BWW TV: Prepare Ye - First Look at GODSPELL in Rehearsal!- Page 2

[JimCo]

Posted: 9/27/11 at 7:22pm

Dated, dated, dated! Why do we need another production of this show? The rehearsal footage was very uninspired. Great voices, but that staging!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/27/11 at 7:44pm

Cut the ladder parable now. The show will stop dead in it's track. And I agree, where is the humor, they're still clowns, right?

[RedRyder]

Posted: 9/27/11 at 9:58pm

we get it, gvendo, you hate Ken Davenport.

I would've liked to see more funny stuff, but Lindsay Mendez made that clip worthwhile.

[thismyshow]

Posted: 9/27/11 at 10:11pm

@jimco what do you mean ANOTHER production, its the first broadway revival.

@curtain they are not clowns, they havent been clowns since the original production in the 70's.....

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 9/27/11 at 10:22pm

we get it, gvendo, you hate Ken Davenport.

Where do you see anything about Ken Davenport in my posts in this thread? I merely commented on what I saw of the production in this video. That has no bearing on Ken Davenport, except that maybe the show itself would have looked better on video if he'd done this a little later in rehearsal rather than earlier. Just because I don't like what I've seen of the production so far doesn't mean I hate him.

And clearly any imagined hatred on my part is the last thing he has to worry about, judging by the pile of negative responses in the thread.

[junkyard]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 8:25am

to Gvendo......half the posts of this and other Godspell threads seem to be authored by you and regard your obvious dislike (or "hatred", as someone else stated) for the producer. Don't you have anything better to do with your life. The baseball playoffs are opening this week, why don't you get into it........How about bowling......how about tennis......maybe a little irish football (you might not survive that)....how about some therepy, you could probably use it. You're a naughty boy...grow up

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 8:44am

"they haven't been clowns since the original production in the 70's"
What?
I have seen endless productions in which they are still dressed as clowns. So what are they? Terrorists?

[Donthatecongratulate]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 10:03am

^ "Terrorists?" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Bless their hearts oh my soul!!!

ok, so based STRICTLY on this video:

A bunch of unknowns going out on a limb to make something special is really admirable. But I believe I've seen something similar to this very recently and it was called HAIR.

Poor Lindesy Mendez. She even lost weight for this role. One day she'll be in a show that deserves her.

The number with the cute cross-eyed Asian boy was a total sn


Oh sorry, I fell alseep writing that sentence. And what note were they singing at the 7:38 mark? Get those harmonies tight oh my children.

I think the best thing about this video is the "WHAT THE F@CK??" look of the faces of the 2 press people around the 4:00 mark. Priceless.

[CateBroadway]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 10:15am

Yikes! This doesn't seem like the best presentation of material but I'll try to refrain from judging it to harshly until I've seen it. It does have a lot of good people in and behind it so I'll hold on to that.

[julesboogie]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 10:39am

see kids, this is why we can't have nice things. You tear them up the moment we get them.

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 11:44am

In what universe could the contents of the video posted in this thread be considered "nice"? It was all freshman-level dramaturgy, the Good Samaritan portion particularly standing out as a "What Would Julie Taymor Do? (If She Only Had A $5 Budget)" kind of moment.

Definitely pass on this production.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 11:59am

Hmm...gee...what to do?
Completely cross this show off my list because a so-so press video of REHEARSAL is released...or buy a cheap ticket when it starts previews and see the whole thing before I make a fair judgement.
Such a tough decision.

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 12:02pm

Am I the only one who actually liked the good Samaritan parable? I agree the staging need to be bigger or else no one in the audience is going to have any idea what they're seeing (or straining and squinting to see). But I liked what I heard, if not what I saw.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 3:39pm

to Gvendo......half the posts of this and other Godspell threads seem to be authored by you and regard your obvious dislike (or "hatred", as someone else stated) for the producer.

See, this is where you (and everyone else who has an opinion on my posts) is wrong. I do not have a problem with Ken Davenport. Just because I smelled a rat about one production, and so far have seen nothing that leads me to believe this will be one of his better pieces, does not mean I don't like Ken. I am an avid reader of his blog, and I appreciate his views and opinions. Sometimes I like what he makes, sometimes I don't. I don't happen to like Godspell based on what I've seen so far. I don't see exactly how that constitutes a crime, so kindly stop treating me like I'm committing one. I'm on a diet, darling; don't put words in my mouth.

