KID VICTORY (Previews)

[cjmclaughlin10]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 7:40am

Performances begin tonight for the new John Kander musical at the Vineyard...  It certainly sounds ambitious. Anyone see it when it played Signature in Arlington?

Early reports are appreciated as always

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 9:49am

I saw it in Arlington and thought it was dreadful. 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 10:03am

acekatherineplumber2 said: "I saw it in Arlington and thought it was dreadful. 

 

"

That's a conclusion. Care to elaborate? Otherwise, your post is meaningless.

[Theater3232]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 10:08am

The video of snippets from the show at http://thestagereview.net/east-coast-theater/signature-theatre/kid-victory makes me very interested in seeing it.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 10:11am

Theater3232 said: "The video of snippets from the show at http://thestagereview.net/east-coast-theater/signature-theatre/kid-victory makes me very interested in seeing it.

 

"

Thanks for posting but that is not "snippets from the show". It is a filmed trailer for the production at Signature in Arlington. Not one scene from the show.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 10:29am

Matt Rogers seems to be taking commentary on this show very personally...

[smidge]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 10:40am

newintown said: "Matt Rogers seems to be taking commentary on this show very personally...

 

Somebody needs a hug !

 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 11:52am

newintown said: "Matt Rogers seems to be taking commentary on this show very personally...

 

"

I have no horse in this race, except people saying something is "dreadful" without elaborating in any way, or saying "here are snippets from the show" and it's a filmed trailer. Both posts are just stupid.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 11:56am

Both posts are the sort of thing that happen on this site 3,567 times a day. Good luck with the objections.

[steveshack]

Posted: 2/2/17 at 5:20am

My friend, Blake Zolfo, has a featured role in this. I'm hoping the show is good. 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/2/17 at 10:54am

I was there last night. This is bold, DARK stuff. It doesn't all work, but I found it to be incredibly affecting on an emotional level. Cast is excellent across the board. The score is slim and not all memorable, but Kander is still doing good and challenging work. This is almost certainly not an uptown show, so catch it at the Vineyard. 

[newintown]

Posted: 2/2/17 at 11:18am

"...Kander is still doing good and challenging work."

I love Kander's music, but I would never call it "challenging." He writes good old straightforward showtunes; sometimes the lyrics or books connected to his music go deeper, but the music is always pretty simple stuff, melodically, harmonically, and structurally.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/2/17 at 12:17pm

That's what I mean; maybe I should have said he is still applying his work in challenging ways. 

[little_sally]

Posted: 2/2/17 at 12:32pm

Scarywarhol said: "I was there last night. This is bold, DARK stuff. It doesn't all work, but I found it to be incredibly affecting on an emotional level. Cast is excellent across the board. The score is slim and not all memorable, but Kander is still doing good and challenging work. This is almost certainly not an uptown show, so catch it at the Vineyard. 

 

Can you elaborate on what's so dark about it (I guess using the spoiler cut?) You've peaked my interest by saying that.

 

[hitormiss]

Posted: 2/2/17 at 5:14pm

I was also at the 1st preview last night.  I wanted to like the show and I enjoyed the cast & some of the music, but I felt the score was a mismatch to the plot.  It was like if Jerry Herman had written the score to FUN HOME.  

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The plot involves a high school boy adjusting to life back with his family after being held captive by a child molester for a year. There was a fantasy number involving Vikings and a tap-dancing Grinder hookup

My jaw hadn't dropped this much since IN MY LIFE.  Some other creative team may have been able to make this work as a cohesive whole, but this production does not.

[dave1606]

Posted: 2/3/17 at 12:19pm

I was there at the first preview and while you have to give the creative team credit for taking on such a dark and ambitious work, this simply doesn't work. I actually think it would make a strong play, but as it currently stands most of the music adds little to nothing to the story. Kander's score is tuneful, but seems at odds with the material.

The cast is quite strong and I thought the lead Brandon Flynn was excellent. The problem is that the show veers into so many different territories and tones you get whiplash. Is it a satire on the Christian society? Is it a coming of age story about being gay? Or is it some look into the dangers of the internet? 

Particularly bad moments include the marbles song and the vikings song. 

