Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
#1Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/23/13 at 1:34am
Performances begin today!
Sadly, I won't be able to make it tomorrow as I have family visiting but I hope to be there soon.
This has received so little buzz so am curious to see what the line looks like for those who go and more importantly, how the show it.
Looking forward to hearing from everyone!
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
GilmoreGirlO2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/05
#2Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/23/13 at 12:49pm
Will be there at the opening preview tonight!
Just got back from getting tickets. For anyone interested, I got there just before 9:00 and was maybe about 70th or so in line. There were quite a few people behind me, but I honestly didn't get a chance to see how many. They trickled in slowly at first and then I think the line started to grow quicker as it got to be later in the morning.
Excited to see the show!
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#2Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/23/13 at 10:47pmI'll hopefully be checking out the standby line for this very soon! Can't wait to hear how tonight's first preview went.
GilmoreGirlO2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/05
#3Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/23/13 at 11:31pm
Just got back from the show! It ran about 1 hour, 50 minutes (no intermission). The line monitors this morning were saying it was 90 minutes, so I imagine they hope to cut it down during previews. The woman next to me said that she just walked up to the box office sometime this afternoon, after those in line had already gotten their tickets and left, and was able to get tickets. However, they must have sold out sometime between this afternoon and 8:00. It looked like everyone in the standby line got in (after the first song, ushers were seating those in the standby line and there were still a couple of open seats).
I enjoyed the show, but, I must say, was a bit disappointed. As far as the cast and production goes, especially for a first preview, everyone did great. I have no complaints in this department (except, perhaps, wishing that Rachel Dratch and Rebecca Naomi Jones could have been used more, although it often felt like the writers were unsure what to do with their characters). The show itself, though, feels a little all over the place; I felt like the creators couldn’t decide which “world” they wanted the musical to be in. Unlike Shakespeare, who can seamlessly insert serious and dramatic moments within his comedies, this musical didn’t seem to find that balance particularly well. The pacing was a bit odd, as well, and I hope they are able to fix this during previews (scenes/songs occasionally felt too long – the point was gotten long before they moved on).
There were many moments where I felt things were thrown in just to be funny. I enjoy these in small quantities, but this was full of them. I hope that, as they see which ones are a hit with the audience and which don’t go over as well, they will pick and choose.
I enjoyed the music, but the lyrics were often so obvious and elementary, that it took away from the songs. I really enjoyed most of the songs, though. (With the exception of one song that followed the same structure as “It’s Been a Long Day” from How to Succeed – it was so alike, in fact, that it felt less like “sampling” and almost like copying.)
Overall, I did enjoy the show and can only imagine it will be trimmed (by the end, it felt longer than an hour and 50 minutes). With the creatives involved I had higher expectations, which I think set me up to be more critical. However, the cast is in excellent shape and it was definitely still an enjoyable night at the theatre. I look forward to hearing what others thought of the show and how the show evolves during its run!
#4Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/23/13 at 11:36pmWho sang "Love's a Gun?" Please tell me it was Rebecca!
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
#5Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:15am
I was there tonight and it was a bit of a baffling evening. Every choice made little sense to me. I abandoned trying to connect the story with Love's Labour's Lost, and just tried to think of it as a completely new work.
What worked in Bloody, Bloody fell flat here. There wasn't enough fodder to satirize and lampoon, and the story was never played straight so it was hard to get emotionally involved.
The Public just put on a lovely and charming production of Love's Labour's Lost with Renee Elise Goldsberry. How I wish it was that production I had seen in the park this evening instead of this misguided musical version.
When Daniel Breaker entered holding a bong (and the other fellows had paddles and Magnums, as if getting ready for a Fraternity X video) I knew this wasn't going to be a traditional telling of the story. I'm cool with that, but the modernizations didn't seem to hold much meaning or were off-putting.
The score was so forgettable and random. The lyrics felt clunky. The only song I really liked was a big solo for Rebecca Naomi Jones, who was costumed as if she worked at Wienerlicious. It didn't have a button though and thus deprived the audience of giving her the applause she deserved.
The actors tried their best to make the material work. Breaker, Colin Donnell and Patti Murin were in great voice, but their talents were never fully utilized.
The most tuneful musical moment was, like a scene out of Wonderland, the males sang Westlife's To Be With You to the ladies. And not just a snippet, but the whole damn song, choreography, key changes and all. It was definitely a One Knight knockoff.
So much seemed copied from other shows though. There was a Been A Long Day (He's thinking...Now She's Thinking) song and one of the supporting characters reminded me too much of Adolpho from Drowsy Chaperone.
Seeing shows in the park is usually a highlight of the summer, so they totally get a pass for this; it's been the first show since The Bacchae that I've disliked. Maybe it will get better, but the adaptation is so off-base right now I doubt it.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
Updated On: 7/24/13 at 12:15 AM
#6Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:18am
Clyde, Rebecca was Love's a Gun. That was the one good song, but it petered out into some odd underscoring. The audience didn't know it was over and barely found time to clap.
Gimoregirl- I was writing at the same time as you- funny that we both thought about the copying of Been a Long Day!
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#7Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:18am
Wait...there is a Westlife song? WTF?
ETA: what was the set design like? Anything note-worthy??
Updated On: 7/24/13 at 12:18 AM
#8Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:24am
The set is gorgeous. Both the lighting and set are up to the park's usual standards.