Don't you have anything better to do with your life. The baseball playoffs are opening this week, why don't you get into it........How about bowling......how about tennis......maybe a little irish football (you might not survive that)....how about some therepy, you could probably use it. You're a naughty boy...grow up

Well, when one runs out of valid objections, they turn to lists like this. One could easily say the same to you. No one asked you to respond to my post. The violence that I noticed in your paragraph (emphasized in bold), however, does give me pause. Does my opinion really matter so much that you'd like to see me hurt for it? Or even dead? Darling, that says a lot more about you than it does about me.

There's my two cents. Keep the change.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 3:45pm

I guess donthatecongratulate doesn't "do" anymore, because that's a whole lot of critiquing.

[julesboogie]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 5:04pm

"In what universe could the contents of the video posted in this thread be considered "nice"?"

Not the BWW universe apparently.

Umm im just not ready to tear it apart yet. That whole parable moment could be done while they are flying 20 feet in the air wearing flaming capes. We dont know yet, and they cant do that in Ailey Studios (that looks like where it was filmed). And its just rehearsal so far. They may tech the show and realize stuff doesnt work and rework it into some you might consider stellar. But fair enough on your passing on this production.

Whatever the case they sounded nice and i love this music.

[Goldenboy2]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 9:46pm

Exactly. The thing about any of these press videos before a show opens, people want to bash the shows. Sister act did the same thing and it wasn't like night and day when the show was on stage. Do you actually think you can get the whole feel of this show without costume, sets, lights, sound and story? No. But that's not what this was for anyway. Godspell is going to be awesome. There cast is incredibly talented and it has its audience.
It's unfortunate that people judge things so harshly without going to see the final product. Oh well, there going to do great business in the Circle on the square. Can't wait to see it.

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 11:03pm

So this show is a dud, based on about 7 minutes of video just after rehearsals started? This thread really amazes me.....

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/28/11 at 11:39pm

"That whole parable moment could be done while they are flying 20 feet in the air wearing flaming capes."

But probably not.

[brettarnett]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:04am

Wow Hunter should really play Ken in Barbie and Ken the musical. That boy is very pretty.

I don't really know much about Godspell, but from that clip, it didn't seem terrible. Then again I have nothing to compare it to. Who ever said Hair, I kind of see the similarity: an "informal" structure but instead of drugs and sex there is a lot of Jesus.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:16am

I really don't have any interest in seeing this, but Mendez sounds amazing.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:28am

While I don't think it's right to judge a show off of 7 1/2 minutes of footage, I do think it's safe to say that what is in the video is honest, but cliche. The talent is clearly earnest and eager to shine. But I feel like I could see this production ANYWHERE across the country.

The time just isn't right for a commercial revival of "Godspell", unless presented as STRAIGHT-UP 70's nostalgia, as "No No Nanette" was 20's nostalgia for the 70's.

Trying to tell "Godspell" in a modern way just leads to tired cliches, IMO. And what frustrates me most is that this revival is keeping a very fresh and exciting revival of "Oklahoma!" from reaching the boards.
Updated On: 9/29/11 at 01:28 AM

[thismyshow]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 4:23am

^ if they really wanted to move OKLAHOMA they honestly could have started negotiating for the circle just like godspell did, but they choose not to

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 11:55am

That whole parable moment could be done while they are flying 20 feet in the air wearing flaming capes. We dont know yet, and they cant do that in Ailey Studios (that looks where it was filmed). And its just rehearsal so far.

Dollars to donuts says that what we saw is pretty much exactly what was envisioned. You don't invite the press to film your rehearsal and then show them a tech heavy but otherwise low energy moment that can't be fully realized in the rehearsal space. A revival of Godspell has a lot of obstacles in general, but the biggest one is the question of revelance. The production team has "answered" that question in part with spoken word Performance Art™, and proudly shown it off to the press. For me, and probably for a lot of other people, that isn't enough to get me to buy a ticket to see a revival of the bland, cottage cheese cousin of Hair -- and that's exactly what these press rehearsals are meant to do.

Things can change, of course, and, as always, best of luck to the performers.

[massofmen]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 3:07pm

will last a little longer than Glory Days.