I was at the third preview, and absolutely *LOVED* the show.
Yes, the score is bad -- putridly so. There is not a single hummable or memorable song. The score is horrendous and grating on the ears from the first note to the last. And the sound design is such that it is very, very hard to hear many of the lyrics. So you're stuck listening to awful music, and not even understanding how the plot or characters are developed while the songs are screeching in your ears.
Is there a reason that people go apopleptic when white actors depict characters of color, but when a story about white men and their effort to forge a new nation is set to rap by a cast of almost no white people, it is celebrated?
The irony of progressive thinking is that while it gives lip-service to the notion of eliminating racism and prejudice, it is progressives who are constantly and breathlessly keeping count of how many people from what race are represented in this or that fiel
So, if I'm understanding you correctly, GeorgeandDot, you're of the opinion that Rapp should be unequivocally supported, and that it's entirely appropriate for Spacey's career, reputation, and life to be destroyed, because Rapp alleged that Spacey picked him up and fell on him more than 30 years ago? Are you serious?
Please do not denigrate me by characterizing my opinion as "blaming the victim." Michael Jackson, Jerry Sandusky, Bill Cosby...these people
I love how terms like "victim-blaming," "slut-shaming," "whitesplaining," "mansplaining," and other such constructive, empowering words/phrases are used to foster healthy debate and respectful dialogue. The logic behind them is that if you have an opinion -- that's fantastic...but only to the extent it agrees with mine. If it doesn't, you're nothing more than a [insert term here], and thus, not eligible to participate.
Plotline is actually quite similar to "Can't Buy Me Love," the 80s movie that made Patrick Dempsey a star. Social outcast comes up with a seemingly harmless scam that makes him the most popular kid in the school. He gets The Girl he always dreamed of and all seems right with the world. But then he becomes too addicted to the popularity, and mistreats the only friend he had in the pre-cool days. The turning point comes when he publicizes a private poem Th
Surprised to hear all the criticism levied at the lack of comeuppance. Haven't we all seen enough Disney movies, ABC after school specials, action movies, and their morally equivalent parallels in the world of Broadway to not need yet another story where the good people prevail and evil fails? I personally liked the fact that EH hatched and executed a diabolical and deranged plot and (largely) got away with it. I don't need to have my own morals validated by seeing him get punished --
Thanks for the link...it is indeed validating, I suppose, to hear some criticism, but their only gripe is with the moral message of the show. That isn't what bothered me...it's the relentless melodrama from first note to last that I found overwhelming and stifling. To my mind, any musical/drama/movie/book has to take you on a journey that reaches occasional (or an ultimate) emotional peaks in order to be effective. But when you're at a level of unbridled
Which episode has the rant? I would indeed like to hear it...I haven't come across *any* negative reviews of this show...wondering whether I'm completely missing something, whether the show has slipped over time, or whether the unusual cast composition last night threw off the chemistry
Finally saw DEH for the first time tonight....was absolutely *floored* by Michael Lee Brown's spectacular performance. This kid is the real deal. I saw Ben Platt in Mormon, and have also seen various vids of his Hansen performance, and he is certainly excellent. But MLB was really something to watch. He gives such a raw, emotional, deeply 'truthful' performance...it is truly mesmerizing to watch. For anyone who has been hesitant to see the show during the days Platt is absent, I *
No, Margo319, the show is closing because a bunch of boys (and girls) cried wolf, invented, out of whole cloth, a racist motive for a sensible business decision, and thus engulfed the show with so much controversy that *no one* with a prominent name (and thus, the capability to automatically raise ticket sales) would dare step into the morass. That's what's closing the shows.
Words have consequences. People with megaphones (i.e. twitter accounts) claiming that other people
Why is it an "error" to replace a virtual unknown, who has not succeeded in driving an adequate number of sales, with a mega-watt Broadway star with a much larger fanbase?
I wouldn't be so quick to say that people who got a quirky, avant-garde show that required a full-remodeling of a Broadway house (done at their expense) to run on Broadway for a year, and who attracted serious stars to perform (Groban, Patinkin) committed "error after error from
Think Oak and Casal are the only ones who risk adverse career consequences? Au contraire.
If I'm a producer, I'm now reluctant to cast *any* African-Americans in a Broadway show, for fear that the role will then be perceived as permanently limited solely to Black artists. Knowing that no actor stays in a role forever, even if I have my eye set on a Black actor who I think would be perfect for a role, I'd be reluctant to cast him/her, for fear that when the time comes t
I must disagree with the rave. Over 24 hours later, I'm still reliving various scenes from the play in my mind, because it was gritty, interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking, and enjoyable. One does not always (or often) get the privilege of watching a play that is so...timely.
But it was far from perfect. While the characters and story of very interesting, the play itself feels like it drags on and on and on. The first 90% of the play felt as though the characters and story
She did not, of course, deserve to win over Cynthia Erivo, who is sensational.
But Soo should not have been nominated in the LEADING actress category. There are no female leads in Hamilton. The primary female parts (Eliza, Angelica) are both supporting roles. Jefferson/Lafayette have far more lines, stage time, and songs than either of the female parts; if Daveed Diggs could be considered a 'featured' actor, than so too should Soo.
Perhaps you've heard of his co-star, from the first season of a little show called American Idol. In that first season, way back in 2002, Dunkleman and Seacrest enjoyed equal billing as co-hosts.
The show blew up, of course, becoming the biggest phenomenon in television in its first year, surpassing numbers that any other show had seen in a long, long time.
So Dunkelman left after that first year. Guess he f
I completely disagree with the haters...this was a very, very, impressive show, and an early favorite for the 2017 Tony for Best Musical (granted, it's the only musical of the 2016 - 2017 season so far...but still. Very, very good.)
For those fearing a show not 'fit' for Broadway...fear not. The score, the book, the characters and the plotline, are all Broadway-esque -- perhaps even too much so (the love triangle theme -- two men...one famous and powerful, the other poor an
Oh no no no...do not misunderstand. I absolutely *adored* this show. I literally cried a tear of joy at the end. I thought the performances, song, and story were all absolutely lovely.
I do have my criticisms; I thought the roles of Earl and the 'Betsy Ross' waitress friend were horribly miscast. (Whereas Jessie Mueller was organic, true, and completely invested in her character, the guy playing Earl was playing a caricature of a boor. It was entirely inauthentic and clashed te
You raise a good point. Like I said, I've not read the text; I only saw it performed, once, with a sound system that made it difficult to make out every word. It is entirely possible that I missed clear indications of abuse in the text (and yes, of course I acknowledge that being controlling is being abusive!) If such examples are indeed present, then that obviously contradicts my whole point. I just don't remember them being there, and thought, while I watched, that th
Because for the viewer, it is much more interesting to see depictions of moral ambiguity than it is to watch black and white portrayals of good and evil. If Earl is abusive, then Jenna is justified in taking any action to protect herself and her child. The audience doesn't have to think about it. But if Earl is merely the wrong guy for her, or even if he's generally a jerk, then the choices Jenna makes -- having a long, emotionally invested affair, and barring Earl from ever seeing hi