I found the whole thing frustrating. I wanted to like it, and there are a few nice moments sprinkled throughout, but as of right now I don't think it works. 

[newintown]

Posted: 2/3/17 at 12:53pm

"It was like if Jerry Herman had written the score to FUN HOME."

I love this idea - to the tune of "The Best of Times Is Now:"

"Daddy's a great big fag,
Girls and women simply aren't his bag,
He really doesn't like
That I turned out to be a dyke. A dyke. A dyke."

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/7/17 at 11:28pm

I saw this tonight and thought it was just a mess. Every 2 minutes we get a little 30sec song that says nothing and does nothing. I wanted the music to be more menacing or haunting or something, but it felt very generic. I really hated the direction. It felt very aimless and messy. Why did we constantly need the ensemble hanging out like a Greek Chorus? All the actors were strong, but they weren't given much to do. The Dad is the typical stoic dad. The Mom is the typical suburban church going type - I was hoping they were going to give her more of an arc, but nope. 

Why we had a whole song dedicated to marbles, I've no clue. Why does a man come into a lawn & hardware store looking for stationary? Why does the entire stage get covered in fog while singing a song about vikings? Why do we have tap dancing ensemble during a teenage gay hookup? Why does the child molester have to wear creepy 70s aviators? It's all just so messy and amounts to nothing. 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 2/10/17 at 11:02pm

Saw it tonight. To me, it felt like Fun Home meets Blackbird, where you get a mix of a serious-ish musical trying to balance storytelling and some comic relief and a play exploring the complexity of certain issues in some depth that would normally be omitted or glossed over in a musical. Before everything, I want to applaud the creative team for undertaking such a challenging experiment project that can be very constructive to the industry if well done. Unfortunately, if is only an if in this case. The songs are not quite as tuneful or central to the story as Fun Home, and sometimes you get the feeling that what the characters sing might be better conveyed if said, whined, yelled, or even read without music. Plot-wise, it is indeed dark and heavy as many posters have mentioned, but the complexity behind the dark themes only goes horizontally. In other words, the show is not as deep or perceptive as plays like Eclipsed or Blackbird that trek through sides of the humanity we find undesirable even despicable yet do the job in a very nuanced and revealing manner that makes themselves, oddly, emotionally and/or intellectually satisfying. I also love the set and direction. Mr. Tommy and Mr.Ramos did a very good job incorporating multiple words in a kind of claustrophobic kitchen/living room/basement set. You really feel the confinement and suffocating reality Luke is suffering from his postdramatic stress disorder and, more importantly, almost everyone else, who doesn't understand him or his best interest in heart. Despite the flaws, I would recommend Kid Victory to those who are interested in doing theater because this one indeed shows a very fuzzy picture of some of the directions future theatrical performances can go.

Updated On: 2/10/17 at 11:02 PM

[steveshack]

Posted: 2/11/17 at 7:17am

> postdramatic stress disorder

That is my new favorite phrase.

 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 2/12/17 at 2:01am

after this and The Landing I'm even more certain that what made John Kander really work was Fred Ebb. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 2/23/17 at 8:15am

Reviews are coming out for the Vineyard Theatre Production of Kid Victory. The ones I've seen are mixed which is to be expected from the subject matter.

My questions to those who've seen it: Is this a show about Luke's recovery? Reviews make it sound like he's no closer to processing his trauma at the end of the show than at the start. Is there any talk of therapy? The reviews mention a "counseling from a church lady" but no mention of the therapy that Luke clearly needs. The show seems to sensationalize the abuse itself through flashbacks. How interested is the libretto in talking about the realities of recovery?

[newintown]

Posted: 2/23/17 at 8:48am

Reading this morning's Times review, I'm reminded that I just can't stand narratives about predators and their human prey; they always make me feel like I'm watching snuff porn.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/23/17 at 12:20pm

Not the spoil it, but the ending is cathartic. And his relationship with his "predator" is a little more complicated than that. It's interesting, but yes, I think the way it's handled is very surface and felt very "commercial." Lots of colored lighting and smoke and whimsical songs? Very strange.

[Bradway2]

Posted: 2/24/17 at 12:09am

Sorry, off topic question, does anyone know if they sell magnets for this production?  Any info would be appreciated.  Thanks so much!!!  :)