show. I knew very little about it going in. Turned out to be one of my all-time favorite shows. I didn't even really want to see The Bridges of Madison County or After Midnight, and they were my favorite shows of the season, while I was very excited to see Big Fish and Rocky, and was "meh" about both. To each his own, I guess. But in life in general, I've found that the greatest joys are the unexpected ones.

And Whizzer, you are so right about the joy of revivals! Which is why I generally dislike carbon copies of the original production...

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themysteriousgrowl
#46BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 7:55am


An original score would have been nice.

As it stands, I found BULLETS tedious and unfunny. The highlights were Nick Cordero and Brooks Ashmanskas, and there wasn’t enough of either to save the show. Braff is a boring leading man, and the songs ran the gamut from uninspired to ill-chosen.

And leave Roxy alone, guys. He just wants a little sympathy.


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newintown
#47BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 8:14am

I found Bullets to be a total mediocrity in every way (although the over-amplified band played its heart out, and very well). I thought it was a cheap attempt to dumb down and vulgarize a good source to try to pander to a perceived lowest common denominator of an audience. Everything that was scintillating and funny about the film was turned into a ham-handed overblown caricature. I admit that I'm glad such a venal pursuit didn't end in success.

However, I wish everyone concerned better luck finding a better next assignment.

I also admit to being mystified by the attitude that shows aren't worth seeing unless they run a long time...

Re: "Besides, doesn't it fit that a Woody Allen vehicle used recycled songs? His movies are critically lauded for doing just the same."

In Allen's films, the music is used as background; they aren't put front and center and used to define characters or situations. His screenplays do that - the music just adds mood or color. If he wanted to do a play of Bullets with old songs as incidental music, that would be an entirely different thing than using irrelevant old ditties for a story-defining score.

Updated On: 7/23/14 at 08:14 AM

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themysteriousgrowl
#48BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 8:21am


How do you feel about "Everyone Says I Love You"?


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jkstheatrescene
#49BULLETS closing Aug 24
Posted: 7/23/14 at 8:28am

newintown, you are right, of course. Who knows how much Mr. Allen controlled things?I meant was, perhaps he felt it would work on the stage just as well. f that was the case, it was an error in judgment as it turns out.

On the upside, BULLETS closing frees up a lot of talented people to do new shows - I'm rooting for a great vehicle for Karen Ziemba - and it will get some serious mediocrity off the stage, eoo.