I'm seeing it on the 8th and I'm quite excited. The LA Times review was mixed, but I hear that audiences Re enjoying it. Apparently, the book is pretty week so it's a shame they didn't have Sorkin on board. Perhaps, they will get him if the show moves on after La Jolla. In any case, The Flaming Lips always put on a spectacular stage show and I know that Wayne was involved in this so I am expecting at it to be visually stunning at the least.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``
This show seems to be well-handled. The band seems fairly involved and supportive, it's being taken in interesting directions, the pedigree is pretty solid.
People rag on the existence of jukebox musicals all the time, but the well-structured plot-based book musical took years to become the dominant form over plots with song slots, where bits could be shuffled without any real harm. They're not such a bad thing, really, at least when they aren't utter ****. I don't think Yoshimi is going to be utter ****.
Yes, Do You Realize is my favorite lips song ever! Perfect choice to close the show.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``
There's an interview about the project with Des McAnuff. I wouldn't call it a jukebox musical, though I suppose a case could be made for it being one...
I saw this while it was in previews, and had exceedingly high expectations (As I was expecting a collision of two maximalistic aesthetics [Des's and Wayne's]). The analogy I'll give is I was expecting the second coming of Christ, and all I got was an obscure 14th century saint. As far as reviews, I agree almost entirely with Bob Verini's rather eviscerating review in Variety.
Rather than giving a line by line complaint list, I'll give a couple bullet points...
1: If you go in expecting a remarkably three dimensional Flaming Lips show, you'll likely be disappointed with how much of the show feels trapped within the proscenium arch. So much of the show feels remarkably pulled back and surprisingly understated.
2: My constant line is the narrative is a lifetime movie of the week about a girl with a rare form of lymphoma. Yes there are some explosions of fantasy around that (and that is where the show succeeds the most), but there are nowhere near enough of them, and you're left with swaths of banal scenes where the staging blandly illustrates the lyrics.
I will admit that the last quarter of the show is more successful and emotional (If you know the lyrics, it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens in that part of the show [starting at Feeling Yourself Disintegrate onwards]), but by that point I was well past the point of no return for not liking the show. Bob Verini's review in Variety
The one show everyone on Broadway is waiting to see: Twyla Tharp presents: Big Bottom - The Spinal Tap Jukebox musical!
Wow, that's a shame that it doesn't employ the 3-D tricks that you get in a Lips show. I guessim thankful to know this as I will try to lower my expectations a bit...
Still, ugh...
But, I'm still excited to see it :)
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``