And yes the Westlife song is sung in full! It's like they are suddenly singing karaoke. It may have been funnier if it hadn't gone on for so long. I hate to admit that it was the only thing I was humming walking out of the theater.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#9Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:27amI'm saddened to hear that this isn't as amazing as I'd hoped. Maybe I'll wait for it to get tightened up a bit. If anything I'm more than excited to hear Rebecca's version of Love's a Gun.
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
#10Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:30am
I'm sure many before me have said this, but I so look forward to your first preview reviews and reports, Whizzer!
So a hardy 'thank you' to you!
-There's the muddle in the middle. There's the puddle where the poodle did the piddle."
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#11Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 12:36amYeah, I think putting in a well-known pop song into a new musical is a horrible idea. Of course it's going to be the song the audience leaves humming. I'm going to sit out for this tomorrow.
#12Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 1:06am
Thanks musikman. :)
I think you'll like the set a lot, RippedMan!
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#13Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 1:13amWell now I can't wait! I'll be there tomorrow sitting around. I hope it's not too hot!
#14Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 9:09am
I agree with so much of what Whizzer says, but my dislike was more passionate. The book is just the pieces of the original that move the plot forward. Lost are the most beautiful passages of the play, replaced by songs that fall flat with the noted exception of "Love's a Gun." But the staging of that number also drove me crazy. In the midst of the production's bells and whistles (and tubas and drums and confetti cannons), it seemed like there would be this one moment when an actor got to just be on stage and sell a song. But then Jones has to tidy some stuff up, necessitating her back being to the audience. And then she goes upstage and the rock concert lighting comes on as she goes to a mic stand. And then (worst of all crimes), the song peters out and the one rewarding moment of the night doesn't get applause.
This show has one of the best casts around. There is an absurd amount of talent on that stage. But none of it is put to good use. The concept of moving the show to a college reunion never makes sense because the plot is still about kings and princesses and assorted machinations that don't happen in the contemporary world. So from the start, the book and music just don't seem to have a single thing to do with each other. Like the writer lacked the conviction to actually adapt the material. And then it's all staged by what seems like a director drunk on power and success who doesn't seem to have had a single idea that he didn't run with. If Coco Chanel wants you to get dressed and then take one thing off, she'd want Alex Timbers to take everything off and put one thing back on. He can be a great director--the excess in Bloody Bloody was hugely charming and really worked. This time it's just an unholy mess.
GilmoreGirlO2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/05
#15Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 9:45am
Whizzer and Sauja, I agree with everything you both said.
As the night went on and I continued to talk to my girlfriend about the show, I realized just how amateur the writing felt.
One thing I particularly find frustrating is that so much time was spent on the Adolpho-like character in the beginning (and his focus on Jaquenetta), but in the end, so much of their action was off to the side while the central characters were center stage. It truly felt like they didn’t know where to go with these characters, which made it baffling that they spent so much time on them in the beginning.
The set and lighting, yes, were beautiful. At least my eyes were pleased.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#16Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 9:56amAnyone in line?
#17Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 10:02am
GilmoreGirl, I agree with you about the frustration giving Adolpho so much material at the beginning and then having him disappear from the show. His big number, which went on FOREVER, was the first really rough moment in the show. Things jumped off the rails and it lost me as an audience member completely. I was never fully able to refocus and get back on track.
Sauja, I so agree with what you wrote about Love's a Gun.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#18Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 10:33amI have tickets for tonight. I've been looking forward to this immensely, being a fan of... well, basically everyone involved in virtually every capacity. Disappointed to hear that it's not the slam-dunk it appeared to be on paper.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#19Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 3:02pm
For the record, I got there around 10:30am and tickets were given out at noon. I had no problem getting a ticket. The line got much longer after I joined, so not sure how far it went back or where they stopped giving tickets.
Side note: The NY Times was there giving us free copies of "The Astronaut's Wife." Kind of cool.
#20Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 3:56pm
Wow this sounds like a mess...
This is anal of me, but I have to point out To Be With You was actually a huge North American hit in the 80s (or early 90s?) by one hit wonder, Mr Big. I'm kinda surprised an American would refer to it as a Westlife song as I didn't even think their albums came out in the US--but I assume the connection the writers intended was to the Mr Big version which already was played for laughs in a number of bad teen comedies in the 90s...
#21Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 4:07pmApparently the song was a US number one for a few weeks in '91--and is also included in Rock of Ages (which I've managed to avoid) which makes its inclusion here even weirder to me.
#22Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 4:09pm
I just went to youtube and listened to the Mr. Big version, which I hadn't heard until now. The writers are absolutely trying to parody the Westlife version as the number is a spoof of boy bands. It's five guys singing the song in the Westlife harmonies/arrangements with Backstreet Boys/N*Sync choreography.
The problem with spoofing a boy band like this with these costumes and in this setting was that it instantly makes you think of One Knight. The comparison is inescapable.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#23Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 4:16pmWell, not having seen it, is it fair to say its copying something that was already a pastiche? There's not exactly much that can be varied with that style.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#24Love's Labour's Lost Previews and Line Status Updates at the Delacorte
Posted: 7/24/13 at 4:17pm
Well that's just odd--Westlife's version was never a single even in the UK, just a popular track they did on their tour that they then did as an album track--and it never had a video. The only performance was from the tour where they did it sitting down with guitars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP9I3R0P-pA) Though apparently Aussie boyband, now Vegas Motown tribute act Human Nature did a more pop version.
Anyway I swear I'm not picking a fight :P --and I need a life, I know--it just seems random to do it period here, and then to use it as a boyband choreographed number, as well.
