little_sally said: "I think Children of a Lesser God will be the first to go. Spongebob will hold out until Labor Day (I suspect it'll get lots of noms tomorrow) and maybe it'll last until New Year's. Margaritaville will close Labor Day, along with probably Once on This Island.
Judging by Summer's grosses, that thing will inexplicably keep running."
The success, thus far, of Summer is not all that surprising to me. I have
SFCowboy, thanks for your review. I have been eagerly awaiting one, just to get an idea of how the production is shaping up. I ordered tickets way back in January for a marathon day in May. It sounds like fourth row mezzanine should be fine. (The Roda Theatre has a nice setup and is a small, 600-seat theater to begin with.) While I saw Angels in America on tour in the '90s, there's a lot I don't remember. And I'm trying to keep it that way, so I too appreciate th
Perhaps it's because I have no emotional attachment to the musical, or this revival, but the closing announcement doesn't seem surprising at all.
HogansHero has summed things up well. The revival was sold as Hello, Bette and it was boffo box office. The musical without Midler has performed very respectably, but it's not a must-see show. And it would only have gotten worse over time. Revivals just seem to have a limited shelf life, no matter how much peop
I assume the producers are hoping they will get those same premium prices, maybe higher. That's probably a good bet.
I don't know what the impact of Midler's return will be on the show in the meantime. It's obviously not a positive, but I don't know how much damage the announcement will do.
Well, I have now seen the show twice in five days. A few thoughts after a second viewing:
- The entire cast is good, but Andrew Durand - as the shepherd who dresses as an Amazon - makes the whole thing work. The musical gets off to a fast start, but it doesn't really take off until his hilarious but touching take on "Mad About You." He and Alexandra Socha are the most plausible and well-written romantic pairing, which is a bit ironic for the show considering they
The review by Karen D'Souza of the Mercury News is mixed-to-negative. As someone who enjoyed the show (and is seeing it again tonight because my wife thinks our daughter will love it), she makes some good points that the creatives should keep in mind.
A few random thoughts, since I'm now very curious how things will go for Head Over Heels on Broadway. (I enjoyed the show thoroughly, despite its imperfections and my serious qualms beforehand, at the end of its first week in San Francisco.)
- I have never seen a show in the Hudson Theatre, but its size seems perfect. The Curran is the most intimate of the major San Francisco theaters, but it's still big, holding 1,667 people. A smaller venue with a
We seem to be alternating between positive and negative responses, so I guess it's my turn to praise the musical.
Like MarkBearSF, I was pretty skeptical that the concept would work at all, so perhaps I walked in with low expectations to the Sunday evening performance. But my wife and I really enjoyed the show. Simple reason: It's a comedy, and I laughed. That made up for a variety of issues, from occasional sound problems to a difficulty in keeping track of the lyrics
I'm a sucker for Sunday evening shows, which are rare in San Francisco, and the price ($23 including fees) can't be beat, so my wife and I will check this out tonight. Plenty of tickets are still available for the 7 p.m. performance.
antonijan, I think you caught broadwaysfguy. I'm not supposed to say this, but I am pretty sure he's got a financial interest in Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Band's Visit - and he's coming on this board to criticize the opening night tryout of a bound-for-Broadway musical that might prompt all of those shows to close prematurely. Sure, that's pretty implausible. Someone should have found out by now. But he's got a golden tou
Vietgone, or at least the version I saw Tuesday at the ACT's Strand Theater in San Francisco, is an outstanding production with a final scene that elevates a play that was already funny, clever, and thought-provoking about a chapter of American history that Americans like me tend to forget - from a perspective we rarely hear. The cast is first-rate, and Jenelle Chu (as Tong, the female lead) and James Seol (as her love interest Quang) do what's critical in a romantic comedy -
As you tend to be forgiving of musical theater, even stuff you don't love, what prompted the walkout? (As I mentioned on the other thread, we were thinking of seeing it this week, possibly Wednesday night.)
By the way, I would highly recommend Vietgone at The Strand, which we saw Tuesday night.
I have serious doubts about this musical. But I live in the SF Bay Area, my wife and daughter want to see it, I've got the week off, so I'll probably see one of the first performances at the Curran later in the week. I'm planning to go in as cold as possible.
That said, I'm much more intrigued by Vietgone, the play I'm seeing Tuesday at the ACT's Strand Theater. It's been a huge hit on tour here, admittedly at a small venue (283 seats).,
I'm accustomed to grading these TV productions on a steep curve, and was half-dreading this one because I love Jesus Christ Superstar and didn't like the idea of a botched version. But despite qualms, I thought there were so many things that were fantastic that I feel churlish in complaining about anything.
It was a gorgeous production. The set and lighting designers who came up with the ending shot deserve whatever awards and plaudits they will receive. The s
Danielle49 said: "I purposefully didn't listen to the songs before attending the rehearsal tonight so I could be surprised. Gethsemene 100% sounded better in person. Count me as one of the people who gave John Legenda standing ovation tonight - something I never expected I'd do. After the song, I was actually shaking. (That sounds so stupid and dramatic, I know.) That's never happened to me before. I hope tomorrow he's as amazing as he was tonight so everyone can see
So this pretend term, apparently invented by Philip Michael Thomas of Miami Vice fame and popularized by Tina Fey in 30 Rock, is now a thing we're supposed to take seriously and get annoyed about? I agree that it's silly for people to get all these awards for basically the same performance, or in the case a promotion for one, but I have trouble working up much outrage.
HogansHero said: re Carousel, it is certainly in the black for the week, but the demand metrics are weak. Right now it could go either way. It is pretty clear it is not going to be a blockbuster but it could be sustainable for a while. This is one that depends on reviews. The property is no Hello Dolly, and there is no Bette. The question is whether there is a Bernadette. It'll never recoup, and maybe we will look back on it and say it was the revival that taught us that almost a
