Lord Of The Dance
Lord Of The Dance
Baileyboo
Stand-by Joined: 7/28/09
GreasedLightning
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/11/14
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#3Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/6/15 at 5:53pm
I will say the ad they have playing in Times Sq. makes me slightly excited to see it, but I know ultimately I'd hate sitting through a show of just Irish dancing.
Corine2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/14/03
#4Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/6/15 at 6:09pm
I loved Riverdance dance is something I am very passionate about. I hope I can see it. The tickets are very expensive!
Baileyboo
Stand-by Joined: 7/28/09
#5Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/6/15 at 6:14pm
Lots of discounts out there. Try your luck at the box office.
#6Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/7/15 at 10:42pm
I confess to having never seen Riverdance nor any of its incarnations, so I really didn't have much of an idea of what I was in for tonight, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for the horrifyingly tacky and gaudy display that I witnessed. Some of it was campy and I was able to derive a few laughs from the garish Vegas nature of the whole thing, but even to describe it as "Vegas" or "cruise ship" entertainment is an insult to those offerings.
The actual show aside, the lack of diversity in the cast was startling. Unless you are a Barbie doll, Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, buxom blonde, don't expect a callback from this casting department; there were one or two token brunettes, but that's as far as they were willing to go. The women don't play strong characters either. They strut around the stage, Miss America style, with Stepford Wives smiles plastered on their faces as they look cute and perky for the men. The men are also all white too, sparing anyone to have to dance as a mixed race couple, and they all look as generic Ken doll as you can get.
On top of all this, the sound system was atrocious. Not only was it too loud, but it sounded like the tapping and violin playing was piped in. Everything very well may have been happening live, but there was just enough of a delay with the system that it sounded canned and looked off with the dancers/musicians. I was sitting close enough in the orchestra (via TDF) that I should have been able to actually here the tapping and playing from the stage, but the sound design made that impossible.
I can see why it's so easy to parody Flatley and his troupe of dancers. You really don't even need to do anything expect present the material as is since it lampoons itself. And speaking of Flatley- the man doesn't appear until the finale! If you're a fan and are buying a ticket to see him then you will be sorely disappointed. I read that he's not performing at matinees, but really? He shows up for the curtain call and dances 16 bars. I know he's approaching 60, but they are marketing the show as Michael Flatley IN Dangerous Games (the title song is campy; the "singer" is given three numbers and would never have survived one round of auditions on American Idol. The couple in front of me and my friends turned around at intermission and said, "That singer must know one of the producers, right?"
.
The projections were the worst. No the costumes were the worst. Well, actually maybe the projections...no they were both the worst.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#7Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/7/15 at 10:46pm
I just saw Riverdance today, weirdly enough. Tacky is an understatement, and the steps were all out of synch whenever more than 2 people were dancing in unison.
stevenycguy
Broadway Star Joined: 12/7/05
#8Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/7/15 at 11:53pm
Youtube videos show blinding lights being projected into the audience members' eyes throughout the show, sorta like what might happen at a MSG concert. Did this happen tonight?
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#9Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 2:19am
"Unless you are a Barbie doll, Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, buxom blonde, don't expect a callback from this casting department; there were one or two token brunettes, but that's as far as they were willing to go."
Wait, really? No redheads?
#10Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 6:21am
The lighting was like a cheaper version of what you might expect at an arena stadium tour, but it wasn't pointed outward at the audience much. No use of strobe lights either. The only way this lighting offended the eyes was on an aesthetic level.
And yes, there really were no red-headed women. The men wore a lot of hats so it's possible there was a red-headed male dancer, but the women were almost exclusively blonde.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
Baileyboo
Stand-by Joined: 7/28/09
#11Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 11:19am
Sorry you didn't like it Whizzer... Did the crowd seem to like it, or was it poorly received all around?
#12Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 11:35am
WhizzerMarvin said: "The actual show aside, the lack of diversity in the cast was startling."
You do need to stick to Irish white people for this, lest you bring actual rhythm or, daresay, some sort of soul into the equation.
