Diner at Signature

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 8:34pm

Anyone seen this? Or any reviews?

[mfaye9]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 9:45pm

I saw Diner its first night of previews and liked it. but it does need some work. As someone who hasn't seen the movie, I went in not knowing anything about what to expect. It took me about half the show to figure out that I should stop looking for any deep meaning or hidden message and simply enjoy it for its entertainment value.

Sheryl Crow's score was a strong point, and while I don't remember the names of any songs off the top of my head they were mostly all enjoyable, with some catchy melodys throughout, inluding a great Act 1 opener and a great song to highlight Whitney Bashor's voice.. Crow did a great job of writing for the time period, and overall the score is a strong point.

The book is not as strong as the score, but still good. I don't have as much of a problem with the content of the show as I do with how it was presented. There is a narrator throughout who both comments on what is happening in the present and what happens in the future, who I have a problem with. The show has a Seinfeld-esque style, where nothing super important happens, and it is more of a perspective on day to day life. For this reason, this narrator figure is just not necessary. Otherwise, I thought the book what good.

As far as direction goes, I thought the scenes that took place within the diner itself were definitely the strongest. It was when the show strayed from this that it was not as strong. I sometimes felt that Diner was not sure what it was and whether it was a big show or an intimate show. Specifically, one scene that takes place at a nativity scene involves dancing shepards among flashing lights and other notes of a large production, but the scenes within the diner were incredibly successful with their intimacy. The show needs to figure out what it is.

I haven't seen it since the first preview, but the show is really close to being great. It needs work though, but with the creative team behind it, I have little doubt it will get where it needs to be.

[mfaye9]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 9:45pm

Oops double post
Updated On: 12/27/14 at 09:45 PM

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 12:22pm

Broadwayworld has posted a summary of reviews here https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Review-Roundup-Sheryl-Crows-DINER-Opens-at-Signature-Theatre-20141229. After seeing this Saturday night, I tend to agree with those reviews that suggest that this is very good, but still a work in progress. The acting, singing, staging, choreography are all first rate, and Sheryl Crow has written some very nice songs that reflect the period. But the first act in particular doesn't quite flow, and even by the end the show lacked a powerful emotional punch (there was no standing ovation Saturday night). It's well worth seeing, but could use some more work before moving to NY.

[massofmen]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 12:30pm

the show is awful. None of the scenes have a beginning nor and ending. They all start in the middle of the scenes and resolve nothing.
. The music is bland and the characters have no real arc. Peter Marks reviews cannot be counted on anymore as everything he likes gets a drubbing when real audiences look at it (remember how much he loved Glory Days, or how about FOLLIES or maybe the recent Sideshow?)

Diner is bad. why do they keep trying to get this thing done?

[Mr. Musical]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 12:41pm

Apparently the show is sold out for the rest of the run.
Link

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 12:42pm

"The music is bland and the characters have no real arc. Peter Marks reviews cannot be counted on anymore as everything he likes gets a drubbing when real audiences look at it (remember how much he loved Glory Days, or how about FOLLIES or maybe the recent Sideshow?) "

Peter Marks commented on Side Show's failing on twitter. It is not a critic's responsibility to decide on the commercial prospect of a show, just whether or not they liked it. It is the producers. Producers who rely on good reviews aren't very good producers. They should know better.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 1:21pm

^That was exactly the case with shows like Beauty & the Beast, Jekyll & Hyde, Aida, Wicked, Mary Poppins, Memphis, The Addams Family, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Motown, & Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Updated On: 12/29/14 at 01:21 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 1:22pm

That is very true. It's the producers or the Kennedy Center who should be blamed for those failures. When Side Show was set to open this fall we all said it wouldn't last until the spring, and should have opened in April and road the wave of nominations to a healthy run through the summer. But instead they opened in the fall and lost.

Same with Follies.

And Glory Days is an off-Broadway show that was trying to be on Broadway.

I don't think Diner in its current state is interesting enough to generate much of a run. But it would fit nicely at like 2nd Stage.

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 2:27pm

@massof....Well you seem to be the only one who thinks so

Updated On: 12/29/14 at 02:27 PM