#13Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 11:54am
Why didn't they bring in that show heart of dance or what ever you call it. It toured like last year I think.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
#14Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 11:56am
This is not "Riverdance". The original Riverdance was wonderful. This is a second generation knockoff and a really bad one at that.
#15Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 11:58am
I'm disappointed to hear all this. I was a big fan of the original Riverdance with Flatley and Jeannie Butler.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
mpkie
Broadway Star Joined: 6/21/15
#16Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 12:01pm
I saw yesterday evening's performance via lottery (hooray for lottery) and I'm glad I went and I enjoyed myself. I had always wanted to see Irish step dance live, and I don't think there was ENOUGH of it in this show. He should not even have bothered to make a (terrible) story and just choreographed really good dance numbers instead. I don't disagree with WhizzerMarvin's review. I had already read similar reviews online and was thoroughly prepared to face the campiness. There is a lot of cheese and corn in this show. But like I said, I expected it and was able to laugh at the kitchy-ness of it all. Also the theatergoers near me did not know how to behave in a Broadway theater and it was a darn circus where I was sitting. There were people constantly taking photos or recording and the ushers had to keep telling the same people to stop. Seriously, just throw them out, it's in your right and it's the law! There was some lady yelling at other people to stop making noise with their food to the point that she was shouting (?!?). Then there was some idiot guy who kept hooting the whole time like he was at a football game and I'm surprised his wife didn't tell him to stop. Circus, I tell ya. In actual plays/musicals I would be pissed. But I was in a good mood, so I just found it all hilarious.
#17Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 6:41pm
What exactly is the storyline?
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
mpkie
Broadway Star Joined: 6/21/15
#18Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/8/15 at 10:19pm
bwayphreak234 said: "What exactly is the storyline?"
Beats me if I get it, but something to the effect of the spirit (of the forest?) is threatened by some evil Irish step dancer dudes in funny costumes, who are led by a Dark Lord out to get the Lord of the Dance, who is the protector of that realm, so that presumably he can take over control. There are also good cyborgs, some barbie doll fairy ladies, Lord of the Dance's (very ripped) dancing merry men, and an evil projected cyborg head dude. Um........ It's terrible but also oh so hilarious. :)
bwaylyric
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/22/03
#19Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/13/15 at 10:54am
I saw this corny-copia last night. Cheesiness aside, the dancing was spectacular. After the show, I expected to see slot machines, roulette and card tables, and Elvis out in the lobby.
ivandixon2
Understudy Joined: 9/8/13
#20Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/13/15 at 1:25pmWas there anyone in the theatre? Why hasn't this show been reviewed?
brdway411
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/14
#21Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/13/15 at 2:22pm
Was anyone really expecting this to be good? Seriously????
Ennie
Swing Joined: 5/12/13
#22Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/14/15 at 1:56am
Saw it tonight. After reading the comments here, I was expecting a trainwreck, so by that low bar I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoy synchronized movement like the Rockettes or cheerleading, and this was in that vein. Energetic and even dazzling at times. I was a little hazy on the story (there was a sprite and some good guys and bad guys, and they had a dance-off?) but just ignored any attempts at plot and focused on the dancing. Michael Flatley appears only briefly at the end, but his surrogates are just fine.
#23Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/14/15 at 5:24am
LOL This thread is hysterical to me. But I'm confused. I remember when Riverdance and then Lord of the Dance first blew up when I was a kid and were ALWAYS on PBS pledge drives (I think I even remember--unless I just assumed--that when Flatley left to create Lord of the Dance, Riverdance sued him.) It was kinda like a dance version of that awful Celtic Thunder they showed on PBS constantly a few years back. I'm a huge dance fan but it was never my thing but I must have watched at least parts....
And I remember no singing or a story. Is this a new thing? Robots? I mean in a way that sounds brilliant (though not anything I could scrounge money up for.)
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#24Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/14/15 at 6:54am
Whizzed....your review is your best yet. Thank you.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#25Lord Of The Dance
Posted: 11/14/15 at 2:43pm
My favorite Lord of the Dance number. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiy0hi8UGYM
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
